most of the asian guitars use junk mahagony anyways ( esp, schecter, etc) . definitley a different grade of Mahogany than used on a gibson , hamer, prs ( american mahogony) American Basswood is a great tonewood ( suhr, Tom Anderson, Ernie Ball) but not a very pretty wood...that is why you see it painted solid or fitted with a maple cap... I just ordered a Petrucci ( 6 string, piezo, carbon blue pearl) and can't wait to get it..I have owned a axis for around 10 years and it's perfect... Ernie ball's build quality and setup {censored}s all over most company's production models and there priced in the ibanez ball park... I think JP gets a very heavy tone with his roadking's and basswood jpg..