Check out more guitar reviews here: th-cam.com/play/PLNaLwTdlpQNGXHK9wPm1kYNDwFvMLQ7ES.html Or check out some of my lessons: th-cam.com/play/PLNaLwTdlpQNEQQfdhdttHV5rjmy7tmYCy.html
I own this exact same guitar that is in this video. I have done nothing to it. In fact it's still in the factory box and it's been re-sealed at Sweetwater Sound. I bought it on Tuesday (3/12/2024) when I tried it out in the store through the same Line 6 Spyder V amp but in 240 watts. This is way underestimated and underappreciated for what it is. I too gave it the "Eruption" seal of approval! This is so versatile and more so than the Wolfgang of any type. It doesn't have the double locking tremolo but it does stay in tune. I bought it as a scratch and dent but it was factory sealed. The neck has a small spot on the back just like yours and there's a piece of dirt that got into the finish. These are very minimal. I am guessing that it didn't pass the quality control check but they sent it any way. So the factory marked it as a scratch and dent quality or the store did for that reason. They are discontinuing this model at Sweetwater so if you want one you'd better jump on it because once they're all sold they aren't going to re-stock them again. I got mine for $300.00 U.S. Dollars. There was nothing wrong with this otherwise except for the polish on the fretboard that has some residue left behind. I can get rid of that easily enough. Otherwise you'd never know that this had anything wrong with it. These are all cosmetic flaws that are easy to fix. 600 grit wet-or-dry sandpaper will take care of any flaws on the back of the neck and rubbing compound will remove the polishing compound from the frets. I am guessing that this was from polishing them? But this thing delivered above and beyond the call of duty. It's more professional quality than the Kramer copies being offered by Gibson. These too are made in the same factory in Indonesia. The neck quality is different between the two. Otherwise there isn't a lot of difference other than personal taste. The tremolos and hardware are the same shitty ones that all the overseas garbage guitars and low budget guitars have on them. Upgrading to a steel block - not the ones that Fender is offering but an actual steel or even brass block would be an improvement on the tremolo. Otherwise I don't see any need to replace anything else other than maybe the nut. This is a great axe for what it costs. Sure there are others in this price range that you may or may not find just as good or a little better but not by much. Most overseas guitars like this are a dime a dozen as there are so many to choose from. But as already said - try before you buy!
Great checking out, Elmo. Awesome reviewer overall. I always wanted the Axis so was quite happy seeing this one, but you are right - lots of better guitars for the price. Dangit man you played like a demon today hihihihi. Big up!
Yes, this is basically the old EVH model, from the 90's. The main things they've changed are: - adding a tone knob ( the EVH version only had a volume knob) - adding a 5-way blade super switch ( the EVH version had instead a 3-way toggle switch, no coil splitting) - this doesn't have an OFR bridge like the EVH version, the Made in USA EBMM version of the Axis still comes with the OFR. - the EVH model came with a maple fingerboard.
NONE OF THESE come with an original Floyd Rose tremolo - they're all Gotoh tremolos. I know because I have one. I also have an EVH prototype with the Floyd Rose Original when it said that on the plate. You can't get those now as they no longer make them. The standard production models only have the Gotoh tremolo on them. These are still made with basswood (bass like the fish) and a maple neck but now are offered with a rosewood fretboard option. They also changed the nut so that it is no longer bolted through the neck. It's simply screwed to the front of the neck along the route for the shelf it sits on. The tremolo is no longer the same as the bar doesn't have the tension screw collar on it. It's the same as Fender Stratocaster tremolos are. The neck plate is recessed now and there is a carve in the back of the body like a Fender Stratocaster for your ribs. The machine heads have also changed as they are currently like the Sterling guitars of now with no flange for the screw - these have pins on the backside of the housing. These are minor changes but still they aren't the same as what they once were when Eddie Van Halen was still with Musicman.
Happy New Year Elmo! This guitar sells in the area of $550 Canadian. I consider anything upto $600 to be budget as it's affordable. I preferred the sound with gain, it brought the guitar to life! The Wolfgang is a much better deal! Thanks for sharing!
