Axcess

[cragginshred]

If I do not have to have the piezo feature And since it seems to bee so problematic what would folks here suggest who have tried both the standard as well as the AL LP?

[JayOhh]

Just my personal view, based on my "AL-experience" and others online. Stay away from the AL Axcess. If you don't actually really need the Piezo, then go for the standard axcess.

 

I got the AL mainly because it's not weightreliefed like the standard one, and because I thought the Piezo would be fun. Man was I wrong!

[Rock2112]

Just to balance this a bit, I know JayOhh had a bad experience with his AL, and so did I at first. I deliberately passed on the original Axcess because of the chambering (swiss cheesing). The first question I asked when the ALs were released is are they chambered. When the answer was no, I dove in. Unfortunately, Gibson has done a poor job with the electronics on the AL. But for me, a $60 mod solved all the problems I was having. You can read about the McDLT mod on other postings re the AL. To me, it's an essential mod for this model. JayOhh chose not to do the mod and instead move on. To each his own and I wish him well. But to me, the regular Axcess is a different guitar even discounting the lack of Piezo. It has different pickups and it is weight relieved. So if you really want to make an informed choice, you should try both to see what you like.

 

But I love everything about my AL now, and I'd even buy another one if I had the $ to throw around. The Piezo was not a huge thing for me because I'd never had one before, but I find myself using it a lot and it sounds awesome.

[SolitaryPine]

I love my AL. I have not had any of the sound issues that others have reported with respect to the piezo. Given that over 500 of the guitars have been delivered... the number of people who have complained on here seems relatively small to me. That said, if you do get a bad one, Gibson customer service does not seem to be treating people very well.

 

I have not done the McDLT mod (even though I thought of doing that mod before anyone got the guitar for other reasons), but plan to do it at some point after my electronics warranty expires. I run with two jacks 100% of the time, so that may be part of the reason I have not had the issues the others report.

 

All in all, even if you have to do the $60 McDLT mod and lose the in-guitar blending feature in the process, the benefits of the AL model to me seem to be well worth the additional cost. Partly that is because I like the colors better, partly the lack of chambers, partly the pickups, partly the pickup covers, but mostly the piezo, which I absolutely love.

[JohnnyRocker]

I agree with 2112 and Solitary. I recently had the McDLT mod (not sure where that term originated) for $70 at my local dealer with setup. I never needed the blend feature for a single output. Any and all noise issues (mine were mild/limited) are completely gone and this guitar sounds awesome!

 

In my opinion the AL Axcess is a superior guitar to the stock Axcess - regardless of the peizo. The peize is a great feature and I love the sound, but it should have a seperate siginal path. The McDLT is the only mod that my gutar requires to be perfect for my live application.