Some ppl need to get out more!

[syciprider]

I sold a 115 cab on ebay and today the buyer picked it up. I set him up with an amp and basses in my garage so he can test the cab out. I figured I'll give him a treat by letting him test it with the Not Bongo and Fiona.

So he shows up and we exchange pleasantries. He tells me stories about his Fenfer P bass while I power up the rig and hand him the Not Bongo, a drop dead gorgeous Musicman Blue Dawn SR4.

He asks "What bass is this?"

What? He doesn't recognize a Stingray?

I can see if he didn't know what the Bongo sitting next to it was, but a Stingray?

How can he not know what it is? Are ppl so set in their ways that they don't check out anything else?

 

[the unrepentant]

that's crazy... it's not as if the stingray's particularly underground or anything.... ugh, p-basses though, can't stand them, they're so generic it hurts. you should have given him a good slap then and there

 

[AnthonyD]

C'mon... You made the whole thing up...






Right?

 

[syciprider]

that's crazy... it's not as if the stingray's particularly underground or anything.... ugh, p-basses though, can't stand them, they're so generic it hurts. you should have given him a good slap then and there

I can see a need for an industry standard passive bass but yeah, Ps and Js are like Vanilla and Strawberry Ice Cream.

Fenfer = Darigold.

EBMM = Ben and MFing Jerry's (Cherry Garcia pleeease!)

C'mon... You made the whole thing up...

Right?

No The guy's about my age which explains my surprise and disappointment.

 

[SundanceChile]

Fenfer = Dryers

EBMM = Ben and MFing Jerry's (Phish Food pleeease!)

Fixed it for you.

But still, that's no excuse for not knowing what a Stingray is. Did he even comment on how beautiful the finish is?

 

[oddjob]

I have had some strange basses: Ashbory, Kubicki, an Aria explorer, the odd Warwick, and the Bongos - and I have always had questions about them... BUT A RAY?????????? From a guy who plays bass??????? He does need to get out more! I realize that not all are knowledgable in these facts but the P, the J and the Ray are the 3 most recogizable basses in history!

 

[jaylegroove]

ugh, p-basses though, can't stand them, they're so generic it hurts.

Dunno what you're talking about ; never heard about'em.

 

[AnthonyD]

Funny thread...



And yeah, the guy shouldn't introduce himself as a bass player...




"Hi... I, um, play that thing over there... I think they call it some kind of guitar..."

 

[TSanders]

i like p basses

 

[MingusBASS]

i like p basses

Ditto. Although It's pretty sad that the guy had never even seen, let alone played a StingRay.

 

[greenwizard]

StingRay?
hmmmm...
Oh ya!
It's like an EBMM Silhouette except it's missing two strings right??

 

[TSanders]

Ditto. Although It's pretty sad that the guy had never even seen, let alone played a StingRay.

Agreed, without question. I was mainly musing over the P-Basses are yucky type comments.

 

[oli@bass]

Are ppl so set in their ways that they don't check out anything else?

Yes, they are.


Aside from that... MMs are pretty rare, at least compared to many of the eastern made instruments, that I can see why a bass player, only looking at basses they see in their local music store, never really saw a StingRay in person.

And compared to the Fenders, there's a really small exposure of Music Man instruments to be seen on stage with well known artists...

 

[syciprider]

Yes, they are.


Aside from that... MMs are pretty rare, at least compared to many of the eastern made instruments, that I can see why a bass player, only looking at basses they see in their local music store, never really saw a StingRay in person.

And compared to the Fenders, there's a really small exposure of Music Man instruments to be seen on stage with well known artists...

You can't swing a Fender around these parts without hitting a Musicman owner in the face though. Thanks to Guitar Center, EBMMs are prolific enough here in Southern California.

But I agree with your second statement though. It seems that many big acts are often seen with Corona's products vice SLO so most folks who draw their influences from these acts never venture beyond the P and J (their loss, more MMs for me).

After a bit of self reflection, I concluded that I am pretty set on my ways too. When I go to GC to try stuff, I invariably test their gear with a Musicman bass. But I do this because I know what it is supposed to sound like and testing is easier if one element is held constant (in this case, the bass)

 

[bbernard]

Could the guy play?

 

[the unrepentant]

I don't know anyone else with a musicman in these parts... pretty sad really, most people stick to fender or something really cheap and crappy like stagg.
it really annoys me when people refuse to try anything new though, there could always be something better out there. Sure the p-bass is a workhorse that will probably live longer than the owner, but it's so featureless, it's worth trying something else out.

 

[Aussie Mark]

At a gig where I was playing a Stingray, I was once asked by an English bass player from another band on the bill, around the same age as me - "that's a nice looking Fender - what model is it?"

 

[GuitarHack]

This might not apply here, but some folks just aren't into gear AT ALL.

A friend brokered a deal where I sold a guitar to a 20-ish guy he knew. He'd actually given his only guitar away. This guy was a SMOKIN' player, a consummate musician, and technically as good as anyone I knew. I'd seen him play live, and his tone was out of this world. So I start telling him what I have in excrutiating detail, and he cuts me off and says "How much for the cheapest guitar you have with two humbuckers and a Floyd?" I told him a price and he agreed without ever asking what kind of guitar it was. I later saw him playing it, and he was phenomenal on it. I couldn't help but ask him later about his whole attitude about it, and he said that gear stuff bores him silly, and he thinks he can get any decent guitar and decent amp to do what he wants. I felt kind of stupid. He's 100x the player I am, yet I am always swapping out saddles, trying different string gauges, new pedals, rosewood versus maple, blah blah. This guy didn't even care who made his guitar or his strings.

He is a corner case, but it made me realize there's guys like that.

I also had a great uncle who was a NYC police detective when I was young. I remember my dad once asking him what kind of gun he carried, he said, "I dunno who makes it, but it's a 38." He then actually pulled it out, looked at it for a few seconds and said "Here it is...Smith and Wesson."

 

[syciprider]

At a gig where I was playing a Stingray, I was once asked by an English bass player from another band on the bill, around the same age as me - "that's a nice looking Fender - what model is it?"

Well it IS a Fender design after all.

This might not apply here, but some folks just aren't into gear AT ALL.

A friend brokered a deal where I sold a guitar to a 20-ish guy he knew. He'd actually given his only guitar away. This guy was a SMOKIN' player, a consummate musician, and technically as good as anyone I knew. I'd seen him play live, and his tone was out of this world. So I start telling him what I have in excrutiating detail, and he cuts me off and says "How much for the cheapest guitar you have with two humbuckers and a Floyd?" I told him a price and he agreed without ever asking what kind of guitar it was. I later saw him playing it, and he was phenomenal on it. I couldn't help but ask him later about his whole attitude about it, and he said that gear stuff bores him silly, and he thinks he can get any decent guitar and decent amp to do what he wants. I felt kind of stupid. He's 100x the player I am, yet I am always swapping out saddles, trying different string gauges, new pedals, rosewood versus maple, blah blah. This guy didn't even care who made his guitar or his strings.

He is a corner case, but it made me realize there's guys like that.

I also had a great uncle who was a NYC police detective when I was young. I remember my dad once asking him what kind of gun he carried, he said, "I dunno who makes it, but it's a 38." He then actually pulled it out, looked at it for a few seconds and said "Here it is...Smith and Wesson."

Could be this too.

 

[Dr Stankface]

I do enjoy a good P bass myself.

But yeah, how can one not acknowledge one of the industry standards?