Metalman_666
New member
A few weekends ago was Kitchener Bluesfest and I went out on a couple of nights, most notably for Booker T, and man that was a great show! But while sitting there and watching his son play a really nice trans green PRS Custom 24 I was lamenting to a couple of my buddies I play with that I still don't own any truly high-end, USA-made guitars, and was really tempted to go play a few PRS and pull the trigger.
My friend the bass player was with me, and having spent several grand himself on a few new pieces of gear in the last year, he planted a bug in my ear, telling me I should just do it, I deserve it, after 16 years of playing I've probably earned it. The next day he sent me five links to ads on Kijiji, all of them $1800+ for some really nice axes. I'm a huge Petrucci fan and I love the sound of my Mark IV, so when I saw this fully-loaded JPX and it appeared to be mint, I drove out to London to check it out. The seller was an older guy who bought a ton of expensive gear but doesn't play much anymore, and had supposedly barely played this axe at all. Turns out it was also signed by JP himself last year when he was at Cosmo Music! I wasn't sure how I feel about having the signature there initially but I figured if I really want to, I'll just polish it off.
This is my first hands-on with a USA-made Music Man, and as soon as I plugged it in I suddenly understood what all the fuss is about. The little details are noticeable; the fret finish is flawless, the switches feel solid, the (finished) neck is fast and comfortable in my hand, the intonation and setup is damn near perfect, the bridge stays in tune perfectly... Everything about the way the guitar plays, feels, and sounds screams premium to me. Most of my other guitars have trans finishes with quilt or flame but this "Barolo" purple looks fantastic in the light. With my rig I can absolutely nail the Dream Theater tones, but more to the point, the overall sound is tight, focused, very lively, blooms nicely, and the piezo is an awesome addition to my arsenal.
For $2400 CAD, I got a 10/10 condition tone monster with all the case candy. Now my only worry is the GAS is brewing, and I'm gonna want to give up a kidney for more nice scores like this!
Enough gushing
here's a few shots taken with my Pixel
My friend the bass player was with me, and having spent several grand himself on a few new pieces of gear in the last year, he planted a bug in my ear, telling me I should just do it, I deserve it, after 16 years of playing I've probably earned it. The next day he sent me five links to ads on Kijiji, all of them $1800+ for some really nice axes. I'm a huge Petrucci fan and I love the sound of my Mark IV, so when I saw this fully-loaded JPX and it appeared to be mint, I drove out to London to check it out. The seller was an older guy who bought a ton of expensive gear but doesn't play much anymore, and had supposedly barely played this axe at all. Turns out it was also signed by JP himself last year when he was at Cosmo Music! I wasn't sure how I feel about having the signature there initially but I figured if I really want to, I'll just polish it off.
This is my first hands-on with a USA-made Music Man, and as soon as I plugged it in I suddenly understood what all the fuss is about. The little details are noticeable; the fret finish is flawless, the switches feel solid, the (finished) neck is fast and comfortable in my hand, the intonation and setup is damn near perfect, the bridge stays in tune perfectly... Everything about the way the guitar plays, feels, and sounds screams premium to me. Most of my other guitars have trans finishes with quilt or flame but this "Barolo" purple looks fantastic in the light. With my rig I can absolutely nail the Dream Theater tones, but more to the point, the overall sound is tight, focused, very lively, blooms nicely, and the piezo is an awesome addition to my arsenal.
For $2400 CAD, I got a 10/10 condition tone monster with all the case candy. Now my only worry is the GAS is brewing, and I'm gonna want to give up a kidney for more nice scores like this!
Enough gushing
here's a few shots taken with my Pixel
