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Music Man Majesty
Music Man JP15 6
VS
Playability
73
Sound
77
Build
85
Value
63
Score
78
FIND IT ON:
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Playability
70
Sound
78
Build
83
Value
62
Score
77
FIND IT ON:
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Music Man Majesty vs JP15 6

Reasons to Get
Music Man Majesty over JP15 6

Release Year
2018 vs 2016
From a more recent year
Neck Joint
Neck-Through vs Bolt-On
Stronger neck and easier access to upper frets
Value Score
63 vs 62
Better price/quality relationship

Reasons to Get
Music Man JP15 6 over Majesty

Decorative Top
Figured Maple vs None
Finished with beautiful natural wood patterns

Other Key Differences
Music Man Majesty vs JP15 6

Bridge Pickup
DiMarzio Dreamcatcher vs DiMarzio Illuminator
Different Bridge Pickup
Neck Pickup
DiMarzio Rainmaker vs DiMarzio Illuminator
Different Neck Pickup
Neck Wood
Mahogany vs Figured Maple
Different Neck Wood
Fretboard Wood
Ebony vs Figured Maple
Different Fretboard Wood

Shared Features
Music Man Majesty vs JP15 6

Body Wood
Okoume
Same Body Wood
Headstock
4-2
Same Headstock
Nut Material
Compensated
Same Nut Material
Strings
6
Same playing style
Body Type
Solid Body
Feedback free
Switch Positions
3
Same pickups versatility
Volume Knobs
2
Same volume control
Tone Knobs
1
Same tone control
Pickups
HH
High output without hum
Number of Frets
24
Same maximum octave
Nut Width
1.693'' (43mm)
Same string separation at the nut
Paint Finish
Poly
Resistant paint that ages well
Bridge
Tremolo
Simple vibratos without too much maintenance
Scale Length
25.5'' (647.7mm)
Same string tension and fret separation
Fretboard Radius
17'' (431.8mm)
Same fretboard comfortability
Pickups Power
Passive
Cleaner sound and no battery needed
Neck Profile Type
D
Thin and flat neck for playing fast
Type of Frets
Medium Jumbo
You'll feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings

Common Strengths

  • Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
  • Locking Tuners
  • High-Quality Nut
  • High-Quality Frets
  • From a High-Quality-Standards Country
  • Top Pickup Brand
  • Expensive Wood

Common Weaknesses

  • Weight Relief
  • Stays in Tune (Evertune)
  • Compound Radius Fretboard
  • Luminescent Sidedots
  • Strap Lock
  • 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • Active/Passive Preamp

Table of Contents

Price History Comparison

SET PRICE ALERT
SET PRICE ALERT

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Which One is Better Overall?

After going through our comparison algorithm, the results show that the Music Man Majesty is probably the better product overall with its final score of 78 compared to the Music Man JP15 6's 77 score, although not by a lot.

The Music Man Majesty wins when it comes to playability, build quality, value for the money. On the other hand, the Music Man JP15 6 has the upper hand when it comes to sound.

If you got small hands, none of these instruments will make a big difference when it comes to comfortability.

Which One is Better for Beginners?

Both meet 5 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players. If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, you can't go wrong with either of them.

New Player Friendliness

Music Man Majesty
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Locking tuners
  • Tall frets
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Narrow nut
  • Short scale

New Player Friendliness

Music Man JP15 6
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Locking tuners
  • Tall frets
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Narrow nut
  • Short scale

Nevertheless, when it comes to choosing an instrument, you should pick the one more compatible with your personal style. Still, below we'll try you to give you our results as objectively as it's possible to help you decide.

Music Man Majesty Overview

  • From Music Man's 2018 John Petrucci series
  • John Petrucci Signature
  • Made in United States
  • 6 strings
  • 25.5"'' scale
  • 17" Fretboard Radius
  • Okoume with maple top and mahogany through neck body
  • Honduran Mahogany neck
  • Ebony fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: DiMarzio Dreamcatcher (Humbucker/Passive)
  • Neck pickup: DiMarzio Rainmaker (Humbucker/Passive)
  • 2 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
  • 3-way Switch
  • Custom John Petrucci Music Man floating tremolo bridge
  • John Petrucci Neck-Through neck
  • 24 Medium Jumbo Stainless Steel frets
  • Schaller M6-IND locking tuners
  • Compare Specs >

