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Music Man Dark Ray


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56 minutes ago, Mykesbass said:

The way you have written this post implies you haven't actually played one?

No, as no demo/review model  has been offered to me. But, in theory, they sound quite enticing and I wouldn't say no to having a go on one.

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5 minutes ago, stonevibe said:

No, as no demo/review model  has been offered to me. But, in theory, they sound quite enticing and I wouldn't say no to having a go on one.

Not having a personal dig at you @stonevibe but I find

it a little disturbing that gear gets reported on using pure speculation!

'The end result is a crisp clean, a slight gain, or a brutal fuzz sound. And all this without losing the low frequencies.'

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Someone on 'Basschat USA' has ordered one and it's already shipped. I will read what he has to say about it with interest.

They're not selling as fast as I thought they would. Still 74 of Ltd Ed colour left. I guess they are aimed at a specific corner of the market though.

I'm kind of coming round to the Granite Stone colour. I just think they could have done some a little more inspiring for a Ltd Ed version.

Just have to stop myself clicking 'Buy'.

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I saw this new bass from Ernie Ball this morning and I thought it's good to see someone offering something genuinely different in a world of Fender clones. I'm not sure this particular one is for me but I'd like to see more technology and innovation in bass guitars rather than just slightly different versions of the same product that's been on sale for 60 years for a couple grand 

https://mixdownmag.com.au/news/ernie-ball-music-man-unveil-darkray-4-string-bass-guitar/

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19 hours ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

If I was still playing Stingrays regularly, I might be interested, but since I’m not, I’ll be able to save myself who knows how many £1000’s by avoiding these.

If I was in the market for one, I certainly wouldn’t be going for the Granite Stone colour (limited to 100 pieces worldwide apparently) and why doesn’t the Obsidian Black version have a MHS?

https://www.music-man.com/instruments/basses/darkray

Not my cup of tea at all and IMO, that's such a pretentious video.. 

Makes me think of that wonderful Laurence Olivier quote to Dustin Hoffman when they were making the film Marathon Man together in the 1970s and Hoffman was using his method acting training to get ready for a scene by running around the block to be in character and 'out of breath' .  Apparently, Olivier looked at Hoffman on his return to the set and said very smoothly :

"My dear boy, why don't you just try acting. " 

When looking at this video I thought, just plug your bass into a distortion pedal, or go and play guitar instead... 

Sacrilege to say such things I know, but to me it looks like a lot of fuss about nothing.. 

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12 minutes ago, silverfoxnik said:

Not my cup of tea at all and IMO, that's such a pretentious video.. 

Makes me think of that wonderful Laurence Olivier quote to Dustin Hoffman when they were making the film Marathon Man together in the 1970s and Hoffman was using his method acting training to get ready for a scene by running around the block to be in character and 'out of breath' .  Apparently, Olivier looked at Hoffman on his return to the set and said very smoothly :

"My dear boy, why don't you just try acting. " 

When looking at this video I thought, just plug your bass into a distortion pedal, or go and play guitar instead... 

Sacrilege to say such things I know, but to me it looks like a lot of fuss about nothing.. 

Think whatever you like about the bass/video, but back off on Marathon Man 🤨

One of my all time favourites, usually watched with Three Days of The Condor, I think Hoffman was absolutely spot on in his prep for that role. His physicality of being 'out of breath' just works so well and he is acting on top of being that hot sweaty mess. Olivier did give me nightmares about going to the dentist for years afterwards though, in much the same way as Jaws did about swimming in the sea. Slight diversion, but since we're here anyway - I'd just got over the swimming in the sea thing and we went on holiday to Egypt. We went snorkelling and it was stunning. By the time we got back to England a woman had been attacked by a shark exactly where we had been diving 😮.

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19 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

Think whatever you like about the bass/video, but back off on Marathon Man 🤨

One of my all time favourites, usually watched with Three Days of The Condor, I think Hoffman was absolutely spot on in his prep for that role. His physicality of being 'out of breath' just works so well and he is acting on top of being that hot sweaty mess. Olivier did give me nightmares about going to the dentist for years afterwards though, in much the same way as Jaws did about swimming in the sea. Slight diversion, but since we're here anyway - I'd just got over the swimming in the sea thing and we went on holiday to Egypt. We went snorkelling and it was stunning. By the time we got back to England a woman had been attacked by a shark exactly where we had been diving 😮.

It's a great film and, both Olivier and Hoffman brought their talents to it in different ways to make it a very compelling and unsettling drama .. I'm with you on the dentist's drill scene btw! 😬😬 

Really liked Three Days of The Condor too.. 👍 I watched it again quite recently in fact... 

I can't even begin to think how you were affected by that incident in the sea with the shark... 😱

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6 hours ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

Think whatever you like about the bass/video, but back off on Marathon Man 🤨

One of my all time favourites, usually watched with Three Days of The Condor, I think Hoffman was absolutely spot on in his prep for that role. His physicality of being 'out of breath' just works so well and he is acting on top of being that hot sweaty mess. Olivier did give me nightmares about going to the dentist for years afterwards though, in much the same way as Jaws did about swimming in the sea. Slight diversion, but since we're here anyway - I'd just got over the swimming in the sea thing and we went on holiday to Egypt. We went snorkelling and it was stunning. By the time we got back to England a woman had been attacked by a shark exactly where we had been diving 😮.

