Musicman20

I do wish I liked the Darkglass 'take' on overdrive/tubes being pushed etc. I always revisit what they have coming out but everything seems to sound like modern metal, which isn't my thing. I still think the VT Bass and Sansamp BDDI are the best for that type of tone, IMO....but I like the Darkglass approach and innovation.

Dare I say it, perhaps more innovation on the 4003 (I realise they did it on other models) and some modern tweaks could make the 4003 an even bigger hit for Ric. I know its a tried and tested classic design, but I sometimes think if they just went all out and made a modern 4003 with bulletproof quality and tweaks to make it comfortable, they could do extremely well. I'm talking things like truss rod wheel at the end of the neck and just go for a normal truss rod, sort the pickup surround out, less fussy paint and binding, same pickups and elecs, same style but some contouring to let it fit to the body better even at the expense of some binding, offer a few new colours, hike the price, address the cramped string/neck feel, address the neck shape. Basically, make it sound exactly the same, look almost the same, but make it easier to use!

Ric 4003. Still want one, still love the style and tone, but just didn't feel right on the few occasions I tried one. I will get one, one day...and fight it until I like it haha.

I'd be interested to hear them. Their basses look great.

3 band EQ with MHS is probably around £1500 new now! Maybe a little less. I'd say even without the MHS £700 is more than fair if it is original with the case etc. Nothing sounds like a Ray. If you want it a little less snarling, whack some flats on it and lower the treble/boost the bass. THUMP!

I love anything from the simplicity of a P bass (need that tone control though) all the way to this: [url="https://reverb.com/item/442162-ernie-ball-musicman-big-al-sss-usa-2012-sky-blue/similar"]https://reverb.com/item/442162-ernie-ball-musicman-big-al-sss-usa-2012-sky-blue/similar[/url] 4 mini buttons, (activates pickup and puts it into active/passive), then volume, passive tone, stacked hi mid/low mid, stacked treble/bass.

Nope - piezo is about £150+ more, and no longer offered I don't think. It would have a huge 5 band EQ/vol/piezo knob section on the chrome control area if it is piezo. Matching headstocks aren't cheaper with EBMM - they produce some of the most stunning matching headstocks but they are at least £100+ extra. I'd love a piezo Ray!

They look fantastic! How do they manage it with the prices they charge?! Or is it that we are used to overinflated prices....

I use a Gig Skinz bag (think it is large or medium...can't remember). Sometimes they come up on ebay for half the retail price and brand new.

Stingray - 2 or 3 band, H, HS or HH, they are all fantastic. The Classic is like a premium model with (usually) a very figured neck, 2 band EQ, slab body, chrome battery compartment, mute bridge, classic 'serial on bridge', etc. If you want something super versatile, go for a HH or a HS, if you purely want a classic 2 eq tone, the Classic is VERY hard to beat despite its high price. I've played a lot of Musicman basses and my Classic 5 is the best bass guitar I've played/owned. Sterling - Like a slicker faster Stingray. More aggressive ceramic pickups, same 3 band EQ (although they used to make an unusual 2 EQ Sterling Classic), thinner jazz style neck on the 4 string (VERY fast to play). Nice basses. Bongo - super modern, super fast 24 fret neck, very modern and cool EQ. Looks 'odd' at first but in the flesh the design is a work of art. I was sold as soon as I played one. They make a 3 EQ H Bongo, but the usual Bongos are HH or HS 4 EQ. The pickups are neodymium, so the sound is ultra precise and quick. However it will mot definitely 'warm up' with the EQ. I have heard some extremely good back pickup playing making it sound like a bridge jazz pickup and the S or H at the neck provides good P bass foundations. Those are the main models. The 5 string variants are superb. They are NOT cheap, and personally I bought all of mine before price hikes. They also have new passive basses (not over here yet), the Gamechanger, 40th Anniversary Ray, etc etc. My Big Al is a great passive/active bass and I am gutted they stopped making them.

The Sig guitar is more my thing.

Agree with Bubinga 5. 34" scale, no massive feat of engineering, just well designed to give a good even range all across the strings, but I certainly LOVE the Musicman B; it is tight, punch and defined.

I have a Classic Ray 5 (alnico), two Ray's (2008 onwards so alnico - a HS and HH) and a Sterling 5 HS (ceramic - basically the original Ray 5 elecs in a different bass). The Classic Ray 5 is IT for me...I love it. I'd say it is the best bass guitar I have ever seen or played in my 20 or so years playing. I do still love the other for their own different tones. The Sterling is more aggressive and modern sounding, which makes sense. The normal Ray 5's sound like a Ray should. All of them have super clear B's.

Great value from Thomann!

The Cribs are a legendary band in the indie scene. Good enough for Marr to join them for a while.

Absolutely. To be fair, no matter what amp I've used/borrowed/bought etc, I've never hit the limits as I'm too sensible to try pushing it. I used to practice in a room in Newcastle with a 4 piece punk band and the Ampeg combo they had in the room was way loud enough. It was more than likely 200W, 1x15. I bet that Ray kills through those setups. One thing to test is that the Markbass amps have the classic 'omg this is loud' when you use the master vol, but don't actually get much louder past half way. The Genz is the opposite, and uses the entire dial to gradually raise the volume up to full tilt. I owned a LM3 some time back and it was great though.

Decent spec and decent price! Is it me or do Ashdown constantly revise certain products?

I'm tempted to get a P bass from him. However, this is my take on Musicman tones; if you want a Stingray tone you need a Stingray. I've seen and heard lots of basses with the H in the sweetspot but it doesn't sound the same to me. Often, it is too clinical (like the Sandberg Basic) and not enough grit and growl. I don't have a Stealth Musicman but the Ray 5's I have converted me to using 5 string basses a lot of the time.

Hmmm....the amount of times I think about asking Overwater or Shuker to make me a really slick P bass, possibly even a 5er, I come back to these....

When I first wanted to try out 5'ers, I tried a lot of Lakland basses, well before they changed hands and some of those were the higher spec'd models. I personally found a lot of 'rushed' areas with the QC, but this was some time ago now. Things may have picked up by now. The necks are nice, but I don't personally need a 35" scale for a good B string. They sounded great, I'll give them that. One issue was weight. Whilst Musicman basses can be heavy, the JO5/55-60/DJ5 basses I tried tended to all be the extreme end.... It seems like Sire build a very similar spec'd bass for a lot less. I personally think the Lakland pricing of £1000+ new without any kind of case is quite expensive.

DrTStingray - you never know! My Classic Ray 5 in Natural/Birdseye Maple is my favourite bass....simple as that! I'd love to try the 40th.

It doesn't let me quote for some reason (might be the work PC) but I also agree with you! If they hit the price of around £1100-1200 they could compete...hmmm.

Great work.

I just popped in to take a look, but that finish is stunning! What a great job.