St.Vincent's Ernie Ball Music Man Signature Guitar

[Kyon]

I've been thinking about getting one and all the ones I've tried are excellent. It reminds me of a Firebird honestly but not horrible like a Firebird.

[honeyiscool]

One of my bandmates just got one of these. I got to play it a bit, played the "Cruel" riff, too, which I love. The neck is divine on these. It's somehow thick but you can't feel that it's thick. The rosewood is really nice. The fretboard is matched so well that it looks like a single piece. I had to look really hard to find the glue joint. It feels just as slim in the hands as any neck out there, except it isn't. I can easily wrap my thumb around it, too. And though it's light, it feels pretty sturdy. It could probably survive some serious damage. It might be a tiny bit neck heavy, but I think this particular guitar is meant for a higher playing position where that's not really problematic. More specifically, it's made for women who have different ergonomic needs than men do. But it's very comfortable for me, and I'm a guy.

Even with the lack of a bottom cutaway, I find the higher frets pretty easy to access. I know it won't work with all playing positions, but the way I play, I had no problem getting up to the 22nd fret. I definitely do go up there quite a bit, so if there was a problem (like on a Casino), I'd complain about it.

I like the sound. My lady bandmate was using a Strat before, and she sounded fine on it, but I think she is better on the St. Vincent, or "Annie" as we call her. Annie is lighter and more comfortable, and I think you can hear that ease of play because it affects everything. The mini hums add heft to the tone without muddying it up too much. I am rather fond of the DiMarzio mini-humbuckers. I've used them before and recorded with them and they're fine pickups. It really works well with the Jensen P12Q equipped '65 Princeton Reverb Reissue. They really are a match made in heaven.

And about the wiring. Leave it to Annie Clark and Music Man to come up with the most intelligent, useful, and intuitive 5-way configuration (and perhaps the only one I ever liked) ever imagined for a 3-pickup guitar, which are so often wasted (IMO) by bad wiring configuration. I mean, Gibson uses a 3-position toggle that can't even select any really useful combinations of pickups on their three pickup guitars. It's inspired me. I plan on doing the Annie Clark mod to a Strat soon. It's pretty simple with a Superswitch, I have it drawn up. I'd probably swap the neck and middle to get a RWRP neck + bridge pair.

Great guitar. I probably wouldn't spend $1800 on it, but the Sterling version should be a huge hit, and though the Sterling doesn't have the all rosewood neck, it still retains a lot of the charm of the original. It's 2017, and there really should be more guitars made for women, and not in the sense that you take some dumbed down pink guitar, but that you can have serious quality in a guitar that thinks about women in terms of comfort and playability.

[BoringPostcards]

This thread is going really well compared to the corresponding thread on shortscale.org. It turned into a multipage argument on sexism.

[honeyiscool]

This thread is going really well compared to the corresponding thread on shortscale.org. It turned into a multipage argument on sexism.

Great. Now I have to read it.


Edit: Never mind.

[Kent]

Cate Le Bon: ‘Guitars were inspired by female bodies. Why are they uncomfortable for women to play?’

D

That was poorly championed. She states that it was inspired by the female body and expects the reader to simply accept that statement as fact. No evidence or citations given.
I'm so tired of reading articles that are based upon virtue signalling.
2nd paragraph does make the main point: this discussion is largely of no relevance.

The first sentence can also be dismissed as it is anecdotal and can easily be given no merit as it can be explained by our own confirmation bias, pattern seeking and skewing the recognition of false-positives vs. positive-positives.

Annie Clark does something about a perceived need or issue. Ms. Virtue Signalling whines about it in public, as is the modern norm. It's easier then actually doing something of substance, and this article, which will be forgotten by all within a matter of days, hardly qualifies as something of substance.

"I wonder why it has it taken so long for the anatomy of a woman to be considered when designing a guitar? Maybe it is the fear that it would immediately adopt the stigma of an inferior instrument." -CLB
Really? Really? That's the FIRST possibility that comes to mind?
The answer is nearer to the fact that market does not care and isn't interested in numbers great enough to have 2 thoughts about it. I worked at Alvarez when we had the Ani DiFranco model. It was given a serious push with proportionate marketing and the whole works. Market performance? Meh...

The EBMM St. Vincent is a damn cool product on its own merits. As an instrument, I believe that it does and will continue to do well. I'd like one.

"Clark, easily one of the most technically brilliant and inventive guitarists,.. " Oh, okay. This is article is simply filled with unsupported statements and virtue signalling. Gag reflex trigger warning. This is an article of low substance and seems like an exercise in ingratiating oneself to known safe audience. F'ing boring.

[honeyiscool]

I don't know how it could even be argued that Annie Clark is technically brilliant and inventive. That's just fact. Whether you like her innovations is another matter, but it's a fact that she's doing really innovative things, and at the core of her innovations is her unique style of play. She's not unlike Tom Morello in that sense: can play traditionally, chooses not to.

[mackerelmint]

Nobody bought the Ani difranco guitar because she's the fucking worst. People probably wouldn't buy OJ Simpson branded cutlery, either. She does nothing good with that guitar or any other one.

[Kent]

Nobody bought the Ani difranco guitar because she's the fucking worst. People probably wouldn't buy OJ Simpson branded cutlery, either. She does nothing good with that guitar or any other one.

Does this disparage her or you to greater degree?

I don't know how it could even be argued that Annie Clark is technically brilliant and inventive. That's just fact. Whether you like her innovations is another matter, but it's a fact that she's doing really innovative things, and at the core of her innovations is her unique style of play. She's not unlike Tom Morello in that sense: can play traditionally, chooses not to.

My main point is how the article asserts much but provides little to no evidence. You've done exactly the same. If that works for you and how you negotiate the world, then that is what works for you.

[mackerelmint]

Nobody bought the Ani difranco guitar because she's the fucking worst. People probably wouldn't buy OJ Simpson branded cutlery, either. She does nothing good with that guitar or any other one.

Does this disparage her or you to greater degree?

Man, who pissed in your coffee this morning? I haven't made a career of music that most people dislike. Nothing wrong with pointing that out w/r/t the performance of her guitar sales.

PS she's awful beyond words

[Kent]

Who seems to be more full of vitriol? Plus, you have no idea as to the sales numbers. You are playing the same game that the Guardian writer employed.

[mackerelmint]

Who seems to be more full of vitriol? Plus, you have no idea as to the sales numbers. You are playing the same game that the Guardian writer employed.

I know what you said about them. Are you not a credible source?

Ani makes my skin crawl.

[BoringPostcards]

How did Ani DiFranco come into this? I'm totally confused.

[tammyw]

After playing a solid rosewood neck, I wish all guitar necks were solid rosewood.

[rhythmjones]

After playing a solid rosewood neck, I wish all guitar necks were solid rosewood.

I know. It seems wrong but feels oh so right!

[BoringPostcards]

After playing a solid rosewood neck, I wish all guitar necks were solid rosewood.

I know. It seems wrong but feels oh so right!

I back this sentiment.