User reviews of Ernie Ball/Music Man Guitars!

[dwf1004]

Here's a new thread to "counterattack" the Harmony Central "dis sItE rUlZ, d00d" type reviews, allowing more detailed/accurate reviews of the magnificent instruments that this company produces for current, as well as new/prospective members to the EBMM family from the people that use them, as well as those that have extensive guitar knowledge.

This is past (EVH) to present (Silhouette, Benji Madden, etc.), so no boundaries, but it should be EBMM specific -- any non EBMM guitar postings will gleefully be deleted.

The points of discussion and breakdown are similar to HC, and should be rated 1-10, bad to good, respectively. These points are:

Features -- Sound -- Appearance -- Playability -- Reliability and Durability -- Customer Support -- Combined Average Rating*

* Combined Average Rating is an overall average of the points listed above; this is manual work, you'll have to open up Calculator and do this (if you don't know how to do the equation, email/PM me, and I'll enlighten you. )

Thanks to Keith (or his chosen identity of the week) for the suggestion.

 

[jongitarz]

None better!! Buy lots of them!!

 

[Jimi D]

My "Guitars" webpage is a veritable cornicopia of EBMM reviews!

My Guitars Web Page

 

[dwf1004]

So, copy and paste them and stop mucking up the thread (he says, as he puts another irrelevant post in!)

 

[koogie2k]

JP-7 w/piezo in Blue Dawn.

Features - 10. Piezo is awesome, neck is awesome. 'Nuff said.

Sound - 10

Appearance - 11! It's Blue Dawn....need I say more?!?!

Playability - 10 Had to get used to the wider fret board.....easy enough....awesome

Reliability and Durability - 10 No problems what so ever...awesome.

Customer Support - 10. Never had to use them...hehehe....but I have certainly laid the smack down on those who have given our CS guys problems...ask jonguitarz...he'll tell ya....I'll defend them in a minute (see Customer Service thread on bass side of the house...heheheh.....Awesome

Combined Average Rating - 10.16666666666666666666666...

I have two other JP's. Both JP-6. Same score, just a different color without the piezo.

Got a Radiance Red coming in December. I will score that one on the blind....10.1666666666666666...WHY? Because I have faith in EBMM not putting out a guitar that is less than perfect!

 

[Warg Master]

^^^^ This is why this is a bad Idea.

We're all too biased on this forum to give a good review!

 

[JFRICK]

1992 EBMM EVH model, purple quilt

Features: 8 Not many, very basic guitar, but has all that is needed. Love the double locking trem.

Sound: 9 The only reason I'm not giving it a 10 is because the Clean sound is not that great, but throw in some distortion/overdrive and this thing comes to life. The overall sound is a little bright, but that can be eliminated by turning the volume knob down a touch. Love how harmonics jump out. When distorted, every note can be heard clearly, even when strumming a chord with maximum distortion/overdrive.....

Appearance 10 I've alway's loved the looks of this guitar. It was spotless when I got it, but has many scratches and dings on it now from playing. Not the best quilt top on mine. It has more of deep quilt look near the back behind the trem, and towards the front near the neck, it kind of loses the deep quilt.

Playability 10 The greatest neck I've ever felt on a guitar. Fits my hands nicely, and I have small hands. Love the un-finished neck, which is probably my favorite feature. Knob and toggle switch are in great locations as they don't get in the way. Body is the perfect size for me.

Reliability and Durability 9 I've had the toggle switch replaced twice and a new shim installed where the neck joins the body about 2 years ago.

Customer Support 10 I e-mailed them to find out the production date, and Scott Ball e-mailed me the next day saying it left the factory on 8-12-92. That's the only time I've contacted customer support.

Combined Average Rating 9 Overall a great guitar. I wish it had the contour on the back like the Axis.

 

[JFRICK]

I'm just a poor boy, if anyone wants to send me a JP model, I'd be glad to review that also, ha.....

