# NGD : Brand New Ibanez MMM1



## zack6 (Sep 14, 2020)

Hi Guys, so yesterday I just got the Ibanez MMM1 brand new old stock on local dealer. I've been looking for this monster since 2007 back then when i was in high school, and luckily a week ago when i was just browse around on local online market, i saw this guitar listed on local dealer, so yeah i talked to the seller and bought it without hesitation. So here it is.





















I'm planning to upgrade the bridge pickup and I need your recommendation guys for the best all rounder pickup on low A tuning. Thank you.


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## nikt (Sep 14, 2020)

Wow. Now that's a score to find it brand new.
Those were awesome. As I remember only problem was the finish on the body that just love to tear down.

Congrats!


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## Mathemagician (Sep 14, 2020)

Nonsensical recommendation b/c you clearly want passives: EMGSSSSS

Actual: Either Duncan Black Winter or Dimarzio Dactivator.


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## zack6 (Sep 14, 2020)

nikt said:


> Wow. Now that's a score to find it brand new.
> Those were awesome. As I remember only problem was the finish on the body that just love to tear down.
> 
> Congrats!



Thanks buddy. And for the finish problem, sadly yes 



Mathemagician said:


> Nonsensical recommendation b/c you clearly want passives: EMGSSSSS
> 
> Actual: Either Duncan Black Winter or Dimarzio Dactivator.



Yep dude, dActivator souds good to me


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## Dumple Stilzkin (Sep 14, 2020)

zack6 said:


> Thanks buddy. And for the finish problem, sadly yes
> 
> 
> 
> Yep dude, dActivator souds good to me


Nice find! Keep in mind you can always add more oil on the body. Paint it. Or whatever.


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## xwmucradiox (Sep 14, 2020)

These are really dark guitars so def go for a brighter pickup. Dimarzio Evolution could be cool.


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## Strtsmthng (Sep 14, 2020)

Congrats! Still enjoy mine to this day


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## Shawn (Sep 14, 2020)

So cool to see these pop up....nice score, very clean too. Congrats!


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## vortex_infinium (Sep 15, 2020)

Nice score! Been eyeing this one since high school as well. I'll get there soon enough haha.

Side note I was wondering what the Martin Miller was called since it'd be Martin Miller Model MMM? But they just went with MM1.


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## Thaeon (Sep 16, 2020)

zack6 said:


> Hi Guys, so yesterday I just got the Ibanez MMM1 brand new old stock on local dealer. I've been looking for this monster since 2007 back then when i was in high school, and luckily a week ago when i was just browse around on local online market, i saw this guitar listed on local dealer, so yeah i talked to the seller and bought it without hesitation. So here it is.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



This is a spectacular guitar. I've played a few. As stated before, they are pretty dark tonally. Get a brighter pickup. But get one that's medium output. Don't do something too hot, you'll kill some of the magic of this guitar like that. I WISH I could find a new one of these. I'd buy it on the spot.



nikt said:


> Wow. Now that's a score to find it brand new.
> Those were awesome. As I remember only problem was the finish on the body that just love to tear down.
> 
> Congrats!



That could be seen as a feature of the finish.


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## penguin_316 (Sep 16, 2020)

My old band used to use 2 28” guitars back in the early 2000s. This is one of them, don’t change the pickups they are actually good. If you do, just get another low to medium output passive. I can’t even describe how much larger and heavier we sounded compared to every other band out at that time. It it was something else...

These have a specific low mid to them that’s kinda flubby, but still massive. Thanks for the nostalgia.


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## zack6 (Sep 17, 2020)

Dumple Stilzkin said:


> Nice find! Keep in mind you can always add more oil on the body. Paint it. Or whatever.



Well I had no experience on re-finish the guitar with oil, but I think there is no other choice than add more oil finish.



xwmucradiox said:


> These are really dark guitars so def go for a brighter pickup. Dimarzio Evolution could be cool.



Damn right dude, tried to record it with guitar rig 5 and its kind of dark and difficult to find the right sound.


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## zack6 (Sep 17, 2020)

Strtsmthng said:


> Congrats! Still enjoy mine to this day





Shawn said:


> So cool to see these pop up....nice score, very clean too. Congrats!





vortex_infinium said:


> Nice score! Been eyeing this one since high school as well. I'll get there soon enough haha.
> 
> Side note I was wondering what the Martin Miller was called since it'd be Martin Miller Model MMM? But they just went with MM1.



