Heavily considering purchasing a Mayones Hyrda Elite 6 Pro...thoughts?

ChrisAngela1

ChrisAngela1

Inspired
Introduced to me by Tramaine Jonathon (one of my favorite guitar players of the moment (check him out on YouTube and at JTCGuitar.com), I've been a bit obsessed over the Mayones (sounds like Ibanez but pronounced my-o-nez) Hydra.

They are custom made in Poland with a 11-14 month build time and are distributed through a handful of US distributors. It makes my 3-4 month Kiesel build time wait seem pretty small!

As an owner of multiple Strandberg and Kiesel headless models, I've become to attached to the reduced weight and the tuning stability of the headless guitar. The Hydra is Mayones take on them, though their remaining lineup do have the full headstock.

Here is the build:

https://configurator.mayones.com/c/....com/wp-content/uploads/VPC/preview_MdLus.png

Anyone with Mayones experience or thoughts please feel free to comment!

Cheers
 

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MSS said:
I have a few of these and they are just AWESOME! I never ordered one direct though. I bought mine at music store live pre pandemic when the prices were WAY lower. They come setup from Mayones so no worries there. My purple 7 is actually pretty dark. I also have a hydra 7 gothic.
https://www.musicstorelive.com/electric-guitars.html?manufacturer=Mayones&product_list_order=price
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Wow, that's gorgeous! I may be eventually adding a Hydra 7 Pro to go with my Strandberg Metal 7, but with the tremolo option for that one.
 
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ChrisAngela1 said:
And you're ok with the Wenge neck? Literally my only concern...
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Are you asking about tone or durability? Mine are older and came with nazgul/sentient pups. They sound great. I play hard rock and metal.

No issues with the neck. It’s fast and the fretwork is impeccable. It stays in tune. Wenge is a hard wood - maybe even harder than maple. I live in the northeast so I do have adjust the truss rod every once in awhile.

Guitars are unique characters in a lot of ways. I have a Charvel Fusion Special with a roasted maple neck that I gigged with in high school. I never once, even to this day, had to adjust the truss rod on it. I have a Kiesel Vader, also with a roasted neck, that I have to seasonally adjust. If you have low action and you live with humidity and temp changes, you are gonna have to adjust the truss rod.

EDIT: I think those are SFTY4’s in the Hydra pic. I am an active pickup swapper. The HYDRA has an Invader/Sentient in it now. I have not played my 7’s in awhile. I am back mostly 6 strings lately.
 
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MSS said:
Are you asking about tone or durability? Mine are older and came with nazgul/sentient pups. They sound great. I play hard rock and metal.

No issues with the neck. It’s fast and the fretwork is impeccable. It stays in tune. Wenge is a hard wood - maybe even harder than maple. I live in the northeast so I do have adjust the truss rod every once in awhile.

Guitars are unique characters in a lot of ways. I have a Charvel Fusion Special with a roasted maple neck that I gigged with in high school. I never once, even to this day, had to adjust the truss rod on it. I have a Kiesel Vader, also with a roasted neck, that I have to seasonally adjust. If you have low action and you live with humidity and temp changes, you are gonna have to adjust the truss rod.

EDIT: I think those are SFTY4’s in the Hydra pic. I am an active pickup swapper. The HYDRA has an Invader/Sentient in it now. I have not played my 7’s in awhile. I am back mostly 6 strings lately.
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More along the lines of overall playing feel, particularly backside. I realize it's not quite as "slippery" as a satin coated or gloss back, but I understand most find it very comfortable. The other issue was "neck dive" (which honestly I hadn't realized was a thing until recently), but I believe with the mahogany body and lack of a headstock, it should be nice and balanced.

And yes, living out here in the Pacific Northwest, I've gotten pretty comfortable tweaking truss rods!

Thanks for the all the info!
 
Budda said:
To be clear you want one because a yt guy posted about them?
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Nope...I've been looking and researching for an upgrade to a specific guitar for awhile now, and this is what I've narrowed it down to.

It just so happens that Tramaine (the yt guy) is a signature artist for Mayones and made me more aware of the brand...I had also been considering Framus (Stormbender), Suhr (Guthrie Govan signature), or another Kiesel or Strandberg.

In the end, the Mayones is my favorite based on the specs and reviews from so many people from all over! If it doesn't work out, there's always Reverb!

Cheers
 
As a long time headless guitar user and fan, there's nothing quite like it, when you get a really good one. My all time favorites have been the Forshage Orion guitars, which are based around the Klein ergonomic headless design. That being said, I recently came across a surprisingly excellent guitar that was apparently made by a solo guitarist entertainer who happens to build some really nice guitars. If his website is accurate, he primarily uses a nylon string electric guitar now, which I can understand. The electric I purchased a little while back from CME is the same shape. I love how it plays and sounds.

That being said, I have never gotten to try a .strandberg style. So, I have one on order from Druzkowski Guitars. In the meantime, I'm enjoying the Ibanez Q. 2nd one I've had, but this one comes with a Tusq nut and good set up. It is very slick. They MUST come out with a really good tremolo version!
 
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I'm living near Cologne, so I visit "Musicstore", the official distributor of Mayones, quite often. I played a Mayones Hydra similar to your specs not long ago there and can confirm it is a brillant instrument. Coming from a MusicMan Majesty, the Hydra is equally if not better in terms of playability (super low action without buzz) and sounded more nuanced than my Majesty. So you probably can't go wrong here
 
ChrisAngela1 said:
Nope...I've been looking and researching for an upgrade to a specific guitar for awhile now, and this is what I've narrowed it down to.

It just so happens that Tramaine (the yt guy) is a signature artist for Mayones and made me more aware of the brand...I had also been considering Framus (Stormbender), Suhr (Guthrie Govan signature), or another Kiesel or Strandberg.

In the end, the Mayones is my favorite based on the specs and reviews from so many people from all over! If it doesn't work out, there's always Reverb!

Cheers
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A properly informed opinion then - this is why i ask questions :)
 
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