The Last Bass Outpost
Gear Discussion Forums => Other Bass Brands => Topic started by: Dave W on January 26, 2015, 08:39:13 PM
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New bass models shown starting at about 3:25
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFJ-xOK1oZk#t=52
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Interesting!
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The only thing I am liking about MM stuff these days is the contours on the neck thru (both guitar and bass). Everything else they're doing is totally not what I'm into (do they even have any passive stuff anymore? 18V preamp on that Stingray = 2x9V batteries; yeowzers).
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Did MM ever had passive basses?
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I thought they had the option here n there, but maybe that was user mods.... Wait, yes, the SUB had a passive version at least. Those were decent basses at a good price point.
Also the guitars used to be passive IIRC.
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All of their single coil guitar models have a "silent circuit" to eliminate hum; not sure of the details. It's battery powered but the electronics still work without a battery.
AFAIK the 6-string Silhouette Bass Guitar and the discontinued passive SUB are the only passive basses they've ever made. I saw many SUBs back when they were current, only ever saw one of the passive ones. Mine is active.
I didn't hear any mention in that video of 18v in the Stingray, and it still looks like a single battery compartment on the back. They have been using an 18v preamp on the Bongo since it was introduced in 2003.
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The Big Al and Reflex are 18v, with a passive switch. The Bongo is 18v but does not have a passive switch.
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I'm way late to this party I'm sure, but... how is a two-pickup bass a "stingray" ?
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IMO, if they're going to make a neck-through 'Ray, it also needs to have a through-body stringing option for the bridge. It was telling how the EB guy in the video was over the moon describing all the guitar features, but when he got to the basses, it was basically, 'This is the so and so and uh, it does this...'; you could tell he was struggling to remember his talking points, and when asked about the benefits of a neck-through body bass, all he could do was very briefly talk about upper fret access following the interviewer's lead, which IMO, has never even been a remote issue with EB basses. I am seriously loving that Crimson Stealth finish though.
I wonder if the Sterlings will have the same options. I like their necks better. Also, maybe it's just me, but the Bongo seemed to have lost some of its toilet-seat roundness in the body and headstock and looked more streamlined. It's not a bass I want, but I can see why so many other folks like it. I like other modern EB basses quite a bit, but they're like Fender, minor variations of a few established themes. My favorite thing they have done in the past 15 years was to reissue their Classic" series with bridge mutes and to finally add a second pickup option. I would love to have either a vintage or new Sabre reissue, and I bet that if you had enough money, you could get them to build a composite neck ("graphite") Cutlass, too.
Also Chris, in regards to modern MM passive basses, I played a few US-made passive SUB's back in the day. They sounded like a cheap active (like Schecter) import with no character, and VERY active-import (Mexi Jazz and P plus) Fender-like. Those big MM 'buckers need a preamp. If you want Music Man tone with a differently distinct but very useable passive option: G&L. It's amazing how much a passive-set G&L 2000 series through a good preamp sounds like an old 70's MM. There are very few Fender-inspired tonal options unavailable on the market right now. After the Coronado and Starcaster bass, I halfway expect the Katana and Performer to make an appearance soon.
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I'm way late to this party I'm sure, but... how is a two-pickup bass a "stingray" ?
Because that's what they call it? ;D
The two-pickup Rays and Sterlings, both HH and HS, have been around for years now. Probably close to 10 years.
Those big MM 'buckers need a preamp.
Yep. They were designed to be used with a preamp.
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I'm way late to this party I'm sure, but... how is a two-pickup bass a "stingray" ?
Two pickups = split window.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/1963_Corvette_Sting_Ray_Coupe.jpg)
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I'm way late to this party I'm sure, but... how is a two-pickup bass a "stingray" ?
Similar to when the '68 Vette came out. People insisted it was a Stingray- which it never was to the designers. Here's my '68.
(http://i976.photobucket.com/albums/ae241/cata1d0/ME/68VETTE_zps516a840d.jpg) (http://s976.photobucket.com/user/cata1d0/media/ME/68VETTE_zps516a840d.jpg.html)
Starting with the '69 models they said 'Stingray' on the side. Got to give the consumers what they want.
A StingRay was a single pickup bass, an updated Precision. If you wanted two pickups you bought a Sabre. I'm happy with this StingRay, have no desire for a new fangled one.
(http://i976.photobucket.com/albums/ae241/cata1d0/Chrome%20Soapbar/CHROMED/76Ray-1.jpg) (http://s976.photobucket.com/user/cata1d0/media/Chrome%20Soapbar/CHROMED/76Ray-1.jpg.html)
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A StingRay was a single pickup bass, an updated Precision. If you wanted two pickups you bought a Sabre.
These days it is about choice. The Sterling has a smaller body and narrower neck than the Stingray, and both basses come in one or two pickup models. From a consumer point of view they're nice choices to have.