Thanks guys


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## zack6 (Sep 17, 2020)

Thaeon said:


> This is a spectacular guitar. I've played a few. As stated before, they are pretty dark tonally. Get a brighter pickup. But get one that's medium output. Don't do something too hot, you'll kill some of the magic of this guitar like that. I WISH I could find a new one of these. I'd buy it on the spot.



Hmmm medium output, I was considering dimarzio dActivator, maybe dimarzio fusion edge will work??



penguin_316 said:


> My old band used to use 2 28” guitars back in the early 2000s. This is one of them, don’t change the pickups they are actually good. If you do, just get another low to medium output passive. I can’t even describe how much larger and heavier we sounded compared to every other band out at that time. It it was something else...
> 
> These have a specific low mid to them that’s kinda flubby, but still massive. Thanks for the nostalgia.



I dont know man, as stated before i find it pretty difficult to get the right tone with the bridge pickup but I'm fine with this super 58 neck pickup.


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## Dumple Stilzkin (Sep 17, 2020)

zack6 said:


> Well I had no experience on re-finish the guitar with oil, but I think there is no other choice than add more oil finish.
> 
> 
> 
> Damn right dude, tried to record it with guitar rig 5 and its kind of dark and difficult to find the right sound.


You can do it. It’s not difficult, just watch some YouTube videos. As far as it sounding dark, try a eq pedal.


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## Thaeon (Sep 17, 2020)

Dumple Stilzkin said:


> You can do it. It’s not difficult, just watch some YouTube videos. As far as it sounding dark, try a eq pedal.



This. Dark doesn't mean muddy. Low tuned strings on longer scales SHOULD sound darker. But they should also have more highs as well, because of the higher tension. Don't mistake more bass for inarticulate. That guitar is SUPER articulate. That's why you don't want to put a super high output pickup in it. Its loud acoustically. More string movement means more affect on the pickups. A higher output pickup will compress all the frequencies and often they hype the mids a lot, depending on the design. That guitar sounds HUGE when used right. I played in a band with a guy who had two of them. That's honestly one of my favorite guitars Ibanez has ever made. If I got one, I'd put some Suhr Thornbuckers in it if I changed anything at all.


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## Thaeon (Sep 17, 2020)

Also, if you end up not liking it, dibs.


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## 27InchScale (Sep 17, 2020)

Hot NGD! I ended up getting the MM PRS Baritone instead of the used MMM1 off reverb as the bridge had been rerouted and moved


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## zack6 (Sep 18, 2020)

Dumple Stilzkin said:


> You can do it. It’s not difficult, just watch some YouTube videos. As far as it sounding dark, try a eq pedal.



Looks like it is not that difficult after seen some videos on Youtube, I think I can handle it 



Thaeon said:


> This. Dark doesn't mean muddy. Low tuned strings on longer scales SHOULD sound darker. But they should also have more highs as well, because of the higher tension. Don't mistake more bass for inarticulate. That guitar is SUPER articulate. That's why you don't want to put a super high output pickup in it. Its loud acoustically. More string movement means more affect on the pickups. A higher output pickup will compress all the frequencies and often they hype the mids a lot, depending on the design. That guitar sounds HUGE when used right. I played in a band with a guy who had two of them. That's honestly one of my favorite guitars Ibanez has ever made. If I got one, I'd put some Suhr Thornbuckers in it if I changed anything at all.





Thaeon said:


> Also, if you end up not liking it, dibs.



Yes even without amp its really loud compared to my other guitars and I really like it. I tried some EQ provided in Guitar Rig 5, I think I just found the right tone with the parametric EQ, maybe not as good as I expected but still it sounds better


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## zack6 (Sep 18, 2020)

Geetarguy said:


> Hot NGD! I ended up getting the MM PRS Baritone instead of the used MMM1 off reverb as the bridge had been rerouted and moved



Oh yeah that PRS MM looks great too, too bad that model is not available in my country


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## 27InchScale (Sep 18, 2020)

zack6 said:


> Oh yeah that PRS MM looks great too, too bad that model is not available in my country


Well my dude PM me your email and if I decide to sell (which may be soon) I will give you first shot


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## zack6 (Sep 23, 2020)

Geetarguy said:


> Well my dude PM me your email and if I decide to sell (which may be soon) I will give you first shot



PM'd dude


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## soundbase (Oct 23, 2020)

They awesome guitars. I got a SD Nazgul in the bridge and it sounds pretty good. But yeah they definitely dark guitars. Another option could be the D Activator Neck but in the bridge. Its more medium than hot like the bridge version and the treble's are more pushed up.

I've also just recently scored the PRS Mushok and man both are very different from each other but both great baritones. Im thinking of getting a D Activator Neck for the PRS Mushok to have a super bright tone on it.


