It looks like a dress. It is the shape of a woman. I have the earlier one and I love it. Great neck, great heel. Mine has three mini hums and a five way switch. Locking tuners. Smooth trem. Annie Clark designed a beauty!
I also have the original version and it is a great guitar. It is comfortable sitting or standing. The neck is nice. The pickups sound good. The bridge works well. It is light. It has great sustain.
Specifically, the plastic dress Klaus Nomi wore on SNL with David Bowie. It's really a 50s retro future design, like something from The Jetsons cartoon. Pretty cool.
I completely respect the passion of your craft. It comes out in everything you share with us. Keep keeping it real. It something that is rare these days and from my perspective, it is much appreciated
annie clark a.k.a st. vincent does not only know how to craft beautiful music, sing like an angel and! play guitar very well! she also knows how to design a guitar, a complete original. annie is fantastic. im glad I discovered her (via youtube) and even had a chance to see her live at least once (masseduction tour) - great video man.
I'm convinced Annie was inpisred by thee plastic dress Klaus Nomi wore on SNL with David Bowie. It's really a 50s retro future design, like something from The Jetsons cartoon. Pretty cool.
Special request. I would LOVE to see a series of revisits of gear & from the early days of the channel. Especially the Enzo dry mode. No one has ever went in depth with the dry mode & you made me really appreciate its capabilities with those whale sounds.
Music man has been my absolute favorite brand for the better part of the last 12ish years. I got my first JP in college and since then I've just constantly gravitated towards them. These days I only have 2 in my collection (3 if you count a sterling), but they easily have the best build quality and aesthetics of any guitars I've ever tried. Playability, fit and finish, specs, sound etc.... all top notch. Great video and love your passion for praising gear that really speaks to you even when you aren't asked to do so!
The gold is an AMAZING finish if it’s that same champagne one. I played a Goldie in that champagne gold at NAMM (the video of my performance is on the Ernie ball RUclips channel) and I was SMITTEN with that color
Sounds killer! Will have to test one out in person for sure. Wish EBMM would open up a semi custom catalogue, would love to have this shape in one of their sparkle finishes!
Have to say the aesthetics of the original are IMO more interesting; that original pick guard had a much more distinctive point of view. Regardless I think the StV is a big accomplishment in design and destined to become a modern classic.
I like both, but I honestly prefer this half guard. Then again, I also prefer the smaller pickguard on the SG’s instead of the batwing and the Cabronita over the normal Tele guard. Though the original had this orange limited edition with leopard print pickguard, that’d look wrong with just the half.
this is a dream guitar of mine, living in australia these are SOOOO hard to come by, these goldie versions are epic, i do NOT like gold guitars but the gold version of this is fantastic. brilliant video
It is such a cool guitar. It sounds incredible. It looks really cool. And I was thinking "yeah this guitar sounds cool, I wanna get one." And then I saw that it goes for $3000 brand new. Yeah I don't think I'll be getting one anytime soon.
parece ser bem confortavel mesmo o problema é o dinheiro mesmo para comprar uma eu assisti só por curiosidade bem feito o video por sinal faltou só o HIGH GAIN ! UM ABRAÇO DO BRASIL
I’ve loved it since I first saw it. Unfortunately it isn’t available for leftys. It is a cropped version of the explorer with a better headstock which has long had a reputation for being comfortable.
My meaty paws can’t reach the high frets without a proper cutaway, I owned a Sterling & sold it only because of that, it was otherwise an incredible instrument.
My main guitar is a Fender Meteora and i feel the St. Vincent MM and the PRS Vela might be the closest thing. Guitars in the jazzmaster/offsett realm, super light and pretty small. Meteora looks like a Jazzmaster but feels like a strat in the body.
At that price it has to be everything I ever wanted, and the ergonomics of jumbo frets are just too good to ever stop using. Medium frets is an automatic pass. Looks and sounds great though, thanks for the video.
I own a double humbucker version of that guitar since 4 years. Sure it was expensive, but it definitely make stop looking for « an other guitar to add at my collection ». It’s comfy, versatile and reliable. With my St-Vincent I’ve truly understand the meaning of a guitar instrument : a tool made to express yourself. The only con I see, is the lightness of the knobs while turning them, and the cheap look of the button (shape is great, but the plastic used is not what I would expect on a 3000€+ guitar) Great review as usual ✌🏻
Maybe the inspiration comes from the Gibson firebird VII. Similar body shape, mini hum-buckers, reverse headstock, straight string pull. Just different scale length and is neck through and of course the music man is modern.
