MM Silhouette owners:

[Pierre]

Well... I've been thinking again about those dreamy moments spent with a Silhouette once (SSS, Floyd).
The neck was just PERFECT. Narrow nut, nice C shape, just filled the palm of my hands. Never had anything so comfortable (cue many jokes about cylindrical things I can hold in the palm of my hands).

The only issue is that they're on VERY short supply in Europe and VERY expensive. About 1,500 euros for a Silhouette Special (22 frets, the version I want).

I may have to take a trip to Paris or worst, Germany, to find a dealer which has some and even so that's not guaranteed. So that's at least 100 extra euros expense just to TRY guitars from here. Yay for living in Luxembourg (cue many jokes about not being able to drive yet to go neighboring countries).

What I DO know about the MMs:

They WILL be an upgrade on both US Strats and my current HW1.
They're cheaper than CS Strats.
They play like smooth, delicious strawberry jello.
Their fret dressing out of the factory are second to none.
Their Silhouette sound like Strats, feel like the Strat of the future and look like awesomeness mixed with a bit of extra awesome.

What I do NOT know:

Hardware quality
Finish quality
Every one of them I've tried had the strings set very low. Can you go fairly high on string height with the provided bridge? For instance with my HW1 Strat and the bridge all the way to the body, I hd to get new saddles to get the strings where I wanted them. I'd either go for a S Special hardtail or with the two points trem. No Floyd.

I guess that's everything... I should be able to by the end of the summer... to celebrate the end of my trial period by the beginning of October maybe

[B2D]

Re: MM Silhouette owners:

What I do NOT know:

Hardware quality
Finish quality
Every one of them I've tried had the strings set very low. Can you go fairly high on string height with the provided bridge? For instance with my HW1 Strat and the bridge all the way to the body, I hd to get new saddles to get the strings where I wanted them. I'd either go for a S Special hardtail or with the two points trem. No Floyd.

I guess that's everything... I should be able to by the end of the summer... to celebrate the end of my trial period by the beginning of October maybe

Ahhh... the Music Man Silhouettes and Silhouette Specials - my favorite guitars. I currently own one, but I've had two others. I'll see if I can help you. My current #1 player started life as a HSS Silo Special hardtail, and I've converted it to an HH with one volume knob, 5-way Megaswitch, and had SS jumbo frets put on it.

Hardware quality - great! The tuners are Schaller locking units and work great. I like the 18:1 ratio, they're very smooth and hold tune very well. The stock pots taper nicely and are easy to work with - not stiff at all and if they ever get a little scratchy, a shot of contact cleaner fixes that. The stock frets are a medium jumbo that's a tad smaller than what you'd find on a Strat these days. They didn't present a problem for me, but I do prefer the jumbo SS frets I have now. I got the guitar used and a few of the bridge saddle height adjust hex screws needed replacing because the previous guy cut them down (poorly I might add) so they wouldn't dig into his picking hand. I got OEM replacements from the factory and the bridge has been rock solid ever since, only needing the occasional minor adjustment. The black sapphire SSS hardtail I used to own had slightly larger stock frets, but everything else was the same level of quality. I'd give it a 9/10.

Finish quality - My #1 is a limited edition color called Gunsmoke Pearl. It picks up dings rather easily (then again I play it out a ton) and from what I can tell from the chips, it's very thin. Not a whole lot between the wood and the guitar - which I do like. I feel thick finishes hamper resonance. However, mine seems to be not terribly durable, though I think that depends on which finish it is. The metallics and pearls seem to be the most fragile. The clear/trans ones seem to pick up swirls rather quickly (though they can usually be buffed out) and the opaques are about what you'd expect for durability. Not quite as tough as the finish on your average strat, but not as thick either. Long story short it's a guitar and if it gets played out a lot you're going to pick up some wear and tear along the way. The finish on all EBMM's I've seen LOOKS great, but is not the most durable. Then again, it's not very thick, which probably helps tone, and if you're into the relic look then this will wear nicely. Bottom line is that it feels and sounds awesome, the looks can always be coddled some.

I have my action set at what I'd call medium low... I'm not really a high action person, so I've never set it that way. Looking at my saddles and truss rod intonation it looks like there's enough play so that I could get the action a lot higher if I wanted to. A proper setup should get you where you want to be. Setting these things up is like setting up a Strat, but a little easier, due to that handy little truss rod wheel at the end of the neck.

If you want more info on these, and you're really serious about getting one, I'd recommend hopping on over to the EBMM board here: http://www.ernieball.com/forums/music-man-guitars/ They're a bunch of guys and a few gals who are darn near fanatical about their EBMMs and will tell you everything you wanna know. Sterling Ball himself pops in there and posts on a daily basis. There's also a For Sale thread in there for buying/selling/trading EBMMs exclusively. Every now and then you'll see a sale in Europe. EBMM Customer Service is also really good and can direct you to a specific dealer and in some cases let you know what's in inventory. There's a specific guy on there named Pete DuBaldo who's kind of a forum favorite in dealing with EBMM... check and see if he does international as well.

Whew! Anything else?

[Pierre]

Re: MM Silhouette owners:

Have I ever mentioned that you're the Man?
That's right you get a capital letter too.

Thanks bro! Sounds like EXACTLY what I'm looking for...

[B2D]

Re: MM Silhouette owners:

Hey no problem. Hope you find the guitar you're looking for soon.

[stevie_bees]

Re: MM Silhouette owners:

I'd love a HSS Silhouette. Machinehead Music has a gorgeous blue one at the moment...

[Mincer]

Re: MM Silhouette owners:

I have a HH Silo Special with a scalloped neck...it is my favorite guitar.