Got my MMM!

[dot-dot-dot]

And it really is lovely.



Huge sustain, really punchy sound, lovely neck (just oiled), very comfy to play. Me likey. Anyone else tried/bought one?

[btweensunandmoon]

i'm assuming thats the mike mushok signature. to me its one of ibanez's all time worse decisions. Signature model and korea should not be put together in the same sentence. With a presige neck, that would be one sweet machine.

[rory]

Originally Posted by btweensunandmoon

i'm assuming thats the mike mushok signature. to me its one of ibanez's all time worse decisions. Signature model and korea should not be put together in the same sentence. With a presige neck, that would be one sweet machine.

It's simply a marketing decision. Your average Staind fan doesn't have the money for a Prestige axe. IMO, the MIK MMM was a good decision, but the K7 was the bad decision.

Hey, dot-dot-dot...nice axe!

[germX]

if it delivers, then the korean factor is diminished...

hey DDD, share some insight on:

*bridge- comfy palm placement?
*humbuckers
*neck profile- good for lead?

if i ever decide to acquire this guitar, it has to be lead friendly... hey thanks in advance...

[btweensunandmoon]

Originally Posted by rory

It's simply a marketing decision. Your average Staind fan doesn't have the money for a Prestige axe. IMO, the MIK MMM was a good decision, but the K7 was the bad decision.

Hey, dot-dot-dot...nice axe!

not a very thought out statement at all. I recall being 14 and hearing steve vai for the first time. Did i have the money for a UVMC?....certainly not. I coincidently am a staind fan and I make a lot of money. You cant assume that a certain music is limited to a certain demogaphic. Music does not segregate.

[vaijem777]

Music does not segregate, but guitar companies DO. The fact is that the majority of Staind fans ARE younger. Much moreso than the average Vai fan. Therefore, they would be less likely to be able to afford a $1500+ Japanese-made signature model. I'm not saying that there aren't kids out there who would scrimp & save in order to get a Japanese-made version. BUT...you can rest assured that there would be but a fraction of them sold as compared to the Korean version that is currently available.

Having the MMM made in Korea is an extremely wise decision on Ibanez' part because it keeps costs down in terms of both production and sales. The other benefit is that Korean quality has increased to where a decent quality instrument can still be had at a fraction of what it would cost if it were made in Japan.

[gkelm]

Congrats on the new guitar. I tried one briefly at the Dallas guitar show a couple months ago, and thought it had a nice feel. Didn't spend a lot of time on it...due to the fact that I'm an old fart and therefore not a big Staind fan.
Greg

[dot-dot-dot]

Originally Posted by btweensunandmoon

i'm assuming thats the mike mushok signature. to me its one of ibanez's all time worse decisions. Signature model and korea should not be put together in the same sentence. With a presige neck, that would be one sweet machine.

Why charge 3 times as much to have it made in Japan? The build quality is very nice indeed - I was very surprised to see that it was MIK. The tuners are unbranded but work well; the control cavity is shielded with conductive paint and star-earthed. The pots are decent, as is the pickup switch. By the way; very kind of you to slag my new guitar off. And very classy.

Had it been £8-900 and MIJ, I wouldn't have bought it; that's above my price range, especially for a "speciality" guitar. The £650 that the Mushok goes for is a price point that a lot of people will consider for a decently made baritone.

germX: the bridge is very comfy; quite low profile, no sharp bits and works well for palm muting. The humbuckers are fine; there's good clarity and definition, and plenty of punch. The middle position is lovely clean.

The neck profile is between my RG (1993) and my Talman, and the neck is just oiled. You can feel the grain but it still feels quite fast and very comfy. I'm much more a rhythm player, but the high fret access is very good (much better than the RG or Talman). The heavy strings make bends quite hard work; I'm considering swapping the odd 11-64 set that's on it for something like a set of 12s.

For what it's worth, I'm 28 and have been playing for about 10 years - and I'm not much of a Staind fan. Nothing against them, they just don't really grab me much...

[ChrisReedSmith]

I get the feeling "betweensunandmoon" is one of those guys who would absolutely cringe at the thought of using...on no...an RG470?? Or maybe an Epiphone Les Paul? Please their guitars. Just play em. (And don't think I cant appreciate a high-quailty axe, Im just not nearly as anal...)

The thing looks like a beauty! Im very jealous. I want one so badly but I dont know if I can justify the buy since you pretty much have to use such low tunings with it. You can probably bring it up to C with a .52 and it would sound awesome. Any higher then that and the thinning strings would bug me. Still a looks great tho!! CONGRATS!

chris

[SalemB]

Does Mike Mushok play this guitar?

The reason I ask is that I feel an artist should be playing the instrument he endorses. With the price level on this guitar being quite low I would expect quality to be lower than top end too and I would guess that Mushok is in a position to play whatever he wants. Does he then choose to play a Korean built guitar?

Oh and I've never heard Stained and the first time I heard about Mushok was when Ibanez announced this guitar during namm (yep, old fart here too).

[btweensunandmoon]

in response.....not in any way did i slam that guitar. go back and read the posts again before commenting on my classiness. I was merely disagreeing on that particular guitar being made in korea.
My biggest reason for detesting korean made guitars is not the guitars themselves although junk in my opinion and a lot of other peoples opinion. Sure both you and the rest of us can get one of those guitars pretty cheaply. We save a buck, ibanez makes a buck and everyones happy. Ever think about the people who make those guitars? Working conditions in korea are simply some of the worst on the planet. People clamour for very few jobs only to work in substandard conditions, for pennies. They can barely feed their families while the cheeses over at hoshino Gakki load their pockets. Let me tell you. None of the guitar companies who make anything over there will win awards for humanitarianism. Yet, all that is overlooked because we can get playable instruments for an affordable price. I'd rather buy instruments that were not made in sweatshops. If you care to debate this, you better have been to korea as i have.

[cusplaya]

Not to justify the practice of sweatshops, but at least they have jobs. If we refuse to buy their product, who really gets hurt?

[vaijem777]

Please...no bleeding-heart discussion in this thread. Take it to the "Off Topic" area. It's a guitar, and the working conditions under which it was manufactured has NOT relevance as to it's quality or playability.

Let's keep this thread on the topic of the playability, tone, quality, etc. of the MMM.

[germX]

DDD- thanks for the insight! the MMM is a decent 6-string baritone regardless whose name it has on it. if we decide to get this guitar at all, then it wouldn't be the attibutes of the endorser, but because it's a good guitar to begin with.

as with the 470, well nobody has to cringe playing the 2003 model because it's made in japan & has the EP trem! but i heard that it's not gonna make a U.S. debut soon... i gotta be careful because the last time i became the 470's advocate, my post got deleted... the truth is out there...

[btweensunandmoon]

i stand corrected...my apologies.