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Ernie Ball Music Man Axis Guitar
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Size: 12-5/8" wide, 1-3/4" thick, 36-1/4" long (32.1 cm wide, 4.5 cm thick, 92.0 cm long) -
Weight: 7 lbs, 4 oz (3.29 kg) - varies slightly -
Body Wood: Basswood with bookmatched figured maple or rosewood top -
Body Finish: High gloss polyester -
Body Colors: Back and Sides - Opaque Black -
Body Bindings: Binding - Cream -
Bridge: Music Man? Floyd Rose licensed locking tremolo with fine tuners; lowers pitch only -
Scale Length: 25-1/2" (64.8 cm) -
Neck Radius: 10" (25.4 cm) -
Headstock Size: Only 5-7/8" (14.9 cm) long -
Frets: 22 - High profile, medium width -
Neck Width: 1-5/8" (41.3 mm) at nut, 2-3/16" (55.6 mm) at last fret -
Neck Wood: Select maple neck -
Fingerboard: Select maple and rosewood -
Neck Finish: Gunstock oil and hand-rubbed special wax blend -
Neck Colors: Standard - Natural; Optional - Matching painted headstock -
Tuning Machines: Schaller M6LA with pearl buttons -
Truss Rod: Adjustable - no component or string removal -
Neck Attachment: 5 bolts - perfect alignment with no shifting; Sculpted neck joint allows smooth access to higher frets -
Electronic Shielding: Graphite acrylic resin coated body cavity and aluminum lined control cover -
Controls: 500kohm volume pot -
Switching: 3-way toggle pickup selector -
Pickups: HH - 2 DiMarzio custom humbucking -
Left Handed: No -
Strings: 9p-11p-16p-24w-32w-42w (RPS 9 Slinkys #2239)
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Searched Ernie Ball Music Man Axis Guitar in Reviews
No-fuss rock axe for grown-ups. 
| Sound |
Being a typical H/H design with a 3-way switch (no coil splitting) and a volume pod, one might think the guitar doesn't have a lot of different tonal flavors. Now that's quite a wrong assumption. With it's specially DiMarzio-built pickups and sensitive volume pod, the Axis is a perfect example of a guitar that can help you to master playing dynamics and the tonal spectrum of the instrument (and your fingers, that is). And no, you won't immediately sound like Eddie van Halen (in a good or bad sense).
Overall, the surprisingly light guitar rings beautifully, even unplugged, and sustains exceptionally well for a bolt-on with trem. The basswood with maple top combo gives it a punchy low end with well-defined mids and treble. Yet, the treble is not as biting found with many other basswood guitars, the maple top certainly plays into this. There is also a Ball Family Reserve (BFR) version of the Axis, which is more expensive, the only difference being a even higher grade maple top and birdseye maple neck (not that anything is wrong with the ones on the regular Axis! see also below) plus the fabled mahogany tone-block embedded in the basswood body. I can't comment too much on this feature, as I only tested a BFR for a short period of time. It was not striking enough for a screaming difference, however.
The pickups reflect the wood characteristics nicely. With fully open volume pod, the Axis slightly overdrives as expected from the humbuckers. Played clean, the bridge humbucker has a slightly raunchy sound, gently snarling under full cords, yet very good and balanced note definition. It cleans up when you roll back the volume pod. The same is true for the neck humbucker, which for me is the star of the guitar with its particular, warm sound. The Axis rocks the cradle with crunchy overdrive tones, which can be, again, easily controlled via the volume pod and playing dynamics. But it doesn't stop here. The guitar screams under high-gain that would even put Eddie van Halen to shame, yet the humbuckers do maintain their individual sounds very well. It is a joy to pedal-tone punchy metal riffs set to the bridge humbucker, then frantically flip the 3-way selector to the neck pickup (maybe kick in a slight compressor) and sweep into solo parts, which sustain from here to Panama. Don't expect it to be an ultra-high gain/high compressed output, however.
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| Action, Fit, & Finish |
The technical aspects of an Axis setup are not for beginners. Period.
The guitar features a non-recessed dive-only Floyd Rose bridge. This means once it's sitting right on the body it adds quite a bit of sustain. But sitting right on the body also means there is no way to lower the action any further once neck relief has been dialed in. Besides removing the shim plate under the trem (which might not give enough play to lower the trem sufficiently anway), the only other way to lower the action is by shimming the neck - nothing a good tech couldn't do, but still quite an operation. Most Axis have some shims already from the factory, allowing for quite a good action range however, so fret not. The neck bow can be adjusted very easily with a wheel that is at the base of the neck, I wish more brands would have this feature.
The maple tops on Ernie Ball Music Man guitars are the most consistently beautiful ones in the business. So are the birdseye maple necks. You don't need a BFR to get a great top or neck. The craftsmanship is meticulous, perfect body binding, great fretwork - and the gunstock oil neck finish is certainly the most comfy I ever played. But also, it requires love and care (i. e. refinishing every year), which is not suitable for a beginner's guitar I think.
