Which Music Man To Pick?

[Alexeh]

Hey all, this is my first post and it certainly won't be the last either
A couple of days ago I tried a Music Man guitar for the first time. It was an Axis Sport and it really played great, loved the shape of the neck which allows for more precise movement and accuracy. I haven't tried any other model (I'm planning to) so I was wondering if I could get some info, and what better place to do that than thee EB forum right Do all Music Man guitars have the same neck shape by the way? I'm looking for a guitar that has great cleans (piezo calling) and that I can also use for a solid metal sound, what can you guys recommend me?
Thnx.

 

[slukather]

One way or another they are all great, but what style of music do you play??

Scott.

 

[Alexeh]

That's true. I play mainly metal (Metallica, Children Of Bodom) but everything ranging from Dire Straits to The Gipsy Kings I'm looking for a thick, solid rock/metal sound. Say, "As I Am" Dream Theater tone with the ability to do screaming harmonics with clarity. Might be the Petrucci model, but I'd like to hear the other options as well. Is the licensed Floyd Rose good on the Axis by the way? I've got an Ibanez 7 string with one and a Fender with an Original.. OFR beats it all the way.

Oh and btw does anyone have some soundclips so I can get an idea of the diversity of the models?Thanks.

 

[slukather]

Maybe a Petrucci with a Piezo, did you try the axis plugged in?????

Maybe someone else could step in and give some ideas.

Scott.

 

[koogie2k]

Welcome to the addiction! I have 4 Pets and love 'em. Below is a sound clip of mine that can give you an idea of how it sounds. I just ran it through a Line 6 Pod Xt into the PC and let it go.

http://www.purevolume.com/koogie2k

Also, my bud Orange Channel is on the same site. Check out his playing. That is some killer stuff he has going on. So do an artist search for Orangechannel to hear his Pet.

With that said, I think you really have quite a few choices amongst the EB family for the style of music you play. The Axis is a great model, so is the Petrucci and the Silo is no slouch by any means. You will just have to try them out and see which one you like. In my opinion, you may want to go the Axis or Silo route just for the versatility. Not that the JP is not versatile. Just, I think the other two offer a little more in versatility. Also, the new Morse model is coming out and it looks to be a killer. You may want to wait it out to try one of those too. So, good luck and welcome to the forum.

 

[Alexeh]

No sadly I didn't have time to plug it in, I went to a store in a bigger town with a friend and unfortunately he had to go when I was playing it unplugged
That would be nice

 

[Supreeth]

Welcome to the forum! I have an EBMM Petrucci 6 string, and this guitar suits my needs the most. I've tried out an Axis, Axis Super Sport and a SUB1 from EBMM at various music stores. The Petrucci neck felt the most natural in my hands when I played it. I havent tried the Luke, Morse, and the Silo models, but they are all great given the number of forum members that play them.

If you're going for tonal variety, I would recommend the Steve Morse model as it has 4 pickups and thus many tonal possibilities. If you're looking for extended range of playability and play stuff aka Vai and Petrucci, I would suggest the Petrucci or the Silhouette (both come with 24 frets). If you're playing a lot of heavy metal with palm muted riffs, the Petrucci is the one to go for since it has a very comfortably placed plate over the bridge to support your palm. The Petrucci model also has a very well designed arm cradle to enhance the comfort level of your arm. Besides, the custom Petrucci floating trem system is amazing. You cannot do Vai like whammy pulls on it, but it comes pretty darned close. The piezo on the Petrucci will definitely give you an added dimension to your tone. Just my two cents. Doubtless there will be other forumites who will share their EBMM guitar experiences here Good luck in your quest to pick out the right EBMM guitar for yourself!