I love my St. Vincent. The only thing keeping it from being the perfect guitar (for me specifically of course) is I wish there was a version with a jazzmaster style trem. I'm never fully gotten along with Strat-style trems on guitars but I will say the one on my SV is the best one i've ever played. I know it doesnt make a lot of sense for them to do one especially with the body shape/carved top, but it would be extremely cool if they ever did!
I do agree that I’ll always prefer my mastery / descendant trem systems to the MM but I like the MM more than bigsby or any other trem options in my stable.
@@markjohnstonofficial i totally agree, someone suggested i try a bigsby a while back on a tele of mine and i gave it a shot, just wasnt for me either. Its a cheap guitar so i plan to one day do a rout and put a mastery on it for a budget version of the tele/JM hybrid. And honestly if MM ever started selling their trems (unless they already do and i'm unaware) to install on other instruments i would be more than happy to install one on a strat or something with an equivalent string spacing
Mark! Please try out the Konstante by Twilight Pulse Audio please! It’s essentially a modded Greer Lightspeed, with an echoplex boost built in to it, I have a feeling you would love it!
These are frankly fantastic guitars designed by one of the consummate artists of our generation. Annie is as cool, creative and unique as everything she makes.
The small Music Man headstocks are a major design flaw and ruin their guitars for me. I agree the St Vincent body is a beautiful thing. The proportions of the headstock are way off. You both do sound great!
It’s a bit like the classic VS 70’s oversize fender headstock; everyone’s got their preference but neither party gets to be “right” but man do I love the reverse MM headstock
@@markjohnstonofficial I know that story well. In the 80s my crowd all looked down on the big head Fenders. Then I bought a cool '75 hard tail, lightweight burst with a rosewood board. Not for sale!
It sounds very nice. The pickups must be fairly low inductance to have that much high end with 250k pots, and AlNiCo bars don't roll off the highs. For that money, I might prefer a brighter sounding FB. Indian RW damps the airy highs. It's better to have them when you want, than not and want them. Ziracote would be cool. Not as bright and Ebony, and looks awesome. Pau Ferro is also brighter, but people don't seem to like the looks of it.
Oh, the other two colors come with an Ebony FB. That might be nice, considering Brass saddles roll off some high-end. Yeah, it's a smart design with a simple useful pickup setup.
I haven't actually played anything from the Sterling line; I have my MM St. Vincent and the Kaizens (6 and 7 strings) and they're some of the highest quality guitars Ive played.
great video, certainly not an accomplished musician as you, but I guess I'm a purist as far as design. Still wouldn't throw it away if someone gave it to me, but not crazy about the design
my biggest complaint about this guitar is that they refuse to make it in lefty. I mean, the headstock is already in the right direction, the Jobs halfway done already!
I’ve put together a few post hardcore / metalcore tracks using this guitar over on my instagram / the music man account. It’s not gonna be full shred / death metal tones but it’ll get into proper high gain surprisingly well.
Positions 2 and 4 are NOT out of phase. They have never been, not on a strat or this guitar. So stop saying that. They are just normal bridge and middle pickup or neck and middle pickup together in parallel, like they have alwasy been on normal strats, and they sound exactly like that. Out of phase is a totally different thing that by all definitions is not this.
The sounds are reminiscent of my Mustang which DOES do the out of phase thing so I made an incorrect assumption about the configuration here. You seem like you're handling this mistake well.
@@markjohnstonofficial You are doing a gear demo/review and you are listing specs. Your ONLY job here is to get those specs right and nor ASSUME anything. It says on their website that those positions are just normal parallel connections like they have always been. And normal parallel connections and out of phase sounds sound complete different or the very least it is very very obvious if they are out of phase or not. So should it be with you Mustang if it indeed does out of phase sounds because then it should sound nothing like this guitars 2 and 4 positions.
@@markjohnstonofficial I'm sorry, I might sound angrier than I really am. It's just that is a big pet peeve of mine, when so many people call these classic 2 and 4 positions on a strat "out of phase" when they have never been and this has been common knowledge for decades. And it's the easiest thing to check. So I don't get why people don't seem to get it right and there are MANY people who therefore think that that sound is the out of phase sound when it isn't.
@@ZhaggysfactionHis only job is to make the video he wants to make, as it's not a paid advertisement. Corrections are probably welcomed but coming at it like this is not doing anyone any favors.
@@markjohnstonofficial LOL That's also how Payola Works LOL .. You're Cool Boss. It was just a silly comment from someone who doesn't matter (me) anyway.. Peace Out Bro. It's all in fun Smile more.
