# Ebmm jp15-7 vs. Majesty 7



## Wolfos (Jan 3, 2017)

Hey there,

I realize that this was a thread created 2 years ago but for the sake of not Necro-bumping and members having 2 more years of experience I'd like to ask the people's opinion again.

I am very close to having enough money for one of my two dream guitars. I really need some advice as to which one I should buy because where I live (Ontario Canada) there are no Jp15s even in road trip range. I have played the majesty 7 and adore it but since bother the jp15-7 and majesty 7 are the same price I'd really like to make the right call.

If it helps anyone I'm into playing things like Intervals, Plini, Dream Theater, Erra, Periphery etc.

Thanks for everyone's input!


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## The 1 (Jan 3, 2017)

You won't go wrong with either, and both suit your styles. Go with the one that has more features you like or you think looks better. 

I would prefer the JP15 for looks and the roasted bolt-on neck.
The Majesty is neck-thru and more ergonomic, has better fret access.


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## Wolfos (Jan 3, 2017)

The 1 said:


> You won't go wrong with either, and both suit your styles. Go with the one that has more features you like or you think looks better.
> 
> I would prefer the JP15 for looks and the roasted bolt-on neck.
> The Majesty is neck-thru and more ergonomic, has better fret access.



The problem is I love the looks of both! I do like the feel of ebony slightly more than maple but that being said I still love maple. I noticed Music Man mentioned they've upgraded the bridge on the majesty but to me it looks like they just added a shield to it. Beyond that I think the majesty has more options with pickup selection which is nice.


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## jephjacques (Jan 3, 2017)

I've got both and I like them equally. They basically sound the same, even with the different neck woods. The Majesty is a smaller guitar and therefore a bit lighter. Neither is objectively better than the other, or different in terms of tone or build quality in my experience. Just go with whichever one you want, you won't regret it.


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## Wolfos (Jan 3, 2017)

jephjacques said:


> I've got both and I like them equally. They basically sound the same, even with the different neck woods. The Majesty is a smaller guitar and therefore a bit lighter. Neither is objectively better than the other, or different in terms of tone or build quality in my experience. Just go with whichever one you want, you won't regret it.



I was actually hoping someone on here would have both. Although you saying goes there both perfect is great that I can't go wrong but makes it still just as tough. Which one would you say sits on your lap better? Which one is more ergonomic?


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## Furtive Glance (Jan 3, 2017)

I'd go JP15 purely for aesthetic purposes, myself. (Minor detail - for the _smidgen_ of a chance you'd need/want to sell it one day, I think you'd have an easier time parting with it simply because it's a more standard shape but YMMV, I suppose).


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## jephjacques (Jan 4, 2017)

They'e both very comfortable, the 15 feels like your typical fender/ibanez shaped superstrat, the Majesty is kind of its own thing. it has a smaller body and everything's super rounded off. I've found that for my hands, the cutaway on the 15 actually gives me more room than the one on the majesty, but the majesty has no neck heel to speak of so it's a pretty fair trade. Again, the 15 feels very traditional and the majesty is its own thing.


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## jephjacques (Jan 4, 2017)

Furtive Glance said:


> I'd go JP15 purely for aesthetic purposes, myself. (Minor detail - for the _smidgen_ of a chance you'd need/want to sell it one day, I think you'd have an easier time parting with it simply because it's a more standard shape but YMMV, I suppose).



The used market is garbage for everything these days, it's really not worth considering IMO


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## Wolfos (Jan 4, 2017)

jephjacques said:


> They'e both very comfortable, the 15 feels like your typical fender/ibanez shaped superstrat, the Majesty is kind of its own thing. it has a smaller body and everything's super rounded off. I've found that for my hands, the cutaway on the 15 actually gives me more room than the one on the majesty, but the majesty has no neck heel to speak of so it's a pretty fair trade. Again, the 15 feels very traditional and the majesty is its own thing.



I hate that there are no 15's around me. I love the majesty but your making me want the 15 now.


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## cslushy (Jan 4, 2017)

I have played both but only own a majesty. I honestly like the jp15 more unless you really want the crazy fret access. The natural neck feels amazing and it looks incredible. That being said the majesty neck feels very good too.


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## Wolfos (Jan 4, 2017)

cslushy said:


> I have played both but only own a majesty. I honestly like the jp15 more unless you really want the crazy fret access. The natural neck feels amazing and it looks incredible. That being said the majesty neck feels very good too.



You like the feel of the maple better than ebony? I believe the neck size is very similar 17" radius and all that. Or is it because its not painted?


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## 7 Dying Trees (Jan 5, 2017)

Not sure how close the the 15 the floyd rose JP version is, but played that and the Majesty last week. The floyd version, the neck was OK, and in general I didn't really think it was worth the coin they were asking for it.

The Majesty on the other hand felt great, neck was awesome, felt solid, sounded awesome and I did think that was worth the asking price. Also, the majesty feels remarkably like a parker weirdly enough.

If it were me, and going off that I'd equate the neck profile on the JP15 to the one on the FR (this is an assumption), I'd personally go with the majesty, as that is awesome, fully featured, and solid feeling.


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## jephjacques (Jan 5, 2017)

The necks on my 15 and the Majesty have identical profiles. The Maj really does feel like a Parker, thanks to the SS frets and the super-polished fretboard.


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## Rachmaninoff (Jan 5, 2017)

Wolfos said:


> I have played the majesty 7 and adore it



Ugliest guitar on Earth!


