Misdee

I only play at home nowadays too, but I like to think that I am completely ready and completly relevant if I get that call from a big-name band with a record deal. Knowing how I would use my envelope filter is part of that. 😄 To be honest with you, I've been sat here ready for the last thirty years or so, so they better hurry up before the money they are going to offer me starts to interfere with my eligibility for Pension Credit.😟

I too thought that they were Ibanez own Di Marzio rip-offs , but read elsewhere that the were DiMarzios so thought I must have got it wrong! The were super-gutsy sounding pickups. It's a shame they don't sell them nowadays as separate item. They would be a fascinating option to have.

I've got an Aguilar Filter Twin and it's really good. I think I like it so much because it has some "personality", for want of a better term, and also because it seems to have an organic warmth to its sound. Very wel made, too. For me the biggest challenge with a envelope filter is finding a musical context to use it in. It's a bit like drummers in big time rock groups back in the '70s who had a big gong behind them as the crowning glory of their drum kit. How many songs can use a gong on before it starts getting a bit too much? (The answer is "probably no more than one"). Similarly with an envelope filter. The only exception to that I can think of would be Chris Squire using his Mutron to great effect on a few tracks on Tormato. I'm sure there must be others, but I've no idea what they would be!

Graham Edwards playing a Roadster back in the day.

I remember playing these basses when they first came out at the dawn of the 1980s and they were superb instruments. Well made, really gutsy sound, modern tone but with plenty of balls. The Di Marzios probably contributed a great deal to that sound. Yes they were heavy, but no one seemed bothered about what basses weighed back then. Back in those days if you had rung a shop and asked them what bass weighed they would have thought you were an eccentric, and that's the polite word for it, if you know what I mean.😄 Heavy was a mark of quality. Alembics were heavy. On purpose. Ibanez were really in their golden era back It's such a shame they don't turn out Japanese-made basses like these any more. I do seem to remember however, that these basses had a very pronounced shallow D neck profile. On of my friends had one of these Roadster basses back in the mid 80s and I have a distinct recollection of the neck profile being like a slightly exaggerated version of a pre-EB Musician Stingray. Could be my memory playing tricks on me though. Forgive me if I am wrong!🙂

I remember seeing these on Facebook or somewhere like that and getting excited for two reasons.Firstly it's a short scale Ric, secondly and much more importantly, it's styled sort of after a Rickenbacker 4002! Those pickup covers ! I was full of anticipation at the thought of a 33 1/4 inch scale scale reissue of that rare beast. I imagined myself playing the short scale bass whilst I was waiting for my custom order 4002 to turn up.I am still waiting for either to materialize. ☹️ If Rickenbacker did bring out a short scale bass they would get snapped up pretty quickly I expect, bearing in mind how trendy short scale basses are nowadays. Short scale Ric with flats would be a very hipster-friendly combination. I also seem to remember Steve Harris from Iron Maiden citing the bass player from Golden Earring as one of his formative influences when he was a young player. Good to know Rinus Gerritsen is still out there playing.🙂

I have found with strings that more exotic brands such as TI or DR that cost twice as much as Elites or Rotosound ect aren't necessarily any better in terms of quality or tone, just different. It's just a matter of taste and subjective differences. But if you are unlucky enough to prefer the more expensive strings then you have to fork out or feel you are settling for second best.😟

Those TI Superalloys are magnificent strings, like all of TI's bass guitar range. They might be the best nickel rounds I have ever played. You will struggle to find anything that good, in my opinion. The thing about TI is that they are a bit weird in so much as they don't have much (any) variety in terms of gauge. I would cheerfully pay £40 for a set of Super Alloys if they did them in 40-100. Then again, if they weren't a bit weird as a company, maybe they wouldn't have come up with such a unique sound for so many of their bass strings. If you don't get on with D'Addario XLs , how about Dunlop Nickels? There are the Super Brights which are, well... pretty bright sounding and very elastic- feeling , or the regular Dunlop Nickel which I really enjoy and find to be an excellent all-rounder. They are not overly bright and have a nice warm midrange, to my ears anyway, but still have enough bite for most tastes. In terms of tension, they are a nowhere near as slack as the Super Brights , but certainly not tighter-feeling than average. I would describe them as a good string for middle-aged men. Sensible sound, sensible feel, sensible price. Another option would be Elites Player's series. Fairly inexpensive, readily available and very bright and punchy for nickel strings. Seem to last a long time, too

G&L should reissue the El Toro bass. Those basses have got a cult following and sell instantly on the second hand market.I remember them when they were current, but I've never got to play one. I still remember perusing the G&L adverts in Guitar Player magazine in the early 1980s and thinking how great theu looked in Fullerton Red These CLF bass look (and sound) fantastic to me , by the way. I really fancy one.

