Ernie Ball Music Man Majesty Monarhy

[UpNorthMark]

Hey guys I am considering purchasing a new EBMM Majesty Monarchy, I have never had an opportunity to try one and the nearest dealer is about a 4 hour ride, can anyone tell me how these guitars compare in quality to comparable PRS, Gibson CS, etc? Are they worth the cash? I had ruled out $2500 and up guitars years ago because I didn't feel they were that much better than the $1000 range guitars but the specs on this are awesome looking. I am not a fanboy but I do own a JP-2C and this seems like it would be an awsome pairing with the amp. Give me your honest opinions please & thanks.

 

[jmontgomery]

I haven't played a Majesty but I'd like to. Music Man makes an excellent guitar. I own three different MM models and I'd put the quality of these up there with any other company.
If you have played a JP model then you should have an idea of the neck shape. It's the same as the neck shape on the Majesty.

 

[MkIII Renegade]

I have not yet played the Majesty, but I have played a couple of the current JP models, which are already extremely comfortable and FULL of tone. The idea behind the Majesty was to streamline the original concept even more to have the ultimate in comfort, a high performance live guitar for playing difficult material with maximum ease. I have no doubt they achieved it! I didn't like the looks of the first few Majestys I saw, but I have warmed up to them since.

Expensive, but yes, they ARE a lot better than most guitars. :shock:

Personally, I am holding out for a good deal on a Barolo JPX, my favorite of his entire lineup.

 

[UpNorthMark]

Well I did buy a new purple 6 string version and really am impressed with it. It’s functionality is second to none. Plays a lot like my Ibanez S Series prestige but the ergonomics are way better. The piezo is phenomenal, the Dimarzio pups are ok, not my favorite but have a huge mid bite that cuts through great. So all in all I can say it’s a top notch piece that I’m very happy with and I even like the trem as it stays in tune quite well. Oh and it’s a nice match with my JP2C :mrgreen:

Mark

 

[Agileguy_101]

We demand pics!

 

[deadtotheworld]

Id say try before you buy. The amount of money you will be spending its way worth trying first.
I was gassing for a JP6 years ago. The thing was built flawlessly, sat down with it and it was fantastic.
It came to rehearsal time, attached the strap and...... hated it! It was obviously built exactly for JP and the height he plays and the angle he plays and all of these things just didnt work for me. The neck, the arm cutouts, the switch placements. I felt so guilty about having this ‘dream’ guitar it was a relief to sell it.
I understand that the majesty is a different shape to the JP6 but its still worth trying any guitar before you buy.

Edit: i should have read the full thread before posting. Glad you like your new geet!

 

[UpNorthMark]

Actually I sold it, I couldn’t get past the pickups. I could EQ for that guitar but all of my others sounded like dirt so I opted to keep all my others and let the Majesty go. It looked like a nightmare to change them out.

 

[fjk1138]

Definitely try it before you buy it.

I've had 3 of JP's guitars and sold all of them:

JP6 Koa (6 String)
JP XI Onyx (6 String)
JP Majesty Monarchy (7 String)

Of the 3, I can offer the following first-hand experience in comparison to each other...

JP6 Koa:
+ Had the best clean sound, and coupled with the piezo was amazing
+ Easily had the best sustain overall
- Was horribly susceptible to humidity changes and had fret sprout up both sides of the neck (may have been due to the fact that Guitar Center kept in in a glass case along an outside wall for God knows how long)
- Metal tone was kind of meh

JP XI:
+ Seemed to hold it's tuning the best
+ Had the best metal tone, very clear yet sustaining
+ Clean sound was decent, though not as nice as the Koa
+ 20" super flat neck radius - smooth for leads
+ Whammy bar seemed to stay in tune the most
- Came with .009's on it, and when I put .010s on it was a ***** trying to get that bridge to level off correctly
- Body was a bit off in size to me, kind of like an oversized Strat version and didn't feel quite right
- Was very difficult to intonate. I asked on the EBMM forums if it was just me, and some guy on there said he had FIVE JP guitars that all did the same thing

JP Majesty Monarchy:
+ Superior fit and finish
+ Very comfortable body (a bit smaller than your average guitar)
+ Super easy to get to the higher frets, even with my big hands
+ Very powerful and sustaining metal tones
+/- The tiny recessed pickup switches took a lot of getting used to, though I will say that having them in a "sweeping arm" motion per JP's specs did make a lot of sense
- Had a surprisingly CRAPPY clean tone, even with brand new batteries, high quality cable, and straight into a Mark V
- I could not get used to that 7th string to save my life - it just got in the way and threw off my visualizations of scales, etc.

Moral of the story: What works for your musical hero probably will not work for you. They just weren't for me I guess.

I've been tempted to try one of the newer models, but it's kind of a 3 strikes deal for me at this point, so I'm done.