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## Wolfhorsky (Jan 5, 2017)

Rachmaninoff said:


> Ugliest guitar on Earth!



God i miss like button...


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## cslushy (Jan 5, 2017)

Wolfos said:


> You like the feel of the maple better than ebony? I believe the neck size is very similar 17" radius and all that. Or is it that the necase not painted?



I like it more because of the unfinished neck. The ebony fret board is better though imo.


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## A-Branger (Jan 6, 2017)

I say go with the Majesty, only because I like it more, and I hate the "brown" of the JP15


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## Musiscience (Jan 6, 2017)

A-Branger said:


> I say go with the Majesty, only because I like it more, and I hate the "brown" of the JP15



It will be available in teal this year, so not an issue anymore!


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## Wolfos (Jan 6, 2017)

Rachmaninoff said:


> Ugliest guitar on Earth!



OK that's friggin hilarious. When I first saw it in thought it was a remake of 'Prince's' guitar but I've gotten used to it. I really like the 2017 model jp15 and majesty.


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## Wolfos (Jan 6, 2017)

Love this colour.


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## A-Branger (Jan 6, 2017)

Musiscience said:


> It will be available in teal this year, so not an issue anymore!



lol I know  but I preffer the blue berry version they did. Green is a bit of a "meh" color for me, plus never been a fan of the roasted neck, Much rather the light tone of normal mapple, dont like the dark tone of this (talking about color, not sound lol)

also why get that when you can have this beauty







or this






or the red one posted above

mmmmmmmmmmm

or if you can get your hands into the latest PDN starry night with sparkle and clean fretboard oooohhhhhhh, even as a JP15 is still a win


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## Wolfos (Jan 6, 2017)

I thought Starry night was just in the Jp7 model. Or at least that's all I've seen. I think it's awesome with the blank ebony fretboard.


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## Wolfos (Jan 6, 2017)

Does anyone know if you can request black hardware instead of chrome without buying the purple paint job?


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## A-Branger (Jan 6, 2017)

Wolfos said:


> I thought Starry night was just in the Jp7 model. Or at least that's all I've seen. I think it's awesome with the blank ebony fretboard.



yeah you are right, it was only for the JP 6/7

as for the majesty






I honestly tough it was going to look better  Maybe because I have a silver pearl painted bass that Ive been playing for the last 15 years lol , maybe they would look better in person when the sparkles hit the lights. I was looking for bit more burst effect

I preffer either the 2017 new majesty or the Artisan series.

AS your hardware swap question, It is a big no. Same as buying a replacement bridge. You only option is to wait till they release a new PDN run and hope they let you include that model. Some PDN in the past for example let use the JPX body/features, so thats why you have a red sparkle JPX with black hardware


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## endmysuffering (Jan 6, 2017)

Why are the john petrucci guitars so popular? I never got the fascination.


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## Wolfos (Jan 6, 2017)

A-Branger said:


> yeah you are right, it was only for the JP 6/7
> 
> as for the majesty
> 
> ...



The Cardinal red JPXI looked amazing. I've only ever seen 1 for sale. $4000 used for a 6 string.


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## Wolfos (Jan 6, 2017)

endmysuffering said:


> Why are the john petrucci guitars so popular? I never got the fascination.



As for why everyone likes them? It's all obviously personal preference but all i can say is for my self I've played a LOT of guitars and the JP models are in my experience the best sounding, feeling and looking guitars I've ever touched. Only guitar I've played smoother would be a Suhr and they only have one 7 string if I recall and I didn't like it. There 6 string are incredible and they know it hence there price. Where I live they go for $1000 more than music man guitars.


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## Given To Fly (Jan 7, 2017)

endmysuffering said:


> Why are the john petrucci guitars so popular? I never got the fascination.



Good question! I can only share why I bought one. I'm sure other people will not have the same reasons. One the reason I bought my JPX-7 was for the piezo bridge. In 2013, I believe the EBMM JP was the only production model 7 string guitar with a floating bridge that had piezo pickups. In hindsight, the piezo bridge was not as important as I thought it would be but "you live, you learn." 

Another reason was Music Man's reputation for building rock-solid guitars. Where did this reputation come from? Mainly, the guitar techs at the guitar shop I go to. Do they have a vested interest in pushing Music Man guitars on customers? Not really. The store is a Music Man dealer but has not carried any inventory for years. Also, the repair shop is busy enough that the guitar techs can afford to be honest about consistent flaws they find amongst various guitar brands. 

Lastly, the general aesthetic of the JP model allows it to fit in anywhere a solid body electric guitar would be played. In other words, "the JP model fits in at a bar and it fits in at church." I wanted a "super strat" that did not look like a "super strat" and there are not very many 7 string guitars that accomplish that today, much less 4 years ago. 

Jay Leno often says "the two cars that are raced the most are the Porsche 911 and the Chevrolet Corvette because they are good, reliable platforms on which to build a race car." (He never phrases it like that.) The EBMM JP model is the guitar equivalent of those cars. It is a consistently good, reliable, easy to play guitar that covers a lot of ground.


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## Wolfos (Jan 7, 2017)

I just had a thought, has anyone played both the JP15 7 string and the Sterling JP157? I'm curious what the comparison is beyond the fact that there's no Piezo. 

Does anyone know how the playability, feel, quality, sound is like in comparison to the music man?

Maybe I'll buy the JP157 and a Majesty so I can have both and nourish my GAS


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## DarkCide (Mar 11, 2017)

Anyone feel the medium-jumbo frets are on the smaller side? feel jumbo frets would have felt better?


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