Music Man JP15 6 Overview

  • From Music Man's 2016 John Petrucci series
  • John Petrucci Signature
  • Made in United States
  • 6 strings
  • 25.5"'' scale
  • 17" Fretboard Radius
  • Figured Maple top
  • Okoume with maple top (roasted maple top on Sahara Burst) body
  • Figured roasted maple neck neck
  • Figured roasted maple neck fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: DiMarzio Illuminator (Humbucker/Passive)
  • Neck pickup: DiMarzio Illuminator (Humbucker/Passive)
  • 2 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
  • 3-way Switch
  • Custom John Petrucci Music Man Piezo floating tremolo bridge
  • John Petrucci Bolt-On neck
  • 24 Medium Jumbo Stainless Steel frets
  • Schaller M6-IND locking with pearl buttons tuners
  • Compare Specs >

Sound Quality Comparison

The wood used in an electric guitar or bass is not as important to determine the final tone. However, some people prefer specific wood types, so we'll take a look at those first. Then, we'll take a look at the electronics to determine the versatility and sound quality of each instrument.

Woods Used in Both

Okoume wood pattern used for guitar building
Okoume

Okoume is an affordable wood and one of the first to replace Mahogany when the prohibitions started. It's generally softer than Mahogany and the tone has warmer lows.

Woods Used in the Music Man Majesty

Mahogany wood pattern used for guitar building
Mahogany
Ebony wood pattern used for guitar building
Ebony

Mahogany is a fairly rare wood nowadays. It's used mostly for bodies due to its relatively lightweight. Gibson popularized it with their Les Paul guitars during their golden years, so this wood has a lot of good reputation behind it. The most expensive type comes from South America and it's still used by Gibson even today. Find out more about Mahogany.

Ebony is a high-end wood, so it is not cheap. It's only used for fretboards because it's also very heavy. It does an excellent job as a durable material while looking elegant. Find out more about Ebony.

Woods Used in the Music Man JP15 6

Figured Maple wood pattern used for guitar building
Figured Maple

This wood has beautiful patterns only found in specific types of maple.

Winner: Music Man Majesty.

Pickup Configuration

Both pickup configurations are HH. Double Humbucker (HH) is the choice for people who want a fuller, more round sound with tons of mids and lows. Humbuckers also get rid of the hum noise that plague single-coil pickups. They can work out for almost any genre going from Djent to even Jazz.

Pickups Quality

Both come with very good pickups from at least one of the specialized brands in the market. With pickups like these, you probably won't need an upgrade anytime soon.

Both use Passive pickups. This is what's used for most music genres. They have a regular output and will serve you for both high-gain and clean tones. The alternative (Active pickups) offer a higher output that is mostly used for heavy music.

Winner: Tie.

Versatility Comparison

Some instruments offer you more ways to explore your creativity than others. Below you'll find how both compare when it comes to versatility.

Switch Options

Both are equal when it comes to the pickup switching option.

Both offer you the same type of pickup mod: Coil Split, Multi-Voicing.

Coil Split lets you disconnect one of the pickup coils. When used with humbuckers, it turns them into single-coil with lower output and cleaner tone.

Multi-Voicing means the pickups come with multiple ''voices'', which means they can change the tone and gain by a simple switch or knob. Piezo, Fishman and similar are considered multi-voicing pickups.

They both share the following switching options:

Music Man Majesty and Music Man JP15 6 pickups switch and push knobs diagram
Music Man Majesty and Music Man JP15 6's switch options

When evaluating versatility, we also take into consideration bridge and neck joint type, number of frets, switch options, amount of pickups and more.

Winner: Music Man JP15 6.

Final Sound Quality Scores

Music Man Majesty
Pickups 85
Sustain 65
Versatility 81
Tuning Stability 75
Sound 77
Music Man JP15 6
Pickups 85
Sustain 65
Versatility 86
Tuning Stability 75
Sound 78

Build Quality Comparison

When it comes to build quality, we like to take into account everything used to build the instrument. This includes materials, hardware and the quality control expected depending on the country where it was built. Let's see how the Music Man Majesty compares to the Music Man JP15 6.

Country of Origin

The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. Both in this comparison where made in United States.

The United States is considered one of the best electric guitar manufacturers in the world. A guitar made in this country is supposed to have world-class quality control. Nowadays, guitars made in other countries can beat some of the ones made in the US, but most of the time, this country offers the best you can get. Of course, that comes at a price.

Winner: Tie

Nut Material

If you want your guitar to stay in tune and sound good, you need a well cut nut. Nut quality can be inconsistent even when comparing two copies of the same model. The best way to make sure you're nut will be well done is by getting a nut made by an expert company like TUSQ or Micarta.

In this case, both have Compensated nuts. Each hole where the string sits at the nut is cut at a different distance from the bridge, which compensates for the different amount of tension that each string is subject to. This fixes most intonation issues across the fretboard, so it gives great tuning stability.

