MusicMan Month: Rosewood Axis Super Sport Guitar

Hi there! I have always looked at today’s guitar as homage to the rosewood Telecaster that Phillip Kubicki made for George Harrison in 1969.

The Ernie Ball MusicMan Axis Super Sport guitar was a limited edition, and I do not see them very often. They have a very striking appearance, and are a great playing guitar too.

The neck is pure art. It is made of a solid chunk of rosewood, with 22 high-profile frets. There is poly finish only on the headstock. The rest of the neck is coated in gunstock oil and wax, and is a smooth as silk. All models use Schaller locking tuners (with pearly buttons!), so string changes are a snap.

There is a transparent finish over the bookmatched rosewood top, and the rest of the body is ash. The body has a classy cream binding around the top. They are surprisingly light, and the ones I have played have been under 7 pounds.

Rosewood Super Sports were available with either a hardtail bridge that strings through the body, or a Floyd Rose locking tremolo.

The electronics are the same as other Axis models, with volume and tone controls, and a 5-way pickup selector. These control two DiMarzio humbucking pickups or MM90 soapbar pickups.

The list price on these was $2225 when they were new, but they can be had for under $1000 on the used market.

The one pictured here is a hardtail with Dimarzios, and is a real peach. As I said before the neck is the best part, and I feel it gives the guitar a darker tone. It plays as well as any Telecaster I have ever owned, and I have had some really nice ones.