Dream Theater’s John Petrucci Gives You the Personal Tour of his New Signature Guitar, the “Majesty”

John Petrucci’s new signature Ernie Ball/Music Man “Majesty” wasn’t exactly a well-kept secret. He kind of just mentioned it unofficially on the Music Man forum a few months ago, and since then official announcements and previews have popped up. Well, now the release is near, preorders are up, and John Petrucci himself wants to show it to you.

I’d like to imagine that the creation of the guitar went something like this: Petrucci standing behind the designers, whipping them furiously, yelling “not futuristic enough!” Look at that sleek “racing horse” body, the stereo piezo output, the push buttons and flippy switches and… laser etched maple? Okay, that I’ve really never seen before. He really wanted that middle piece of wood to look like carbon fiber without the negative aural effects of that fiber, so he just turned maple carbon with searing beams of light. I guess when your rig has a knob that controls the temperature of the sun, anything is possible.

Here’s what John had to say about the guitar:

“The Majesty guitar symbolizes the very reason why I am so proud to be a Music Man artist. I had the idea for this guitar a couple of years ago but it is because of their innovative spirit and dedication to the art of guitar building that it is now a reality. I am so grateful that I am able to collaborate with the best guitar company on the planet and so incredibly proud that together we have created what is to me, the perfect musical instrument for guitar players. I really hope you get a chance to play one and am confident that you will feel the same!”

Not addressed in that quote, or the video below, is that the Majesty has a “Gamechanger” pickup selecting system. It provides digital control of your analog pickup routing, which prevents popping noises when you move from neck to bridge, bridge to neck. It’s also apparently faster than an analog switch. I can’t say that the nigh-unnoticeable delay has ever bothered me amidst mid-riff swapping, but then again I don’t tend to play 32nd note string-alternating runs at 200bpm.