Pino Palladino Signature Stingray

[Doctor J]

It's interesting how the signature market has split in two directions. It always used to be the artist's vision of their dream instrument, usually (but not always) a standard design with custom tweaks like pickups, wiring and hardware, an instrument designed to facilitate the needs and unique playing styles of established iconic musicians. Since fake wear became a popular thing, signature instruments have drifted to a point where it now also means replicas of standard instruments with no real tweaks other than imitated wear. EBMM are stroking both sides of this particular piglet, with the likes of Pino and Cliff Williams on one side and the radical designs they've built and put into production for the likes of John Myung, John Petrucci and St Vincent, among others.
 

Being honest, the replica instruments do little for me, particularly when you can buy actual instruments from the same era for a lot less. Getting your hands on what exceptional musicians have done to push beyond traditional designs from the previous century is far more interesting, to me at least. 6k seems crazy for this as, once you start playing it and putting your own dinks and scrapes into it, it becomes less and less Pino's and more yours, which is the opposite of what you bought it for in the first place.

[BassApprentice]

16 hours ago, ezbass said:

 

 

Every time I hear someone talented play a fretless, I think I need one.

Then I remember that I won't sound remotely like them and put that idea back in it's box 😅

[ezbass]

1 minute ago, BassApprentice said:

 

Every time I hear someone talented play a fretless, I think I need one.

Then I remember that I won't sound remotely like them and put that idea back in it's box 😅

Pino is the reason I’ve always had a fretless and one of the main reasons I play bass at all. Having played a fretless from almost the get go, I (think I) managed to get a handle on it early enough to get over the, “Yikes, that sounds horrible!” Opinions differ of course .

[tegs07]

16 hours ago, ezbass said:

 

Thanks. Having watched this it looks like a considerable amount of time and attention to detail went into this bass. Is it worth the price tag? I guess the people who buy it will think so.

[Musicman20]

I always moan about modern prices. Musicman are probably my favourite brand, if not tied with Fender.

 

Both are guilty of very high prices now.

 

However, what I have gathered is that Musicman USA do not simply make hundreds of basses continuously now; they make smaller runs and are a little more 'built to order', so have scaled it down a little. 

 

Their guitars are also now becoming much more popular, and I think the same production applies to them. Make less, higher price.

 

If people want the Musicman sound but without the cost and ultimately that high end feel/fit and finish, then they can get an import model.

 

Whether we like it or not, that is how they have stayed doing what they do and this was a change during/after covid I believe. 

 

 

[NancyJohnson]

I can't actually grasp why this money-grab has irritated me so much.  (Well, I can, but...)

 

Anyhow: Musicman Stingray basses:

1979 (£2.3K)
https://reverb.com/uk/item/88807689-musicman-stingray-sunburst-r-1979-sn-b013725-04-07

 

1978 (£3.6K):
https://reverb.com/uk/item/85274423-ernie-ball-music-man-stingray-pre-ernie-ball-1978-sunburst or

 

£3.9K

https://reverb.com/uk/item/90415351-music-man-stingray-with-maple-fretboard-1978-made-in-usa

 

Just buy old.

[BigRedX]

1 hour ago, Bass Direct said:

You will be paying for the nitro finish, hand aging, signature, exclusivity etc etc... 

 

I suspect that most of these things don't really matter to most bass players. To me "nitro finish" just says it will wear away simply by looking at it, and if I'm buying a new bass I want it to look new - I'll add my own "mojo" simply by using it and no doubt the wear patterns I add will be completely different to Pino's.

 

TBH I'm not in the market for this, and if I wanted one, as other have said, there are actual made in 1979 Stingrays available for less than half the price EBMM are asking

[Kev]

4 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

I can't actually grasp why this money-grab has irritated me so much.  (Well, I can, but...)

 

Anyhow: Musicman Stingray basses:

1979 (£2.3K)
https://reverb.com/uk/item/88807689-musicman-stingray-sunburst-r-1979-sn-b013725-04-07

 

1978 (£3.6K):
https://reverb.com/uk/item/85274423-ernie-ball-music-man-stingray-pre-ernie-ball-1978-sunburst or

 

£3.9K

https://reverb.com/uk/item/90415351-music-man-stingray-with-maple-fretboard-1978-made-in-usa

 

Just buy old.

I'm broke, but I nearly broke my finger rushing to click on the first link.

 

But of course, it's in Japan and very much not £2.3k 😅

[Kev]

Just now, BigRedX said:

 

TBH I'm not in the market for this, and if I wanted one, as other have said, there are actual made in 1979 Stingrays available for less than half the price EBMM are asking

It's £3,499, where are you seeing '79 Stingrays for less than half of that?

[iomamo]

Gorgeous playing by Pino in the video, as you would expect. That touch and tone is spectacular. 

 

 

[BigRedX]

1 minute ago, Kev said:

It's £3,499, where are you seeing '79 Stingrays for less than half of that?

 

The one that Bass Direct are talking about is £5999

[BigRedX]

2 minutes ago, Kev said:

But of course, it's in Japan and very much not £2.3k 😅

 

Still only just over £3k with shipping, VAT and import duty.

[iomamo]

Just now, Kev said:

It's £3,499, where are you seeing '79 Stingrays for less than half of that?

Yes, not sure why people are comparing the VERY limited edition "icon" model to the standard one. And from what I can see the fancy replica versions have all sold, so clearly some people considered it a price worth paying. 

 

The price of a standard US Stingray is right in line with inflation. The list price in 1976 was $495 (without a case), which is around $2800 today. 

