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Published on 08/10/11 at 12:15Petrucci is the guitar player for Dream Theater. He is one of the most modern guitarists out on the scene. The specs on his guitar are constantly changing as he looks for a more refined tone. His guitar has evolved pretty much since he was with Ibanez over to Musicman. Although being different companies the important parts of the guitar have taken a linear evolution. This guitar now is pretty current example of the standard Petrucci without a piezo system. This guitar has a Basswood body with a maple neck. The fretboard is rosewood with 24 jumbo frets. The radius on the neck is 15 inches so it is pretty flat. It has locking tuners up top and a proprietary Musicman non locking tremolo system down at the bottom. The pickups are what Petrucci is using currently. He is constantly working with Dimarzio to refine the sound of his stuff. The neck pickup is a Dimarzio Liquifier while the bridge pickup is a Crunch Lab. The guitar has a master volume and a master tone with a standard 3 way toggle switch.
UTILIZATION
The Petrucci neck profile is his own. It is kind of like an Ibanez neck but slightly thicker. The neck bolt is Musicmans unique 5 bolt design which curves away giving a comfortable space for your hand. The jumbo frets and the super flat 15 inch radius means you can get a low action across the board. The back of the neck is finished with gunstock oil and hand rubbed to get a super smooth feel on the back of the neck. The locking tuners are a great touch for a guitar that does not have a locking nut. All guitars should have locking tuners if they dont have a locking nut. The tremolo design is similar to a Fender non locking tremolo but it seems a bit more comfortable on your hand.
SOUNDS
Petrucci has a super modern sound and it can be heard on a dozen or show Dream Theater records. He has been using Dimarzio pickups forever and this set is the latest evolution of the pickups he has been using. The Crunch Lab is a super thick bridge pickup. It has an unique design where one half of the pickup has a rail magnet and the other half has normal pole pieces. Petrucci prefers the rail magnet facing away from the bridge and this gives the bridge position more low end. This unique design also makes the pickup a bit noisy. This version isnt as noisy as the old D-sonic was but it is still noisier that you expect a humbucker to be. The liquifier in the neck is super smooth for your fast prog solos. It sounds like its name and has a very liquid sound. It is super smooth but has just enough high end bite to keep it from sounding muddy. This pickup is great for sweeping and all the other super fast shred techniques. It is smooth enough to sound good when you are playing fast but bright enough not to sound like a blur.
OVERALL OPINION
The Petrucci Musicman guitars are great all around guitars. I have sene them used for many different types of music not just Metal. They are just good all around workhorses. They are not so specialized that you can only play one type of music on them they are generalists. They are best at anything that requires a modern sound. The Dimarzio pickups in this guitar give it a super modern sound that is good from prog to pop. If you are looking for a good all around guitar with a good modern sound the Petrucci Musicman is a good guitar.
UTILIZATION
The Petrucci neck profile is his own. It is kind of like an Ibanez neck but slightly thicker. The neck bolt is Musicmans unique 5 bolt design which curves away giving a comfortable space for your hand. The jumbo frets and the super flat 15 inch radius means you can get a low action across the board. The back of the neck is finished with gunstock oil and hand rubbed to get a super smooth feel on the back of the neck. The locking tuners are a great touch for a guitar that does not have a locking nut. All guitars should have locking tuners if they dont have a locking nut. The tremolo design is similar to a Fender non locking tremolo but it seems a bit more comfortable on your hand.
SOUNDS
Petrucci has a super modern sound and it can be heard on a dozen or show Dream Theater records. He has been using Dimarzio pickups forever and this set is the latest evolution of the pickups he has been using. The Crunch Lab is a super thick bridge pickup. It has an unique design where one half of the pickup has a rail magnet and the other half has normal pole pieces. Petrucci prefers the rail magnet facing away from the bridge and this gives the bridge position more low end. This unique design also makes the pickup a bit noisy. This version isnt as noisy as the old D-sonic was but it is still noisier that you expect a humbucker to be. The liquifier in the neck is super smooth for your fast prog solos. It sounds like its name and has a very liquid sound. It is super smooth but has just enough high end bite to keep it from sounding muddy. This pickup is great for sweeping and all the other super fast shred techniques. It is smooth enough to sound good when you are playing fast but bright enough not to sound like a blur.
OVERALL OPINION
The Petrucci Musicman guitars are great all around guitars. I have sene them used for many different types of music not just Metal. They are just good all around workhorses. They are not so specialized that you can only play one type of music on them they are generalists. They are best at anything that requires a modern sound. The Dimarzio pickups in this guitar give it a super modern sound that is good from prog to pop. If you are looking for a good all around guitar with a good modern sound the Petrucci Musicman is a good guitar.