Ernie Ball Music Man’s Best NAMM 2026 New Releases Tested!

See all of Thinking About Guitar’s NAMM 2026 coverage right here:    • NAMM 2026   Step inside the Ernie Ball Music Man booth at NAMM 2026 with Thinking About Guitar as Jonathan Graham and Nick Jennison demo a lineup of standout guitars and basses—ranging from faithful anniversary recreations to modern, effects-loaded low-end monsters and John Petrucci’s latest Majesty updates. First up is the 30th Anniversary Music Man Axis, designed to feel as close as possible to the classic early Axis models—now with smart, stage-ready upgrades like stainless steel frets and glow-in-the-dark fret markers, plus a special matching/complementary sparkle finish on the back for select colors. These are strictly limited: Gold (90 units), Red (30), Blue (30), with other finishes limited to 60—so they’re built for players and collectors. On the bass side, the spotlight hits the 50th Anniversary StingRay, celebrating one of the most recorded bass sounds in history. A poplar body shifts the tonal focus toward a bigger low end while retaining classic StingRay zing, and special touches include 50th anniversary bridge stamping and numbered anniversary markings. Things get heavier with the Music Man DarkRay 2, a non-traditional StingRay-style bass featuring built-in Alpha·Omega distortion plus a polyphonic octave (up or down) that tracks extremely well—even for chords—unlocking huge modern bass tones without feeling like a gimmick. Finally, the video checks out one of John Petrucci’s new Majesty models for 2026, including the “Canapoli Dream” finish and a return to the classic Majesty wood recipe: mahogany neck-through body with a thick maple cap. You’ll also hear about the familiar Petrucci-spec control layout and switching, including Dreamcatcher/Rainmaker pickups, piezo options, and volume boost—built for fast, mid-song tone changes. Chapters / featured gear: • 30th Anniversary Axis (limited editions, stainless frets, glow markers) • 50th Anniversary StingRay (poplar body, anniversary hardware details) • DarkRay 2 (Alpha·Omega distortion + polyphonic octave) • John Petrucci Majesty 2026 (“Canapoli Dream”, piezo + boost) For Guitar Reviews, Artist Interviews & More SUBSCRIBE to Thinking About Guitar:    / @thinkingaboutguitar  . #ErnieBallMusicMan #MusicMan #NAMM #NAMM2026 #Axis #StingRay #DarkRay2 #JohnPetrucci #Majesty #BassGuitar #GuitarGear - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - FOLLOW US On Social Media - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Facebook: /   / thinkingaboutguitar   Instagram: /   / thinkingaboutguitar