 

[hbucker]

Here's a review of my EVH I posted a few years ago:

Price Paid: US $1400

Features: 8
Specific features have been covered prior to this review. Mine has a natural finish with a very unique quilted maple top. The neck on the EVH is ostensibly an exact digital reproduction of the neck on EVH's red & white striped 5150 guitar which he used throughout the 80's. I have no reason to believe this isn't true.

For those familiar with the Axis but not the EVH: There is no rear body contour on the EVH, the volume knob is marked as "Tone" instead of "Volume" and the rear body cavity for the volume pot is only large enough for one pot. I believe the Axis provides a larger cavity for those who want to add the tone control. And the neck on the Axis feels slightly different. I was told by EBMM that it was made wider so the high "E" string doesn't slip off as easily.

Sound: 9
Very smooth, full, midrangy sound. Great sustain that makes the lead channel sing in a classy way; not a lot of teeth but nicely crisp and crunchy. Harmonics leap off the neck. This guitar is easy to play because you can feel tones eminating from it. It has a 25.5 scale but it feels shorter than that ...very compact and comfortable.

The pickups, which are bolted directly to the body, are nicely voiced so switching between them not only gives you the traditional tonal changes but the voicing also dampens from the bridge to the neck. Frequencies are well balanced and tones have individual character. The sound is warm but not muddy. The bridge pickup is bright but full and round. The neck pickup is lush and creamy but still cuts enough to have definition, this makes for interesting leads.

To me, there is no question that this guitar is incredible sounding with any degree of overdrive attached; a very hot but refined sound with impressive sustain.

Clean, the sound loses some character. That's not to say it sounds bad but it doesn't have many distinct identifying characteristics that make the sound stand out in your mind. It's almost like the creamy sophistication that gives the lead sound it's signature interferes with traits that could make the clean sounds more identifiable. The most accurate description I could give chords played in the clean channel would be a full tone with a smooth chime.

Don't get the wrong impression. You may personally love the clean sound but you also may find it a little boring. I think it's a nice sound, just a little non descript.

Action, Fit, & Finish: 8
The neck joint and neck alignment are perfect, pickup placement - perfect, finish is natural color with matching headstock and the pattern on my quilt top has a very unique three dimensional grain. The finish is very good. Over all, it's gorgeous.

When I bought this guitar in 1993 it played well but within about 4 years it developed a fret buzz on the 1st fret, B & E strings. I very slightly shimmed the nut and solved the problem.

The action feels fine but if you regard action only by measuring the distance from fretboard to the strings, you wouldn't be overly impressed (even before I shimmed the nut). Since the trem rests directly on the body (a good thing as far as I'm concerned) and the truss rod is adjusted properly, there isn't any way to lower the action on the upper frets without shimming the neck. Also, the 10" radius means you'll never have "shredder" action at the 12th fret since action that low on this neck means you'd fret out any time you bend a note. That's why shredders generally like flat necks.

The oiled neck feels great but I dare say if you have large hands the fretboard would probably feel too narrow for you. My hands are on the large side and it seems just a touch narrow but still plays comfortably. Front to back it's relatively chunky and round. It definitely feels like somebody has been playing it for years. Even if you aren't into the history and novelty of the EVH neck, you'll appreciate the feel.

Unlike a previous reviewer, I think the pickup switch is in the way. I find myself accidentally hitting the switch sometimes while strumming. You may not have this problem but I think moving it down by the volume knob on the Axis was an improvement. As it is, I've turned my switch so it switches side to side instead of up and down. This helps me avoid accidentally switching it and it's easier to glance down and see which pickup is selected.

Reliability/Durability: 10
Very solid. I've owned mine for 7 years now and only tweaking here and there has been needed.

Overall Rating: 9
If you play rock guitar, you'll love it -period.

This is where people start saying Rock is all it can do. That is not correct. I do believe that some people won't like the way the clean channel sounds but some will love it. Strategic use of the volume knob with regards to gain yields some impressive blues sounds. Dampening the tone of your amp (since there is no tone control on the guitar) could provide jazz players with very smooth, warm sounds - this may be the best use of the clean mode on the EVH.