Decent review. I played one of these recently and was quite impressed as it made me want to play it. I plan on buying the one I played I also prefer guitars without a Floyd Rose these days (used to have 4 guitars with Floyds. Now just one.). I read that after Eddie Van Halen defected to Peavey, Ernie Ball decided to make the Axis something unique unto itself, so IMHO,. I doubt if the Axis can be directly compared to the Wolfgang at this point. It is still an excellent guitar deserving a serious consideration from not just rock players. Surprisingly, I found it to be a very versatile and expressive piece. Budget no longer means crappy.
I bought this guitar yesterday it so comfortable, it feels like an expensive guitar and the pickup sounds so good surprisingly versatile for any genre especially metal.
I just saw these for about $479US and realistically these guitars really shine with their clean tones awesome pickups for the price range the pickups on the fender made evh wolfgangs are pretty awesome aswell, seem a little tighter and crunchier were as these are smooth clean and bright
Happy Belated New Year, Elmo! I missed out Monday morning and completely forgot to check my notifications for your show. This guitar sounds pretty nice. I like the sustain.
It doesn’t matter what you play Elmo! I always enjoy your videos, keep them coming I’ll keep watching have a good one and happy new year to you and yours🎉✌️❤️🎸🎶🎵😎👍👍👌🏻
@@daniellarson3068 If you can't afford a $400.00 guitar then you might as well not play one at all! I can't see anything that is as good as this Sterling EVH Axis model in this price range. For all the features that this has it can't be beat! I know because I've tried all the others and the Wolfgang is honestly not much better other than the fact that you have the capability of upgrading the cheap Korean made Floyd Rose tremolo with something better. Anything less that $400.00 U.S. Dollars is going to be a real crap shoot and more than likely junk all the way around. Glarry, Donner, and all these other cheap Chinese Fender Stratocaster knock-offs you can buy for less than $400.00 but they are pretty much FIREWOOD with strings!
Yeah, I always had this feeling that the Made in Indonesia Sterlings are somewhat overpriced for what they really offer. There are so many options in that particular price range...
Yeah, Happy New Year Elmo. I mean, I don't know about budget friendly, but dammit, stop making these guitars sound so good. Sterling has honestly never been on my radar, but it's a nice looking axe and now, it appears it's on my radar, UGH. Also, Always love the Gary Moore references.
Happy new year! I bought the white version some nonths ago, for around 500 euros. I like it very much, only: the whammy is unusable, it directly outtunes, and the knobs are a bit unprecise
Have you had it setup properly? Good tip is to keep the saddles and nut lubricated. Also make sure the nut is cut properly to allow the strings to flow over it smoothly. I always lube nuts using a small amount of silicone oil and that helps a lot with tuning stability.
E,(not bad) is another way of saying not good, let me make up my mind,ha..whammy test great,do like the machine head lay out,cool.. like the light rosewood on the Wolfe one..I would say happy new year but we both know
Cute Video , unless your Eddie himself the odds of using that much tremolo in a show is slim to none unless you dig that sort of thing.. However I actually did not like the EVH WOLFGANG because I don't use Tremolo that much and this actually lets me get away with what i do need it for, the other part is the Wolfgang feels weird to me but I have been playing Ibanez JEMS for almost 20 yrs and in the last 3-4 I have gotten into other guitars like a couple Tele's I bought, yes they are Squires but they feel so much better than the Fender Tele's that i played but i got this Axis from a friend and I have played on it quite a bit I believe i need to do it a favor and switch pick-ups to my usual DiMarzio and find that sound I always look for but this has been a lot of fun watching someone else get their money's worth out of a cheap guitar as some say but in the last 5 yrs i have noticed the quality going up a great amount on cheap guitars and going down on the big name guitars and I am actually torn on this guitar until i get it loaded to my feel but the setup has been very impressive for being low end.. CHeers
Wishing you all the best for 2022. In a way I really like the look of this one much more than the look of the EVH , it's simple but stylish. However, the fingerprints are really awful. I guess they will get more just from looking at it. Not to talk about dust...
This is the EVH guitar in the video - it's just not labeled that any more. But it's still his design. The Wolfgang is only the redesigned or rather offset version of this same guitar but with a carved top except on the Wolfgang special models.
