NGD: cheating on Ibanez ;) - EBMM Axis PBB

[cm_17]

Since quite a while I wanted a true made in the US of A axe. And the Ernie Ball Music Man Axis had caught my eye, especially the Pacific Blueburst finish. After quite a bit of research, help from the EBMM Customer Service, and lots of e-mail traffic, I stumbled upon "the one".

A truss rod tweak, some trem adjustments, and a 45-degree turn of the pickup selector after, I can't stop grinning. It's quite a different beast than my Ibby RG or Sabers, but that's what I wanted in the stable - a no-nonsense rock axe with character.

Ok, let's quit the babbling. May I introduce my California Queen - Ernie Ball/Music Man Axis quilt Pacific Blueburst:






Birdseye, anyone?

[teokiatuan]

woohoo join the club baby

grats on the score

Teo

[Agent540]

Congratulations man, she's a real beauty and I have no doubt on the great playability !

[custom24]

that fretboard looks like heaven!

congrats man

[moebius]

Very nice.

[jaxadam]

Great guitar, and great colors. I have heard nothing but nice things about them.

A buddy of mine brought one over once, and it really played and sounded great.

[cm_17]

Originally Posted by jaxadam

Great guitar, and great colors. I have heard nothing but nice things about them.

Well, there are a few points of minor criticism about these axes. I frankly would not recommend getting one of these if you're a beginner.

The major issue is the non-recessed Floyd Rose bridge. You can't lower the action without the use of neck shims as soon as the bridge is lowered all the way down (something they already do from the factory). I can see that many people with less guitar experience will shy away from this, rendering the guitar not as easy to adjust for beginners. But for more experienced players, that's just a minor hassle, plus having the Floyd contacting the body adds tonal character. The fixed-bridge Axis Super-Sport hardtail bridge however is super-flexible to adjust.

I have my Axis set to about 1.2-1.3mm at the high E over the 22nd fret with minimal to no neck relief, and that suits the guitar well. Nowhere near the <1mm action on my RG I got from Rich. But with a 12 inch fretboard radius and non-matching trem radius (will shim the saddles at some point I guess) that's natural.

The second thing is that the neck finish needs love and care - again something beginners might not find easy, but experienced players do anyway.

There's a lot of small smart design details inside and outside, and the overall built quality is awesome. The neck profile is heavenly - more beefy than a Wizard, but ergonomic and no reason for excuses, it's shredd-able as anything thinner if you're getting used to it. Once set up to personal preference, it's a no-fuss rock axe that complements anyone's pencil-neck superstrats .

[moebius]

Yeah, I really wish they had a recessed tremolo cavity for pull ups. I would totally get one then.

[Hub]

sweet! grats

[markg5150]

Very very nice

[Manticore]

very pretty!
looks like fun,
though I'm not sanguine on guitars with missing controls but to each his own I suppose,
wouldn't kick her out of bed for eating crackers as the saying goes!

[cm_17]

That was part of the fun, getting a guitar with a 3-way and a volume knob, nothing more . It plays great and sounds very distinct, very enjoyable.

But quite a contrast:

[Manticore]

mmmmmm hello!
who's your friend?

[cm_17]

The jealous demon who gets slightly less attention right now .

[evolvedmb]

Killer axe you got there. My personal favorite is the JPMM6,
but I really want an Axis or EVH model for a 22 fret guitar.
I'm probably going to sell two Ibbys for one Axis by this
X-mas. Are you having issues with the trem coming back up
and smacking the body? There are quite a few people over
on the Ernie Ball forums that talk about this particular problem
and how to solve it. Some are putting a small foam pad under
the block to prevent body denting from occurring.