Fret Material

Most fret wire is made of nickel silver. This material eventually wears down after a lot of use and most instruments end up needing a complete fret replacement. However, some expensive models come with stainless steel frets. This is what you should aim for if you can afford it.

Both in this comparison come with stainless steel frets. These frets will basically last for the entire life of the guitar. They will never need polishing nor replacement. And not only that, but some people also notice that bending and vibratos are much easier to perform when they upgrade to stainless steel.

Winner: Tie.

Bridge

The perfect bridge for you will depend on your playstyle because they all have advantages and disadvantages. However, some bridges are more expensive—like Floyd Roses and Evertunes—and thus add more value to a guitar.

Both come with a similar bridge: Tremolo. Tremolo bridges give you more versatility than fixed bridges. They let you perform the intense vibrato effects that would be impossible with a fixed bridge. However, since the bridge floats and there's less contact with the body, the strings lose sustain slightly faster. They can also be a bit harder to restring and set up correctly than fixed bridges.

Since we need to be objective, the most expensive type of bridge will be the winner of this section. In the end, this doesn't matter if you're not going to use the bridge for its original purpose, so choose the bridge that fits your playing style better.

Winner: Tie.

Tuners

They both have locking tuners. They'll help to keep your guitar in tune because they allow you to tune it without wrapping the strings around the posts. This avoids variations in the tuning due to the strings changing position at the post after a bend. They come at the disadvantage of being slightly heavier than regular tuners. Also, it makes it a lot easier to restring.

Winner: Tie.

Neck Joint

Contrary to popular belief, the difference in sustain and tone that some neck joints give to a guitar is simply unperceivable—if they're all well built. However, some of them do have advantages over the others.

The Music Man Majesty has a Neck-Through neck joint. This neck is a lot more resistant and lets builders give the neck joint a more comfortable shape for soloing at the upper frets. The disadvantage is that they're more expensive and that if you damage your neck, you can't simply replace it like with bolt-on necks.

On the other hand, the Music Man JP15 6 comes with Bolt-On neck joint. This neck is joined to the body by 4 bolts that you can simply unscrew. This allows you to replace the neck or take it off for travel. It's the most common and cheapest way to build a guitar.

Winner: Music Man Majesty.

Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:

Strengths & Weaknesses
Music Man Majesty
  • Stainless Steel Frets
  • Locking Tuners
  • Made in United States
  • Expensive Wood
  • Compensated Nut
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Neck-Through Build
  • Coil Split, Multi-Voicing Pickups
  • Tremolo
  • No Weight Relief
  • No Luminescent Inlay
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock
Strengths & Weaknesses
Music Man JP15 6
  • Stainless Steel Frets
  • Locking Tuners
  • Made in United States
  • Expensive Wood
  • Compensated Nut
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Coil Split, Multi-Voicing Pickups
  • Tremolo
  • No Neck-Through Build
  • No Weight Relief
  • No Luminescent Inlay
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock

Final Build Quality Scores

Music Man Majesty
Quality of materials 76
Features 80
Quality Control 100
Build Quality 85
Music Man JP15 6
Quality of materials 80
Features 70
Quality Control 100
Build Quality 83

Playability Comparison

Let's now compare their playability. Bear in mind that the instrument will feel different depending on your hand size and play style. That's why you should always test before buying. But if you can't or want a second opinion on it, we can still take a look at each of the important measurements of the instrument for you. This way, we can predict how easy a guitar might be to play, or how different it will feel compared to the other.

Remember that, even though the difference might seem small, every inch counts when it comes to feeling of the instrument in your hands. Any variation can completely change how comfortable a guitar feels in your hands.

Nut Width

Music Man Majesty Nut Width
Both Guitars Have The Same Nut Width

The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, both have a nut width of 43mm (1.693'').

This is within the most common range of nut widths for a 6-string guitar. It offers a good balance of string separation at the nut. It's the size that most guitarists prefer as it gives them just enough space to play open chords without muting the strings, but without spreading the strings too wide and making bar chords difficult to perform.

Scale Length

Music Man Majesty and Music Man JP15 6's Scale Length
Both have the same scale length

The scale length is one of the things that influences playability the most. This is the distance between the nut and the bridge and will affect everything from low action allowance, difficulty to perform bends, fret separation, and even tone.

In this case, both have a scale length of 25.5".

This is the scale used in most Stratocasters. It's slightly longer than the typical 24.75'' size found in Les Pauls, and it's one of the main reasons why Stratocasters have such a bright sound in general. A longer scale also means that the strings will have higher tension. This will help you get lower action without suffering fret buzz, which will also be helpful when playing in lower tunings without having to increase your string gauge.