I will certainly give you first refusal on the fretless Si, but I cannot envisage myself selling it any time in the foreseeable future. 🙂 I would love to show you some pictures of my Lakland basses but they are all put away in storage at the moment. I don't really have any decent pictures of them to share unfortunately.

This is an example of the "fat neck equals fat tone" theory that rears its head from time to time. I am really not qualified to either confirm or dismiss this theory, but I can say unequivocally that a Jazz Bass style neck on a P Bass does not necessarily equate to a thin tone. I've got a couple of P Basses with Jazz neck dimensions and they both sound very fat indeed. How "fat" do you need it to sound anyway? A bass either sounds good or it doesn't. A super skinny neck may well impart a different sound, but I'm talking Fender Geddy Lee skinny rather than a more typical Jazz Bass profile. Anyhow, I am not so sure that,if you analyse it, a Fender Precision Bass is a particularly fat or "thunderous" sounding bass anyway. It's emphasis is on the low mids more than a super deep low end. It's got a woody complexity to the tone that is very appealing to the ear, and so suitable for so many styles of music. Conversely, if a P Bass sounds wrong with a Jazz neck then does a Jazz Bass with a fat neck sound wrong also?

What is this new Kingpin of which you speak? Tell us more! 😯

I like this finish much better on the Bongo than the Stingray. But on the Bongo the blacked-out pole pieces on the pickups ruin it for me. Those MM humbuckers are iconic, and I want to see the big round magnet slugs. Is it just me, or have EBMM decided to make most of their new basses look like the kind of thing that Bruno Mars bass player would use at the Grammy's, i.e a kind of nouveau-Liberace glitz that really won't age well. Other folks seem to love it, but I am not keen at all.

I've had that issue with the G string zipping off the edge of the fingerboard on Musicman 5 string basses of every vintage. It is definitely a problem on the older Stingray 5s as well as the newer ones. It drives me crazy on any bass, so it is something I am acutely aware of.

Whatever the strengths and weaknesses of the individual members of Status Quo as musicians, they made it work as a band and the bass and drums made it chug along with the necessary swagger . Back in their heyday of the 1970s Quo were a formidable live act. That was the real Status Quo, not the showbiz bit of a joke household name version that came later. Quo back in the 70s were dangerous.A proper rock group.

I think it would be quite feasible to put a regular condom over the microphone for extra protection. Then put the foam thing on top.

I love that black short scale ! Never seen one in that colour before. I really like Lakland basses, and regarding the fretless versions, I've got a 44-02 Deluxe fretless with an epoxy- coated ebony fingerboard and it's a wonderful bass. Lightweight, easy to play and with loads of really useful fretless tones. Does the Musicman thing, does the Jazz Bass thing and lots of other sounds of its own as well. I usually use the front coil of the humbucker with the mids and highs slightly boosted to get a uniquely Lakland kind of a sound and it really cuts through the mix. I'm a big fan of Lakland pickups too. I think they are very underrated. To my ears they sound as good as anything on the market, and they help give Lakland basses their own distinctive personality. I love the ChiSonics and the NeoPunch P Bass for passive basses, and the MM humbucker on the active ones sounds great as well. It's not quite as heavy in the bottom end as a Musicman, but it's got a bit more midrange support. I suppose another thing that defines Lakland basses is the small vintage-style frets. They give the basses a different feel, and some would argue a slightly different sound, i.e a bit more woody , for want of a better term. They don't suit every taste, but I have learnt to love them.

Wonderful to hear this as an isolated track, as it is to hear all the others you have posted. Now I know I've been playing this one almost right! Keep up the good work!

There are so many great things about EBMM Musicman basses that it would take me too long to list them, and for my own sonic tastes at least, these new Stingray Specials are just about the best -sounding Stingrays I've ever heard. They've tamed the treble a bit and added even more punch to the sound. But £3000 is a bit too optimistic on their part. It's asking Maserati money for a Volkswagen. I take your point about the Fender CS comparison, but most Fender CS basses have quartersawn necks nowadays, and you can custom order to your requirements. EBMM basses have flatsawn necks with no graphite reinforcement, and MM have become increasingly limited in the options they offer their customers. That is because standardisation is a way of maximizing efficiency and therefore profits. All this business about supply problems, transportation issues ect really is the concern of the manufacturer, not the consumer. It's also probably a smokescreen/red herring to excuse the decision to increase profit margins to offset the cost to their business of covid and the subsequent worldwide lockdown. They are taking a punt that we will be prepared to pay three grand for a bass worth two grand rather than deny ourselves the thrill of owning one of these glittering (literally) new offerings. I suspect very strongly that EBMM are looking to make back the money they have lost , it's as simple as that. What will be fascinating is how well they have judged their potential customers. And if they succeed in selling their guitars at this price point then what next? Presumably the sky's the limit! And if folks don't buy EBMM'S at the new prices what will happen then?

