Musicman20

James is a talented lad. Google Dallas Green (Alexisonfire) who does his own acoustic material...then you can see where he nicked his style from (minus the electronic stuff). Moaning emo kid...that's what he sounds like. Works hard?! Oh it must be very hard to be famous and do a few 12 hour days singing for a bit (enjoying himself). Gimme a break!!!

Flea is one hell of a bassist (and encouraged me to try playing 90% with my fingers even in faster songs). I'd go as far to say he is probably MY biggest bass influence along with Matt Freeman from Rancid, (both players took the bass to the front of the mix and made it more interesting than the guitars). But, he still sounds better to me on Ray or the Modulus. Perhaps the Alembic. He sounds great on a Jazz because its Flea, but it doesn't sound as good, IMO. I've only tweaked one of my Ray necks (I currently have 5 Musicman basses) in the past 10 years or more if owning various types of them. It took 20 seconds to put it right. My ex Jazz took longer and it chewed up part of the scratch plate because its not as accessible as the Musicman wheel, (2009 Jazz, long gone!).

The P is great, the J is great (but not as comfy IMO) then the Ray steals the show. Perfect thumb anchor, massive tone, stunning ergonomics. I love Fender basses but an EBMM to me is the pinnacle for my tastes, and I've played a fair few much more expensive instruments (including Sadowsky's which seem very bland and expensive for what they charge).

The normal size is better, IMO. It's small enough!

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1355084350' post='1893887'] Your situation is desirable. Thankfully, i will never have kids. Whether i am in a relationship or not, i intend to live in a nice place, surrounded by my basses (and other instruments). [/quote] Me too! Haha.

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1355084350' post='1893887'] Your situation is desirable. Thankfully, i will never have kids. Whether i am in a relationship or not, i intend to live in a nice place, surrounded by my basses (and other instruments). [/quote] Me too! Haha.

[quote name='ianhowardbass' timestamp='1355077010' post='1893748'] Gotta say that the build of Musicman is so much better than Fender. I've got an SR5 and 2 American Fender basses, and the Stingray is amazing. [/quote] I'd go as far to say EBMM are miles ahead.

I have no children and I don't intend to have any. It's a modern world and I find a lot of people in my scenario. Luckily my partner thinks the same as me, so no one is missing out. We just want an awesome dog and some amazing holidays. I don't want to buy a house yet because I need to decide where exactly I want to live for the next 5 years. We've had a bad year for money but its turning around now. My priorities are my career and music in general. Yes, I spend a lot on basses but im careful and I haggle. Others prioritise children, some prioritise partying and having a good time (I'm jealous!). I'd keep your P type bass and save for a Thumb

The other point to note is that most bassists in the UK probably don't spend much time on here, if at all. We are, in my mind, in a bit of a bubble when it comes to trends and prices. I don't refer to eBay prices because eBay is a joke with everything!

Well now a normal Stingray H is £1400+ new, it will change the market over the next 5 years or so.

I was going to actually say that Sandberg basses seem to lose a LOT of money.

RHCP Rancid

I'd guess that in 3-5 years the prices might take a turn with both Warwick and Musicman. Basschat also seems to be quite harsh on second hand prices...very low for some items. I've seen people sell Bongo's for very close to what they pay new but that involved using the EBMM forum and dealing with fanatics so they tend to pay close to the value.

No matter what the current prices second hand, id never sell mine for daft prices. My old mint 2000 ish Ray H fetched £870 ish. Best to sell them on the EBMM forum if you want to move one on.

The new Genz NX2 cab has faital speakers...any idea which ones?

PS - Pre-2008 (ish) Stingray 5's have the electronics that are now in the Sterling. When it comes to best era's, as they are both modern (especially the Sterling) I woulnd't worry...buying new will get you the latest spec though.

Sterling 5 basses are VERY rare. I've seen about 3 in total on this forum over the past few years. Stingray 5 basses are much easier to get hold of, but not that many around in multi pup format. What spec are you after? Colour? Pup configuration?