I haven't seen that film for decades. 

I might have to buy it.

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On 22/06/2021 at 14:05, fretmeister said:

Onboard FX are a bit silly. Have to stop playing to make a change. That's what my feet are for!

No, I love the idea of Onboard effects, I love the concept of FX pedals but its the hassle of having extra things to carry that stops me from using them

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7 minutes ago, shoulderpet said:

No, I love the idea of Onboard effects, I love the concept of FX pedals but its the hassle of having extra things to carry that stops me from using them

Still can't change them without disrupting your playing if you are playing anything remotely quick.

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4 hours ago, fretmeister said:

Still can't change them without disrupting your playing if you are playing anything remotely quick.

I've always used overdrive as an always on thing so I've always chosen amps with this built  but I can see how that could be an issue

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20 hours ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

 

I'm kind of coming round to the Granite Stone colour. I just think they could have done some a little more inspiring for a Ltd Ed version.

Just have to stop myself clicking 'Buy'.

Is it still in your basket - I discarded mine again last night but may revisit!! 

14 hours ago, SteveXFR said:

I saw this new bass from Ernie Ball this morning and I thought it's good to see someone offering something genuinely different in a world of Fender clones. I'm not sure this particular one is for me but I'd like to see more technology and innovation in bass guitars rather than just slightly different versions of the same product that's been on sale for 60 years for a couple grand 

https://mixdownmag.com.au/news/ernie-ball-music-man-unveil-darkray-4-string-bass-guitar/

Amen to that - and more excuses NOT to use flatwound strings 😬😂 that said I still get tempted by the occasional Fender offerings - the Miami blue American Pro basses are stunning - but are unfortunately missing the chrome fenders and grilles which are, in my book, absolutely obligatory…. I guess you could purchase and add them. I used to have a Jazz bridge cover kicking round which was in use in my youth as an…….ash tray - seriously 😏

Back to the DarkRay, one of those distortions sounds very Tim Commerford - very impressive and the clean is really impressive also. 

Edited by drTStingray
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9 minutes ago, drTStingray said:

Is it still in your basket - I discarded mine again last night but may revisit!! 

No, but I've left the page open on my Mac. Still only 39 sold. The thing is, I have the effects already, although I can't help thinking how nuts one of these would sound going through my Darkglass amp with the bass and amp effects switched on. Probably a complete mess 😂

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3 hours ago, Lfalex v1.1 said:

Next EBMM projects:

The Death-Ray, Gamma Ray and Cosmic Ray, Sterling Silver and last (but not least), the Um-Bongo... (Google it if you're under 30!)

 

Ah - other soft drinks like Vimto, Corona and Tango were available. How about Espresso Bongo (for those pre Beatles ‘cats’?). Again for the old(er) folk - there actually used to be a ‘Ray Gun’  - first appeared on the likes of early sc fi and Gerry/Silvia Anderson creations (Fireball XL5 for instance) but then suddenly became President of the US. Well stranger things have happened since (including a synonym for emitting wind from the anus), I guess 😁😂 but completely off topic as none have anything to do with the DarkRay or even EBMM, who incidentally have been a very worthy saviour of (in 1984) and long term curator of the StingRay bass design 👍

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I was having a good think about this on the dog walk this morning.

On one hand you could conclude that the inclusion of the Alpha/Omega is a sales gimmick and I think whichever way you look at it, that will at least partly be the case for the Dark Ray. You may also reach the view that on paper, taking into the account the success of the Nolly/Darkglass/Dingwall collaborations of recent years, that there could indeed be some mileage in it.

My head also finds it slightly odd that the Granite Stone version is the Limited Edition. Personal choice I know, but I think an all gloss black/roasted neck or maybe a gloss black ‘midnight sparkle’ with MHS might look a bit more special. Perhaps use matt black without MHS as standard? A moot point anyway, it is what it is now - and I hate that expression 😂.

The burning issue for me, is how that two band Darkglass pre-amp differs from the standard MM pre-amp. I think most of us know what the Alpha/Omega effects are going to sound like, but what will it sound like in standard mode through my rig? 🤔

Waffle aside, I thought the Patrick Hunter video was quite good. It’s what I want from a demo. Same riff played over and over with different settings. It would have been nice to know what the signal path was, but that’s being picky. I also applaud him for the criticism regarding it not having a mid pot. How many manufacturers are going to let someone get away with that and put it on their web site? Old school ‘Ray users will know what they can get out of a vintage Stingray 2 band EQ. For me it’s bass full on, bit of treble and adjust the rest on my amp = smokin’. I can’t help wondering whether Hunter is one of these people who just doesn’t like 2 band ‘Rays or is it because the Darkglass pre-amp is slightly different somehow?

My head says it’s a non-issue. My fretting hand won’t thank me for ordering one. I’ve sold three ‘Rays for precisely that reason, but I can’t help but be intrigued by it all.

56 left and counting….

 

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1 hour ago, ern500evo said:

I’m wondering if they wanted it to essentially be a classic 2eq ‘Ray, with with added distortion circuits, otherwise they could’ve used the 3 band  DG tone capsule which gets fitted in the Dingwall NG series basses 

I would assume that's a little style over substance, as I imagine Musicman would want to avoid 6 knobs or stacked knobs. 

I think two bands are more than enough for an onboard EQ personally. 

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