Want to get an EBMM Guitar - recommendations?

[bendial]

Hi Everyone,

I've been a fender strat player most of my life, also have a Gibson LP, and I just find them all so uninspiring and dull, and the quality control is just not there for me. Anyway, I've been looking at selling all of my guitars and buying something that inspires me to play. A lot of my all time fave guitarists play EBMM, and I've been hearing so many good things about their guitars and quality. What I'm looking for is a guitar that is super versatile, something that can do anything from prog rock to blues to spacy clean sounds. I've been looking at the silhouette special and it seems intriguing, cutlass maybe but it may not be as versatile as I want and I'm kind of over the "vintage vibe." Sabre also looks intriguing, but again totally open to recommendations. I'm a bigger guy, 6'2" over 200 lbs with pretty large hands, so keep that in mind since I've heard EBMM guitars are on the smaller side.

TIA!

 

[fbecir]

Hello and welcome aboard !

The best you can do is to try EBMM guitars in a shop ... but of course it's not so easy (in France, EBMM guitars are really hard to find).
I own 4 EBMM guitars : a Morse, a SUB, an Axis Super Sport (ASS here on this forum ...) and and Albert Lee HH with a rosewood neck.
The AL has the larger neck and the ASS the smaller one.
The AL is versatile especially if you had a switch for splitting the coils of the humbuckers.

Good luck for your quest

 

[NickNihil]

ALHH is my favorite. It gets a reputation for dark (too dark) cleans that I think is inaccurate. The pickups are pretty hot and thick sounding (they're the same as the Axis, i.e. the original EVH pickups), but are still articulate and respond very well to volume knob changes. They'll brighten up without a treble bleed.

Silhouettes are small but comfy (AL's are kinda small, too. They were built to fly well with.). I've heard great things about Sabres, which have a wider nut than most other EBMMs but thinner neck than the AL, which might be their chunkiest. If you don't use fuzzes/don't mind active electronics, people RAVE about the versatility of the Valentine. I'd have gotten one a while ago except I DO use fuzzes and DO mind active electronics. But hot damn do they sound good.

 

[Sweat]

Lots of choices, you are in Cali so should be able to find some to try out. If you had a strat try a Cutlass, cany go wrong with an AL and of course many Lukes to try, good luck and welcome

 

[jlf599]

Lots of choices, you are in Cali so should be able to find some to try out. If you had a strat try a Cutlass, cany go wrong with an AL and of course many Lukes to try, good luck and welcome

I might also suggest a Luke. It's a very versatile guitar. I'm partial to the Axis Super Sport and Sport but I think a lot of people find them too small.

 

[bendial]

Think I'm leaning towards the sabre, I like the wider nut, similar to fender strat and the 5 way switch makes it seem super versatile. Thanks all for the input!

 

[Iperfungus]

It's hard to find a Music Man guitar that's not versatile...
I own three:
1) Luke III
2) Silhouette HSH
3) Axis Super Sport

They are different guitars, with different pickups and pickups combinations, different shape and size, different necks.
But they are all versatile guitars.
If you never owned a MM and you come from Strats, I would suggest to start with a Silhouette.
The Standard HSH or Special HSS depends on your needings and tastes.
I would go for a HSH all my life, for instance...
That neck is Home.
Oh, and I said "start with" because, once you'll own a MM guitar, then you'll want another. And more.

 

[Vadauco]

I'm a bigger guy, 6'2" over 200 lbs with pretty large hands, so keep that in mind since I've heard EBMM guitars are on the smaller side.

Indeed, they on the smaller side. The necks, in particular, are small. I don't know, dude... whathever model you choose, I strongly suggest you to try it in person, so you'll se whether you can adapt to the small neck or not.

 

[Ted]

Indeed, they on the smaller side. The necks, in particular, are small. I don't know, dude... whathever model you choose, I strongly suggest you to try it in person, so you'll se whether you can adapt to the small neck or not.

I'm 6'3" also with big hands. Sometimes I don't like necks that are just a bit too thin. I am comfortable with the thicker profiles but it's not a requirement for me. I'd heard a lot about the narrow nut width of EBMM in that some people don't like that. But my Valentines are the most comfortable necks I've ever played.

