drTStingray

[quote name='Castagné' timestamp='1346433476' post='1789248'] The serial n° is C00185X so according to musicmanbas.org, I could say mine is a 79, but not sure... [/quote] It sure is a great looking example - I wouldn't bother to lift the neck, just in case - it would be a shame to cause any damage just out of curiosity. As you say, almost certainly a 79. [quote name='Kees_SoS' timestamp='1346483019' post='1789680'] Later, there were many problems with the truss rods due to suspected sabotaged tooling, as well as issues with the lacquer, sometimes caused by the padding in the cases. [/quote] Not sure the truss rod problem appeared on instruments - it's been documented that the dispute between the people making the necks and the people selling MM basses after Leo Fender left resulted in a batch of necks with straight truss rods being provided - never heard of them appearing on basses. The early 80s ones (up until EB took the rights on in 1984) were made by Charvel Jackson - indeed many people swear by these as several of the colours had alder bodies so sound a little smoother than ash. I think the case glue reaction problem applied to EB basses around 88-90 ish, most particularly (possibly uniquely) with the blueburst finish - as they only made about a few hundreds of all basses with that finish (musicmanbass.org), and some were re-finished because of that, if you have or find a good one in that gorgeous finish, then it's quite rare. Imagine a Sabre in blueburst..........drool they do exist - one or two in Gav's listings.

Hear hear - well said.

Wow - that is fabulous - what year is that bass?

[quote name='gafbass02' timestamp='1346245891' post='1786935'] Hah hah. Godamn iPhone auto correct! Thinks it knows everything!! [/quote] Lol

What a finish! That's fabulous - enjoy.

[quote name='gafbass02' timestamp='1346224093' post='1786580'] but found I always needed a good old passive jazz on hand. Nearly every time I took one in the studio I ended up playing the Jazz... [/quote] I think it's like learning to ride a bike - eventually you don't need the stabilisers As far as I can see, this can be a bit of a comfort blanket - which often appeals to the guitarists and sound engineers rather than the bass player. Can you imagine someone having told Kossof he should have been playing a Strat cos he didn't sound like Hendrix - people seldom question the guitarist's choice of tools to create his sound..........not so the bass player - just my personal experience. I have absolutely no doubt a Warwick is a fully competent studio instrument with the ability to cover all the 'utility' bass sounds and a lot more as well - but as with everything, it will depend on the player skill (and recording engineer's skill).

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1346186576' post='1786351'] they are designed for Warwick instruments, and don't do exactly the same things a fender designed preamp will.... [/quote] What Fender make instruments with pre amps when did this happen. Seriously though, I had Warwicks down as having significant bass boost - indeed a fundamental part of the signature sound.

I don't recall him saying that it's not his in the video (I haven't got it to hand - it's my sons - a present I bought him a few years back!) - he definitely talks about the Precision neck and exercising his fingers - he says he sometimes fits them to improve his technique, or something similar. I was aware he had more than one Jazz bass (there's a stripped fretted one shown on the live solo album) - however the one in this video looks to be his stock modded sunburst one (ie the latterday named bass of doom), but fitted with a maple Precision neck. One other thing he talks about in this instructional video is the reason he doesn't use a Precision - all to do with the sound possibilities, and overtones IIRC - he's rather dismissive of the idea. I couldn't recommend more highly getting a copy of this - awesome playing on display, and lots of insights into technique and practicing routines, even though Jaco is a little flaky at times, the playing generally is not - and if only to see Jaco chuck his bass to Kenwood Dennard, the drummer, on the final note after one of the live pieces - and Kenwood actually catching it - the next shot is Jemmott interviewing Dennard - first question (with said bass propped up against the drums in the background) - what's it like playing with Jaco - long pause for thought - Dennard says it can be interesting, very interesting - still looking visibly shocked and bemused by the preceeding event!! It appears Jaco was bought a Fender Jazz by his parents when he was a kid - on the Jaco tribute compilation album, amongst some interesting photos is a picture of him as a kid holding a brand new sunburst Fender Jazz complete with ashtrays. My guess is that this was his main bass from then onwards - becoming the heavily bashed and modified version of 15 to 20 years later.