The Sabre's demise was supposedly the Sabre pickups were considered too aggressive for a lot of players, but funnily enough that's exactly what you get with a two pup G&L, and they sell reasonably well.
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AFAIK the two pickup models have been successful. I can't see debating whether they are or aren't real Stingrays. The label says they are.
Sterling Ball has obviously decided that a small production company like MM needs to offer choices and new models to stay successful.
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AFAIK the two pickup models have been successful.
Absolutely - the HH Stingray with the 5 way coil switch is a fabulous instrument. The neck pickup removes any suggestion that a Stingray is a one trick pony, or too "clanky". I'm currently Stingray-less (but love my Big Al) but if I were to ever buy another Stingray it would be another HH model.
Sterling Ball has obviously decided that a small production company like MM needs to offer choices and new models to stay successful.
Yes, despite his personal critics and unique style, it's hard to argue that he's not a smart businessman
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The Sabre's demise was supposedly the Sabre pickups were considered too aggressive for a lot of players, but funnily enough that's exactly what you get with a two pup G&L, and they sell reasonably well.
Spot on! The old Sabre that used to make the used music store rounds when I was a kid sounded VERY much like a G&L L2000 with maybe better low mids and less upper mids. That bass met its end when a couple of idiots tried to "adjust the action" by tightening down the truss rod so hard it broke through the fingerboard at the third fret when there had been NOTHING wrong with its action anyway! An old Sabre (the new ones are more polite) is as close to a Gibson bass sound as almost anything Fender-related gets.
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So did the original Sabre have different pickups than the StingRay?
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Interesting! I naively thought that "two pickup MM = sabre; one pickup MM = stingray".
The new neck-through ones look really pretty to me. If I had $1.6k to drop on a new bass I'd go looking for one to try out.
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So did the original Sabre have different pickups than the StingRay?
Yes, but I can't say I know the exact differences, other than the Sabre having higher output and the polepieces not being exposed on the Sabre's pups
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Wasn't there a huge cancelling out issue with the Sabre pups which led to a radical "love it or hate it"-scooped sound with both pups full on? People's feet (or hands or ears) decided to go with the more open-sounding Stingray at the time, but Sabres became cult objects in the long run.
A neck-thru Stingray? How will they feed the "instant attack"-craving most Stingray players have with that?
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Wasn't there a huge cancelling out issue with the Sabre pups which led to a radical "love it or hate it"-scooped sound with both pups full on? People's feet (or hands or ears) decided to go with the more open-sounding Stingray at the time, but Sabres became cult objects in the long run.
A neck-thru Stingray? How will they feed the "instant attack"-craving most Stingray players have with that?
I don't know about pickup issues with the original Sabre.
The "instant attack" of a bolt-on is debatable IMHO, as is the supposed added sustain of a neck-through. The two types do sound different from each other though, so it could be an issue for some fans.
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I find that the notes on a Stingray jump at you and grab you by the throat, so much that I find it too nervous as a(n) (over-busy) pick player where instant attack is generally not an issue. But the more sluggish response of a neck-thru complements my style of playing just fine.
Not a put-down of the Stingray, I loved the look of the "egg" right from when the first ones appeared around 1977, have a nice specimen at home and always try to make it work for my playing, but we're not really a natural fit. It's in my pantheon of iconic basses.
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Are you planning on at least trying out a neck-thru Stingray then?
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Naw, I have a Bongo - a fine bass, but its lack of weight makes me feel I'm playing a toy - and that mentioned Stingray with the additional piezo bridge. The world needs neckthru Stingrays as much as it needs bolt-on Thunderbirds IMHO. A neck-thru Stingray is as "wrong" to me as a bolt-on or even set-neck TBird.
The only other EBMM model I have toyed with is that Albert Lee shape thing for its inherent weirdness. I like weird instruments.
But I kind of like how EBMM works as a company, hats off to them. And - of course - Steve Morse has been playing his EBMM signature model for decades and I'm indebted to the guy for giving the Purps a new lease of life after their drama queen jilted them.
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The only other EBMM model I have toyed with is that Albert Lee shape thing for its inherent weirdness. I like weird instruments.
The Big Al is the only EBMM bass I own these days. It's a fabulously ergomonic and great sounding bass, despite the unweildy looking shape. The only design issue is the fact that the holes drilled in the pickguard for the round push button pickup selectors are too tight, so need to be filed a little larger to stop expansion of the pickguard in warmer weather from binding against the buttons. Other than that, I can't fault the Big Al. Sounds awesome in passive modes as well as any of the active modes.
(http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a57/mdeayton/Gig%20photos%202012/488382_400918283302798_353107469_n.jpg)
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That thing is très cool. On my temptation list.