I’m assuming you might not watch my channel outside of this; like I said in the video they didn’t ask me to make anything like this and they had no idea I made this until it went live. But beyond that this is a guitar I have used as my main go to for a year now amongst roughly two dozen instruments I’ve got in my studio. The notion that I’m making this for any other reason than “I had some down time and I wanted to rant about a guitar I think is wildly underrated” is to basically call me a liar.
Horribly unbalanced, thin, scratchy tones, you could equally well play piezo pickups only. Equally horrible look too for me. Any average Telecaster sounds better to me.
It looks like a dress. It is the shape of a woman. I have the earlier one and I love it. Great neck, great heel. Mine has three mini hums and a five way switch. Locking tuners. Smooth trem. Annie Clark designed a beauty!
I also have the original version and it is a great guitar. It is comfortable sitting or standing. The neck is nice. The pickups sound good. The bridge works well. It is light. It has great sustain.
Specifically, the plastic dress Klaus Nomi wore on SNL with David Bowie. It's really a 50s retro future design, like something from The Jetsons cartoon. Pretty cool.
I completely respect the passion of your craft. It comes out in everything you share with us. Keep keeping it real. It something that is rare these days and from my perspective, it is much appreciated
annie clark a.k.a st. vincent does not only know how to craft beautiful music, sing like an angel and! play guitar very well!
she also knows how to design a guitar, a complete original.
annie is fantastic.
im glad I discovered her (via youtube) and even had a chance to see her live at least once (masseduction tour)
-
great video man.
Wow you got me after just 22 seconds, i’ve never subbed this fast ever, now I’m going to enjoy the rest of the video. thank you in advance
I'm convinced Annie was inpisred by thee plastic dress Klaus Nomi wore on SNL with David Bowie. It's really a 50s retro future design, like something from The Jetsons cartoon. Pretty cool.
Their prices are just insane. And I own two ebmm.
Great looks and sounds!
Looks like that stunning early ‘70’s Citroën SM car with the Maserati engine!
I love it!
Special request. I would LOVE to see a series of revisits of gear & from the early days of the channel. Especially the Enzo dry mode. No one has ever went in depth with the dry mode & you made me really appreciate its capabilities with those whale sounds.
I’ve been toying with needing to revisit a proper look at the Thermae. Maybe a few quick it’s on old gear would be fun
The first time I saw this guitar I was blown away. It seemed like an instant classic. I would looooooove to have one. 🧡🧡🧡
Music man has been my absolute favorite brand for the better part of the last 12ish years. I got my first JP in college and since then I've just constantly gravitated towards them. These days I only have 2 in my collection (3 if you count a sterling), but they easily have the best build quality and aesthetics of any guitars I've ever tried. Playability, fit and finish, specs, sound etc.... all top notch. Great video and love your passion for praising gear that really speaks to you even when you aren't asked to do so!
I have the Sterling version in gold. It’s fast becoming my favorite guitar. Super versatile!
The gold is an AMAZING finish if it’s that same champagne one. I played a Goldie in that champagne gold at NAMM (the video of my performance is on the Ernie ball RUclips channel) and I was SMITTEN with that color
Sounds killer! Will have to test one out in person for sure. Wish EBMM would open up a semi custom catalogue, would love to have this shape in one of their sparkle finishes!
Super neat. Will def save up for one after getting a Godin guitar first. Might get a jamstik and then this
Have to say the aesthetics of the original are IMO more interesting; that original pick guard had a much more distinctive point of view. Regardless I think the StV is a big accomplishment in design and destined to become a modern classic.
I love the original pick guard too; I just don't know if I have a preference between the two. The overall shape, though, is for sure a modern classic.
the orig pick guard sure is more distinctive but the one on the Goldie fits the shape SO much better imo. The old STV is hard to look at tbh.
I like both, but I honestly prefer this half guard. Then again, I also prefer the smaller pickguard on the SG’s instead of the batwing and the Cabronita over the normal Tele guard. Though the original had this orange limited edition with leopard print pickguard, that’d look wrong with just the half.
Has a retro 60s look to it. I really like it !!
Interesting. Seems like a jack of all trades tonally. I dig the out of phase positions.
this is a dream guitar of mine, living in australia these are SOOOO hard to come by, these goldie versions are epic, i do NOT like gold guitars but the gold version of this is fantastic.
brilliant video
It is such a cool guitar. It sounds incredible. It looks really cool. And I was thinking "yeah this guitar sounds cool, I wanna get one." And then I saw that it goes for $3000 brand new. Yeah I don't think I'll be getting one anytime soon.
parece ser bem confortavel mesmo o problema é o dinheiro mesmo para comprar uma eu assisti só por curiosidade bem feito o video por sinal faltou só o HIGH GAIN ! UM ABRAÇO DO BRASIL
Need a lefty version. It is gorgeous
I’ve heard this from a few people. Sounds like MM needs to get on it
I’ve loved it since I first saw it. Unfortunately it isn’t available for leftys. It is a cropped version of the explorer with a better headstock which has long had a reputation for being comfortable.
