kyuuga

39 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

But the combustion I had really did sound like that first video, it was very lifeless.

I was always hoping that the other dingwalls sounded different to the combustions. I loved the neck on the combustion but couldn't live with the tone, never had a chance to listen to one of the canadian ones in the flesh. Maybe these ibbys will have a more combustion like neck (the SR805s didn't).

How's the Combustion/Dingwall neck? Is it more like a P/Stingray or a J? I never tried one but from what I've read the nut witdh is 42mm, like the Stingray/Precision?

The whole "Sterling by Musicman" thing is ridiculous. It's such a confusing, non-appealing and boring brand name. 

They could've gone the route of Squier/Epiphone for their SUB models (with a decent brand name...) and go the route of Mexican Fender for their mid-priced instruments.

Honestly the reason why Fender MIM sells so much is so obvious and few people get it - people these days pay A LOT of attention to the brand name. 

In a world of consumerism where looks matter the most and everyone wants to feel "special", very few people are going to drop almost £1000 on an instrument that says "Sterling by Musicman" - especially since used Musicman Stingrays also go around for that price.

I know Basschat's community is mostly older (no offense!) but I'm talking about a youngling's perspective...

If Musicman re-branded their Ray34 as "Musicman Stingray" but still kept the "Made in Indonesia" underneath the logo or whatever (like Fender does) and sold it for like £800 you'd see a lot more of them being bought new.

Damn, you've been posting some of the best bargains I've ever seen! Sorry to hear about your financial situation.

Whoever gets this is a lucky chap, beautiful design & great bass.

Wish I had the funds right now for it.

GLWTS!

Ugh, not for me...

I get it that "vintage" instruments are hip now, but that just looks like a cheapo 80s Japanese bass or something like that. Something you'd find at a pawn shop.

To top it all off, the sunburst...gosh, I'm tired of all these sun, tobbaco and whatever bursts. Never found them aesthetically pleasing.

But hey, to each their own, just my 2 cents!

2 hours ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

Superb!

I love the video too.

2 hours ago, BreadBin said:

That's really good. The video is quality.

Cheers lads, really appreciated! Video indeed looks awesome as well in my humble opinion 😁

So a while ago my band and I were creating a new song and we started writing the bridge...since it was a "jam session" we really had no idea what to throw in there but we wanted to keep it simple since it was pretty much an Alternative Rock song with a basic structure.

Until the drummer turned to us and said "what if we had a bass solo?"

We all laughed at the suggestion but decided to try it out. I stepped on the fuzz pedal and just went to town with some basic licks. Turned out everyone liked it and we decided to keep it in the song. It's really simple and it leads to a "breakdown" of sorts but we thought it sounded alright.

Yesterday we released that song, here it is:

Would appreciate it if you listen to the whole song, but if you want to skip to the "bass solo" part, it starts at 2:33!

Let me know what you think, always open to constructive feedback  

7 minutes ago, ezbass said:

To paraphrase messrs Townshend & Daltrey, meet the new bass, same as the old bass. Mind you, is anyone really surprised?

Even worse. They removed the truss rod adjustment at the end of the neck (Musicman style). The best thing about the Elite was that. And they removed it. Yep...

Do you guys like that shade of blue? I honestly think Fender has the best blue colours in the market (Daphne, Lake Placid, Tidepool, etc) but that blue just looks horrid to me. It looks...soul-less? It's how I'd describe it.

Well, can't say I'm disappointed since I didn't expect much.

But it honestly looks that this series is a DOWNGRADE from the American Elite.

The compound neck radius AND the contoured neck heel were already present on the Elite so not sure why they brag so much about it on the video...The only "new" thing is the hi-mass bridge which honestly isn't even an upgrade since the bridge on the Elites was quite solid.

And what the f u c k are up with these new colours? Seriously I know tastes are personal but those look dull as hell. The old American Elite colours were MUCH better.

I'm not even a Fender hater and I don't blame them for not innovating since their userbase is pretty much as close-minded as it goes but they could've at least tried. Their Elite series is supposed to be modern and innovative. Instead it's re-branded with the same old stuff and made worse with disappointing colours.

See you in 3 years for the American Royal series (or something like that).

Really curious in hearing how that sounds!

I'm a proud owner of a GK MB Fusion 800 and absolutely love it but I'd love to see if the full-solid state GK Legacy offers something different.

Damn that looks crispy clean for a '77 bass!

Congratulations.

Thomann is indeed amazing!

What baffles me is how they have such good customer service while being the biggest online music store in Europe (perhaps even in the world?).

They must have THOUSANDS of customers every day and yet they're still very fast in their replies and always provided top notch shipping (everytime I order from them in the morning I get it dispatched THE SAME DAY - completely bonkers for such a large company).

Just received a G&L L2000 tribute from Michele.

Really great packaging, smooth transaction and nice communication! 

Solid, great seller. Cheers.

Is that the most beautiful bass I've ever seen? Not sure, but probably.

19 hours ago, AndyTravis said:

Jazz neck, p/j setup, worse balance than a jazz or p. But looks cool.