For those of you who require some traditional sounds from your guitar I will say that unless you split the coils you won't be able to sound at all like a Fender. There are however, many Gibson-like sounds to be had.

This specific model is collectible now since they stopped making it around 1996 and during its 5-6 year production only about 1000 were made every year. Hopefully in 10-15 years the EVH will catch on as a collectible guitar but only time will tell. If you look around you can find these used for only a few hundred dollars more than an new Axis. Again, not bad for a guitar that has the earmarks of being a valued collectible someday.

The biggest criticism I hear of newer guitars is that they don't sound like Strats, Teles or Les Pauls. I understand that philosophy if you are in a cover band that requires you to replicate specific sounds, but mostly it just seems silly. If you want to sound like another guitar, buy that guitar. This guitar covers as much ground as most quality guitars, it just does it on its own terms. It does several things perfectly and many things well. If you don't expect to cover VH, Pat Metheny, SRV, BB King, Creed, Dwight Yokum and Eric Johnson all on the same guitar, you'll love the Music Man EVH. I've been playing for 25 years and have 5 other electric guitars, two of which I made. The EBMM-EVH is a great guitar.

 

[gproud5150]

This is just a little follow up to the EVH reviews and the lack of a decent clean sound. Here's what I did:

Solder a 25 pico farad capacitor to the volume control. Holy Cow... You roll back the volume, switch to the neck pickup (I also throw a little Boss CE-2 on it) and you get an amazing clean sound. I highly recommend to anyone having a similar problem with and EVH or a volume control only guitar...

 

[ArthurS]

Solder a 25 pico farad capacitor to the volume control. Holy Cow... You roll back the volume, switch to the neck pickup (I also throw a little Boss CE-2 on it) and you get an amazing clean sound. I highly recommend to anyone having a similar problem with and EVH or a volume control only guitar...

Doesn't adding the cap to the pot effectively turn it into a tone control rather than a volume control?

 

[beej]

The pickup itself is an LRC circuit, so everything has an effect on tone- the cable capacitance, pot resistance, etc.

On most guitars when you roll-back the volume you lose some of the highs in your signal. So a quick fix to preserve the highs at low volumes is to wire a small capacitor (100 pf - 330 pf) across the two leads of the volume pot. Works like a charm.

 

[Raz]

Features -- Sound -- Appearance -- Playability -- Reliability and Durability -- Customer Support -- Combined Average Rating

Ernie Ball Sub 1 H-H with Vintage style Trem and locking tuners! Price paid, 899.00 CAN.

Features: 9
Well what can I say, if I was to sit this guitar next to Koog’s it would be featureless, however for me this guitar is loaded with features.
First off, since this was my first Ball, the access to the truss rod adjustment was well thought out, thus I would describe this as a feature. Secondly, the locking tuners, something I have never had before, was like the second coming…changing strings on my Sub is better than sex (quick and effortless…I’m lazy, what can I say!). Beyond that my Sub came with a trem and two intense humbuckers.

Sound: 10
Well this one is tough. At first I wasn’t happy with my tone, but that was because I was going straight into a Marshall, and thus as some of you may remember, I was looking to swap pups! However since buying some new toys, I am perfectly satisfied with the sound of this guitar…I played it along side my Wolfie with a Dimebag Duncan Dist, and a Silo Special, and it stood its ground.

Appearance: 8
I’ll be the first to admit that, years ago thumbing through guitar magazines and seeing Jenifer Batten, and her EB kinda turned me off…but back then I was into flying V’s…so when the opportunity came to try an EBMM, I was a little turned off…however, the beauty within my Subs, overrides what little charm they have.


Playability: 10
This is probably the guitars strongest point, if you don’t know the story to my purchase, take my word for it…this SUB outplays guitars worth a heck of a lot more! Smooth, shred-like and sharp…the neck is sweet and after 15 years off, I felt right at home!