However, this also means that there will be more separation between frets, which can make it more difficult to play. Also, bending the strings will require more strengths due to the increased tension, but remember that a tremolo guitar will offset this difficulty.

Lastly, remember that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge. You can use a thicker gauge for more tension and a lighter one for less tension.

Neck Profile

Music Man Majesty Neck Profile
Both guitars have the same neck profile

No single neck shape is better than others. However, most people tend to prefer a thinner necks because it doesn't get in their way when playing fast and most hand sizes can adapt to it pretty well. However, some people still prefer thicker necks for a better grip, especially if they have big hands.

Both the Music Man Majesty and the Music Man JP15 6 have a D-shaped neck. This is a thin and flat neck that is made for playing fast. If you prefer a neck that doesn't get in your way when soloing, this is the shape you should use. Guitarists that prefer to have a bit more grip won't like this type of neck.

Fretboard Radius

Music Man Majesty Fingerboard Radius
Both Guitars Have The Same Fretboard Radius

Most guitar fretboards are not flat; they usually have a curve or arc across their width. A curved fretboard will make it easier to perform chords without muting strings, while a flatter one will make it easier to play single notes, which is good for bending and soloing in general. The best fretboards have a compound radius that varies across the fingerboard, but they're not common since they take a lot more work to build.

Both the Music Man Majesty and the Music Man JP15 6 have the same fretboard radius of 17". This fretboard is one of the flatter ones you can find. It's 5 inches flatter than a Les Paul, and 7.5 inches when compared to a Stratocaster. It's a fingerboard made specifically for playing single notes fast on the fretboard (shredding).

Hand Size Comfortability

Everyone has a different hand size, and that's why it's recommended to try a guitar before buying, even if others tell you that it's comfortable to play. However, we can know whether a guitar favors small or large hands just by knowing its exact measurements.

After taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that both in this comparison favor small hands .

Music Man Majesty:
Big Hands
Small Hands
Music Man JP15 6:
Big Hands
Small Hands

Fret Size

Music Man Majesty and Music Man JP15 6 Frets Size
Both have a similar Medium Jumbo fret size

Both have a Medium Jumbo fret size. These are slightly shorter than full Jumbo frets, so you'll still feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings. However, they interfere less with your fretting hand than medium-size frets. This is a good size if you like easy-to-press frets, but would still like to feel a bit of the fretboard when playing.

Final Playability Scores

Music Man Majesty
Bending & Vibrato Ease 70
Chord Playability 60
Solo Playability 90
Playability 73
Music Man JP15 6
Bending & Vibrato Ease 70
Chord Playability 60
Solo Playability 80
Playability 70

Specs Side-by-Side

Music Man Majesty vs JP15 6
General Music Man Majesty JP15 6
Brand: Music Man Music Man
Year: 2018 2016
Configuration: HH HH
Strings: 6 6
Made in: United States United States
Series: John Petrucci John Petrucci
Colors: Blue, Green, Brown, Red Blue, Black Burst, Brown Burst
Left-Handed Version: No No
Body
Type: Solid Body Solid Body
Body Material: Okoume with maple top and mahogany through neck Okoume with maple top (roasted maple top on Sahara Burst)
Bridge: Custom John Petrucci Music Man floating tremolo Custom John Petrucci Music Man Piezo floating tremolo
Neck
Neck Joint: Neck-Through Bolt-On
Tuners: Schaller M6-IND locking Schaller M6-IND locking with pearl buttons
Fretboard: Ebony Figured roasted maple neck
Neck Material: Honduran Mahogany Figured roasted maple neck
Decoration: Atlante Majesty Inlays Custom Jp15 Inlays
Scale Size: 25.5" 25.5"
Shape: John Petrucci John Petrucci
Frets: 24 Medium Jumbo Stainless Steel 24 Medium Jumbo Stainless Steel
Fretboard Radius: 17" 17"
Nut: Compensated Compensated
Nut Width: 43mm (1.693'') 43mm (1.693'')
Electronics
Bridge Pickup: DiMarzio Dreamcatcher (Humbucker / Passive) DiMarzio Illuminator (Humbucker / Passive)
Middle Pickup:
Neck Pickup: DiMarzio Rainmaker (Humbucker / Passive) DiMarzio Illuminator (Humbucker / Passive)
Switch: 3 Way 3 Way
Knobs: Dome Dome
Pickup Mods: Coil Split, Multi-Voicing Coil Split, Multi-Voicing
Volume Controls: 2 2
Tone Controls: 1 1