Gentleman...please school me on.... ( john p content )

  • Thread starter Thread starter bionicmark
  • Start date Start date
B

bionicmark

Well-known member
a musicman john petrucci model guitar. i'm impressed w/ all the features the guitar has to offer...my biggest question is:
it having 24 frets , there's more tension...but since i tune down 1 and a half steps , this may work in my favor. anyone have one and tune it down? and how's the neck? fast? real thin? wide? i play lp customs , but i'm looking to try something different. thanks in advance
mark
 
Just got one on last Sunday. It's a MusicMan JP6 in Mystic Dream color. Got it used as I could have never been able to afford a new one. Hard to take decent pics of that changing color finish. It goes from green to purple with some dark red, even black, in between. Probably many of you out there have seen one before so you know how "weird" is this paint job.

P1150165.JPG


Other pics here: https://picasaweb.google.com/jbaubry/Mu ... trucciJP6#

It set mine only a half step down with 10-46. Can not comment on the "more tension" or compare it to your LP.

Neck is thin similar to an Ibanez one (I have 4 RGs). No finish on the back of the neck. Not too wide, I have short fingers.

This guitar sustains for days and loud when played unpluged! Whammy is smooth, Fender type that goes pull/dive but don't expect it to be as stable as an Edge on an Ibanez. It stays in tune OK for regular whammy usage but do not do Steve Vai crazy weird sound with it, it may loose stability.

Ergonomics of this guitar are awesome, very comfortable to play. The flat surface finish on the bridge makes it feel weird at first but you get used to it real fast when doing palm muting, it's very nice. The PUs switch is at your fingertip. Well balanced body, good high frets access and deep elbow cutaway. Good stuff.

I'm rehearsing with it this coming Thursday so I'll be able to play it loud. Up to this day, I could only tried it a very low volume at home but both PUs seem good. I really dig the Dimarzio LiquiFire in the neck, not sure yet about the CrunchLab but it may wake up at high volume output. To be continued...

We have a gig coming on Saturday and I'm tempted to use it as my main axe. Will all depend on how it goes on Thursday evening.

It's funny, it's my first "expensive" guitar and when I started playing it on Sunday evening, I was feeling like I was not worthy of owning such a guitar.

Been playing non expensive guitars for too long! Anyway, makes me want to woodshed and bring my chops to a new level!

That's about it for my few days spent with my JP6.
 
hey benoA! that was real nice of you to do! i appreciate the in depth response. i noticed yours has only 2 controls..volume and tone i assume...is the third i see on other models for the piezo? (sp?)
again , thanks so much! sharp looking guitar!
mark
 
Hey man,

I've owned two in the past, both were identical 'fully loaded' models in Mystic Dream. Oddly enough, I ended up replacing the second one I had (I didn't have both at the same time) with a Les Paul. I generally tuned mine to Eb, sometimes dropping the low E down a whole step from there. I was using 10-46 strings and I found the tension to be a good balance... not too little, not too much. The neck is definitely on the thinner side, so it might take some getting used to if you're used to a Gibson type of neck profile. That said, the oil finish that Music Man uses on their necks is to die for in my opinion, and it was owning those guitars that sold me on the idea of an oiled neck as opposed to a gloss finished one. All in all they're a killer guitar for sure. The tremolo is great and coupled with the Schaller M6 tuners, it stays in tune quite well unless you completely freak out with the bar antics. The shape forms to the body well, and the JP pickups are a killer set, the Liquifire being a really smooth and airy neck pickup, and the Crunch Lab being more biting and saturated for a more aggressive sound. The piezo is awesome as well... a really useful feature if you want some cool acoustic-like tones.

All in all these guitars get a big :thumbsup: from me!
 
bionicmark":3oze2lub said:
a musicman john petrucci model guitar. i'm impressed w/ all the features the guitar has to offer...my biggest question is:
it having 24 frets , there's more tension...but since i tune down 1 and a half steps , this may work in my favor. anyone have one and tune it down? and how's the neck? fast? real thin? wide? i play lp customs , but i'm looking to try something different. thanks in advance
mark
Click to expand...

It having two extra frets makes no difference in tension. It's got your standard 25.5 scale neck, which would be slightly longer than the Lp's you're use too. They also make a baritone version of this model (27.5) that is great for lowered tunings. Overall, it's a great guitar. The neck carve is very thin, fast, and wide (1 11/16") with a 15" fingerboard radius. Too thin for my taste, but might be great for you. The floating trem is very nice and fairly stable, allowing you to raise and lower the pitch...you might decide to block it, if you don't use it much. I believe the regular ones come equipped with 9-46 gauge strings.....you'll need to do a setup, once you add thicker gauge strings for the tunings that you use. (as you probably already know)
 
guys!!! very , very cool!! thanks for the "on hands" info i couldn't get from a website. they sound tempting!! i have played the oil finished necks before , and you're right!!! i love the feel...no tacky or sticky feeling when playing...i'm nervous to grab one just because i've played pauls since 98 and i think my body would have a meltdown if i switched it up... i may grab one to try w/ out having to sell off some gear. worst case scenario , if i don't like it , you'll see it here. : )
 
I got two of them. A fully loaded BFR with Piezo (Transblack) and a new one (Black Sugar) with roasted neck I got last week.
I have a LP Standard as well (60s neck). Since you have a custm, It probably have the 50s neck profile aka baseball bat.
It quite a change to go from one to the other.

