Steve Morse vs Reflex

[sandman@midlife]

I play classic rock and blues. Occasional country. I want one guitar. Actually I want a room full of guitars, but I'm gonna get just one. I guess it comes down to the single coil in the Morse. Do any of you Morse players use it much? I don't have the opportunity to play one first, but I'm not worried about buying one sight unseen. Any input will be welcome

 

[Dr. Rock]

I want one guitar. Actually I want a room full of guitars, but I'm gonna get just one.

Now that's the honest way to say it!

 

[LegGodt]

I own 2 Steve Morse guitars and I use both single coils all the time. I even modded the pickup switches to better suit how I use the pickups, specifically the single coils.

I think this guitar is a perfect match for what you are looking for.

Are you looking at a standard Steve Morse or the Y2D?

 

[sandman@midlife]

The standard just because of the extra single coil.

 

[beej]

I have both guitars, and love both. They're different animals entirely, and both can get you good single-coil-esque sounds, though neither is going to replace a strat or tele.

The singles on the Morse are good, but because of their distance from the bridge, they have a distinct sound. The combination of the two is pretty nice. (As well, the bridge humbucker is pretty good when split.)

The parallel sounds on the Reflex are really nice- there's something about the wood and the chambering that makes it very responsive to play.

Odds are you'd be happy with either. And worst-case, you could change the wiring if you don't get exactly what you need (coil split, etc.)

Hey LegGodt- I like your wiring approach for the Morse! I re-wired mine again the other day and went with that approach for the singles, I'm really liking it.

 

[LegGodt]

Thanks beej ... I had the idea and emailed DiMarzio to see if it was even possible. Within 3 days I had an official wire diagram from them on how to rewire it. That's top notch customer service.

What I like most about my approach is while playing in the humbucker neck or humbucker bridge position, I can 'pre-load' what single coil sound I want to go to next and then combine it with the humbucker I was just on.

I love Bridge Humbucker + Neck Single Coil and Neck Humbucker + Bridge Single Coil.

 

[Gio_Force_One]

I love my morse and use it all the time it's a great playing guitar sounds amazing and plays great.

Hey leggodt do you happen to have that wiring diagram I would love to try that wiring on one of mine.

 

[DrKev]

I love Bridge Humbucker + Neck Single Coil and Neck Humbucker + Bridge Single Coil.

I'm soon to do this mod on my Silhouette Special - what does bridge + neck single sound like?

 

[guitarp77]

Both guitars are awesome.

I'd say that while the Reflex has a more "percussive" response and gives you 10 combinations (a tone machine) the Morse is a bit more "flat" on the output and the amp really delivers a huge part of its sound.

If the single coil sound or performance is what you're looking for, I think you have better options with an Albert Lee or a Silhouette Special.

All MM are awesome, and since you live in the US and can try them, my advice is to play them before so you can feel which one will suit your needs best.

 

[sandman@midlife]

Guitarp, that would make the most sense, but there none close to me. There is a Morse a couple hours away, but no Reflex. The fact that the Morse is kinda flat is a good thing. Almost all the YouTube videos have a high gain sound which is cool, but I'm looking for an old school sound. I play through a Mesa Boogie Mk2 or a Blackface Bandmaster. I will actually use the humbuckers most of the time, so I ruled out the Silo. Thanks for the advice, hope I hear from others.

 

[Barny]

From my siganture you can see I am extremely biased, so not sure my opinion is worth a lot. Buy a reflex.

For me they are perfect, I get all the H/B tones that I loved from my Axis plus I get a whole set of tones that to my ear are more reminiscent of a Single coil equipped guitar. The necks are perfect, the guitar itself is resonant and the chambered tonewood cocktail gives you to my ear a really versatile tone. I play mainly bluesy stuff and some slightly rockier stuff and it does that perfectly. Check out any af Dwells videos for proof it can also do high gain stuff just as well.