 

[Alexeh]

Hey guys, thanks for the information and the warm welcome
Sounds like I have a reason to go test every single EB MM out now
Too bad the Petrucci has the "JP" inlay.. Not a big fan of it

 

[jongitarz]

You can order JPs with dots

 

[lock-ny]

I have an axis, and axis super sport and a silhouette special and they all do your styles. The axis supersport is versatile with the pups splitted and all but the silhouette special is my main axe and I play in a hard rock/metal band. I did have to change the bridge pup out to sometiing a bit hotter though than the paf that came with the guitar. You really need to try all the necks, the axis has a unique neck and the silos neck is as comfy but it has a different feel, a bit thinner than the axis but a wider feel on the fretboard even theough they are the same width. The petrucci is nice but the neck wasnt for me, too wide and thin and I hate floating bridges, so I guess the point of my story is go check them out but the silo and the axis are both winners, but with the silo you get a hard bucker sound and a nice stratty sound all in one, while the axis ss will give you a more tele tones when the buckers are split.

 

[Alexeh]

"You can order JPs with dots"

Didn't know that.. That's great
Sounds like the Petrucci and Sil need some testing out.

Edit: What colours does the Petrucci 6 string come in by the way? And what's the story behind the sparkle finishes cracking?

 

[saplingg]

I play a Petrucci 6, and I must say it's an incredible guitar. It feels great and has some sweet lead tones. The clean channel gives really full, round sounds.

I find it is not very versatile though. There's a very distinctive Petrucci sound that plays no matter how you use the guitar. IMO, if you don't like that exact tone of his, don't buy the guitar. You're probably a big metal fan though, so by all means, if that's your thing then you should definitely give it a listen.

 

[GWDavis28]

Alex, Stress cracks are a problem, but not everybody has them. I have 4 sparkle finished guitars and none with stress cracks. Though this is a moot point since EBMM doesn't sell sparkle finishes anymore.

You can get all of you Petrucci info here:

http://www.ernieball.com/mmonline/specs/instruments_jp6.html
http://www.ernieball.com/mmonline/specs/instruments_jp7.html

And color info here:

http://www.ernieball.com/mmonline/color_chart/color_chart.html
http://www.ernieball.com/mmonline/color_chart/available.html

Hope this helps, good luck with your search. Glenn |B)

 

[Alexeh]

I'll definately test drive the Petrucci, I've got some vid's and dvd's of Dream Theater but I don't have a Mesa Roadking so Thanks for the information dude, I only saw ****loads of colours. Not one site (that I found) stated the available ones in '05.
Oh and btw does anyone know some nice online stores selling MM's? Cheapest I saw were music123.com and drumcityguitarland.com Even with shipping to Europe a complete steal, the Axis costs 2300 euro's here for example

 

[koogie2k]

Here are some pics of all mine. Just to give you an idea of different options like the dot inlay and shield inlay and w/piezo and w/o piezo.

http://community.webshots.com/user/koogie2k

 

[slukather]

I'll definately test drive the Petrucci, I've got some vid's and dvd's of Dream Theater but I don't have a Mesa Roadking so

You won't need a roadking, just to go off topic a bit, l got my local guitar store catalog today in the mail, and it had a roadking in their, l thought l'd check out the price, even though l wasn't interested, l'd thought l'd check, it costs $7795 (In Aus Money), it looks like an impressive amp, which all it's buttons etc, but is an amp head really worth that much, even if l had that kind of cash lying around there's no way l'd buy a roadking, and l'd like to meet an idiot who has bought one.

Sorry for my rant, but just kinda venting.

Scott.

 

[koogie2k]

To further elaborate what Slukather said, you don't need a Roadking to get great tone with the Pet. I use Line 6 Vetta II and the Line 6 POD XT. I get amazing tones with these units with my Pets. Just a thought. Really, to get John's tone exactly like his, you almost need his rig which is far more $$$ than we can spend. I get close, but I mostly get the tone that I want for me. Not to copy someone else. My 2 pennies.

 

[Alexeh]

I agree, that's what I meant as well
My budget also doesn't allow it atm, but I doubt I'd get one if I had the money.

 

[fogman]

Hey Koogie2k!

I checked out your link @ PureVolume!
Very nice feel to your playing. Very nice indeed!

 

[koogie2k]

Thanks.....appreciate the compliment.