 

Would I ever pay that much? No. But playing bass is not my profession and I prefer to buy used. 

[Mrbigstuff]

1 hour ago, Doctor J said:

once you start playing it and putting your own dinks and scrapes into it, it becomes less and less Pino's and more yours, which is the opposite of what you bought it for in the first place.

We don’t all play in the same manner or buy things for the same reasons. I’m quite confident I haven’t dinted any of my instruments in the last 5 years and I play one of the collection everyday when I’m at home.

[NancyJohnson]

4 minutes ago, Kev said:

I'm broke, but I nearly broke my finger rushing to click on the first link.

 

But of course, it's in Japan and very much not £2.3k 😅

 

Be nice to the guy at the Parcelforce depot, if he wants to have a look at the bass, let him.  If he wants to pick it up and have a noodle, let him.  For one of my Ishibashi Thunderbirds he did this, I asked how much the duty was and he he just went, 'What duty?' and waved me on my way.

 

Sometime you can get lucky.

[Kev]

1 minute ago, BigRedX said:

 

The one that Bass Direct are talking about is £5999

Well that's the limited to 10 collectors bass, that's hardly comparable with an old '79.  Naturally, MM do not need to market that whatsoever.  Which, incidentally, are already sold out on MMs site.

[Stub Mandrel]

Strikes me that something like this is a targeted product, and they know their audience. 

 

It's a signature model offering and same tone and playing experience as one of the greatest living bass players.

 

But Pino is not well known by younger players and is fretless excluding many potential customers. 

 

They know the audience for sales is limited but probably many of whom want this will/can pay.

 

 

Contrast with the Flea Jazz. Potentially big market... Fender make it in Mexico, keep construction cost down and  the markup to 2-300 on a standard version. They make vastly more than MM because of sales volume.

 

 

 

It's horses for courses and a nice model like the Pino MM for a niche market will always carry a premium.

[Musicman20]

If you don't like the limited version, please don't look at Gibson and how they have runs of 10k Les Pauls.

 

Those 10 limited models will absolutely hold their value.

[tauzero]

6 hours ago, tegs07 said:

I don’t think any of those guys employ 200 plus people with all the associated marketing, shipping, infrastructure costs. Their exposure to import costs, supply chains and currency fluctuations will also be less severe. ( US importers will be dealing with the 10% plus import tariffs as well as 10% decline in the value of the $). This has to hurt.

 

I dont know the breakdown of Ernie Ball profits but I suspect strings (most likely made in the far east) are the most profitable items. 

 

I agree that US made instruments like Fender, Rickenbacker, Gibson, Martin, MusicMan are expensive (there seems to be a thread a week pointing this out) but they have a long history of producing iconic and some really good instruments. I think it’s a challenging time and if price point is the main motivator then their future may be uncertain.

 

Personally I think that it’s a great looking bass and I would love to try one but it’s out of my price range.

 

I don't think any of them make more than 1/200th of the number of basses that EBMM does. And the amount of labour per instrument will be less than that of the solo luthiers, who are generally making instruments with more complex construction than a length of wood with a strip of wood glued to it bolted to another block of wood with some stain and lacquer on it. And EBMM have more purchasing clout than a small scale luthier. And the supplies for a small scale luthier still have to come from somewhere so are as exposed to import costs.

[Kev]

Just now, tauzero said:

 

I don't think any of them make more than 1/200th of the number of basses that EBMM does. And the amount of labour per instrument will be less than that of the solo luthiers, who are generally making instruments with more complex construction than a length of wood with a strip of wood glued to it bolted to another block of wood with some stain and lacquer on it. And EBMM have more purchasing clout than a small scale luthier. And the supplies for a small scale luthier still have to come from somewhere so are as exposed to import costs.

I really don't think EBMM are pumping out anywhere near as many StingRays as you think they are these days.

[Beedster]

32 minutes ago, Kev said:

I'm broke, but I nearly broke my finger rushing to click on the first link.

 

But of course, it's in Japan and very much not £2.3k 😅

 

But rosewood board...... 👍

[tauzero]

1 hour ago, Doctor J said:

Being honest, the replica instruments do little for me, particularly when you can buy actual instruments from the same era for a lot less. Getting your hands on what exceptional musicians have done to push beyond traditional designs from the previous century is far more interesting, to me at least. 6k seems crazy for this as, once you start playing it and putting your own dinks and scrapes into it, it becomes less and less Pino's and more yours, which is the opposite of what you bought it for in the first place.

 

None of those 10 limited edition ones are going to get played anywhere that they might get dinks and scrapes. Correction: none of those 10 limited edition ones are going to get played anywhere.

[Mrbigstuff]

6 minutes ago, tauzero said:

 

None of those 10 limited edition ones are going to get played anywhere that they might get dinks and scrapes. Correction: none of those 10 limited edition ones are going to get played anywhere.

Doesn’t matter if they do or don’t.

[police squad]

I love it. I would buy the expensive one and gig with it

But the sound doesn't really work for me, I've had Singrays and love them to play.

Pino is one of my favourite players

[tegs07]

Basschat sometimes cracks me up. Generally folks aren’t interested in the cause of inflation but are very concerned about prices. Generally people want higher wages and better living conditions and environmental standards but are shocked when there are annual price increases, whether this is the price of a pint or a bass. We want jobs but when even relatively benign companies like EBMM position themselves in a market place to make sure that they turn a profit and keep their staff in work we shout corporate shills and greedy capitalists.

 

FWIW yes MusicMan basses are expensive but for relatively low production run, quality instruments made in the USA IMO the price point is what I would expect.