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.
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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.
