Ian McFly

That’s a really good point. Now it makes me think.... I just paid £350 for an indonesian made SUB Ray4. Ok, it’s a cheap bass and some parts do feel cheap-ish. Overall it’s quite a good bass still, and it makes me wonder.... is an US-made Stingray actually worth 8 times the price of the SUB? It’s definitely worth more, there’s no debate... but eight times?!

That’s the thing about Music Man: they’re not bespoke in the slightest. Unless you’re an artist, you’re stuck with limited options: a whole bunch of funky colours that appeal a limited amount of players, and no choice for hardware/fretboard wood. I understand that it helps streamlining their building process, but since every EBMM instrument is made to order (either by a local reseller to have stock or for a customer order), I don’t see why we have to be so limited with options. Plus, again, colours are a matter of taste but man, enough of those sparkle colours.... Bring back some classics: a nice red, black, white, butterscotch, even that Teal .... and then, add a few more funky colours on top of that. Like, I love white basses.... and I can’t even get a White Stingray with Black hardware.

Don't see why they wouldn't be? I'd assume they remove their 19% german tax for export, no? Then you pay the UK VAT upon receipt? Any indication that the shipping fees have changed though?

That's a 42% price increase. FORTY TWO PERCENT. I'll let that sink in....

Surely these are temporary prices as they just got announced and available for pre-order... well I truly hope so. American prices have slightly gone up too, but I can’t see what would justify such a jump....

Are we going to talk about the price increase? While it looks like they have increased roughly $100 in the USA, look at the prices on Andertons: https://www.andertons.co.uk/music-man-stingray-black-roasted-maple-maple-black-pickguard-black-hardware https://www.andertons.co.uk/music-man-stingray-5-special-snowy-night-roasted-maple-maple-matching-headstock-white-pg-chrome-hardware When the models from last year were between £2000 (4 string) and £2200 (5 string).... Surely, Andertons got it wrong right? An increase of around £800??? WTF?

No different for you maybe. But here, practice rooms had reopened and we got back to practice a month ago... with all the proper health measures.

Yeah so good news for England. But not for bloody Scotland where it’s only two households!

The new rule in Scotland says no more than two households.... which means that our 4-piece band can’t even practice. We’re bummed.

Agreed. Yes, there’s the odd issue (and not always the best resolution too) with Maruszczyk basses, but it’s the same with Fender, Gibson or any other builder. The fact that Maruszczyk makes custom builds makes it less “forgiving”, as QC issues shouldn’t go unnoticed. But overall, they make great instruments, and I personally couldn’t be happier with mine as it ticks all the boxes. I just hope it’ll withstand the test of time!

Very happy with this bass!

😂

Aren’t the pickups the wrong way around?

Alright, back from practice. The BDDI V2 wins the battle against the VTDI. I switched between the two throughout the band practice, and whilst the VTDI didn’t sound bad at all, there’s something with the BDDI V2 that gives my sound more body, depth and presence. I realised I don’t need to keep both to be fair, I’d rather use the VTDI money into a different type of effect. Plus the VTDI’s switch kinda died of me after the first practice, only responding 1 time out of 5... not ideal. I’ll send it back and ask for a refund, I only received it a week ago. To each their own, and the VTDI is a pretty great preamp which can surely sound good with some tweaking. But I’ve found my sound with the Bass Driver V2!

Had one before. Wasn’t too bad, but it thickens the sound in a way that put in front of my SansAmp BDDI V2, it was too much (the SansAmp also compresses a tiny bit). It’s easy to use, and for the price, it does a good job. Wasn’t a fan of how it colours the sound, that’s all. Very happy with my Keeley Bassist, which is very transparent. Not the same budget though!

I’ve found that a preamp like the SansAmp BDDI V2 that I have enhances fuzzes and distortions put before it. It gives them more body and punch.

I think the V2 is a great all-round SansAmp. More versatile than the V1 by a mile. Still gives you that tubey feel, but the natural scoop isn’t as pronounced and can be fixed with the Mid knob.

I used to own the BDDI V1, was my main preamp for 10+ years but I don’t really like it anymore. Sold it last year. For a while I also played a VTDI which I was happy with, yet I decided to part ways with it and got myself a BDDI V2, which I really like. It is WAY more musical than the V1. Balanced, cleaner lows, no harsh trebles, and the mids are there! However, reading so many good reviews for the VTDI made me order one again. I now have both the VTDI and the BDDI V2. At home, on my practice amp I got to say I still prefer the BDDI V2 over the VTDI. The VTDI has less lows and more highs/high mids naturally. I got a band practice tomorrow where I’ll get to compare them and see which one I prefer in a band setting. Key question is: if I like both, is keeping both a silly thing to do? I guess they’re two different animals after all...

I get your point. Thing is, I’ve got Aguilar 5J-HC which have slightly raised poles for the A and E strings...

Don’t get me wrong; the bass got punch. More than enough in band practice yesterday. It just feels that the E string is more « even » with the other strings than it is on my 4 string Jazz. It’s probably a good thing actually. On that one, I feel like the E string overpowers the other ones, whereas on my Elwood, it feels more even across the strings. Just because it’s surprised me, I brought it up. But in a band setting, it actually was enjoyable to have an even response from the strings, and not have a crazy loud E string.

The standard ones. Not branded.

Yeah, that’s the word: gritty. But they seem to be doing the job. First practice tonight and it didn’t disappoint. Sat in the mix perfectly. One thing I noticed though, and it was the same on my Warmoth Jazz 5 I had back in 2012. The E string is not as « punchy » as the one on my 4 string basses. It is not dull or anything, it sounds good within the mix, it’s clear and precise, but I feel like that on my 4 stringers, it’s got more punch. Hard to describe, but I’ve read it’s quite common in 5 strings, due to construction and wood density. Thoughts?