Music Man Albert Lee HSS: Country Twang Expanded
New HSS models and an HH Ball Family Reserve limited run
The Music Man Albert Lee HSS Signature expands the country virtuoso’s model lineup with a particularly versatile HSS pickup configuration. Crisp twang and juicy humbucker tones are now effortless. Let’s take a closer look.
Contents – Music Man Albert Lee HSS
First impressions of the Music Man Albert Lee HSS
I don’t need to reiterate the high-quality craftsmanship and hardware of Music Man guitars. Everything is exactly as you’d expect from a high-end instrument. The Music Man Albert Lee HSS boasts some fine components. The visually striking ash body is paired with a roasted, flamed maple neck featuring 22 stainless steel frets. White dot inlays and glow-in-the-dark side markers help you find your way around the fretboard quickly, even on dimly lit stages.
High-quality components ensure reliable tuning: a Music Man vintage tremolo for subtle vibrato effects, a compensated nut for clean intonation, and locking tuners for high tuning stability.
On paper, these should be fantastic guitars, and having owned a few Music Man guitars in my lifetime, I have always found them consistent in build quality, so these should be pretty sweet players. These are already well-regarded models amongst guitarists, so I would expect these new HSS models to be great for much more than just country styles.
New HSS configuration
The heart of the new Music Man Albert Lee HSS lies in the combination of two worlds: At the bridge sits a DiMarzio humbucker, specially developed for the Music Man Axis. Alongside it are custom-made Seymour Duncan single-coils, used in previous models and characteristic of the Albert Lee sound.
Silent Circuit
The integrated preamp utilizes Music Man’s “Silent Circuit .” This circuit reduces the 60 Hz hum typically found in conventional single-coil pickups. It also helps even out the output level across all five positions of the pickup selector switch, ensuring a consistent level when switching pickups.
The 5-way selector switch, along with the master volume and tone controls, opens up a wide range of sounds. This makes the new models very versatile in terms of sound.
Availability
The new Music Man Albert Lee HSS is available in three colors: Cosmos, Firemist Silver, and Honey Burst, including a Mono Cases gig bag. The guitars will be available soon at Thomann and at Sweetwater.
Ball Family Reserve HH
Also new to the lineup is the Music Man BFR Albert Lee HH Malibu Burst from the Ball Family Reserve. This special edition is limited to 75 pieces worldwide. However, if you’re interested, you can try to snag one of these guitars here at Thomann
More Information
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