TheBassGuy
Well-known member
About a week ago the Musicman Sterling I ordered arrived. My first Sterling, my first EBMM in a burst color, my first guitar with maple neck. Man, I was excited! After asking you guys what the next step would be (topic: http://www.ernieball.com/forums/music-man-basses/36747-what-would-next-step.html ), I decided to go for a Sterling (Bongo will still come some day 
).
Going for the Sterling is something I don't regret. Since the first day I got to know EBMM I wanted a honeyburst guitar. Every time I saw or bought a guitar, it was not in the color I liked. Yes, I could order it, but I'm way to impatience to wait months for a guitar. A few weeks ago I saw this guitar in a webshop. I instantly felt in love with the looks. Honeyburst with maple, what a combo! The last few days I've been testing the Sterling and I must say, I'm getting happier with this instrument everytime I play it!
First off, the sound. I was going after the sound I had on my Stingray 5. Both basses feature ceramic magnets. They pretty much sound the same, but I find the Sterling a bit brighter. This engaged me to start using the pre-amp (silly, but on the Stingray's I never used it ). The pre-amp brings so much options. I started out flat (hmm, some guy on a video gave that advise ). I just picked a song from my playlist and started to blend the knobs until I had the exact same sound as the bass played on the record. Wow, I thought, this is powerful! In combination with the phantom coil and 3-way switch, the Sterling has a lot of options.
The feel of this bass was weird at first. I really thought I was holding my Silhouette for a bit. The body was smaller, but more ergonomic and just felt right. The neck was, as said on the forums, thinner. This is something I really like. At first I was in doubt wether or not the neck would be too small for my hands, but it turns out it's just perfect. Also the shaped neck pocket (like on EBMM guitars) is really a plus compared to the Stingray neck pockets. The maple neck was a first for me. I briefly owned a maple neck Squier some years ago, but never really used it. The maple compliments the honeyburst finish big time. Also, I like the "fresh" look it has compared to rosewood. Soundwise, I don't know since I don't have a rosewoord Sterling.
My final conclusion after this first week with the Sterling: Yes, I made the right choice, but hmmm why is the Bongo still in my head??? For now, the Sterling is "the perfect bass" like my Silhouette is the best guitar I've played to date. Maybe the bongo will change that some day, who knows...
Now some pictures. I made these pic's rather quickly, so there not very artistic.
).Going for the Sterling is something I don't regret. Since the first day I got to know EBMM I wanted a honeyburst guitar. Every time I saw or bought a guitar, it was not in the color I liked. Yes, I could order it, but I'm way to impatience to wait months for a guitar.
A few weeks ago I saw this guitar in a webshop. I instantly felt in love with the looks. Honeyburst with maple, what a combo! The last few days I've been testing the Sterling and I must say, I'm getting happier with this instrument everytime I play it! First off, the sound. I was going after the sound I had on my Stingray 5. Both basses feature ceramic magnets. They pretty much sound the same, but I find the Sterling a bit brighter. This engaged me to start using the pre-amp (silly, but on the Stingray's I never used it
). The pre-amp brings so much options. I started out flat (hmm, some guy on a video gave that advise ). I just picked a song from my playlist and started to blend the knobs until I had the exact same sound as the bass played on the record. Wow, I thought, this is powerful! In combination with the phantom coil and 3-way switch, the Sterling has a lot of options.The feel of this bass was weird at first. I really thought I was holding my Silhouette for a bit. The body was smaller, but more ergonomic and just felt right. The neck was, as said on the forums, thinner. This is something I really like. At first I was in doubt wether or not the neck would be too small for my hands, but it turns out it's just perfect. Also the shaped neck pocket (like on EBMM guitars) is really a plus compared to the Stingray neck pockets. The maple neck was a first for me. I briefly owned a maple neck Squier some years ago, but never really used it. The maple compliments the honeyburst finish big time. Also, I like the "fresh" look it has compared to rosewood. Soundwise, I don't know since I don't have a rosewoord Sterling.
My final conclusion after this first week with the Sterling: Yes, I made the right choice, but hmmm why is the Bongo still in my head??? For now, the Sterling is "the perfect bass" like my Silhouette is the best guitar I've played to date. Maybe the bongo will change that some day, who knows...
Now some pictures. I made these pic's rather quickly, so there not very artistic.
