Mr Cougar

[b]'I've only seen one of these on ebay before and it went for £1200'[/b] Well I saw one go last year for £600 And geddysnose was selling a black one on here for about £650 I think, which was a fair price.

I got this off the Ebay and few people mentioned they would like to know what I think of it so here goes... Features: Solid alder body with bubinga top, sandwiching a piece of walnut 3-piece thru-neck, rosewood fretboard, 24 frets, 34" scale, Spector active TonePump circuit, active EMG PJ pickups, gold hardware The controls are 2 volumes, a treble and bass control. The bass can't be put into a passive bypass. I'm unsure what the exact dimensions of the neck are but the strings are close together and I would compare it to a Warwick neck it's quite shallow and has a very smooth finish which I suspect is oiled not glossy but no discernable wood grain to touch. The bass body is not finished like some Spectors in a high gloss but is an incredibly smooth coated finish one level above matte. Like a really nice coffee table! The bridge is a very substantial gold with 3 screws and is recessed into a shallow cavity. The tuners are gold schallers with the gearing encased. The bass came with a non-standard but rather substantial hard case. Sound: The general sound of this bass could best be described as very 90s, very clean and incredibly punchy. It has what I would describe as a a very pure hi-fi sort of sound and arguably it does not have a great deal of that almost intangible quality of warmth. I had expected the EMGs to deliver a very brittle top end but I was delighted to find that they remained sharp, clear and punchy. With the pickups set to the P position it is best desrcibed as a pumped up P Bass, replacing the big billowy bottom with a little more deep tightness, where the P Bass thumps this attacks. The bridge J for my taste is a little thin, although it sounds similar to the pickup in any jazz configuration. Where this bass really comes into it's own is with both pickups on full volume and the tone pots turned all the way up. I hesitate to use the term excessively but the overwhelming impression you get is deep, tight punchiness with cutting upper mids and solid highs, as I say the sound is very clear and very reminicent of a more pumped up warwick corvette. This bass is superb for slap techniques. At the moment I use the bass with a Genz Benz Shuttle 3 and an Eden 210 cab with a tweeter, I am taking delivery of a tube pre-amp from Dave Hall and I hope to update this review when I have given it a whirl. I have alwys found it interesting to test basses unamplified to get a feel for the natural resonance of the instrument (for example my Sadowsky is incredibly musical and resonant unamplified and the sound it produces on it's own is very evident in the amplified sound). In this case the instrument is a little dead played dry which adds to the overall impression that you are really playing an instrument that is fundamentally a modern electronic bass. although I'm no expert it seems that this construction and choice of materials is designed to produce the hard, clear punch that I find to be such a dominant feature when amplified. Action Fit and Finish: The action of this instrument is superb, its low with good clearance across the neck which is set with the tinest forward curve. In terms of the woodworking the finish is flawless and one can barely feel the ridges between the thru-neck and the body etc, the hardware is all well fitted and the perloid inlays look beautiful. There are only 2 minus points: the tone/volume controls are plastic and a little cheap feeling, although they look in keeping with the bass their fit not the best. Similarly the control plate is not recessed and sits rather incongrously on the rear of the instrument. The other outstanding feauture of this bass is the superb ergonomics of the design. Witha small body I was concerend about neck dive but the ballance sits at a very stable angle which I would describe as a touch closer to the horizontal than an MM or Fender. The body is shaped at the rear and from the moment you strap her on it's evident that this is going to be a very comfortable bass to play. Overall rating:8.5 I own a variety of basses, Musicman, Sadowsky, Gibson and Fender and with the exception of the Sadowsky I would say that this bass more than holds it's own which for an instrument that retails in excess of £1300 you would expect. This will certainly be a prized addition to my arsenal and is very different to my Jazz, Precision and MM that I currently use.

Hmmm, I'm not sure about this one: It looks like a refin to me, that colour?? Also that rectangular neck plate is wrong should be the v shaped 3 bolt. Worst part is he's listed it before and when someone asked about the neck plate he said he could take it apart and check, but he clearly has done that and still doesn't mention it when relisted. Smells fishy to me. Thoughts? [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1979-80-PRE-ERNIE-BALL-MUSICMAN-STINGRAY-BASS-GUITAR_W0QQitemZ370088992003QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item370088992003&_trkparms=72%3A1298%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14"]Pre EB MM[/url]

[quote name='dlloyd' post='290592' date='Sep 24 2008, 09:35 AM'] You'll have to expand on that. I'm not sure what your problem with the bridge is, but the waxed neck (not unfinished) was introduced for aesthetic reasons... people prefered the feel. I've no idea what issues you might perceive with fit and finish... I've played a lot of them and the neck fit is invariably tight on EB models, less so on the early 80s ones.[/quote] Comment on the bridge and neck are really aesthetic, the current bridges are fine they just don't look as good to me, I know lots of players who lament the passing of the older necks, the waxed finish is also horrific for picking up dirt but once again it's taste. In general, and it's very evident on the neck the materials on the ones I've played later than say 1995 ish seem cheaper, minor details like the quality of the maple previously used for the necks, the quality of the woods used in the body, even the plastics and the chrome all show evidence of a drive towards economy at the expense of quality. I've played lots of MMs and I'd agree there were some total dogs made in the mid 80s. I'd say that the newer ones are still a quality instrument, they just aren't as good as the late80s/early90s ones. I mean they haven't deteriorated like say the Fenders did.

I'm not sure it's a problem with the variety of models, it's a classic bass and although quality has deteriorated slighty (crappier bridge, unfinsihed neck, poorer fit and finish etc) since the early 90s it's only minor they are still great basses. Moreover, if you think about Jazz and P basses most of their attempts to update the models have been met wih limited enthusiasm and have never been as highly prized as the classic models. Conversely the pre-EBS are starting to climb in cost now they are 25 years old and some of the models recgnised as the best (the 30th Aniversary) are holding their value pretty well i think. I think you are correct about the amount on the market, there are just loads of them around. I think that for a long time they were seen as the compromise option compared to (relatively) unfashionable Fenders, but the P and Jazz are really back in fashion these days. I think this trend is even more pronounced with the likes of Warwicks which were very popular in the 90s when people got sick of playing Fenders. I've noticed over the last year the arse has dropped out of the Warwick market too.