@@MrPolevaulter that would be awesome. Also reviewing an epiphone es335 would be interesting for me as I am thinking of buying one of these guitars! Nice channel Elmo, and i will subscribe to it. Your skills and humour are legendary 👌 many greetings from the Netherlands and stay safe !😘🙏
It’s nothing to do with “being sad” it’s more that your choice of amplifier setting does NOT demonstrate the full versatility of the instrument which will not enable some potential purchasers to decide if it is the guitar for them! Now THAT is sad!☹️ Not a problem if your playing for yourself but I was under the impression that an instrument demo was to show what it CAN do!🤔
I've had one for years. Prices must have gone up. I got mine for about $260. It's been my #1 guitar for a while, it just sounds so good. Is it perfect? No. But for the price it sounds like a much more expensive guitar and it's perfect for someone like me (hobbyist/intermediate player).
Happy New Year Elmo. Fortunately I have all the guitars I need and it does not include the Sterling. I love the look of them but they just feel wrong in the hand. Maybe Eddie trying to tell me something lol.
Thank you for this review 👍I am not that big fan of those design half blues / half rock with a touch of metal (... somewhere 😅). This guitar seems to be especialy designed to play... anything you want 😁
That's because they're clearance sale items. This means that they are eliminating this from their line of guitars. Meaning that once these are all sold there won't be any more as they are not going to re-stock them. I am guessing that these aren't hot sellers in the solid colours.
Every guitar is a clone/copy in some way of another model... this guitar looks like a Wolfgang/EVH standard clone... (it's even made in Indonesia... would not surprise me if in same factory....) It's a decent guitar., but I'd go with the recent Wolfie you reviewed...
You do realize that the EVH Musicman which is what the Sterling actually is came FIRST - right? The Ernie Ball Musicman Eddie Van Halen model was first introduced in 1991. The Wolfgang was introduced in 1995.
It doesn't sound like this on the Fender, Marshall, and Line 6 Spyder V amps that I've played mine through! And it's the exact same guitar - colour, features, and all as in this video. It's all in how you set up your guitar and amp.
Check out more guitar reviews here: th-cam.com/play/PLNaLwTdlpQNGXHK9wPm1kYNDwFvMLQ7ES.html
Or check out some of my lessons: th-cam.com/play/PLNaLwTdlpQNEQQfdhdttHV5rjmy7tmYCy.html
I own this exact same guitar that is in this video. I have done nothing to it. In fact it's still in the factory box and it's been re-sealed at Sweetwater Sound. I bought it on Tuesday (3/12/2024) when I tried it out in the store through the same Line 6 Spyder V amp but in 240 watts. This is way underestimated and underappreciated for what it is. I too gave it the "Eruption" seal of approval! This is so versatile and more so than the Wolfgang of any type. It doesn't have the double locking tremolo but it does stay in tune. I bought it as a scratch and dent but it was factory sealed. The neck has a small spot on the back just like yours and there's a piece of dirt that got into the finish. These are very minimal. I am guessing that it didn't pass the quality control check but they sent it any way. So the factory marked it as a scratch and dent quality or the store did for that reason.
They are discontinuing this model at Sweetwater so if you want one you'd better jump on it because once they're all sold they aren't going to re-stock them again. I got mine for $300.00 U.S. Dollars. There was nothing wrong with this otherwise except for the polish on the fretboard that has some residue left behind. I can get rid of that easily enough. Otherwise you'd never know that this had anything wrong with it. These are all cosmetic flaws that are easy to fix. 600 grit wet-or-dry sandpaper will take care of any flaws on the back of the neck and rubbing compound will remove the polishing compound from the frets. I am guessing that this was from polishing them?
But this thing delivered above and beyond the call of duty. It's more professional quality than the Kramer copies being offered by Gibson. These too are made in the same factory in Indonesia. The neck quality is different between the two. Otherwise there isn't a lot of difference other than personal taste. The tremolos and hardware are the same shitty ones that all the overseas garbage guitars and low budget guitars have on them. Upgrading to a steel block - not the ones that Fender is offering but an actual steel or even brass block would be an improvement on the tremolo. Otherwise I don't see any need to replace anything else other than maybe the nut. This is a great axe for what it costs. Sure there are others in this price range that you may or may not find just as good or a little better but not by much. Most overseas guitars like this are a dime a dozen as there are so many to choose from. But as already said - try before you buy!