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## zack6 (Nov 7, 2020)

So I just got another NOS Ibanez MMM1. Don't know why these NOS guitar listed almost at the same time on some local dealer.








The brand new one has brighter mahogany oil finish (the right one).


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## slan (Nov 7, 2020)

Brings me back to Guitar World from the early 2000's. Those look killer.


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## soundbase (Nov 7, 2020)

zack6 said:


> Hmmm medium output, I was considering dimarzio dActivator, maybe dimarzio fusion edge will work??
> 
> You could also try D Activator Neck in the bridge position as its a lower output than the regular bridge D Activator. And also has more treble zo might work well in this dark wood guitar.
> 
> ...


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## Edika (Nov 7, 2020)

These are tight! Congrats man, awesome looking instruments and great that they're also awesome sounding!


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## Decipher (Nov 8, 2020)

Wow, not only one NOS you scored two?!?!? I am jealous with blind rage LOL. Man it's hard enough getting my hands on one used....


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## Milchek (Nov 21, 2020)

zack6 said:


> So I just got another NOS Ibanez MMM1. Don't know why these NOS guitar listed almost at the same time on some local dealer.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Hi, I recently picked one of these up second hand but it only came with some generic gig bag - what hard case fits these? Any S series Ibanez case? What is the case you have in the pic - is it for the MMM1?


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## odibrom (Nov 21, 2020)

Twin guitars are cool, congrats!


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## hztirf (Nov 30, 2020)

Nice ones - I still remember when I played a MMM1 at my local dealer somewhere around 2005 (and not having bought it back then  ).

General question to the community: Which string set do you prefer on these?


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## Milchek (Dec 2, 2020)

hztirf said:


> General question to the community: Which string set do you prefer on these?



I've just put "D'Addario EXL157 Baritone Guitar Strings" which are 14-68, they feel great.


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## zack6 (Dec 4, 2020)

Decipher said:


> Wow, not only one NOS you scored two?!?!? I am jealous with blind rage LOL. Man it's hard enough getting my hands on one used....



For your info last time I checked on the dealer where i bought one of these, they still have one in stock.



Milchek said:


> Hi, I recently picked one of these up second hand but it only came with some generic gig bag - what hard case fits these? Any S series Ibanez case? What is the case you have in the pic - is it for the MMM1?



Well in my case, these guitars come with ibanez hard case but i don't know which model exactly.


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## zack6 (Dec 4, 2020)

hztirf said:


> Nice ones - I still remember when I played a MMM1 at my local dealer somewhere around 2005 (and not having bought it back then  ).
> 
> General question to the community: Which string set do you prefer on these?





Milchek said:


> I've just put "D'Addario EXL157 Baritone Guitar Strings" which are 14-68, they feel great.



On the new one, I'm still using the factory string which is d'addario 14-74 on A-A standard tuning, and the other one with ernie ball mammoth slinky 12-62 for C# tuning.


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## Milchek (Dec 4, 2020)

zack6 said:


> Well in my case, these guitars come with ibanez hard case but i don't know which model exactly.



Alright, no worries. I'll email Ibanez and just ask them which of their hardcases suit. I imagine any S series case will do, but just want to be sure.


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## littlebadboy (Dec 5, 2020)

I am loving the versatility of my guitar with the DiMarzio D-Activator X set.


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## Emperor Guillotine (Dec 5, 2020)

@zack6: If you want to stick to the big brands, then I'd recommend either a Duncan Nazgul or a Bare Knuckle Black Dog + VH-II combo for the pickup swap.

The Nazgul is a super bright, super crisp, super present pickup with lots of bump in the upper-mid and treble ranges. Much more so if you choose to run it with just a single 500K volume pot and no tone pot, or if you opt for two 1M pots if you want to stick with having both a volume and tone control at your disposal in the circuit. The Nazgul can be a bit sterile (comparable to a EMG 81 almost) in many guitars; however, with its bright qualities, it would balance out in the MMM1 perfectly since the MMM1 is such a dark-sounding guitar with all of the straight-up mahogany + bubinga, along with the standard string-thru design.

The Black Dog is a lot more "gain-y" than BKP plays it up as on their website. It can handle modern metal no problem. But the fact that the pickup is dialed back a wee bit with a more classic/vintage-inspired voicing really helps achieve that note separation (clarity) from your guitar while also making it easy to achieve just the right balance and timing of break-up from your amp without shit going overboard. The Black Dog should definitely be heralded as one of THE go-to pickups for simple, low-tuned, baritone 6-string applications.