Reliability and Durability: 10
I’m predicting a perfect score here based on the quality workmanship, my 2 year old Silo and what everyone here has to say about their older EBMM’s!


Customer Support: 10
Again, I’m predicting a perfect score here based on the quality workmanship and the unique environment found here on the boards…ask and ye shall receive!


Combined Average Rating: 9.5 (Calculated)
If I could make a recommendation, I would suggest certain ergonomic contours, a sweeter finish and a different pick guard…but then again, it wouldn’t be a SUB anymore!

 

[Lew]

Courtesy of Darrell and Ned's respective uploading and hosting,here are some PDF's I scanned.

http://www.wolfgangregistry.com/guitar-reviews/guitar-reviews.html

Cheers

 

[Johnny B. Good]

.


I gave the Axis to my nephew.

The edge of the bout digging into my arm
just made it too uncomfortable to play.


.

 

[spkirby]

Hey Uncle B Goode, got any more guitars you don't want?

 

[EVH_5150]

EBMM AXIS: I OWN 2!

Features: [9] No 10 because I have 2 experiment and modify a shim under the Floyd and adjust the neck to get the higher action I dig. Otherwise it's top notch! I want the Floyd to rest on the body like it should and not be floating. But I also want higher action. So I'm screwed!!

Sound: [10+] Clean pure distortion tone from above! Cleans up perfectly when you back off the volume to. Clean channel on amps sound killer also!

Appearance: [10+] She's a bute! [Tiger quilt, and water quilt] Orange Amber like Ed's! AND THAT BIRDSEYE! SHHHHWEEET! I now prefer B-eye on guitars from any brand. Just gorgeous!

Playability: [10+] OMG!! It's like they made it custom for me! Except the action adjustment thing mentioned above! THE NECK IS THE UNDISPUTED BEST feeling NECK ON THE PLANET!! I want this neck on all of my other axes! That's the main reasons my other guitars barely get played. There necks feel suck compared to my AXIS's.

Reliability and Durability: [7] Well, just the toggle switches on both. They suck, I replaced them with new and works great ever since. The birdseye neck seems to shift in colder wheather, screwing up my action but I guess this wood type is known 4 that from my research online.

Customer Support: [5] Never had to use them, except when I needed new switches. They would not send the parts [under warranty]. They wanted me 2 ship my axes for this simple repair! HELL NO! UPS will lose or damage them, then my best guitars will be gone. I can solder my own sh*t!! Guitars came this way, so I had to shell out the $26.00 for 2 new switch crafts from a dealer an hour and 15 mns away. grrrrr


Combined Average Rating: 51 only because of the Service rating over the needed part, and the Birdseye neck shifting issue. But I love them so damn much I can't quit them! No other axe fits my hands like this!!

 

[Lew]

I can't help but think that these "reviews" may end up being just a little bit biased.

 

[khingpynn]

Gfgg

For what it's worth I own several guitars, great guitars, none of them below say the 1200 dollar mark and some up to the 3500 dollar mark and the Silhouette Special I have is sweet so sweet I sold my USA signiture strat.
I have 26 of 30 of the MIAC SS's... tone wise it is the best sounding single coil I have played, the body shape balance and weight is excellent and the neck... oh the neck... that profile is beyond excellent. I really cannot say a bad thing about this instrument... one other thing is that it is the ONLY guitar that I own that came right out of the box in perfect working order, even the nut was 100% and I cannot say that for the other bigger names out there. Honestly the only guitar that came close was a Washburn N4 and I've since sold it.

craig

 

[Ali]

I can't help but think that these "reviews" may end up being just a little bit biased.

You should try going on Jemsite and saying something uncomplimentary about the Jem VWH

In all seriousness, I reckon people here are surprisingly realistic about there guitars faults compared to so many others. And at least it stops 12 year olds writing "reviews" of guitars they don't own unlike a certain other review site