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Ernie Ball Music Man officially launches Kaizen model in collaboration with Tosin Abasi
The seven-string model was brought to life with guidance from Abasi.
Image: Ernie Ball Music Man
Ernie Ball Music Man has launched the all-new Kaizen model – a seven string designed in collaboration with Tosin Abasi of Animals As Leaders.
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The model was announced during NAMM 2022 back in June, and is now ready for pre-orders. The model name, Kaizen, is a Japanese word meaning continuous improvement over time.
The model has a contoured alder body, roasted figured maple neck, and ebony fretboard which features an “infinity radius” design that aims to provide improved visibility of the frets in any playing position.
The electronics include a new Music Man Heat Treated bridge humbucker, custom offset neck humbucker, and a three-way switch wired with a custom middle position. Each guitar also comes equipped with a Music Man tremolo, Steinberger gearless tuners, and a G&G hardshell case.
The multi-scale neck (24.75” to 25.7”, E to B or 1st to 7th string) aims to offer affirmative string tension for “thick and chunky rhythms” on the bass strings, with a “traditional feel” on the treble strings.
Take a closer look in the video below:
When the model was teased during NAMM, Abasi said, “I’m inspired by pushing the design of this instrument further. I think this was an opportunity to do that and it doesn’t take away from anything, it just simply adds to the tools available to guitar players.”
He continued, “It was just cool to be part of that as like a purely creative pursuit and […] for providing you guys with one more option that maybe didn’t exist before. It’s in the spirit of abundance as opposed to scarcity that we felt like this makes sense.” It was also revealed that a six-string edition is set to launch next year.
The Kaizen is available in two finishes, Apollo Black and Spectraflare. The Apollo Black finish is available to pre-order at authorised retail stores, whilst the Spectraflare is limited-to-75 units and available to pre-order exclusively at the Music Man website.
Find out more and order yours at music-man.com