NAMM 2020: Retailing from $3199, Ernie Ball’s brand-new Sabre series has definitely been turning some heads over at NAMM. The guitars feature a lightweight Okoume body, with a thick carved and book-matched premium maple top and natural binding, along with custom Ernie Ball Music Man humbucking pickups.
It will come in four finishes: Cobra, Boujee Burst, Honeysuckle, and Blue Moonstone. The neck is made from roasted figured maple and comes with a choice of rosewood, ebony, or maple fingerboard, Schaller locking tuners, a 5-way switch, and Ernie Ball Music Man’s famously smooth modern tremolo system.
The Steve Lukather signature gets its third update - this latest version of the Luke featuring an alder body with a figured roasted maple neck and rosewood fingerboard.
The Toto guitarist has opted for two versions - one with two high-output humbuckers and a HSS alternative fitted with two Ernie Ball Cutlass single-coils and the same bridge pickup. The Luke III Maple Top will retail from $3199 and be available in both flame and quilt in two finishes: Luscious Green and Cherry Burst.
The John Petrucci signature series also sees a bit of an overhaul, with three new models for 2020 - the revamped Majesty, JP15 and JP Maple Top. The latest incarnation of the Majesty features a flamed maple shield seated in a lightweight Okoume body, Trooch’s signature Dreamcatcher and Rainmaker pickups, an onboard piezo bridge system and will come in four new finishes (Pink Sand, Red Phoenix, Smoked Pearl, and Ember Glow) starting at $2999.
There will also be a limited run of Purple Nebula Majesty guitars, available as 6-string or 7-string and signed by John himself, with a three-piece neck constructed from two strips of Honduran mahogany and a center strip of flamed maple on a body with alder sides, a neck-through mahogany and maple center and a carved, highly figured quilt maple top. Only 200 of these will be made, retailing from $5299.
The 2020 JP 15 will be available as a 6-string or 7-string, with a Cerulean Paradise finish and will retail from $3249. Powered by twin custom Dimarzio Illuminator pickups, with a lightweight Okoume body and figured maple top, a figured roasted maple neck and fingerboard, a piezo bridge system and on-board 20db gain boost, it’s a machine capable of truly Astonishing results.
The JP Maple Top will boast an alder body with a mahogany tone block and figured maple top, and a Honduran Mahogany neck with East Indian Rosewood fingerboard. The pickups included with this model will be the Dimarzio Liquifire and Crunch Lab, with more options courtesy of the piezo bridge system and a coil-splitting tone pot. There will also be a Koa Top option which includes a Mahogany body and neck, with an ebony fretboard. Retailing from $3249, the 2020 JP Maple Top will be available in a Dragon Blood finish, with a choice of either a quilt or flame top.