My meaty paws can’t reach the high frets without a proper cutaway, I owned a Sterling & sold it only because of that, it was otherwise an incredible instrument.
My main guitar is a Fender Meteora and i feel the St. Vincent MM and the PRS Vela might be the closest thing.
Guitars in the jazzmaster/offsett realm, super light and pretty small.
Meteora looks like a Jazzmaster but feels like a strat in the body.
At that price it has to be everything I ever wanted, and the ergonomics of jumbo frets are just too good to ever stop using. Medium frets is an automatic pass. Looks and sounds great though, thanks for the video.
Descartes a Kant plays a couple of these, and they are badass.
They are very cool guitar. I’m just waiting for them to drop a more affordable model!
I own a double humbucker version of that guitar since 4 years. Sure it was expensive, but it definitely make stop looking for « an other guitar to add at my collection ».
It’s comfy, versatile and reliable. With my St-Vincent I’ve truly understand the meaning of a guitar instrument : a tool made to express yourself.
The only con I see, is the lightness of the knobs while turning them, and the cheap look of the button (shape is great, but the plastic used is not what I would expect on a 3000€+ guitar)
Great review as usual ✌🏻
I’ve been wanting to grab the blacked out double humbucker version as well. It’s such a great look.
Maybe the inspiration comes from the Gibson firebird VII. Similar body shape, mini hum-buckers, reverse headstock, straight string pull. Just different scale length and is neck through and of course the music man is modern.
I love my St. Vincent. The only thing keeping it from being the perfect guitar (for me specifically of course) is I wish there was a version with a jazzmaster style trem. I'm never fully gotten along with Strat-style trems on guitars but I will say the one on my SV is the best one i've ever played. I know it doesnt make a lot of sense for them to do one especially with the body shape/carved top, but it would be extremely cool if they ever did!
I do agree that I’ll always prefer my mastery / descendant trem systems to the MM but I like the MM more than bigsby or any other trem options in my stable.
@@markjohnstonofficial i totally agree, someone suggested i try a bigsby a while back on a tele of mine and i gave it a shot, just wasnt for me either. Its a cheap guitar so i plan to one day do a rout and put a mastery on it for a budget version of the tele/JM hybrid. And honestly if MM ever started selling their trems (unless they already do and i'm unaware) to install on other instruments i would be more than happy to install one on a strat or something with an equivalent string spacing
Mark! Please try out the Konstante by Twilight Pulse Audio please! It’s essentially a modded Greer Lightspeed, with an echoplex boost built in to it, I have a feeling you would love it!
Wish I could exchange my original STV for a Goldie version but I got it for essentially half the price…
thos,Gold foyals sownd Amazing with reverb
These are frankly fantastic guitars designed by one of the consummate artists of our generation. Annie is as cool, creative and unique as everything she makes.
The small Music Man headstocks are a major design flaw and ruin their guitars for me. I agree the St Vincent body is a beautiful thing. The proportions of the headstock are way off. You both do sound great!
It’s a bit like the classic VS 70’s oversize fender headstock; everyone’s got their preference but neither party gets to be “right” but man do I love the reverse MM headstock
@@markjohnstonofficial I know that story well. In the 80s my crowd all looked down on the big head Fenders. Then I bought a cool '75 hard tail, lightweight burst with a rosewood board. Not for sale!
I love the headstock. I love Strat 70s headstocks. I love the Starcaster headstock.
beautiful...organic...musical love it
It’s like a firebird mixed with an explorer. I still dig a firebird over all this.
But super video
It sounds very nice. The pickups must be fairly low inductance to have that much high end with 250k pots, and AlNiCo bars don't roll off the highs. For that money, I might prefer a brighter sounding FB. Indian RW damps the airy highs. It's better to have them when you want, than not and want them. Ziracote would be cool. Not as bright and Ebony, and looks awesome. Pau Ferro is also brighter, but people don't seem to like the looks of it.
Oh, the other two colors come with an Ebony FB. That might be nice, considering Brass saddles roll off some high-end. Yeah, it's a smart design with a simple useful pickup setup.
How good is the sterling in compared to this one? This guitar is beautiful but is definitely not cheap :(
I haven't actually played anything from the Sterling line; I have my MM St. Vincent and the Kaizens (6 and 7 strings) and they're some of the highest quality guitars Ive played.
great video, certainly not an accomplished musician as you, but I guess I'm a purist as far as design. Still wouldn't throw it away if someone gave it to me, but not crazy about the design
that music man is cool
That guitar looks like Klaus Nomi’s bow tie.
