Discontinued Music Man list. October 31. 2015

[tbonesullivan]

I believe that is what they are saying. Piezo options are, unfortunately, prone to problems and not extremely popular.

As for the colors, I have always been amazed that EBMM has been able to offer such a wide variety of colors at any given time, given their high quality. however in the end I think the most popular colors are still things like black and white, maybe with tobacco sunburst and a few choice metallic colors.

I can't wait to see what new guitars/basses are coming out.

 

[Dargin]

Piezo will no longer be an option on the Stingray line. We always have the option to resurrect any model or option for future limited runs. If enough people want it we will make it!

 

[mmbassplayer]

Dargin... You mentioned new bass models, I am curious. Can we get a teaser?? I'm betting 5 string Sabre. JOSH

 

[JayDawg]

So since the Reflex is going away, does that mean the Game Changer Reflex guitars and basses are also going away?

 

[bradfordws]

Classic Sabre is gone or just limited colors?

 

[syciprider]

Sad to see them go. I love both my HP EBMMs. I can bring warmth in and out of the mix without futzing with my volume and EQ controls.

 

[A.J.]

So since the Reflex is going away, does that mean the Game Changer Reflex guitars and basses are also going away?

The Game Changers are staying. The other Reflexes will be discontinued.

Classic Sabre is gone or just limited colors?

The Classic Sabre will be discontinued.

 

[Tom F]

I guess this is more "wait and hope" than an actual question, but is there any chance of the Reflex/Big Al electronics surfacing in another instrument, like the Bongo, somewhere down the line? The passive mode on those instruments is a nice evolution of the Bongo pre-amp, and it would be cool to see the HSS and SSS configurations continue on in some form.

 

[photogdude]

woohoo my bongo stealth pearl just became a rarity

 

[Meypelnek]

The Classic Sabre will be discontinued.

Oh! Then I misunderstood the listing posted above. I thought only 4 of the currently offered colours would be discontinued. Very sad about this. I was still hoping for a 5-Sting version of the Sabre. But as mentioned before: It is the customer's money that decides about a model's fate and I assume that many more dollars have been spent on StingRay HHs as compared to Sabres.

 

[nurnay]

While saddened to see the Big Al go, I totally respect this decision. BP is right, if customers aren't buying them, no use selling them. I'm very interested to see what's next. And let's not forget, there are always PDN offerings for cool colors that you don't normally get.

 

[Kong]

Yes. But think of the customers that are not living in the USA.

There have been only a few Reflex and Big Al on the german market, so it was not easy to get one in the configuration you liked. For example if there are still some Reflex HH, but you can't find one in HSS.

Same story with the Big Al. Not much basses available in Europe.

Next thing is, that most shops in the USA will not ship to Europe.

I know some people that would have loved to get the bass of their choice. But german distributor just went the easy way, only Rays and Sterlings available.

 

[BIGEJ2]

No doubt EBMM makes the highest quality production basses on the market. I never understood how quality control could keep up with the number of product lines, colors and options available. It must have been an unbelievable strain on resources. I personally would rather have less options and high quality versus a ton of options and risk some not so great instruments slipping through to market.

EBMM is one of only a few makers out there who I feel completely confident in buying sight unseen. If pairing down colors and options is what needs to be done to stay that way, I'm all for it.

Notifying everyone of the upcoming changes is also an excellent move. No surprises and it gives people a generous window to place orders if there is something they truly want that's on the discontinued list.

 

[JayDawg]

So on the discontinued colors, what happens if you send a bass or guitar back to EBMM to get a body or neck replaced in one of those colors?

 

[bovinehost]

So on the discontinued colors, what happens if you send a bass or guitar back to EBMM to get a body or neck replaced in one of those colors?

Well, it's just paint but let's face it, that doesn't happen very often.

 

[sanderhermans]

I'm sure that ebmm keeps all their colour codes pretty carefully so they should be able to mix up discontinued colours.

 

[Transmogrifier1]

I have always used Music Man as an example of how to treat left handed players but with the change to only selling the Stingray in H configuration & now discontinuing the whole Bongo range it seems that has now changed.
Looking at the list, there doesn't seem to be many options for left handers in guitars or basses.

 

[ZiggyDude]

That is a very cool guitar strap on that Dargie!

Sad to see them go. I love both my HP EBMMs. I can bring warmth in and out of the mix without futzing with my volume and EQ controls.

 

[ZiggyDude]

Since I like the pointy thing - I was actually very interested in the Big Al. But the bass was just too tiny for me. Big Poppa once referred to "The Big Bass" buyers and I guess I am one. Even the 1.75 nut feels small - I like a 1.86 with graduated string spacing.

So - where am i going with this? There are so many people out there with so many opinions that a company could go crazy trying to please all - unless you are total custom shop like a private luthier. In the end the only way to make these fine basses in the USA with affordable prices is to keep volume going.

So - it is sad to see stuff go - but I agree that the only way to keep other stuff coming is to make the tuff decisions. (Just don't stop making 5 string Bongos ;-)

- Ziggy -

But why did the customer not buy the Reflex and Big Al?
I suppose you need to know, before you start thinking of anything new.
I'm sure you're not running a trial and error business.

Also:
With bringing out new products, doesn't that mean that people who buy a Reflex, won't buy (for example) a Stingray?
That does not increase revenue.
Or is the main focus (outside of making excellent gear) to increase overall market-share?
Seems to me that customers who want to own every MM bass out there is limited to a very few (like me) only.


Just friendly wondering
All the best
Michel

 

[syciprider]

EB still offers more colors and bass models than just about all major US manufacturers in this region except the one in San Diego and the one in Fullerton and half the latter's line up are just copies of models also made by another company in Corona and about 2 billion other bass makers.