Sterling - when you want a MusicMan, but you enjoy having a car too.
@Ben Hackett well of course, you cant have the cake and eat it too
:D
😂
Great checking out, Elmo. Awesome reviewer overall. I always wanted the Axis so was quite happy seeing this one, but you are right - lots of better guitars for the price. Dangit man you played like a demon today hihihihi. Big up!
Yes, this is basically the old EVH model, from the 90's.
The main things they've changed are:
- adding a tone knob ( the EVH version only had a volume knob)
- adding a 5-way blade super switch ( the EVH version had instead a 3-way toggle switch, no coil splitting)
- this doesn't have an OFR bridge like the EVH version, the Made in USA EBMM version of the Axis still comes with the OFR.
- the EVH model came with a maple fingerboard.
NONE OF THESE come with an original Floyd Rose tremolo - they're all Gotoh tremolos. I know because I have one. I also have an EVH prototype with the Floyd Rose Original when it said that on the plate. You can't get those now as they no longer make them. The standard production models only have the Gotoh tremolo on them. These are still made with basswood (bass like the fish) and a maple neck but now are offered with a rosewood fretboard option. They also changed the nut so that it is no longer bolted through the neck. It's simply screwed to the front of the neck along the route for the shelf it sits on. The tremolo is no longer the same as the bar doesn't have the tension screw collar on it. It's the same as Fender Stratocaster tremolos are. The neck plate is recessed now and there is a carve in the back of the body like a Fender Stratocaster for your ribs. The machine heads have also changed as they are currently like the Sterling guitars of now with no flange for the screw - these have pins on the backside of the housing. These are minor changes but still they aren't the same as what they once were when Eddie Van Halen was still with Musicman.
Happy New Year Elmo! This guitar sells in the area of $550 Canadian. I consider anything upto $600 to be budget as it's affordable. I preferred the sound with gain, it brought the guitar to life! The Wolfgang is a much better deal! Thanks for sharing!
Happy 2022!
Decent review. I played one of these recently and was quite impressed as it made me want to play it. I plan on buying the one I played I also prefer guitars without a Floyd Rose these days (used to have 4 guitars with Floyds. Now just one.). I read that after Eddie Van Halen defected to Peavey, Ernie Ball decided to make the Axis something unique unto itself, so IMHO,. I doubt if the Axis can be directly compared to the Wolfgang at this point. It is still an excellent guitar deserving a serious consideration from not just rock players. Surprisingly, I found it to be a very versatile and expressive piece. Budget no longer means crappy.
I bought this guitar yesterday it so comfortable, it feels like an expensive guitar and the pickup sounds so good surprisingly versatile for any genre especially metal.
Have a blessed 2022. I appreciate your channel
Thanks! You too :)
I just saw these for about $479US and realistically these guitars really shine with their clean tones awesome pickups for the price range the pickups on the fender made evh wolfgangs are pretty awesome aswell, seem a little tighter and crunchier were as these are smooth clean and bright
Happy New Year to ThisGuy Elmo
Same to you!
Happy New Year Elmo!
Thank you Carlos, you too :)
Great video: makes me want a Wolfgang even more!
Happy New Year, Elmo!
You too!
Personally I think under $500 is budget friendly but the way things are going at the moment that could be increasing to like $700-$800 in the future.
Yeah I guess it depends where you are in the world. Here in the UK we would have VAT slapped on top of the $500 :/
Still around $450 USD in 2023
@@kellyjandrewsi was 2 days ago at shop and saw for 349$
Happy new year!!
Holy hot pickups!!
Same to you!
Love your videos Elmo, happy new year from Brazil.
Same to you!
Happy New Guitar Year Elmo Karjalainen...
You too :)
Happy New Year.
Same to you!
Elmo your review made me get my first marshall (dsl 1). This might be my next guitar. Killer demo. Edit: that Wolfgang is sweet but FR 🥲
Cheers!
