Steve Lukather Model

[RajUK]

Guys,

I've had an Axis for couple of years, which I love.

I really want to get a guitar with a single coil and rosewood board vibe. The Lukather model looks like a real winner. I like the look of one with a matching headstock.

Two questions:

1. What do people think of the guitar and has any one had any issues?
2. Where could I best source one to send over here to the UK?

Cheers guys,

Raj

 

[kbaim]

I love 'em.

Great feel, easy as hell to play. Better sustain than my ASSes.
I've had several minor issues. My most recent purchase needed a bit of fret filing and angling along the bottom of fretboard, and the back of the neck needed more wax to match playability of my other two.

Another was crackling a lot. I thought it may need a jack replaced but the tech said he just used compressed air and contact cleaner to clean things out.

Got em set up while they were there and things are oh so good now.

Too bad I can't play them. Had a vicious storm here a couple days ago. And the wind took a glass table outside off it's base and it shattered in like a million pieces. Cut my thumb on some glass cleaning it up

 

[Dargin]

The Luke Rocks!

The only way to get a Music Man instrument in the UK is through our distributor Strings and Things. Domestic dealers are strictly forbidden to sell our instruments internationally. If you were to buy an instrument from someone outside of the UK, the warranty would be voided, and most likely the dealer would lose their dealership.

Here is the contact for S &T

United Kingdom Strings & Things Ltd. Unit2, 202-210 Brighton Road, Shoreham by Sea, West Sussex P: 44 12 734 40442
F: 44 12 734 40278

I hope that helps!

Scott

 

[slukather]

I have 2 Lukes, one of the original ones, and a Luke 2, They ROCK!!!

I haven't had any problems with them, hell my original Luke is like 10 years old now, and l haven't had a problem with it yet, well the only problem l've had with it is the floyd rose got a bit of rust on it as it was getting old and l play it all the time. The pickups are nice and warm, you get great clean sounds out of the single coils, the humbucker is nice you can get great disortian sounds out of it, l can great a nice clean low distorian Lukather sound or high distorian Train of Thought Petrucci sound out of these pick ups. The only thing l wish l had of done was get the piezo pickup on my Luke 2. The neck is nice and fast (i love small necks).

I hope this helps,

Scott.

 

[kbaim]

The only thing l wish l had of done was get the piezo pickup on my Luke 2.

This is easily solved by ordering another one

 

[slukather]

This is easily solved by ordering another one

Do you know how close l am to doing that, damn this addicition.

But l'm not sure weather to get a Petrucci with a peizo or another Luke. DAMN these hard chooses. hehe.

Scott.

 

[PurpleSport]

Very versatile, very underrated...

Hey Raj -

I've bought a used Luke about a month ago...a really, really nice playing and versatile sounding guitar. You can probably play just about any kind of music on one of 'em!

Only issues I can think of would be:

1) The V-neck may or may not be to your liking. Some folks here have complained that it's too small or has too much of a V shape. I disagree...it feels similar to a real vintage '64 strat that I played and loved many years ago, with just a touch more of a V contour - very, very subtle and not extreme like some other V's, and most definitely not a hindrance to my playing.

2) The whole active vs. passive pickup thing....EMG pickups have a flatter, slighty "compressed" sound when you compare them against standard passives, which translates to my ears as muted transients and less high end snap and pick attack. I've found that an EQ pedal is helpful for bringing some of the sass back (might not be necessary if you're using an amp with a lot of high end sizzle), although it doesn't completely cure the problem.

Due to the construction of the bridge pickup, it doesn't do the"out of phase" thing when you combine the lead and middle pickup like on other guitars - it sounds more like the bridge than anything else. I understand swapping the EMG 85 out with an 89 model is a viable workaround, though (might try it myself one day).

So, if you're a vintage single coil purist, you should try out any guitar with some EMGs if you haven't already and see if it's an issue...some folks swear by 'em, others swear at them. I personally find the difference most noticeable when I switch from another guitar to the Luke, but it's not a dealbreaker, especially if there's distortion involved (where the minuses become pluses) - EMGs are great rock pickups.

3) I had a crackling problem when I got the guitar...seems the previous owner might have been a little heavy-handed on the battery compartment, causing both wires to come loose. Nothing a screwdriver and a soldering iron couldn't fix!

It's definitely a warm sounding guitar, very solidly built and playable, and a fine piece of craftsmanship. The trem is awesome feeling, particularly if the guitar's got a factory-fresh setup. If the neck contour and EMGs aren't an issue to you, you won't regret it!

 

[kbaim]

What he said

 

[kbaim]

Don't know about other Luke players, but I have a real hard time enjoying most all other guitars since finding the LUKES. Including other EBMM models.

Not that THAT"S stopped me from buying them
KEITH

 

[RajUK]

Cheers people.

I'll try to track one down and see how it feels and sounds.

