Review: Ernie Ball Music Man John Petrucci Majesty Tiger Eye

(Image credit: Ernie Ball Music Man)

I’ve interviewed Dream Theater’s virtuoso guitarist, John Petrucci, a number of times, and one of the most fascinating anecdotes he’s revealed to me is that he doesn’t own or play any other guitars besides his signature ones — and mostly his Majesty models. All those classic electric guitars that many famous musicians strap on their shoulders do not exist in Petrucci’s arsenal — whether at his studio or in his home, nor on his recordings. I also know quite a few notable guitarists with signature instruments who, on the sly, use other guitar brands rather than the ones that bare their name. 

Considering that, it makes Petrucci all the more genuine for playing every Majesty he designs with Ernie Ball Music Man, which is most likely why it’s the company’s most popular artist model. And to take it a step further, Petrucci doesn’t even have a particular favorite Majesty — like “the one he’d grab if the house were on fire.” For him, every Majesty is as perfectly suitable as the next, and that tells me Ernie Ball Music Man gets it right every time in build quality. And I must agree, because every Majesty I’ve ever played has been impeccable. However, after being handed the new Ernie Ball Music Man Majesty Tiger Eye, a limited-edition model of only 300 pieces, I must confess it’s so strikingly beautiful and flawless in design, that it’s “the one I’m grabbing when the house catches fire.”

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Paul Riario

Paul Riario has been the tech/gear editor and online video presence for Guitar World for over 25 years. Paul is one of the few gear editors who has actually played and owned nearly all the original gear that most guitarists wax poetically about, and has survived this long by knowing every useless musical tidbit of classic rock, new wave, hair metal, grunge, and alternative genres. When Paul is not riding his road bike at any given moment, he remains a working musician, playing in two bands called SuperTrans Am and Radio Nashville.