Just fabulous and also illustrates the point - notice the Jazz has a maple necked 70s Precision neck fitted - Jaco says in the video it's to exercise/stretch his fingers - they already look twice as long as mine anyway! I do worry when he bends harmonics, by bending the neck on Jerry Jemmott's neck through bass! I wonder how many people have cracked the finish in their bolt on neck basses around the neck plate copying this (I know of two basses not a few yards from where I'm sitting which have suffered from this )

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1346145514' post='1785682'] You'll need to roll off the attack a bit.... which is why active basses don't work so well. [/quote] I politely disagree with this statement - it is possible to roll off the attack on a active bass by cutting the EQ (presuming you have a bass with cut and boost EQ) - and remember it's all in the fingers as well - changing playing attack achieves this also.

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1346082455' post='1785001'] USA MM Customer Service said that in the circs, they would authorise a USA dealer to ship to a UK customer, but the warranty would be difficult to follow up. [/quote] I have to sau I'm not too fussed on the warranty having never had to have any work done on an MM bass - I know others have but I would take the chance on one of these. Well I found a USA dealer with a 3 band Ray (another that I checked has already sold the 3 band Ray H they'd ordered) - it seems there will only be a very small number of these instruments - 100 in USA across the whole bass range. I am very seriously tempted Pete - the Perfect Bass have a Big Al 5 in this spec on order!!

Unfortunately it's the current market conditions in the UK I guess. Not so many of us spending big money on basses. Pete - I didn't see that one - must have another look - there was a sunburst 79 Sabre on there about a week ago which gave me a bit of a shock. I have to keep saying to myself 'you don't need any more basses - you have no money to buy them' - I just know that I'm going to crack and make an offer on something at this rate!!

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1346082455' post='1785001'] USA MM Customer Service said that in the circs, they would authorise a USA dealer to ship to a UK customer, but the warranty would be difficult to follow up. [/quote] Well it looks like I may be contacting Beaver Felton again! I guess Amazon may have them also? Apparently the Perfect Bass have a H and an HH SR5. [quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1346082917' post='1785011'] Watching the Big Al review clips Ed says the 5 string version is mahogany which helps make it lighter? [/quote] The very early Big Als were alder (indeed the 4 string one I tried a couple of years back was) - they changed to mahogany for all of them, as you say, to reduce the weight when they started producing 5 string Big Als. Musicman basses (with exceptions) tend to be in the 9 - 10 lb ballpark - I am guessing these PDN ones should be no exception.

Yes agreed it is a difficult area - mind you index linking over 21 yrs should add 100% ish to the original insured value?

Well I have major GAS again - this 2012 PDN Stingray is, to me, a thing of great beauty. Mahogany body, roasted non-laquered roasted birds eye neck, only available in honeyburst (pics are from the Music Zoo website). And it's available (or it was if you ordered one during the window) on the whole range - yes including Bongos!! They're about to appear, so I may have to do a trawl of dealers to see if anyone has any stock - I fancy a 3 band Ray in this finish. Musicman have said some of the mahogany bodies are also figured - luck of the draw if you get that. Has anyone on here ordered one?

I think he wanted $1300 for it - I had a look earlier and the posts been superceded by newer for sale items - you could PM him if you're a member. You mean the one with the extra string tree hole?? I must stop looking at Ebay - there's a couple or three great pre EBs on there at the moment - an early white SR5 with a birds eye maple neck - and a 20th Anniversary Stingray. I never much rated the 20th Anniversary Ray but I played at a mini festival a couple of weeks ago and a guy used one - talk about a thing of beauty - absolutely stunning. The one on Ebay has the original case and is a daft price currently. As for Big Als, have you tried phoning one of the big dealers like Andertons or Gak to see if you can get one to try out?

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1346063081' post='1784608'] I have gas for a Big Al 5, a Classic Ray 5 and a Shuttle max 9.2 two of which I know you have Bass Direct has a nice Classic 5 on offer that I would take if I could get it past the other half but I cant get the figures to stack up right now [/quote] I don't know if it's still available but Psychpider on the MM forum had a mint green classic 5 for sale (basses for sale thread) - do not look if you're susceptible to GAS - it has a stunning figured flame maple neck and board - he also said he would ship international presuming buyer paid - it is a stunner and I was sorely tempted. As for a Big Al, I haven't seen any in shops but S and T did have some.