I like the look of Envy Green. Anyone got a Luke in this colour and does it come with a matching headstock?

Raj

 

[Dodgeball]

Cheers people.

I'll try to track one down and see how it feels and sounds.

I like the look of Envy Green. Anyone got a Luke in this colour and does it come with a matching headstock?

Raj

I've been trying to do this for a while now but after a chat with my local dealer (just to clarify...my local musical instrument/Ernie Ball retailer - not the other kind of dealer!) last week he informs me there are no Lukes currently in retail stock in the country, I take it he got this info from Strings and Things.

I think he is expecting about another 4 or so EBMM's around New Year time, one of these will definately be a Luke. I'm already clearing the credit card in anticipation!

Hope that helps

 

[PurpleSport]

Don't know about other Luke players, but I have a real hard time enjoying most all other guitars since finding the LUKES. Including other EBMM models.

Think I might be beginning to be inclined to agree w/ya there, Keith....but the equally nice neck and springy MM90 sounds of my AL are just a stellar alternative to the Luke's offerings, and I find myself going back for a hit of it every couple of days. My poor Sport isn't seeing as much use lately thanks to those two, but that's probably the hardtail thing more than anything else. It's always good to have a non-tremmed guitar around anyway, esp. if you like alternative tunings like I do.

I love how I can move between any of the three unimpeded, and there's no "hey, I gotta play this for a while before I can get used to it" whatsoever, despite how different the they all are. To me, this is the telling sign of the truly amazing design and craftsmanship work that EBMM pulls off - just freakin' amazing...

 

[lock-ny]

I would check out the silhouette special with a rosewood board as well, I like the neck better and you can swap pup in and out pretty easily, they also come with matching headstocks -

 

[kbaim]

but that's probably the hardtail thing more than anything else. It's always good to have a non-tremmed guitar around anyway, esp. if you like alternative tunings like I do..

Hey Purp,
What tunings? I've written in DADGAD, OPEN G, and E MINOR (EBEGBE).

I'm getting a bit stale and that means twisting the keys a bit are in order.

Any tunings you recommend?
KEITH

 

[Ali]

I hope one of the EBMMs Strings and Things are expecting in december is my Luke!!! Getting very itchy fingers now. I need to shred

And I remembered to order the piezo as well

Ah well, back to my cheap Hohner acoustic for another month....

 

[PurpleSport]

Hey Purp,
What tunings? I've written in DADGAD, OPEN G, and E MINOR (EBEGBE).

I'm getting a bit stale and that means twisting the keys a bit are in order.

Any tunings you recommend?
KEITH

Hey Keith -

Sorry I don't have a list handy at the moment as I'm at the office.....I also love DADGAD, and it's relatives DADFAD and DADF#AD can be fun too. Simply doing standard tuning 2-3 steps down is interesting, and trying out the different variations of Chapman stick tunings are always a hoot - here's a bunch:

http://www.chapmanstick.com/instruments/tunings/

I've just gotten a bunch of Soundgarden tabs recently, and see some neat stuff there that I'm looking forward to trying out. I've always loved the band, but for some reason never really tried playing many of their songs. I think they used open C a fair bit, but there's a bunch of others.

Jimmy Page had a bazillion different tunings too...check 'em out (one day I'm gonna sit down and finally figure out "Black Mountain Side")!

Leo Kottke is a mindblower on acoustic, and he used a passle of alternative tunings to get a huge sound with his 12 string. I just checked out some early Preston Reed a couple days ago, and his stuff back then was in a similar vein. Go to both of their sites and you'll find a list of the tunings they used on different songs.

Lastly, gotta give props to our (sorta) NYC homegirl Kaki King....look around on the web and you may find some of the tunings she uses too (she used to play stick with Blue Man Group, and also was a Preston Reed fan).

Have fun!

 

[shanesiegle]

Don't know about other Luke players, but I have a real hard time enjoying most all other guitars since finding the LUKES. Including other EBMM models.

Not that THAT"S stopped me from buying them
KEITH

I couldn't agree more. I purchased my Luke blue Luke II about five months ago and I fall more and more in love with it as every day passes. To me the v-shaped neck is absoutely addictive and I love the emg's. I will say that I am more of a metal guy though, so I naturally love those pups. They also sound stellar for clean and bluesy tones as well. After purchasing my luke, my trusty old Esp gets little play time. The birdseye neck on mine is also very beautiful. My only minor quible with the guitar is that the middle pickup is right where I am used to doing my speed picking so I still haven't fully adjusted to that yet, but that is my problem not one of the guitar's design. I truly believe that the MM guitars are at least as good if not better than almost anything out there.

My only other quibble is that MM doesn't send me guitars for free

 

[metaled]

I absolutely love my Luke! I would never by another guitar other than a Music Man. I have been through all the major guitar brands and the EBMM Luke hands down beats em all in craftsmanship,playability and sound!