There is maybe a certain overall feeling of "compactness" to EBMM guitars. Like they have some concentrated quality with no filler or flabbiness. Hard to describe. Maybe it's the roasted necks or light weight or something. How they resonate acoustically. But you can just pick up an EBMM and sorta shake it and tell right away that it's special.

I have one guitar with a really thick neck-- A Kiesel Holdsworth headless. I love almost everything about that guitar and I will always keep it and play and cherish it-- but it looks comically tiny on me when I'm playing it on a stage. The body size and shape of the Valentines look better on my frame.

A few weeks ago I was at my local shop-- where I had bought my second Valentine mint, used, last year. They had no more EBMM guitars in stock- and I was trying out a very popular new model from another USA guitar company-- a signature artist model somewhat in the telecaster vein. It had one of the thickest necks I'd ever run across. I liked it but didn't prefer it to my Valentine. Also the fit and finish and details, to me, were nowhere close to EBMM.

I was talking about it to the shop owner, expressing a growing bit of interest in the model anyway. And he kinda looked at me and stopped me and said "It's nice. But the Valentine...now THAT's a guitar."

If you can, definitely try some EBMM guitars in person first. But I happen to find all the "their pencil thin tiny necks are unplayable" stuff to be the complete opposite of my experience when I pick up an EBMM guitar.

 

[elvisdog]

Second that opinion on the Valentine, great-feeling neck & extremely versatile pickups & switching. Not a huge guitar, though. The StingRay is a larger body, might hang more comfortably on a strap for a larger person. And a Cutlass just feels like a Strat to me, a little smaller, a little handier -- the reach to that first position feels shorter to me. I would agree that you should try any guitar out before you buy it but that may be more difficult with EBMM.

 

[Phrankenstrat]

Can't recommend the Luke's enough. I have 3 LIII's (2HSS, 1 HH). They are my gigging guitars. I also have the Cutlass RS HSS and an Axis Super Sport. I love all these guitars but I keep playing the HSS LIII guitars. They are so great and versatile.

 

[Rbg]

As I just stated in the other thread: If I was not a Lukather fan and esthetically liked that sooth shape of Lukes, I'd be looking at ne Bea model. Big neck as well.

 

[phillybri]

Can't recommend the Luke's enough. I have 3 LIII's (2HSS, 1 HH). They are my gigging guitars. I also have the Cutlass RS HSS and an Axis Super Sport. I love all these guitars but I keep playing the HSS LIII guitars. They are so great and versatile.

Here's the problem: If he's got big mitts like he said, there is no way he'll get along with that neck...

 

[JasonT]

If you like strats but want something similar but better, try a Cutlass or Silhouette Special. The SS may be a little small for you though. The Cutlass is supposed to be a combo of vintage and modern.

Definitely recommend trying some guitars out before you buy. All the necks are different sizes and shapes. If you have big hands and are used to strat necks, the Sabre’s neck is on the thinner side and may not work for you (although the Rabea Massad Sabre might because it has a chunkier neck in the lower frets and thins out going up the neck).

I love the LIII neck which is a little meatier than the Sabre but with a soft V shape, however the nut width is probably too narrow for you.

The Reflex or 25th Anniversary guitars have a wider nut and rounder neck, if you can find one used. They are pretty comfortable and versatile.

I don’t know if there’s a more versatile guitar than a Steve Morse model. Not sure about the necks on those.

Hope that helps! Good luck!

 

[loocnmad]

While I love my Cutlass, it’s definitely more in the vintage area. When I’m recording I almost always start with the Valentine because it covers so much ground. I adapted to the smaller nut width pretty easily and don’t have any problems going back and forth.

Sounds like either the Valentine or the Sabre would be a good fit for you.

 

[Gio_Force_One]

I have 4 Steve Morse 2 cutlass and a Luke I’ve used the Morse for everything, it is incredibly versatile. The Luke is also versatile. I just to a cutlass with a humbucker In the bridge and a Floyd rose it’s pretty versatile also. I know I could use that in a cover band all night and it would work out great. As far as the necks being small they are smaller but not as small as people make them out to be and once you get used to the necks on EBMM it’s really hard to go back. The necks are so nice on these guitars.