Left Handed Guitars and Basses Available From Ernie Ball Music Man

Recently we’ve gotten several questions from customers about the availability of left handed Ernie Ball Music Man guitars and basses. Unfortunately, not all Ernie Ball Music Man guitars and basses are available in lefty models and with build times of anywhere from 10 months to a year, customers usually have a bunch of questions before they place their order. 

In an effort to simplify things for all of our southpaw customers interested in Ernie Ball Music Man guitars and basses, we’ve decided to write up a quick article detailing all of the left handed guitars and basses that we have in stock or on the way, and those that we can order, with some basic estimates of turn around times for your order.

The Music Man Way

At the Music Man factory in San Luis Obispo, California, state of the art automated manufacturing processes are used to cut and shape the wood for the instruments. These automated processes are extremely precise and create body shapes and sizes that are extremely accurate. 

Once the bodies and necks are shaped, they are then hand-sanded to provide a beautiful touch and improved playability. All guitars are then finished and buffed by hand, while the electronics are hand-soldered and the hardware setup by tech experts who ensure that your Music Man guitar or bass will play perfectly the moment you unbox it.

The Music Man manufacturing method is technically not a custom shop, but in terms of attention to detail, top tier components and overall build quality they are just about as good as it gets. When you create a high quality build process that doesn’t cut any corners, each build is going to take time, but when all is said and done, Music Man guitars and basses are definitely worth the wait.  

Ernie Ball Music Man From the Factory Floor

In Stock Now!

There are several Ernie Ball Music Man guitars that are in stock at Adirondack Guitar right now and would be available to ship right away if ordered. These are:

The Ernie Ball Music Man Left Handed Axis Super Sport

The Ernie Ball Music Man Left Handed Axis Super Sport features a unique, offset basswood body with a quilted Maple top and a sculpted neck joint that allows unfettered access to the highest register of the 22-fret maple fingerboard. The Maple neck is treated with a light hand-rubbed oil finish and sports a 10“ fretboard radius, giving it next level comfort and buttery playability. 

The key to the versatile tone of this incredible Ernie Ball Music Man lefty Axis is its pickups. Equipped with custom designed DiMarzio humbucker pickups with a 5-way pickup selector switch that allows you to split the coils on the bridge and neck humbuckers and blend them together in ways that create unique sounds. If you are looking for a guitar that can do everything from Blues and Country to Alternative and Hard Rock, this Axis is perfect!

To round out the picture of this powerhouse guitar you have a variety of premium hardware appointments that only adds to its luxurious feel and professional studio quality sound. Featuring a Music Man designed Floyd Rose style tremolo with Schaller locking tuners, the Music Man Axis Super Sport delivers stable tuning and rock solid intonation no matter how much, or how aggressively, you use your trem.

Ernie Ball MusicMan Left Handed Axis Super Sport is available inBalboa Blue Flame (see below) andTrans Gold Flame (pictured above).

 The John Petrucci Signature JP6 with piezo 

The JP6 was the first John Petrucci signature model introduced by Music Man in 2001 and has spawned a veritable cottage industry of Music Man Petrucci models that are highly sought after for their aggressive tone and silky playability. The JP6 is the one that started it all, sporting a long list of innovative features such as the vaunted ‘forearm scoop,’ Petrucci’s Liquifire and Crunch Lab pickups and a host of top tier appointments that make this guitar among the most shreddable in existence. Surprisingly, given all of its shred-worthy features, the truth is that with the addition of a Piezo bridge, the JP6 has a considerable amount of sonic versatility.  

JP6 Demo Video:

 

Stealth Black JP6 is in stock now and will ship right away. The lefty JP6 with Piezo is available in several additional finishes, all of which can be ordered including:

The JP6 in Firemist Purple is on order now!Get in touch with us for more information about its expected arrival date! 

Ernie Ball Music Man JP7

Following the success of the JP6 John Petrucci signature guitar, Music Man soon came out with a 7-string version that opened up an entirely new world of creative possibilities. Sporting the same distinctive ‘forearm scoop’ Music Man pioneered with the JP6, the JP7 also had the same active electronics and Piezo bridge, making it just as sonically versatile as the original. The main difference is the low ‘B’ string that gives the JP7 an entirely new dimension. You can hear this guitar at work on Petrucci’s classic solo album Suspended Animation, particularly the shred-laden tune “Jaws of Life.” 