 

Pretty much this...I had one and sold it due to some balance issues and the extremely thin jazz-ish neck. It was thinner than a jazz neck and I just couldn't get on with it.

Sounded pretty fine though, but it had the classic PJ problem - jazz pup was mostly useless unless fully dimed along with the P.

Damn that's a beauty!! 

If you don't like a beautiful P-Bass, are you even a normal person? There's no way anybody can dislike that!

It's the classic, quintessential bass design.

27 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

Looks lovely - but that bridge is now very far forward.

I'm a bit worried about balance.

Agreed...what's up with the bridge being so forward? They could just move the bridge & the pickups back. Will the strings even have the same tension/length with the bridge being that far forward?

Wish I could get that, lovely colour and really amazing bass. But alas, no funds as of this moment...

Whoever gets it is gonna be highly pleased! GLWTS

7 hours ago, Tommygingell said:

Here is mine I didn’t capture the roasted neck very well! 

Classic colour, never fails! That is "THE" colour for a Stingray much like sunburst is the colour for a vintage Fender P imo.

Absolute bargain and lovely colour combo. GLWTS!

22 minutes ago, MattM said:

One of the big advantages of the 2EQ is that you can use it pretty much the same as a passive.    I always max the bass, then use the treble in exactly the same way as I’d use a passive tone control on a P bass.  Full off, I can out-dub Jah Wobble, full on I can out scoop and slap Flea.   I usually default to full,off, then bring in the treble until I have the cut and tone I need.

I have had 3EQ ‘Rays in my time, but,found I tended to overthink the detente and interaction of the three controls, could never get exactly the same tone as a 2EQ.   For me, the simpler the better.  YMMV of course...

Honestly, in my opinion, "full-on" on the 2EQ is awful. The treble completely takes over the bass control and it's a complete glass cannon with only high frequencies. Very harsh and sizzle...but if that's your thing, you do you.

2EQ is tricky to get but once you get a nice sound you can make small adjustments and it'll sound good.

2 hours ago, Soledad said:

I'm considering a MM SR and got the idea the 2EQ was the one I'd like - but please explain donkey (is it one of those forum substitute things)?
Most used seem to be 3EQ - is the 2EQ worth waiting for and paying for age I probably don't care about? Drifting off-topic here but at least we're still on MM, (and donkey).

Oh yeah it's one of those substitutes...donkey is S H I T (if this also gets censored it's the S word that ends with HIT). 

2EQ and 3EQ are very different in terms of use - not so much sound wise as some people think. 3EQ is way easier to use but the problem with the Mid frequency is that it's a double-edged sword. On one hand it'll definitely help cut through the mix, if you turn that all the way up there's no way your bass will go unnoticed, not even in the heaviest mix. However, the specific frequency it boosts (500hz) is very..."ugly" I'd say. I don't know how to describe it but it's that typical mid frequency that makes your bass sound very dull. Obviously in a mix that won't be as noticeable but it's still not a pretty tone.

The treble frequency is also very "glassy". If you turn it more than 2/3rds up then it's just too sparkly for my taste. You gotta use it carefully.

Keep in mind that I'm talking about the "old" MM's here, but from what I've seen the Stingray Special (2018+ model) doesn't have these issues since the preamp is 9v (more headroom) and also the preamp is much nicer and more controlled.

The 2EQ is way harder to use because there's no center detent and you're not only boosting bass and treble but also many of the frequencies around (the spectrum of the frequencies boosted by the preamp is much wider).

You really have to use your ear...but it also provides a different sound, a bit more scooped I'd say but also a bit mellower. But to me it's not worth the hassle. 

Either way, both the 2EQ and the 3EQ sound like a Stingray and in a mix the difference is barely noticeable IMO (some will argue the 2EQ soundwise is SO MUCH BETTER but hey...I've never noticed much of a difference unless you use the Mid knob a lot on your 3EQ).

11 hours ago, mcnach said:

 

The 2EQ pat is not that different. I do think it's less shrill on the treble and the bass a bit tighter... but there is not much between them. The reason to replace the original, for me, was adding the semiparametric mids. If you go for a MMSR, get the 3-band. With the mid control at the centre detent it does nothing and you get the usual 2EQ goodness. But when you need a bit more control over the midrange (for any value between 100 and 2000 Hz), that extra control is there for you and comes really handy.

Yeah, I wanted to replace the preamp because I feel like the treble control is too "glassy" and the mids hardly do anything (well they do boost the presence but the specific frequency sounds like donkey).

But honestly not sure if it's worth spending 200+ quid on a single preamp...

14 hours ago, mcnach said:

 

If you are ever in Edinburgh, send me a message and I'll happily let you try my 2002 Stingray (with a 3-band John East preamp) and my 2003 Made in USA EBMM SUB with original 2EQ.

Just out of curiosity, did the John East preamp on your '02 Stingray make much of a difference?

I have an '05 Stingray with the original preamp and I've been thinking of switching it up for a MMSR preamp.

There's nothing quite like 'Rays 💛