When Edward Van Halen's endorsement deal with Music Man ended in 1995, the company decided to keep the guitar in production. They renamed it the Axis but it is pretty much the same as when it was the Eddie Van Halen guitar. Most of the design, including the neck, pickups, and woods used are the same, but Music Man made a few changes:

1. The neck was widened slightly (1/32") at the body end. This was to solve problems with the high E string slipping off the neck on the 12th fret and up.

2. The switch was moved near the volume knob to help players stop accidentally hitting it.

3. The "tone" knob was replaced by a volume knob (it was always a volume pot but was labelled  "tone" as an EVH joke).

4. They contoured the body by adding a comfort contour to the top and back of the body.