Ernie Ball Music Man James Valentine, 2018, OHSC, Great condition, Gold metallic

I have a 2018 Ernie Ball Music Man Valentine in metallic gold here, with its hard shell case. This is a lightweight specimen, weighing in at 7 lb 2 oz.

Conditionally, this guitar looks nice. I will describe what I see.

The body top looks gorgeous. I see average guitar pick strumming on the plastic pickguard. Any similar superficial swirling will be absolutely minimal anywhere else. I did not find any accumulated sheen or buildup of soft swirling on this guitar. I did not find any singular mark to describe.

The body sides and edges look beautiful across the perimeter. I did not find any dings, chips, or bumps. There are no neck pocket cracks. I did not find any buildup of any patterned playwear.

Likewise, the body back looks great. I found no buckle rash or worming. Even the back plates look clean, showing just barely faint signs of superficial use on them. Any superficial signs of use on the body back are minimal to the extent that I do not see any. It's very clean.

The neck shaft contour looks and feels great. There are no sharp fret edges. It's nice and smooth. I did not find any bumps, chips, or playwear. The headstock looks great as well. I did not find anything there to report. The setup plays fantastic, and the frets are like new. The electronics are original and working as they should.

Two minor mentions to point . On the hard shell case, the bottom of it has a chip and a little bit of cracking around the hard plastic. I saved the chip and popped it back into place and put a little tape on it, so the case functions fine. There is just some cosmetic wear and tear at the bottom.

And lastly, there is a very faint smell on the guitar that smells like dogs. It does not reek of it, so a lot of people would not notice it, but my sensitive nose catches it. From my experience with guitars like this, once it is out of that environment, which it now is, this will diminish to almost nothing in time. I've had some guitars in my personal collection that came that way, but now they do not have any sign of it. So there is just a little bit of faint dog smell. I have it stored with a small baking soda pack inside the case as well.

So this guitar rates a 9.4 out of 10 and grades as excellent. I did not really find anything here other than the case having a little bit of wear and tear at the bottom and a little bit of guitar pick strumming on the pickguard. Any superficial signs of use and any very faint swirling are minimal to the extent that you have to look for them. This one looks gorgeous, and the pictures do it justice. It is structurally and sonically sound and plays and sounds fantastic.

This is well designed model with some interesting specifications. The neck is a roasted maple, with a fairly slender shaft that is very easy to play and a soft satin finish on that further accentuates it as a "fast" neck that plays smoothly.

The body is ash, and it is a fairly broad, wide body. Body shape correlates to resonance and soundstage. Smaller, thicker bodies will have a tight bassy sound. This one has a big spacious, open sound. But without sounding thin in any way. Ash wood has excellent projection and focus. This is one of the better guitar body designs i have seen. It's also comfortable to play sitting or standing due to the ergonomic double cutaway.

The pickups sound outstanding. They have a good blend out of output and dynamics without sounding to slanted in any one direction EQ wise. They are passive pickups that are "pushed" by a 9V powered preamp. They are coil tapped. And interesting here the bridge is a fairly powerful single coil but with diagonal pole pieces, which will have a subtle effect of the bass strings sounding slightly thicker, and the treble strings sounding sharper as each string graduates down from low E to high E. It's just a great design. It's comparable i would say to the Axis. But definitely it has a unique, an distinct tone due to it's tonewoods.

So overall this is a well designed and toneful guitar. I am not very familiar with the artist it is named after or his style. Mine are the first impressions of the instrument itself. Another noteworthy attribute i would say it carries well is it has the clarity and snap that a bolt on guitar is known for. But does not have that disconnect in the sustain that sometimes bolt on's have in comparison to a setneck. This guitar has a noticeably long full sustain.

Note that this listing may come down at anytime as I am a multi-platform seller and do sell locally and on my own Site as well in an effort to keep sales fluid. State sales tax will be charged On Reverb sales when applicable, so factor that in to your purchase.

I will immaculately pack it as well. I use quality shipping boxes, ample tape on all sides. And sufficient bubble wrap filler and bracing inside the box. And always Marked/denoted as fragile. I generally detune guitars 1/2 half step prior to shipment as well if needed.

Thank you for reading and considering!