Here is an amateur video of Petrucci on tour with 2018 G3 playing Jaws of Life on a beautiful JP7:

The Ernie Ball Music Man Left Handed John Petrucci JP7 w/ Piezo in a beautiful Firemist Gold finish is an evolved and refined version of the JP6 featuring blistering lead tones, fat rhythm tones and authentic acoustic tones from a chambered Basswood body, custom DiMarzio pickups and a Piezo pickup built into its floating tremolo bridge. The JP7 delivers all of the sonic versatility and superior playability of the JP6 in a new 7-string version that opens up completely new doors of musical expression.

The select Maple neck is super thin and extremely fast featuring a 24-fret Rosewood fretboard that is easy to access due to the body’s styling. The lightweight basswood body features the innovative Petrucci designed forearm scoop with contoured neck joint and extremely deep cutaways that allow unfettered access to the entire 24 fret fingerboard.

One of the most impressive refinements found in the Music Man JP7 is the addition of a 3-way pickup selector switch that allows you to access to the individual pickup coils so that you can blend them in both traditional and unique ways. The acoustic piezo pickup gets its own separate volume control and a 3-way toggle switches you from the magnetic pickups to the piezo pickup, or combines both, giving you access to unique tones.

Hardware and electronics include a custom John Petrucci Music Man Piezo floating tremolo,  chrome plated, hardened steel with solid steel saddles, custom 7-string DiMarzio Liquifire humbucker pickup in the neck, 7-string DiMarzio Crunch Lab humbucker in the bridge position and a Piezo pickup built into the bridge. Controls include a 3-way pickup selector and 3-way toggle control on the Piezo pickup, allow you to switch and blend piezo and magnetic pickup sounds.  Schaller M6-IND locking tuner in black finish with black buttons ensure tuning stability.

The Firemist Gold JP7 is in stock and ready to ship right away. The lefty JP7 is also available in Firemist Purple and can be ordered:

Sterling 4-String Bass

We’ve received several inquiries about left handed Music Man StingRay basses but it appears that Music Man is no longer offering them in a lefty version. Instead, they are now offering the Music Man Sterling 4 Bass in a left handed version, and its name has caused some confusion. Some people think that the ‘Sterling’ bass is a ‘Sterling by Music Man’ StingRay, but the Sterling 4 is actually an Ernie Ball Music Man Sterling bass, which is an amazing short scale bass with a big sound and buttery playability.

Despite sporting a slightly smaller body size and neck profile that the classic StingRay Bass, the USA made Ernie Ball Music Man Left Handed Sterling 4 Bass boasts a big sound! The lefty Sterling 4 bass features an Ash body that is lightweight and extremely comfortable to play, and a short scale roasted Maple neck has a great look and feel. 

The Sterling has a scale length of 34“ and a satin finish Roasted Maple neck hand-rubbed with gunstock oil and a special wax blend. The 22-fret Maple fingerboard has an 11“ radius that makes it flat and super comfortable to play. 

The key to the Ernie Ball Music Man Sterling 4‘s sound is its active electronics. Equipped with a  9 volt active 3 band EQ preamp and a ceramic humbucker with hum canceling phantom coil, the Sterling 4 has a 3-way selector switch which allows you to choose among a variety of tones, allowing this bass to cut through any mix. 

Hardware includes a Music Man® chrome plated, hardened steel bridge plate with stainless steel saddles, compensated nut, and Schaller BM tuning machines with tapered string posts for enhanced tuning stability.

Joe Dart’s Sterling Bass Demo

The Sterling 4 is available in two finishes: Scarlet Red(pictured below) andBlue Pearl  and at the time of this writing we have one on order which should be in this Fall. Keep your eye on ourblog orcontact us for more information about wait times on Music man Sterling basses!

This is the full list of left handed Ernie Ball Music Man guitars and basses that we are currently able to order. When an order is placed, the turnaround time is usually around 10 months, so if you are looking for a new Music Man lefty, you may want to consider looking at the models that we have in stock right now or that are on order already. If you have any questions about availability and wait times that have not been answered in this article, please give us acall or write to us through our website! There is nothing that we’d enjoy more than helping you get the lefty Music Man guitar or bass of your dreams!