WTF Ernie Ball?

[TSJMajesty]

Look at the difference in string centering on these 2 Vault Luke 4 models. I love EBMM guitars, but this is one thing I have to watch out for. They really need to do better! I've seen it on Majesties as well, and since it's neck-thru, you can't do anything about it.

At least on the bolt-ons you might be able to loosen the screws, and get it closer. I've seen it happen, but it's not guaranteed.

Sad. That bottom guitar is $4k.

 

[norminal]

Is there a chance that the guitar or camera weren’t completely aligned head-on for the photos?

 

[TSJMajesty]

Is there a chance that the guitar or camera weren’t completely aligned head-on for the photos?

I've seen it way too many times, and I have it on my 20th Anniversary Majesty. So, no.

Plus, for the strings to look that bad, the guitar would have to be turned enough that you'd definitely notice it.

My Enchanted Forest Majesty is nicely aligned, and I had to turn the guitar about 30 degrees for its strings to look like they favor the low side like in the bottom pic.

 

[FuzzyAce]

Yeah, normally you can loosen the strings and neck bolts and shift over slightly. It takes very little.
I like that purple.

 

[GuitarAddicted]

I had that on several Luke III guitars.
The thing is that the neck pocket is really really tight and if you try to allign the neck, you will get an instand finish crack in the neck pocket.
My dealer tried this on two LIII‘s and they immediatly cracked.

 

[Eagle]

It’s probably mostly the picture.
I agree with the above that you should only try to move the neck if it’s apparent that it’s already out of line.
Modern CNC production means that it is literally impossible to produce a body that the neck pocket is even remotely off. If a CNC goes wrong it will completely destroy the piece.

 

[newholland]

i genuinely have no concept of whats going on here. i see two guitar shaped objects that look like coffee tables in colors i wouldnt want.

 

[Eagle]

i genuinely have no concept of whats going on here. i see two guitar shaped objects that look like coffee tables in colors i wouldnt want.

The purple is the best part.
I don’t like Luke’s guitar either. The neck is too small and the frets aren’t big enough.
It’s a quality piece though.

 

[newholland]

The purple is the best part.
I don’t like Luke’s guitar either. The neck is too small and the frets aren’t big enough.
It’s a quality piece though.

i kid mostly. im absolutely certain theyre well crafted instruments, which despite the damage they incur to my eyes is kinda obvious. this feels very much like a 'that supermodels knees are too pointy' moment.

 

[Eagle]

i kid mostly. im absolutely certain theyre well crafted instruments, which despite the damage they incur to my eyes is kinda obvious. this feels very much like a 'that supermodels knees are too pointy' moment.

What do you consider to be the perfect guitar?

 

[newholland]

What do you consider to be the perfect guitar?

probably a korina les paul special single cut with a wraparound tailpiece, or a bland looking telecaster something ugly and simple.

 

[Eagle]

That’s pretty cool.

 

[Mongillo19]

I have had 2 EBMM JP guitars and both have had severe QC issues.

One the bridge cover screw broke (I guess it's internal and not easily replaceable?) and scratched the finish during shipping. Had to send it back to EB and they said the scratch was very deep and it took them 6 months to get it back to me.

Got another JP15 and the piezo was busted on delivery

Beautiful guitars but they need to figure it out

 

[TSJMajesty]

It’s probably mostly the picture.

NO IT IS NOT!

 

[Eagle]

NO IT IS NOT!

The pictures are not perfectly perpendicular.

 

[TSJMajesty]

The pictures are not perfectly perpendicular.

And as I said, you'd have to turn the guitar a LOT more than any incremental amount the picture might not be perfectly perpendicular, for those strings to appear that far off.

 

[OrganicZed]

Would you care to elaborate more on exactly what you're seeing. I can't see much difference except that the slime burst one has the strings a bit closer to the bass side of the neck.

 

[Eagle]

And as I said, you'd have to turn the guitar a LOT more than any incremental amount the picture might not be perfectly perpendicular, for those strings to appear that far off.

I respectfully disagree. Photos distort and you can see different amounts of the sides of the volume and tone knobs .

 

[TSJMajesty]

the strings a bit closer to the bass side of the neck.

That's it.

Ever since I played The Spirit of Radio on my 20th Majesty, and pulled the high e off the fretboard doing those pull-offs, I started looking more closely at how their strings were centered on the neck. I hadn't noticed it when I bought that guitar.

There are many examples of this, both ways. You can clearly see it in pics of their guitars. Some are perfect. They ALL should be at that price point though.

Other brands have more fret wire past the string, so it's not a problem. But with EBMM, there just isn't much extra room. And if your technique isn't perfect, you might have trouble.

By way of comparison, when I was at Chuck Levin's Friday, I looked at the PRS's, and every one was perfectly centered.

 

[TSJMajesty]

I respectfully disagree. Photos distort and you can see different amounts of the sides of the volume and tone knobs .

Disagree all you want. You're wrong.