Ernie Ball Music Man John Petrucci Majesty 7 - Eclipse Sparkle, Sweetwater Exclusive Review

More Stunning Than It Appears

Color - Despite the greyish blue look in the website photos, this guitar is more of a dark blue with grey/blue sparkles. I have added a photo to this post for reference, but my camera does not even truly capture the color either. It is just stunning in person. Playability - Amazing guitar overall and so easy to play compared to my other 7 string. The scale length 25.5" makes a… read more big difference here. Also, it has the easiest high fret access of any guitar I have ever played. Sound - Diversity is great with the dB boost as well as the coil tap. Very well balanced pickups. dB boost adds some sustain for lead lines as well. Overall, this is an amazing guitar and I have no regrets about buying it.

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A work of art, complicated, but once you figure out the unique kinks everything is great.

This is the greatest purchase I have ever made, but it didn't start that way because there are things about the guitar I didn't understand because it's soooo complicated, like no other guitar I've ever played. None of my problems had to do with the guitar itself, but with my lack of understanding of a few things that I'm going to share just in case you have the same problems. … read more I've had it for about a month, and it's all good now. If you experience a hum, that increases after you tap the volume pot, you're probably using a wireless connection. I just figured out how to properly switch my channels on my xvive and it went away. Some channels on wireless create interference. If your fretboard seems dry, even though you put string slide on before you played, just deal with it and break in that neck, the whole thing. I intuitively did this when I first got it. Clean hands. I requested low action, but that wasn't why when I did bends on the 2 highest strings, the string above would slip under my finger. The dryness of the fretboard was slightly uprooting my finger. This does not happen anymore. Maybe my oils soaked into the ebony? Ever since day 2, I do not have this problem. It is so smooth and comfy, and the way the top neck cutout is shaped really helps on the high frets (one of the biggest reasons I originally wanted it's 6 string sister, which I probably will get eventually). Kudos to the guitar techs at sweetwater for the action job there, again. The description about the mono/stereo feature, along with the diagram you will receive inside it's hardshell case, is a little confusing, or so I found, only relating to the mono/stereo feature. So, in the description above, as of the writing of this, it says the piezo volume knob (the 3rd one) works like the volume and tone pots, where you push them in and they pop out and give you up to 20db gain boost or a mid dual-single coil (only when pickup selector is in middle position). The piezo volume pot does not work like that. The the mono/stereo switch is on the back of the guitar, under a cover. You can see it in the pics here) There is a hole in the cover but you have to remove it to get to it, while the main pickup/piezo mix, piezo treble and bass controls are next to it, and accessible with a screwdriver, and I have no plans to mess with them because whatever they are set to is perfect. But if you want to really fine tune your tone and aren't afraid to mess with those screws, you can. Apparently, there are no wireless stereo cables. I'm fine with mono. I assume it comes set to mono. No problems yet so why mess with it. All I have left is awesome: The piezo bridge and whammy bar are amazing. Way better than a Floyd Rose. And way way better than my 900$ PRS, which will go out of tune over a -1 dip, brand new. This whammy has a stronger tension than floyd rose, and it makes me feel much more in control, and stays in tune. I beat it up, from crazy up down vibrato's to cemetary gates.... The construct of the bridge is very comfy for pick hand placement. So smooth. If you watch interviews with Petrucci about the guitar, he talks about making the placement and design of the pots and pickup selectors more ergonomic. They are. I've always had issues with the placement of one or the other on almost every guitar I've had until last year. This design is superior. Especially the pickup selectors. You are not going to accidentally swipe them because they are short, yet totally managable. Not too loose, not too tight. Smooth sound transitions. Superior to any style I've used. The piezo pickup is pretty cool if you want another option for clean tones and acoustic emulation. Sounds nice with a chorus or flanger, though I haven't tried any other effects yet. Easy to switch to on the upper pickup selector. The middle position combining all of the pickups does add a small, noticable boost that will be useful for say, a time in a song where the intensity of a passage increases, like on the repeat of a chorus. The neck is nice and lean, and my palm slides so clean on the back. Had barely played any 7 stringers before this, and most felt too big for my hands. Not this time. Sometimes I forget I'm playing a 7 string when I'm going for A or D string rooted chords. I just dont feel like I'm reaching when I'm rooted on the low B. I like it and I'll get used to it. I haven't changed the strings yet, but since I stretched them when I first got it, I've barely had to adjust the tuning pegs. 3 times in a month I think. I have played it for at least 20 hours too. Probably more like 40. That's much better than I can say for any Floyd Rose I've had. Impressive. Oh, and it is pretty, the prettiest of the current line imo, and it's only through sweetwater that you can get it, and I thought I was never going to get it because I didn't realize that, and found myself really disappointed, thinking I would never get it because it wasn't on Music Man's website, even though I was told it would be in probably no earlier than October 2021. Then about 2 weeks later, end of February, I get an email telling me one just arrived. Didn't want to get it for another few months anyway, but I had to take the opportunity in case it never came again. I have never been happier with a guitar.

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