Happy Belated New Year, Elmo! I missed out Monday morning and completely forgot to check my notifications for your show. This guitar sounds pretty nice. I like the sustain.
Thanks! You too!
It doesn’t matter what you play Elmo! I always enjoy your videos, keep them coming I’ll keep watching have a good one and happy new year to you and yours🎉✌️❤️🎸🎶🎵😎👍👍👌🏻
Happy 2022!
Looks fine, sounds like the setup is okay too. Really don't like the pickups or splits at all, especially clean.
Thank you for that tiny bit of Stevie Ray. Love your playing
Cheers!
In the US the Sterling is $399. The quilt maple EVH is $749.
Four hundred dollars is not budget friendly because a new guitar is not in the budget. Thanks for the video.
The Sterling IS the EVH - it's just not the Wolfgang model. Both were designed by Eddie Van Halen.
@@daniellarson3068 If you can't afford a $400.00 guitar then you might as well not play one at all! I can't see anything that is as good as this Sterling EVH Axis model in this price range. For all the features that this has it can't be beat! I know because I've tried all the others and the Wolfgang is honestly not much better other than the fact that you have the capability of upgrading the cheap Korean made Floyd Rose tremolo with something better. Anything less that $400.00 U.S. Dollars is going to be a real crap shoot and more than likely junk all the way around. Glarry, Donner, and all these other cheap Chinese Fender Stratocaster knock-offs you can buy for less than $400.00 but they are pretty much FIREWOOD with strings!
Yeah, I always had this feeling that the Made in Indonesia Sterlings are somewhat overpriced for what they really offer. There are so many options in that particular price range...
Yeah, Happy New Year Elmo. I mean, I don't know about budget friendly, but dammit, stop making these guitars sound so good. Sterling has honestly never been on my radar, but it's a nice looking axe and now, it appears it's on my radar, UGH.
Also, Always love the Gary Moore references.
Haha :D Happy New Year to you too :)
Sounds fine! Just under £400 on Thomann atm.
Happy new year! I bought the white version some nonths ago, for around 500 euros. I like it very much, only: the whammy is unusable, it directly outtunes, and the knobs are a bit unprecise
Have you had it setup properly?
Good tip is to keep the saddles and nut lubricated. Also make sure the nut is cut properly to allow the strings to flow over it smoothly.
I always lube nuts using a small amount of silicone oil and that helps a lot with tuning stability.
@@richardjones2811 did what I could, but will look into lubing my nuts😂
You too! Sorry to hear it doesn't stay in tune.
E,(not bad) is another way of saying not good, let me make up my mind,ha..whammy test great,do like the machine head lay out,cool.. like the light rosewood on the Wolfe one..I would say happy new year but we both know
I just got one paid $200 for it. It is a rock machine. I would definitely get one💯
Cute Video , unless your Eddie himself the odds of using that much tremolo in a show is slim to none unless you dig that sort of thing.. However I actually did not like the EVH WOLFGANG because I don't use Tremolo that much and this actually lets me get away with what i do need it for, the other part is the Wolfgang feels weird to me but I have been playing Ibanez JEMS for almost 20 yrs and in the last 3-4 I have gotten into other guitars like a couple Tele's I bought, yes they are Squires but they feel so much better than the Fender Tele's that i played but i got this Axis from a friend and I have played on it quite a bit I believe i need to do it a favor and switch pick-ups to my usual DiMarzio and find that sound I always look for but this has been a lot of fun watching someone else get their money's worth out of a cheap guitar as some say but in the last 5 yrs i have noticed the quality going up a great amount on cheap guitars and going down on the big name guitars and I am actually torn on this guitar until i get it loaded to my feel but the setup has been very impressive for being low end.. CHeers
What other guitars non Floyd alternative budget guitars? Btw always great content.
Thanks! Here are a few: th-cam.com/video/dM9zKKiZoxc/w-d-xo.html
Wishing you all the best for 2022.
In a way I really like the look of this one much more than the look of the EVH , it's simple but stylish. However, the fingerprints are really awful. I guess they will get more just from looking at it. Not to talk about dust...