And a quick note: as for the VH-II, it's just an all-around, well-loved neck pickup at this point. It's just such a liquid-y, fluid, singing pickup. (And like the Black Dog, it's more "gain-y" than BKP plays it up as on their website.) Players in these groups and forums have dropped a VH-II in the neck of almost any guitar, and it seems to play well with almost any other hot/modern/contemporary BKP bridge pickup. (Nailbomb in the bridge with a VH-II in the neck is a damn "knock-your-socks-off", killer combo.)


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## bostjan (Dec 5, 2020)

EVO bridge is bright, but has good clarity and nice mids.

Congrat's!


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## hztirf (Dec 6, 2020)

zack6 said:


> On the new one, I'm still using the factory string which is d'addario 14-74 on A-A standard tuning, and the other one with ernie ball mammoth slinky 12-62 for C# tuning.


Thank you. I'm wondering right now, if the factory strings were really 14-74. IIRC, they were ~13-56 and B tuning. But maybe I'm completely wrong...


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## hztirf (Dec 6, 2020)

hztirf said:


> Thank you. I'm wondering right now, if the factory strings were really 14-74. IIRC, they were ~13-56 and B tuning. But maybe I'm completely wrong...



My memories on the factory string set were wrong. According to the German mag "Gitarre & Bass" it's a 14-75 set (standard B tuning). The article from 2004 can be downloaded here (German only): https://www.gitarrebass.de/heftarchiv/2004-02/ibanez-mmm1-mike-mushok-signature-e-gitarre/


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## hztirf (Dec 7, 2020)

One popped up on Reverb (UK) today: https://reverb.com/item/37515070-ibanez-mmm1-2003-mahogany-oiled-mol

Regarding pricing: What's a fair price for a MMM1 in good to very good condition?


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## Milchek (Dec 7, 2020)

hztirf said:


> One popped up on Reverb (UK) today: https://reverb.com/item/37515070-ibanez-mmm1-2003-mahogany-oiled-mol
> 
> Regarding pricing: What's a fair price for a MMM1 in good to very good condition?



The listing into is pretty funny:

*The Ibanez MMM1MOL is the former signature guitar of Mike Mushok of the terrible US band Staind, before his departure to PRS.*

Previously I saw ones back in Australia for around $800 AUD in similar condition, maybe worse since pickups were changed out making it not original spec. I purchased mine in probably better condition than the listing (but some similar scratches on the horn) for $500 AUD a few weeks back.


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## Emperor Guillotine (Dec 11, 2020)

Milchek said:


> The listing into is pretty funny:
> 
> *"The Ibanez MMM1MOL is the former signature guitar of Mike Mushok of the terrible US band Staind, before his departure to PRS."*


I mean, he isn't wrong.

*"The end of the headstock shows no sign of having been impaled in a ceiling or bassist."*


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## AkiraSpectrum (Dec 15, 2020)

Wow that is so cool, what a great NOS find!
Love me some Mike Mushok (Staind and Saint Asonia).


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## zack6 (Dec 16, 2020)

hztirf said:


> One popped up on Reverb (UK) today: https://reverb.com/item/37515070-ibanez-mmm1-2003-mahogany-oiled-mol
> 
> Regarding pricing: What's a fair price for a MMM1 in good to very good condition?



I'm not quiet sure about the fair price you asked, but AFAIK the MMM1 list price is US$899 and quiet similar with my ibanez MMM1, I bought for around US$900ish (yes the dealers sold these with MSRP, no discount tho). If I have to sell these, I think $750-$800 quiet a fair price regarding the condition.


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## zack6 (Dec 16, 2020)

AkiraSpectrum said:


> Wow that is so cool, what a great NOS find!
> Love me some Mike Mushok (Staind and Saint Asonia).



Thanks mate!


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## hztirf (Dec 16, 2020)

zack6 said:


> I'm not quiet sure about the fair price you asked, but AFAIK the MMM1 list price is US$899 and quiet similar with my ibanez MMM1, I bought for around US$900ish (yes the dealers sold these with MSRP, no discount tho). If I have to sell these, I think $750-$800 quiet a fair price regarding the condition.



Thank you.

FYI, the list price in central Europe was EUR1095 incl VAT. in 2003-2004 (not sure about the years after, but I assume it was the same).


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## Milchek (Dec 28, 2020)

hztirf said:


> Thank you. I'm wondering right now, if the factory strings were really 14-74. IIRC, they were ~13-56 and B tuning. But maybe I'm completely wrong...



