• Ernie Ball
  • MusicMan
  • Sterling by MusicMan
Short Scale StingRay

Resistance was futile...

oli@bass

oli@bass

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 23, 2007
Messages
4,272
Location
Switzerland
...and I had to take this sexy baby home...


P1000658.jpg


P1000659.jpg



P1000665.jpg



Sorry for the blurry pics. They were taken at home tonight without flash to have better color representation.


Beside the fantastic looks, the impeccable craftmanship, the insanely versatile electronics and the great feeling neck, the most amazing thing for me as a die hard fan of the classic StingRay sound is that I especially love the front H alone and coils 2 & 3 in series. That sound quite different, yet there is the well known EBMM growl, bite and sizzle.

So, while I'd have preferred a quilted top, I just couldn't leave her at the shop. :D

Thanks go out to Ed Friedland for a ear opening review, to The Perfect Bass for mouth watering pictures, to the Swiss distributor for actually having one, and especially to Sterling Ball and the EBMM team for designing and building such great instruments!
 
JimB52

JimB52

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 21, 2005
Messages
211
Location
Mid-Atlantic
That is a beautiful instrument. That finish on a Big Al would be irresistible.
Thanks for posting, Oli@, and thanks for making it, EBMM.

Jim B
 
TheAntMan

TheAntMan

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 14, 2004
Messages
972
Location
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Big Poppa said:
Thanks so much....I hope these catch on because I dont know where we can go to better them
Click to expand...

Word BP!!!

These are the current crown jewels...but...I would never be amazed if you should top this...it is what EBMM is best at :)

Thank you for all these beautiful instruments.

-- Ant
 
RocketRalf

RocketRalf

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 10, 2007
Messages
1,119
Location
Sydney
I saw one just like this in Chile when I was there on holidays... they wouldn't let me play it :( but it sure was gorgeous looking... And smaller than I tough, I play a 35" so I have trouble imagining the MM bases... It's cool to know basses can be as small as my guitar! I want one!
 
RobertB

RobertB

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 5, 2007
Messages
1,657
Location
Denver area.
You have been seriously assimilated ... what a beauty, Oli, congrats! And exactly the same specs I would get. Looking forward to your usual detailed review - especially since (as far as I know), this is your first experience with a descendent of Bongo electronics.

Well, in light of this, I guess you won't be needing that Maheb 4HH anymore, huh? ;)
 
Last edited:
Caca de Kick

Caca de Kick

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 29, 2006
Messages
1,363
Location
South Seattle
So these are in stores in Switzerland too?

I still haven't seen any Big Al's (which is what I really want to try), or any 25th's at any GC's here. The salesperson told me the stores here (we have 5 in the area) aren't slated to get any Al's anytime soon.
 
oli@bass

oli@bass

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 23, 2007
Messages
4,272
Location
Switzerland
Big Poppa said:
Thanks so much....I hope these catch on because I dont know where we can go to better them
Click to expand...

Me too. All that is left is find a way to make your international distributors bring them into local music stores! One has to play them to understand them. I guess it's the same story as with the Bongo.

The store I bought it from is run by a really good luthier (who did some great repair and maintenance jobs on my StingRays). He didn't know anything about these instruments, and was totally blown away by the 25th, even considering to buy it for himself.

However, BP, there's one thing you can still do: Add the Gamechanger (I'd love to have it in this and other dual PU basses).

RobertB said:
You have been seriously assimilated ... what a beauty, Oli, congrats! And exactly the same specs I would get. Looking forward to your usual detailed review - especially since (as far as I know), this is your first experience with a descendent of Bongo electronics.
Click to expand...

Robert, I immediately thought of you when I saw it hanging there in the store! :)

About the electronics: Although I've never had the opportunity to play a Bongo I am pretty sure that they are quite different. Except for the 4 Band EQ they vary in the following: The pickups are ceramic, there is no blend but PU/Coil selector switches, a switch for parallel/serial combination of the coils and an active/passive switch.

Frankly, it's too many knobs for me for sweaty stage rage, and another reason why the Gamechanger would be perfect: I'd most probably program it to have those 3 or 4 combinations available which I really dig and leave all the others away.

RobertB said:
Well, in light of this, I guess you won't be needing that Maheb 4HH anymore, huh? ;)
Click to expand...

Now you lost me.... PM?

Caca de Kick said:
So these are in stores in Switzerland too?
Click to expand...

Mike, they aren't "in stores". The only EBMMs you could probably (but very unlikely) find in a store is a SR4 and SR5 and some Sterling by MM Rays, probably a Luke guitar. No Sterlings, no Bongos, no special, limited or anniversary editions and surely not a model as adventurous as the Big AL. Oh, and naturally everybody "knows" that the new EBMMs aren't as good as the old ones... :rolleyes:

If it wasn't for this forum and the MM website, I'd never had known about those basses. So, during summer NAMM, I contacted the Swiss distributor directly to investigate about a Big AL DDII and the Rosewood BFR 25th. They couldn't tell me anything about the BFR 25th but told me that one 4 string and one 5 String 25th were on order, and also some white Big ALs. Since I knew that, I went to my local store and asked whether they could get a 25th and a Big AL for test drive. They could and did.

I came. I played. I bought. :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Soundhole Covers
Top Bottom