Why no hi gain demo 😢
my biggest complaint about this guitar is that they refuse to make it in lefty. I mean, the headstock is already in the right direction, the Jobs halfway done already!
😔
I've said for a long time that this might be the best signature guitar since the Les Paul.
I’m honestly so sad that it IS a proper sig because it ruins my pipe dream aspirations of having my own sig STV someday haha
@@markjohnstonofficial I mean, the Les Paul was probably the same way at the beginning, right?
I love everything about the guitar, but the fact that it has 3 pickups. I just hate middle pickups!
they're very fun to play, just make sure you can enjoy yourself with it
There's nothing more disheartening than a "must try" video when you're lefty :o(
It did sound great, but 85% is the guy playing
Music Man makes the best USA made guitars. The Cutlass s-type is miles better than any Fender Strat.
Ernie Ball guitars look and sound amazing, sadly out of my price range 😅
These guitars are $3k now? That’s wild lol. What happened to inflation going down?
The rate of inflation going down only means things are getting more expensive at a slower rate.
The only bad taste is in the headstock
Freaky design
My problem with these guitar shapes is that they are hard to play in classical position. I think she designed it based on a dress.
Or buy a motorcycle instead.
headstock is horrible
Not for high gain shredd i think...🤔
I’ve put together a few post hardcore / metalcore tracks using this guitar over on my instagram / the music man account. It’s not gonna be full shred / death metal tones but it’ll get into proper high gain surprisingly well.
Positions 2 and 4 are NOT out of phase. They have never been, not on a strat or this guitar. So stop saying that. They are just normal bridge and middle pickup or neck and middle pickup together in parallel, like they have alwasy been on normal strats, and they sound exactly like that. Out of phase is a totally different thing that by all definitions is not this.
The sounds are reminiscent of my Mustang which DOES do the out of phase thing so I made an incorrect assumption about the configuration here. You seem like you're handling this mistake well.
@@markjohnstonofficial😭😭😭😭
@@markjohnstonofficial You are doing a gear demo/review and you are listing specs. Your ONLY job here is to get those specs right and nor ASSUME anything. It says on their website that those positions are just normal parallel connections like they have always been. And normal parallel connections and out of phase sounds sound complete different or the very least it is very very obvious if they are out of phase or not. So should it be with you Mustang if it indeed does out of phase sounds because then it should sound nothing like this guitars 2 and 4 positions.
@@markjohnstonofficial I'm sorry, I might sound angrier than I really am. It's just that is a big pet peeve of mine, when so many people call these classic 2 and 4 positions on a strat "out of phase" when they have never been and this has been common knowledge for decades. And it's the easiest thing to check. So I don't get why people don't seem to get it right and there are MANY people who therefore think that that sound is the out of phase sound when it isn't.
@@ZhaggysfactionHis only job is to make the video he wants to make, as it's not a paid advertisement. Corrections are probably welcomed but coming at it like this is not doing anyone any favors.
And St Vincent is so hot...
Don’t be weird.
The Ibanez QX752pb looks way better.
Based on the name alone and the fact that theres no way I’m bothering to google that nonsense; I disagree
Nah
@@markjohnstonofficialI looked it up for you, and I also disagree. EBMM for the win here
Dang it, Mark. After you said that I couldn’t resist and I googled it :)
They look alright, more like a regular ibanez strat without a headstock. Very underwhelming considering other headless guitars in the market.
I am not a fan. It looks ugly. Personal preference. However, I do love your verbal judo.
"I got mine for free, & This is the BEST Modern Guitar Design" ,
LOL ... Nope. Well for me anyway.
That IS how disclosure works.
@@markjohnstonofficial LOL That's also how Payola Works LOL ..
You're Cool Boss.
It was just a silly comment from someone who doesn't matter (me) anyway..
Peace Out Bro.
It's all in fun Smile more.
I’m assuming you might not watch my channel outside of this; like I said in the video they didn’t ask me to make anything like this and they had no idea I made this until it went live. But beyond that this is a guitar I have used as my main go to for a year now amongst roughly two dozen instruments I’ve got in my studio. The notion that I’m making this for any other reason than “I had some down time and I wanted to rant about a guitar I think is wildly underrated” is to basically call me a liar.
Nope. Next. It definitely has its own look…a goofy ass bow tie.
Horribly unbalanced, thin, scratchy tones, you could equally well play piezo pickups only.
Equally horrible look too for me. Any average Telecaster sounds better to me.
The only bad taste is in the headstock