The trem is stable, but after a while you need some sort of lubrication so the strings won't snag at the nut. I use 10-46 in Eb tuning
with no problem.

Get one!
 
bionicmark":24b92p4p said:
hey benoA! that was real nice of you to do! i appreciate the in depth response. i noticed yours has only 2 controls..volume and tone i assume...is the third i see on other models for the piezo? (sp?)
Click to expand...

Yes. Mine doesn't have the piezo.

And I agree with what everyone said above.
 
One last question...the dual input jacks...I'd have to run a special cable in order to use the piezo?
 
bionicmark":n8aacea7 said:
One last question...the dual input jacks...I'd have to run a special cable in order to use the piezo?
Click to expand...

bionicmark,

I have had several of these guitars in the past and I have read a few of the posts in response to your original questions. It will have slightly more tension than a Les Paul because of the difference in scale length - 24 3/4" (LP) vs. 25 1/2" (EBMM). If you're tuning that far down though, you really shouldn't feel that much of a difference in the tension - I would recommend using the appropriate strings for that tuning.

As far as the question about the dual input jacks: You don't have to run a special cable for the piezo IF you use both outputs on the Petrucci guitar. Just two mono cables are fine. However, the Petrucci model is equipped with a stereo jack where the magnetic signal comes out of. You can use a stereo cable (aka TRS cable) that guitars like Brian Moore's and Parker Fly's come with. It's kind of a Y-cable that will allow the magnetic signal go to an amp and the piezo signal go a PA/Acoustic Amp or whatever.

Xander
 
Wow!! Guys thanks so much!! Love this website! Thanks Brad! ; ) I may actually pull tyhe trigger on one! It's gonna be weird not playing a paul. Next is to choose a color...if it doesn't work out for me...I'll post it in the classifieds. What's a decent price range for a loaded one? $1350 / $1500?
 
clubshred":2qocb92r said:
I have had several of these guitars in the past and I have read a few of the posts in response to your original questions. It will have slightly more tension than a Les Paul because of the difference in scale length - 24 3/4" (LP) vs. 25 1/2" (EBMM).
Click to expand...

Maybe, I wasn't clear enough in my original post....

Tone Zone":2qocb92r said:
It having two extra frets makes no difference in tension. It's got your standard 25.5 scale neck, which would be slightly longer than the Lp's you're use too.
Click to expand...

Naturally, I was implying that the tension would be greater on the JP6 neck, as it has a longer neck scale than his LP's. I was just simply trying to convey that it isn't the amount of frets that make the tension greater, but the actual neck scale itself. On a sidenote: While, a Gibson Les Paul's neck scale is commonly referred to as 24-3/4", this is a misconception. It is actually 24.625" (or in some cases 24.562"), which is shorter than 24.75.
 
I've had a stock JP6 in black for about three years, it's always been my number 1. Sounds absolutely great through any amp, the D-Sonic in it gives it the perfect amount of high end. The out of phase position is THE BEST out of phase sound that exists. It's perfect for cleans, really great for overdriven quick country licks and I actually use it all the time over my high gain setting to give some diversity to the sound. The neck pickup is very fluid, very fat and is a perfect alternative to someone (like myself) who prefers single coils over clean sounds, as it still retains some sparkle and spank.

The trem has always stayed in perfect tune, I use Big Bends Nut Sauce to help with the stability. With one of my bands, I block the trem and tune it down to Drop C# (drop D half step down... not standard) and it still stays in tune, the neck stays dead straight and my action is perfect.

All in all, buy this guitar!
 
again! you guys are great and super informative!! what's a fair price on a used model? if i'm pulling the trigger based on the info you guys gave me , plus my curiosity , i don't want to pay too much - if i don't bond w/ it , i'd like to not lose $$
 
They don't go for a whole lot of cash used... you can find them for $1200-$1600 generally, depending on the finish and condition.
 
Yeah, I think King Loudness said it about right. Been a long time since I've priced them used, but it seems that you should be able to pick up one with a piezo (if that is what you want) for around $1,300-$1,400 at times....or $1,400-$1,500. I have seen them go lower, like when the finish is redburst, guitar shows visible signs of wear, and it has no extra options at all. I've seem them go for right around $1K like this.
 
flee bay has them around $1800...the lesser ones are truly "lesser".
 
Some of the best guitars made IMO, but I have ape hands, and the necks felt a bit small to me. Absolutely fantastic, but slightly small.
For most people they feel perfect. I am constantly gassing for another one though, even though I let the first one go after about 2 years.
For getting radically different tones within the same song, they are unbeatable. They really got the piezo system right in this guitar, it works flawlessly. In a multi-amp setup, it is amazing
 
Do a search in the classifieds here. There was a redburst JP for $850, no piezo
 
the jp x has my attention now...the only thing is that the neck matches the color of the body and i'm not sure if it'll be smooth.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top