Ernie Ball Music Man Sabre HT Guitar, Rosewood Fretboard, Showtime Sunburst

Player's Perspective

This Sabre HT is yet another entry in Ernie Ball Music Man's catalog of California-made high-end guitars with both looks and tone built for the big stage. The Sabre is one of their most iconic models, and the HT incorporates new technology such as "heat-treated" pickups that increase dynamics and touch sensitivity as well as the improvements to the wiring and hardware they've made over the years. The Showtime Sunburst with figured binding is a glamorous take on the classic 3-tone sunburst finish that truly stands out, and the matching painted neck is an eye-catching feature that you usually don't see on a bolt-on guitar. Our favorite pickups are those that happen to be both "clean" and "loud". Oftentimes hot pickups lose the dynamics and clarity that low-output pickups tend to have. These new EBMM Heat-Treated pickups manage to nail that balance, and the guitarists here at the shop are very pleased with how this Sabre sounds at all gain levels, especially with the built-in active boost. For a hot-rodded axe that looks ready for showtime with old-school sensibilities, check out this unique revamped Sabre.

Item Specifics

The pickups are able to achieve an ultra-high-output, powerful low-end response while retaining a distinctively clean, clear tone and definition at lower volume levels. The HT (Heat Treated) bridge pickup utilizes patent-pending heat-treated pole pieces with a large ceramic magnet and an overwound coil that gives the pickup higher frequency harmonics and excellent touch sensitivity. The Sabre's custom-wound neck humbucker also features a large ceramic magnet and has been wound specifically to pair with the Sabre's HT bridge pickup. In addition, the electronics package includes a push-push adjustable 20dB boost function and a transparent buffered output for complete tonal consistency wherever your volume control is set. In other respects, the Sabre HT shares many of the original Sabre guitar specifications but also features a contoured Okoume body with a thick maple top, a maple neck, and 22 stainless steel frets.