You too :)
This is the EVH guitar in the video - it's just not labeled that any more. But it's still his design. The Wolfgang is only the redesigned or rather offset version of this same guitar but with a carved top except on the Wolfgang special models.
Nice looking guitar. Decent sounding. I will stick with my Wolfgang Standard. Better sounding IMO and more bang for your buck
Yep.
Nice review, Elmo ! What about the Sire S7? Can you review that axe and what are your thoughts on that guitar?
I've been thinking of reviewing one of them. Not sure when though.
@@MrPolevaulter that would be awesome. Also reviewing an epiphone es335 would be interesting for me as I am thinking of buying one of these guitars! Nice channel Elmo, and i will subscribe to it. Your skills and humour are legendary 👌 many greetings from the Netherlands and stay safe !😘🙏
@@arjanbohm5697 Thanks Arjan!
Is the weight of the guitar heavy or lightweight?
Can't remember.
This is made from basswood (the body) so it's fairly light. There's not a lot of weight to it.
I Paid $349.00 for My Red One Nice Setup, Got a Double Neck Axis OLP for $500.00
It’s nothing to do with “being sad” it’s more that your choice of amplifier setting does NOT demonstrate the full versatility of the instrument which will not enable some potential purchasers to decide if it is the guitar for them!
Now THAT is sad!☹️
Not a problem if your playing for yourself but I was under the impression that an instrument demo was to show what it CAN do!🤔
Can you name a few "better options" for the same price?
th-cam.com/video/dM9zKKiZoxc/w-d-xo.html
8:00 "Lick It Up" !! I caught that🔥🔥🔥
I've had one for years. Prices must have gone up. I got mine for about $260. It's been my #1 guitar for a while, it just sounds so good. Is it perfect? No. But for the price it sounds like a much more expensive guitar and it's perfect for someone like me (hobbyist/intermediate player).
Happy New Year Elmo. Fortunately I have all the guitars I need and it does not include the Sterling. I love the look of them but they just feel wrong in the hand. Maybe Eddie trying to tell me something lol.
You too :)
Find the older OLP axis. They were built and spec'ed much better. In fact they were so good that EBMM had to buy them out to protect their guitars.
I tried one back in the day. It was good.
great great video! Thank you so much!
And thank you :)
Yes my it's jatoba too, I guess like all indonesian strelrings
Thank you for this review 👍I am not that big fan of those design half blues / half rock with a touch of metal (... somewhere 😅). This guitar seems to be especialy designed to play... anything you want 😁
Cheers!
Maybe when you're older you will
Looks a combination of Les Paul, Strat and Telecaster
Are you getting into Hendrix lately? ❤️
Not really. At least not more than I've already been :)
I fucking love this channel
Thanks!
You are great even not practicing todo much.
Thanks!
Your name isn't so bad, it starts out like the beer, but I'm Finnish
Mmm...beer... :D
It's now February 2024 and sweet water has that same guitar black and white
For 300 American dollars
That's because they're clearance sale items. This means that they are eliminating this from their line of guitars. Meaning that once these are all sold there won't be any more as they are not going to re-stock them. I am guessing that these aren't hot sellers in the solid colours.
Every guitar is a clone/copy in some way of another model... this guitar looks like a Wolfgang/EVH standard clone... (it's even made in Indonesia... would not surprise me if in same factory....) It's a decent guitar., but I'd go with the recent Wolfie you reviewed...
You do realize that the EVH Musicman which is what the Sterling actually is came FIRST - right? The Ernie Ball Musicman Eddie Van Halen model was first introduced in 1991. The Wolfgang was introduced in 1995.
$449.00 in the US
$600 in Canada
$450 🇺🇸
$399
Sounds like a 250 dollar Schecter
But you played the shit out of it as always. Totally killer!
It doesn't sound like this on the Fender, Marshall, and Line 6 Spyder V amps that I've played mine through! And it's the exact same guitar - colour, features, and all as in this video. It's all in how you set up your guitar and amp.
Everyone else: hey Elmo, can you just bust a majestic guitar solo out of nowhere and make us all feel inadequate?
Elmo: *yes*