Ernie Ball MusicMan Closest to Ibanez S Series?

[CalledToArms]

So to make a long story short, my lead guitar player is finally graduating with his music degree. He is a very solid player, been playing 10+ years and has played nothing but Ibanez mainly, specifically an older S that he really loves.

His guitar teacher for the past 5 years plays nothing but Ernie Ball MusicMans. He has messed with a few different models that his teacher has had and really gotten a good vibe from them overall. For a graduation present, we want to get him a really nice MusicMan to go along with the S that he loves so much. (ill know our budget later, im not worried about that at the moment).

A few questions, first one being, what MusicMan model would be a smooth transition from S Prestige guitars? Second being, with the right pickups, do you think a MusicMan would sound good with my band? We are a metal band with "modern" metal tone for lack of a better description. You can check us out if you need a better description of our sound. He plays a Mesa Triple Rec through a Mesa 4x12 V30 setup.

Thanks!

Oh and PS, i think hes messed with the John Petrucci ones if that helps. I dont know half as much about EB guitars as i do Ibanez haha.

[CalledToArms]

oh and PPS i guess, we might just get him a 2008 Ibanez prestige but we figured we would get a lot of opinions on these first since he has expressed some interest inthem.

[seckscow]

what's your band's name and does your band got a myspace?

[moebius]

How about letting him choose the model he wants that way he will be less likely to be disappointed. Just a thought.

[CalledToArms]

^^well we definitely would like to do that, problem being he doesnt really have any more access than we do to them besides whatever one his previous teacher owns now who still lives close by.

not many stores around us that really carry them. obviously that would be ideal, and why he might stick to the S series. we're letting him have a lot of input on it since it will be his, he just doesnt ever post on these boards so i figure i would

^ www.myspace.com/calledtoarms
"The Solace" or "The Last Lament" tend to be peoples favorites

[waylay00]

Well, if he doesn't need the locking trem, the Silhouette series is great. But then again, I'm more of a classic metal/hard rock type player.

[Spudman]

Originally Posted by waylay00

Well, if he doesn't need the locking trem, the Silhouette series is great. But then again, I'm more of a classic metal/hard rock type player.

Either the Silo or Morse would be good. However the Petrucci model wins a lot of people over as well. Which ever Music Man he gets he'll be very happy with because they are great guitars.

[John C]

The Petrucci is going to be closest to the S-series neck; it's the only EBMM with a 1 11/16" (or 43mm for the metric folks) nut width, greater than 12" radius, and it has the thinnest neck profile.

Silos/Silo Specials are going to be more like a JS - actually I think the JS is probably in between the Silo/Silo Special and the current Morse neck which was digitized from Steve's 20-year-old well abused #1 EBMM (which is either a prototype or from the first production run).

Albert Lee Sigs and the Axis models will have a slightly fatter profile than the Silo/Silo Special, and the Luke is the V-neck version.

[jim777]

The Steve Morse model is a great guitar, but they're all great guitars. The Morse is silly versatile though.

[elcid]

The Petrucci model is great.

[shogun]

get him a JP6, don't even joke about the ibanez prestige's

[shreddersymphony]

I personally wouldnt wanna play anyone else's signature model, but I tried the Petrucci one once and it wasnt bad. Btw regarding your band, the music is very cool but the growling destroys it for me. Just my 2 cents. Best of luck.

[elcid]

Actually for what a JP6 would cost you, you can get a custom made guitar. I know of a guy who has a luthier buddy custom make all his guitars.

[shreddersymphony]

Originally Posted by elcid

Actually for what a JP6 would cost you, you can get a custom made guitar. I know of a guy who has a luthier buddy custom make all his guitars.

Wise words! . Poke fun all ya want elcid, but it's the truth. And actually, its less than what a JP6 would cost, hehe.

[Andy43]

I highly recommend a PRS over a EBMM JP. The Music Mans aren't worth the cash IMO. Not that I think they are bad guitars or anything, but for the same money you can get a much better PRS that's pretty similar. When I compared them side by side, everything about the PRS was better, with the exception of the tremolo on the JP. Still, I'd take the looks, feel, and tone of the PRS over the tremolo on the JP anyday. Depending on the S model, he'd probably like a CE24, CU24, or Standard.