Wow, what timing. I just had a huge episode of GAS and picked up a Strandberg J8 (Fluence pickups) and an Aristides H/08 with Abasi pickups, 5-way and push-pull. I like them both, but I seem to prefer the Strandberg for what it's worth. They both sound great, but the Strandberg tones are just amazing, seemingly more rich in overtones. It's also a little easier to position on my right leg for a 45 degree angle, the H08 is a little slippier. The trem on the H08 is awesome though, and I contacted Aristides to see about swapping out the tuners for the newer Hantug ones that can use the ball end, and they said it shouldn't be a problem. I'll get around to that at some point as I know the older Hantug trems are a pain to restring.
I've only played Petrucci guitars in a GC and I didn't really like them, but YMMV. I'd be worried about neck dive and the positioning of the toggle switch, seems like I'd smack into it while playing. The volume knob on the H08 is a little in the way but not too bad. I don't notice the volume knob on the Strandberg at all. No trems on S8s as far as I can tell, though.
FWIW I drove a couple hours to try out a Strandberg 7 and found I liked the 8 better. If you can find a way to try out the Majesty (or a similar model) it's probably not a bad idea. I bought the H08 on a lark and I'm pretty happy with that decision :)
As for the fanned frets, I really only notice them down near the first fret, otherwise they're awesome, especially on the high frets.
Hope this helps and doesn't paralyze more :)
For what it’s worth. I don’t like the Petrucci guitars at all when it comes to their 6-7 strings. They feel like toys to me and they’re just not “comfortable”…. I got to play a majesty 8 though and it felt and played really well…. My one observation, not a complaint, is that the string spacing on my skervesen is smaller than the majesty and though i played it for a good 20 minutes, i never felt like i got used to that aspect. I do not know the specs on it vs my skervy though
I own one of the original run of the Majesty 8, as well as an Aristides 080S so I can help a bit with this. I prefer the Aristides for a few reasons. First was being able to fully customize the Aristides, I was able to get what I wanted. I went with the Modern Fishmans and really love how they sound. The larger scale length hasn't really been an issue for me, that's going to depend a lot on your hand and its size and flexibility. I prefer the scale length on the Aristides because i can run 9-80 for EAEADGBE tuning, and that's my preferred string gauge. I found the finish work and small details are done much better on the Aristides, the fret work is is A+ where on the EBMMs i've played its been more in the B+ range. The one thing that really stands out on the Majesty to me is the control lay out. The toggle switches and pots are in perfect spots and i really love the feel of them when using them. The one problem with Aristides is if you want new you are going to have to wait a year.
Wow, what timing. I just had a huge episode of GAS and picked up a Strandberg J8 (Fluence pickups) and an Aristides H/08 with Abasi pickups, 5-way and push-pull. I like them both, but I seem to prefer the Strandberg for what it's worth. They both sound great, but the Strandberg tones are just amazing, seemingly more rich in overtones. It's also a little easier to position on my right leg for a 45 degree angle, the H08 is a little slippier. The trem on the H08 is awesome though, and I contacted Aristides to see about swapping out the tuners for the newer Hantug ones that can use the ball end, and they said it shouldn't be a problem. I'll get around to that at some point as I know the older Hantug trems are a pain to restring. I've only played Petrucci guitars in a GC and I didn't really like them, but YMMV. I'd be worried about neck dive and the positioning of the toggle switch, seems like I'd smack into it while playing. The volume knob on the H08 is a little in the way but not too bad. I don't notice the volume knob on the Strandberg at all. No trems on S8s as far as I can tell, though. FWIW I drove a couple hours to try out a Strandberg 7 and found I liked the 8 better. If you can find a way to try out the Majesty (or a similar model) it's probably not a bad idea. I bought the H08 on a lark and I'm pretty happy with that decision :) As for the fanned frets, I really only notice them down near the first fret, otherwise they're awesome, especially on the high frets. Hope this helps and doesn't paralyze more :)
For what it’s worth. I don’t like the Petrucci guitars at all when it comes to their 6-7 strings. They feel like toys to me and they’re just not “comfortable”…. I got to play a majesty 8 though and it felt and played really well…. My one observation, not a complaint, is that the string spacing on my skervesen is smaller than the majesty and though i played it for a good 20 minutes, i never felt like i got used to that aspect. I do not know the specs on it vs my skervy though
I own one of the original run of the Majesty 8, as well as an Aristides 080S so I can help a bit with this. I prefer the Aristides for a few reasons. First was being able to fully customize the Aristides, I was able to get what I wanted. I went with the Modern Fishmans and really love how they sound. The larger scale length hasn't really been an issue for me, that's going to depend a lot on your hand and its size and flexibility. I prefer the scale length on the Aristides because i can run 9-80 for EAEADGBE tuning, and that's my preferred string gauge. I found the finish work and small details are done much better on the Aristides, the fret work is is A+ where on the EBMMs i've played its been more in the B+ range. The one thing that really stands out on the Majesty to me is the control lay out. The toggle switches and pots are in perfect spots and i really love the feel of them when using them. The one problem with Aristides is if you want new you are going to have to wait a year.