I have a Stingray 5 HS and a Sterling 5 HS. The below applies to new Stingray 5 and Sterling 5 basses, not the older Stingray 5's. Firstly, the Sterling is a smaller bass, sometimes lighter, but this depends. The Sterling doesn't have the chrome banana contol plate like a Stingray 4. The Sterling has ceramic pickups, and seems a little bit 'hotter'. The Stingray 5 has alnico pickups. Alnico tends to sound smoother and more traditional, whereas ceramic has a bite and 'mid-bump' to it. The Sterling 5 has three types of configurations, H, HS or HH. The same with the Stingray 5. Difference is that, without going into too much detail, the Sterling is MAINLY wired in series. Series = louder more aggressive output. The Stingray 5 is MAINLY wired in parallel. Parallel = smoother, warmer. I think, from experience, that the Sterling pre-amp is different. It seems to have more range. This might be wrong though. It sounds very very similar. The Sterling 5 also has a really nice neck joint.... The 5 string versions of both have the same neck. 17.5mm string spacing. Personally, I am very happy with BOTH of them. The Ray is smoother and more of a tradtional Ray tone (obviously) whereas the Sterling snarls a little more and cuts the mix a little more. Both can be made, roughly, to sound similar to the other.

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1354467085' post='1886286'] I've never been able to hear a difference between maple and rosewood fretboards but if there is any difference I can't believe it's not over-ridden by whether you play with a pick or with fingers, do you play by the neck or by the bridge, what kind of strings are you using, how is your eq set etc etc etc. I've got a rosewood P and my son has a maple P. Whichever we play we sound like ouselves. [/quote] Agreed. I used to use a pick a lot more with bright stainless steel strings years ago, on a rosewood board P, and it was spot on for that very aggressive P bass tone...in fact sometimes it was too aggresssive. I think its more for aesthetics. I'd like to get a maple P and J to go along with my rosewood P and J, but I know deep down I prefer the classic colours, and most the time a rosewood board looks better. I used to have a 2008 ish sunburst/tort P bass, with a maple neck (very glossy). It was a nice bass, very light, but with tort, the maple looked 'weird'.

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1354456074' post='1886093'] Fixed. [/quote] I've spoken to a lot of Stingray players, and most of them prefer the gunstock oil finish. I very much doubt its that much cheaper...not only that, their paintwork is much better than others so its swings and roundabouts.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1354425892' post='1885815'] I love black blocks and binding on a Fender- style neck . It alludes to Fender Jazz Basses made between 1970 and early 1974 , which featured such blocks and binding , and looks great to me , depending on the aesthetics of the rest of the bass , of course . I used to go see a band back in the 1980s and the bass player had a sunburst Jazz with black blocks and binding and it looked beautiful to the young Dingus . The fact that he was a wicked player with a great sound didn't hurt either . The early 1970s were the last of the great Fenders in my book , and anything after that just ain't vintage to me I'm afraid . As I have mentioned before , one of the biggest revelations of the internet age has been the insight it gives into other peoples taste ( or lack thereof in certain cases ) . Basses in colour schemes I would have thought to be too ugly for anyone to ever buy are almost always the apple of someones eye on sites like this , and yet there are folks out there who think that black blocks and binding look cheap , ugly and just plain wrong . One thing is for certain though - blocks need binding . Blocks without binding is a big no-no for me . No excuses , it's just not right ! [/quote] Exactly right about different tastes, and I 100% agree that blocks without binding looks like they couldn't be bothered to do it properly, (I think Sadowsky and Sandberg are guilty of this and Sadowsky charge a fortune for blocks).

[quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1354439119' post='1885866'] Why is maple always lacquered? Or is the question why is rosewood not lacquered? Maple always seems to have a finish, and rosewood never does. Why is that? [/quote] EBMM necks and boards nowadays are not lacquered, just coated in gunstock oil for a more natural finish.

Black blocks on a maple board look cheap and common to me now. Has to be rosewood with white pearl blocks. Much classier.

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1354396555' post='1885619'] i think alot of confusion is caused by this argument... maple vs rosewood... on a PASSIVE bass maple is brighter than rosewood, especially with a laquered board... when you intoduce an active system its almost impossible to tell [/quote] You'd be pushed to notice it recorded. It's a bit of a myth.

White/Tort/Rosewood Sunburst/Tort/Rosewood Best P combos