The Fender factory in California turns out more guitars than EBMM, but it isn't half as big as you might suppose. It is inaccurate to portray Fender as churning out a vast number of lesser quality instruments in comparison to an EBMM factory which produces small numbers of high quality artisan- made guitars with a superior degree of integrity. I've had a fair few new EBMM basses over the years, and some of them were great, some not so great in terms of their construction quality. Just the same as my experience of the USA Fenders. May I ask, how do you know that EBMM are experiencing greater production costs and supply chain problems due to fallout from covid? Is that what EBMM have said or is it something you are supposing ? Business models, supply chains and the like are the concern of the manufacturer and their dealers. If they make a mess of things and can't get their goods to market at a realistic price then it's not the consumers role to make up excuses or explanations on their behalf . Are EBMM subject to these alleged increased costs more than other manufacturers of a similar size, such as G&L, for example? ( I mention G&L because I have consistently found them to be better made than EBMM basses with equally good proprietary hardware and their own signature sound, just like Musicman. )Why aren't all the others following suit and jacking up their prices to such a degree? I totally understand (and share😊) your enthusiasm for Musicman basses, but because you have been a repeat customer over many years ,EBMM owe a debt of loyalty to you, not the other way around. Ultimately as buyers we will look at three grand for a new Stingray and then look round at what else you can get for that money. In my estimation the 2021 Stingray Specials are overpriced by about a grand (certainly £800-£900)for the quality of guitar that they are.

My perspective on this is that EBMM have the perfect right to charge whatever they please for their basses, and the consumer will decide whether or not to pay that price. What I am wondering is why EBMM have decided that now is the time for such a shift in pricing. Maybe they are in such financial trouble due to to Covid/ lockdown ect that they see no other way to survive. If so ,then they are taking a gamble. They could end up with 100 percent of nothing. Or maybe they feel they have been undervaluing their goods.They may genuinely believe that the buying public has had it too good for too long. It's worth considering that one of the things that contributes to perceived value of luxury goods is the high price tag they demand.It's the retail equivalent of The Emporers New Clothes. Most likely, though, is that it is a combination of a lot of things, including what I have just speculated on . It would be nice to be able to ask EBMM the question directly. And what will they do if no one buys them ? I'll still probably end up buying one in the end and be left sucking lemons because of the price. Thing is I could do with two, one for rounds and one for flats. That was my original plan.Now I will have to settle for one if I am lucky and keep changing the strings. As if I didn't have enough to do already.

Sorry to say it my friend, but EBMM basses are not "low volume high end". They are mid-market mass-produced instruments. You are kidding yourself if you think they are manufactured to the same standard as a well designed prestige luthier- made bass. (However, it must be said, I have much more fun playing a Musicman bass than a great many fancy boutique basses. How good quality does a bass guitar need to be? Anyhow...)I think your Rickenbacker /Fender CS comparisons are about right, whilst bearing in mind that most analogies don't bear close examination. That said, there is no doubt that these new Stingrays are very worthwhile instruments. I am not that keen on most of the colours , but each to their own, there is no right and wrong to it. The real controversy is the grotesque price increase which has accompanied their introduction. The pound has been relatively stable against the dollar. Paint hasn't suddenly rocketed in price. They don't claim to be made any different. The only thing that has changed is the profit margins that the manufacturer and/ or distributors have decided they need to make. I am in the market for a new Stingray Special - I bought one last year but it had holes in it so it had to go back - but I can't see myself being the guy who pays three grand for a Stingray. I might as well abandon all reason and buy a new German-made "custom shop" Warwick .(Actually , I would probably need to get some kind of a mortgage for that.) It will be very interesting to see how the market responds to EBMM's new prices. Will this be the guitar equivalent of the European Super League, or will the buying public just shrug their shoulders and accept a new reality where Musicman basses cost that much? And if they manage to get away with it, will other manufacturers follow suit?

You've hit the nail on the head there.

Exactly.