Your thoughts on Ernieball Musicman guitars

[gkinsingapore]

Bought a trans Red Axis 5 years ago, have added quite a few guitars in the meantime including custom shop LPs but I always keep going back to the Axis as my main gigging guitar. Its been dragged around this part of the world as checked luggage and takes quite a bit of abuse without so much as a setup and still looks a million bucks...tough as nails....and a lot more versatile than you'd think.

Also have a Luke in the collection but havent bonded with that as much as the Axis.

BTW the Axis seems to pair with my PT100 like a dream, I can easily dial in most of the sounds I need with that combination......

 

[cml694]

I'd love to check out one of these:


http://www.guitarcenter.com/item/expandedimage.aspx?t=4&img=MusicMan/595844.jpg

Those are real nice! They had them on sale this weekend at GC for $1500 and I almost pulled the trigger, but I'm not sure I like the bridge on them. I am lusting for one of those or a JP6.

I don't really like some of the BFRs because they have a finished neck.

 

[Random Hero]

I'd love to check out one of these:


http://www.guitarcenter.com/item/expandedimage.aspx?t=4&img=MusicMan/595844.jpg

Those are real nice! They had them on sale this weekend at GC for $1500 and I almost pulled the trigger, but I'm not sure I like the bridge on them. I am lusting for one of those or a JP6.

I don't really like some of the BFRs because they have a finished neck.

I think that EBMM bridge is great. Feels good, responsive, stable.

 

[shreder75]

I had an axis with a floyd on it...I think if I had an axis like vrad, with the non trem, I may have kept it...I also had a JP 6

two things I didn't like...the neck always felt funky to me...really rounded fretboard, really narrow at the nut...that coupled with the floyd didn't work out so well for my liking

the other is the pickups....I'm not a dimarzio guy..but it seems their pickup cavities are routed specifically for the shallower dimarzio type pickups....duncans tend to be 'taller'....so if you put them in they're WAYYYYYY close to the strings..this was especially the case on the JP 6..not so much on the axis though..and I don't like that you can only adjust the pole pieces, not the pickup height...

as far as the petrucci, I could never get a sound that I dug out of that thing no matter what pickups I had in there....the stockers, duncans, rio grandes...maybe it was the basswood "I didn't like, or maybe it was just a crud piece of wood..maybe I just got a dud...

but, their quality is excellent, the fit and finish is amazing...they're gorgeous guitars....and they're consistent

 

[gibson5413]

So whats the worf on the Ball Family Reserve stuff? Worth the extra dough?

That is hard to say. I love my non-BFR Petrucci. I have always struggled with the BFR Petrucci guitars. They look and sound great but I have a hard time with the cost. I figure if I am going to pay $2,500+ for a guitar I want it to be "My" signature guitar. With that much money invested in a guitar I want it to be exactly to my specs. Don't take that as if I am saying the guitars aren't fantastic. I would rather pay that money to Anderson or Suhr to build a guitar to my specs.

I placed my custom order for an Anderson yesterday. 4 months of waiting but it will be exactly what I want.