For me, the signature sound is a nice fat sound like a Wal, or perhaps a Musicman with the bass boosted. I was listening to an Incognito album the other day and one particular track stood out and almost said 'this is a Warwick bass' to me - there are a lot of albums from the 90s with these or Stingray 5s. I've never owned one (largely because I don't particularly like the neck profiles) but lots of R and B and funk players seem to favour them - indeed a number of famous ones are current endorsees. Maybe they're coming back into fashion - hope so - they sound fantastic! I am hopeful that the current fashion/fad for a couple of basses designed in the 50s/60s (perhaps could be considered the Ford Anglia and Ford Popular of basses - certainly have analogies based on era, simple design and sometimes apparently, variable build quality) will diminish and open a little more space for some of the richer sounding instruments to be the holy grail for the aspiring bass player.

Not surprisingly, I've heard of quite a few of them - Larry Graham, Bootsy Collins etc etc. The sound of Warwick to me is a thick, focussed bassy/low mid sound which cuts through great but sounds very smooth. A sort of..........well woody sound!

There are a lot of different sounds on Jaco's recorded work. Desirable as the Jaco signature Fender Jazz is (I'd love one!!) I would not expect to be able to get the sound, say on River People, just using a passive Fender Jazz bass. Jaco's playing also has a lot to do with it. I find my fretless Stingray to be more in the ballpark than a couple of passive fretless Jazzes I've played. I guess it depends what part of the sound you're hearing - I know people get very esoteric about pick up spacing, replacing pick ups, bridges etc etc etc but I really do wonder whether this has as significant an effect as the skill and technique of the player?

[quote name='classrock' timestamp='1345317818' post='1776296'] All I can say is that nothing on this planet sounds like one of these. I am no historian but I know Leo Fender 'over-egged' the top end of the Stingray because of his hearing. Something changed when EB took over, they just mellowed the sound. [/quote] According to Musicman.org (independent and extensive website run by Gav (Rod Trussbroken - also a moderator on the Musicman forum) an MM enthusiast, the 2 band EQ has been the same since 1979. There were five or six different versions prior to that. However, other changes (6 bolt neck fixing), wood types, lacquer/no lacquer on neck, fretboard material and weight all seem to contribute to the sound. I find little fundamental difference between my old pre EB Ray and my Classic Ray (2010 model) - other than the better fit and finish of the new one (as you would expect with 35 years advance in manufacturing techniques). I too would like to hear/see more about this 76 Ray - I only played a 76 once before - seemed more mellow sounding than any other Ray that I've played.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1345213146' post='1775079'] I had wondered about this too. I had always presumed the Bernard had used roundwounds, as most players probably did by 1977, but that is just an assumption. If someone knows better then I wil gladly defer to them . I have no idea if flats or rounds came factory -fitted on the early production models of the Stingray, and I too have heard that quote about him using the same strings that came with the bass. What I do know is that in the later stages of his career he was definitely using roundwounds and favoured a brighter sound. If you listen to Bernard on this track from Let's Dance , for example, which must have been recorded in 1982 it sounds very much to me like the unmistakable tone of a Stingray with roundwounds: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cs8EkDyqCo[/media] [/quote] I haven't heard that before and I'm sure you're right. He also seems to use rounds on the 96 live performance at the Budekah. Not sure what strings the early basses had but my 79/80 one, which I bought new, had rounds when I got it. I think the idea at the time was too use the mutes if you wanted a flatwound sound. That whole performance of Ashes to Ashes is fabulous, and a great bass sound and performance also.

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1343392479' post='1750046'] 'Nard used flats, it would be difficult to get that sound with roundwounds. Lots if definition there though, notwithstanding his expertise in playing. [/quote] Are you sure - I remember seeing an interview with Nile Rogers - he said someone asked them as part of an interview with them both back in the 70s, what strings Nard used and Nard asked Nile if he knew what strings came on a Musicman............suggesting he hadn't changed them from new. My pre EB definitely came with rounds but I have no idea what make. All that said, the popping on We Are Family is definitely very similar to the effect on a Stingray with flats - but Bernard Edwards was a phenominally skilled player, particularly of groove so no doubt a great deal was in the fingers - he may also have had the mutes wound on.

[quote name='dmz' timestamp='1344967325' post='1771804'] Percy Jones used a fretless Precision on the first two Brand X studio albums - Unorthodox Behaviour and Moroccan Roll. He used one on the live album - Livestock - as well. Buy them all cause they're frickin brilliant ! If you don't have anything with Percy on it I'd recommend him very highly. Be aware that he will melt you brain though....... [/quote] Agreed - I saw them live in about 1979 - and he achieved this - but by this time with a Wal fretless - I never knew he played a Precision fretless. Incredible to think a jazz/rock band of this type were playing the same venues as the likes of Rose Royce, Funkadelic and Chic at this time in the UK.