Just looked up the old ibanez site on archive.com and found in 2006 the factory tuning was A-D-A-D-G-B

Here's a blast from the past:


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## hztirf (Dec 28, 2020)

Milchek said:


> Just looked up the old ibanez site on archive.com and found in 2006 the factory tuning was A-D-A-D-G-B
> 
> Here's a blast from the past:



Interesting & cool find, and so completely different than mentioned in the magazine link below. 



hztirf said:


> My memories on the factory string set were wrong. According to the German mag "Gitarre & Bass" it's a 14-75 set (standard B tuning). The article from 2004 can be downloaded here (German only): https://www.gitarrebass.de/heftarchiv/2004-02/ibanez-mmm1-mike-mushok-signature-e-gitarre/


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## 73647k (Dec 28, 2020)

Milchek said:


> Just looked up the old ibanez site on archive.com and found in 2006 the factory tuning was A-D-A-D-G-B
> 
> Here's a blast from the past:



This is great - I forgot all about the Jet King, too. Used to want one of those real bad for some reason


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## PRS_Baritone_Vito (Jan 5, 2021)

I bought the MMM-1 new when they first came out and absolutely love it. I still have it, but it doesn't get much use these days. I've swapped out a few different pickup sets in it over the years. I still have the original pickups and want to put them back in to see how I feel about them now.


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## ockis23 (Jan 6, 2021)

Congrats man, that's a hell of a find and score!


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## hztirf (Jan 31, 2021)

I joined the owner's club - I couldn't resist.


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## Jeries (Jan 31, 2021)

zack6 said:


> Hi Guys, so yesterday I just got the Ibanez MMM1 brand new old stock on local dealer. I've been looking for this monster since 2007 back then when i was in high school, and luckily a week ago when i was just browse around on local online market, i saw this guitar listed on local dealer, so yeah i talked to the seller and bought it without hesitation. So here it is.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


congrats man....finding a "new old stock" like that after so many years is so amazing - I salute you! For those about to rock, we salute you


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## spartanv7 (Feb 4, 2021)

I have one of these that I bought back in 2005-ish and out of all my guitars I'll never sell it. My band tuned down to drop A# and this guitar was an absolute monster bone stock. 

My preamp is generally pretty bright (ADA MP-1) and these pickups are a tad bit darker than something like a Seymour Duncan JB but they have great character. 

If it's just a matter of increasing brightness, I would suggest replacing the pots with 525k instead of 500k pots (or I think there's even 550k CTS pots now) with a treble bleed mod. That way you can keep the character of the pickups but give it a slight boost in brightness and the treble bleed mod will let you keep more high end if you're rolling down your volume.


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## zack6 (Feb 17, 2021)

PRS_Baritone_Vito said:


> I bought the MMM-1 new when they first came out and absolutely love it. I still have it, but it doesn't get much use these days. I've swapped out a few different pickup sets in it over the years. I still have the original pickups and want to put them back in to see how I feel about them now.



What pickup did you changed on your MMM1? I wanted to change the pickup at first, but then I think these factory pickup are pretty good. 



ockis23 said:


> Congrats man, that's a hell of a find and score!



Thanks mate!



Jeries said:


> congrats man....finding a "new old stock" like that after so many years is so amazing - I salute you! For those about to rock, we salute you



Thanks mate, I just think I was lucky to find these.


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## zack6 (Feb 17, 2021)

hztirf said:


> I joined the owner's club - I couldn't resist.



Ah welcome to the club dude


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## zack6 (Feb 17, 2021)

spartanv7 said:


> I have one of these that I bought back in 2005-ish and out of all my guitars I'll never sell it. My band tuned down to drop A# and this guitar was an absolute monster bone stock.
> 
> My preamp is generally pretty bright (ADA MP-1) and these pickups are a tad bit darker than something like a Seymour Duncan JB but they have great character.
> 
> If it's just a matter of increasing brightness, I would suggest replacing the pots with 525k instead of 500k pots (or I think there's even 550k CTS pots now) with a treble bleed mod. That way you can keep the character of the pickups but give it a slight boost in brightness and the treble bleed mod will let you keep more high end if you're rolling down your volume.



Well I'm not that familiar with treble bleed mod, but I just want to keep it simple, I just took the tone knob off and I rely on parametric EQ and treble booster on my guitar rig plugin. And I think its still sounds good IMO.


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## hztirf (Sep 10, 2021)

High score (better high price  ) on Reverb: https://reverb.com/item/44219011-ibanez-mmm1-mike-mushok-signature-baritone

Has anything changed recently regarding the value of MMM1s?


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