The more you listen to Dream Theater’s latest studio album, Distance Over Time, the more prog-metal treasure you discover. Likewise, as you dig deeper into John Petrucci’s new signature Ernie Ball Music Man Majesty, you’ll find that every aspect of this electric guitar has been optimized for playability, production and repair. The top-line developments for the 2019 Majesty might include the stunning new finishes and the roar of the Rainmaker and Dreamcatcher pickups. But, under the bonnet, there’s a whole ecosystem of new elements – and that includes the improvements made to the custom active preamp.
Signal Changes
The preamp might not be the first thing you notice about your new electric guitar, but if tone is a priority, it might just be one of the most important. In essence, the job of an active preamp is to condition and optimize your instrument’s ‘raw’ audio signal before it reaches your amp stack, while also buffering it to reduce output impedance, and giving you forensic control over your tone. Since the first generation of Majesty models, we’ve realized the critical importance of using the right preamp – and updating it alongside the rest of the spec. And even now, with the 2019 series, we’re still evolving.
Devil In The Detail
When it comes to guitar design, a few small improvements quickly add up. For the 2019 Majesty, our engineers drilled into every aspect of the model’s electronics, trimming the fat while adding elements we knew would make performance easier for modern players. We’ve eliminated over 50 point-to-point wiring connections, making for ultra-efficient audio signal routing – and complementing the improved pickup switching technology that gives even faster, quieter changes. We’ve improved the user-adjusted controls in the neater rear cavity, giving easier access to the boost trim pots, the piezo mix, and the bass/treble controls. Players can now change between mono/stereo using a reliable mechanical switch – while we’ve even replaced the high-speed digital controllers with faster, more efficient logic circuits.
Theory & Practice
The best news is, you don’t need to study the circuit-boards to reap the benefits of the new Majesty. When you plug in this groundbreaking electric guitar, it feels alive in your hands, and the custom preamp is right at the heart of the action, from the thrilling piezo tone, to the 20dB boost that serves up a searing lead tone to slice through any studio or live mix. It’s one more reason why this trailblazing guitar demands a space on your rack.
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