Pickups are direct-mount, easy to adjust in height, but great out of the box.
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| Reliability & Durability |
I don't own mine ('07 Axis in quilt Pacific Blueburst) since that long, but I've played my share of them and know people who own Axis since years. They are lasting investments and keep their quality without problems. The back of the neck needs occasional re-finishing, which is not difficult to do at home with a few easy-to-get means. The hardware is good quality, and the bridge built like a tank. Oh, and they come with a light yet very sturdy case.
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| Customer Support |
Ernie Ball/Music Man customer service is the best in the guitar business. I had all my e-mail inquiries answered within short time. There is also a great online forum, where Sterling Ball, the boss himself, posts frequently. I've heard crazy stories about how the company goes out of their way to help customers with problems. Just great.
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| Liked about it |
- Classy, to-the-point rock machine with loads of versatility.
- Comfortable neck profile and finish.
- Exceptionally beautiful finish and detail work.
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| Didn't like |
- Setting string action is not very easy - no instrument for a guitar beginner.
- Back of the neck needs refinishing (easy however, but has to be done).
- Too many people still associate the Axis still with EVH, which does not do the axe full justice ;).
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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5.0 |
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top guitar, almost flawless build quality
| Sound |
really nice `brown` sound from both humbuckers, no doubt helped by the quality woods used. mine has coil taps on both `buckers by push/push pot on the vol control. evryone loves the bridge pup but i`d also single out the neck `bucker as particularly excellent sounding
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| Action, Fit, & Finish |
fit and finish were both top drawer when new, factory/shop set-up was fine
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| Reliability & Durability |
owned 8yrs and no probs other than fret re-dress
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| Customer Support |
no contact
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| Liked about it |
pickups, neck feel, general good looks
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| Didn't like |
slightly expensive compared to others of similar quality
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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4.0 |
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Incredible instrument! A rock classic.
| Sound |
his is one of the nicest guitars made today in my opinion. It sound lush and full, even unplugged. Plugged in it has a clear sweet high end, and thick low end. Mid range is perfect, but has a small emphasis on lower mids.
The basswood body with maple top and maple/maple neck makes for a nice bright sounding guitar, matched with the warm sounding custom Dimarzio's the guitar is all tone.
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| Action, Fit, & Finish |
Most people got their first look at this guitar as the EVH model from Music Man. The Axis is what the company continued to produce after the EVH model was discontinued. It is pretty much the same guitar with only minor differences. The differences being, the Axis features a cutaway around the belly area for comfort. The Axis neck is slightly wider at its highest end, by about a millimeter. The toggle switch was moved on the Axis, and the pickups were changed from two conductor to 4 conductor. There are also some routing differences for the electronics.
I have some experience with Music Man guitars having owned more than a couple over the years. Music Man delivers them to dealers setup to play like butter. However, some dealers change the setup and it may not be perfect.
The Axis has direct mounted pickups, so adjust isn't necessary, they sound great where they are.
The quilt maple and flame maple tops are usually amazing on these guitars, much nicer than you find on some other companies guitars.
One thing you will notice about this and some other Music Man guitars is the neck. Music Man finishes the necks with a gunstock oil and wax combination that is a dream to play on. The Axis' asymmetrical feels like a well broken in neck that fits your hand like a glove from day one.
I have never noticed any flaws on any Music Man guitar I've owned, other than scratches or dings from use.
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| Reliability & Durability |
The guitar is constructed to high tolerances and I've gigged with an Axis regularly without a single problem. I would not hesitate to take a Music Man guitar on a world tour.
The guitar is tough as nails, and should last forever as long as you look after it.
On thing to be mindful of is that the neck, being unfinished (oil/wax seal), is sensitive to humidity changes, and truss rod adjustments are something you need to be comfortable doing once or twice a year; depending on your climate of course.
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| Customer Support |
THE BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE IN THE INDUSTRY. Enough said. You will never be left hanging by Ernie Ball/Music Man. They will bend over backwards to ensure the customer is happy.
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| Liked about it |
Tone is amazing. Overall feel of the guitar is fantastic. Playability is fantastic. It looks a little unique, it is edgy and classy at the same time.
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| Didn't like |
As much as I like the neck and fretboard, I do find it a bit too thick for me. The fretboard radius was a little rounder than I like. I tend to prefer thinner, flatter necks (Ibanez). I would absolutely love an Axis with a JP model neck or something similar.
I didn't find the guitar to be really versatile. No real cleans, and switching options are very basic. Of course, you could swap out the pickups and rewire it to make it more versatile, you'd be altering the thing that makes it great, it's tone. It is a rock machine, period.
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| Overall satisfaction: |
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4.0 |
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internal use: spec98 spec491 spec554
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