Granted I have never played a Morse so like I said, very biased, however I have played and owned pretty much every other MM model and the reflex stands head and shoulders above all of those for me.

 

[A.J.]

I dig the Morse (I owned a Y2D for many years). Today I would go for a Reflex.

 

[sandman@midlife]

Whys that A J?

 

[ozzyrules]

Can't speak for the Morse, but my 25th(Reflex) can do it all. Humbuckers absolutely scream, and parallel/series gives me the diversity I need. A huge plus is the chambered body. Resonance king! And very lightweight.

 

[stu42]

I played a Morse several years ago and was really gassing for one because I like a guitar with a lot of flexibility and a mix of humbucker and single-coil tones. My experience of it is that it is quite versatile but that it takes time to get to know the switching mechanism because it can be quite confusing. Beyond that, I would say that the pickups have a fairly characterless tone. They sound clear and nice enough but, for me, I would say that they were just lacking in character. I guess flat is another good way to describe them.

I recently went out shopping for some guitars and finally got to try a Reflex GC HSHp and I compared it to a few other guitars from a high-end brand and I was shocked and really pleasantly surprised at how great the Reflex GC sounded. Lots of beautiful character, detail and tone from the pickups that give the amp something special to work with.

I'd agree with others about the responsiveness and resonance of the Reflex. The way they've got the chambering and the different tonewoods working together produces a beautiful response. You can feel the body of the guitar vibrating against your body - much more so than with other guitars that I've played. It feels very lively and the notes really ring out.

If you want single coil tones I'd definitely recommend looking into the HSH Gamechanger Reflex because it gives you the most flexible single-coil tone options while the humbucker tones are really great. Having that middle single coil pickup adds a lot.

That's my two cents.

 

[tommyindelaware]

i own a 90 standard morse i've played on countless gigs since buying it new. it's by far the most versatile guitar i've ever played. i DID put a loller blonde in the slanted position. & i DID install a tiny black switch back behind the 3 way toggle to split the bridge hummer . i have tons of tele and strat sounding options AND the 2 hummers AND the ability to combine the hummers w/ the many single options. can't recommend this guitar enough. i still kiss it goodnight after every gig........

yea i know......just what this guitar needed was another switch........hahahahaha

 

[BUC]

I own both and it's a tough call. My Reflex gets more playing time but the Morse is my main back up. I think it would really depend on the player.

The Morse fits me a little better with the vol/tone right where I want and the strings close to the body.

The Morse has a nice balance to it's output across different pickup selections, and after you hear Steve explain it, the switching makes total sense. However, I still have trouble with the old Morse switching system. Probably my biggest complaint with this axe. I don't own a Y2D but really want one for this exact reason.

My Reflex has unmatched sustain and the neck pickup on it sounds amazing. I just love the natural midrange warm growl this guitar gives off even acoustically. Bridge humbuckers are a little brighter than you might but the tone knobs are great and in a very usable range. I've found the 5 way on a Reflex could really be a 4 way because position 2 and 3 are essentially identical unless you're in the studio with a pretty bright, clean, amp setting. I wish the strings were a little closer to the body and the pickup selector was in more of a stratish location.

The other guitar player in my band loves to borrow my Morse. You really can't go wrong with either one.

My personal opinion FWIW is the Morse is a better player and the Reflex is a better and more unique tone machine.

 

[kbaim]

i own a 90 standard morse i've played on countless gigs since buying it new. it's by far the most versatile guitar i've ever played. i DID put a loller blonde in the slanted position. & i DID install a tiny black switch back behind the 3 way toggle to split the bridge hummer . i have tons of tele and strat sounding options AND the 2 hummers AND the ability to combine the hummers w/ the many single options. can't recommend this guitar enough. i still kiss it goodnight after every gig........

yea i know......just what this guitar needed was another switch........hahahahaha

If true...and im not doubting you...what about when you forget her at say, SLO airport?
Hug?