jlepre
Well-known member
Can't wait to see the front of that Sabre.
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- Thread starter oli@bass
- Start date
oli@bass
Well-known member
There you go...
Caca de Kick
Well-known member
Purdy!
Is that a satin-velvet finish?
BTW, the other one played pretty well last night.
Is that a satin-velvet finish?
BTW, the other one played pretty well last night.
MrMusashi
Well-known member
nice bass, bad teasing 
congrats!
MrM
congrats!
MrM
FunkyPunky
Well-known member
Now that IS a nice bass, dear Oli!
Congratulations!
If I had seen that one, I couldn't have resisted...
Nothing in comparison to the fretless 20th that I recently got though, of course, but... you knew I was gonna have to say that, right
All the best to you!
Congratulations!
If I had seen that one, I couldn't have resisted...
Nothing in comparison to the fretless 20th that I recently got though, of course, but... you knew I was gonna have to say that, right
All the best to you!
MattOfSweden
Well-known member
That's a clean looking Sabre indeed - wonderful!!
Congratulations Oli!
Congratulations Oli!
Smallmouth_Bass
Well-known member
Nice bass Oli! The bird's eye figuring is fabulous!
fly
Well-known member
wow............freaking awesome bass man..........whole new respect for the Sabre now.
fly
Well-known member
those factory pups?
oli@bass
Well-known member
Thanks everybody for your kind words, and for keeping playing this little "revelation game"...
This is the design of the top loading bridge as it was used from around 1980 to 1992. Indeed, the strings run in an angle over the saddles.
You can read more about many details on Rod Trussbroken's website:
BRIDGES - Musicmanbass.org, Music Man, Musicman, Music Man Bass, Musicman Bass, Music Man Guitar
Who said something about a StingRay?!
It's 26250, a 1988 EBMM Sabre with 2 band preamp.
And yes, I'm planning to extend the sound samples with some of the vintage Music Man basses I recently acquired and another that's on it's way. I find it very interesting to play all those instruments from various production periods and hear the different sounds you can get from them.
I know you know.
THANKS, Matt!
Yes, sir! Battery is replaced!
You are paying way too much attention to what I'm mumbling on the interwebsè!
Who said it was a Sabre?!
Hey, it is indeed very pretty. The body is not satin-velvet finish, but it is less glossy than newer EBMMs.
Yes, they are. The Sabre always had pickups different from the StingRay (many are not aware of that). They are slightly smaller, and from about 1982 on the pole pieces were covered and the neck pickup actually uses 16 small magnets instead of 8 large ones.
So, I've done my job well
Indeed, it is. At first sight, it looks as if it was never played. But when inspecting the finish more closely, I've found many superficial scratches, and some depressions on the back of the body, probably from belt buckles. So it was played, but very very well cared for.
This is the design of the top loading bridge as it was used from around 1980 to 1992. Indeed, the strings run in an angle over the saddles.
You can read more about many details on Rod Trussbroken's website:
BRIDGES - Musicmanbass.org, Music Man, Musicman, Music Man Bass, Musicman Bass, Music Man Guitar
Who said something about a StingRay?!
Wow - looks like you got a real Classic EBMM early 90s Ray there Oli (or is it a Sterling
I'm hoping you're going to extend your sound samples to include this one
It's 26250, a 1988 EBMM Sabre with 2 band preamp.
And yes, I'm planning to extend the sound samples with some of the vintage Music Man basses I recently acquired and another that's on it's way. I find it very interesting to play all those instruments from various production periods and hear the different sounds you can get from them.
My lips are sealed! .... I know nuffin'...
I know you know.
THANKS, Matt!
Yes, sir! Battery is replaced!
You are paying way too much attention to what I'm mumbling on the interwebsè!
Who said it was a Sabre?!
Hey, it is indeed very pretty. The body is not satin-velvet finish, but it is less glossy than newer EBMMs.
Yes, they are. The Sabre always had pickups different from the StingRay (many are not aware of that). They are slightly smaller, and from about 1982 on the pole pieces were covered and the neck pickup actually uses 16 small magnets instead of 8 large ones.
So, I've done my job well
Indeed, it is. At first sight, it looks as if it was never played. But when inspecting the finish more closely, I've found many superficial scratches, and some depressions on the back of the body, probably from belt buckles. So it was played, but very very well cared for.
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oli@bass
Well-known member
Frankly, never having played one of these before, I didn't know what to expect but was extremely curious about the Sabre (with lever switch electronics). My hope was probably that it would give me tonal options similar to a modern StingRay HH but with a "classic" 2 band EQ.
This Sabre is a nice feeling instrument, and with a weight of 4.46 kg (9lbs 14oz) it is very similar to most of my StingRays. The neck, like my '88 fretless and '81 SR, feels a bit thinner than today's 'Rays -- it's profile is comparable to the 25th/Reflex/Bongo neck shape -- and is very comfortable to play. The setup could be optimised, but it's already very playable right as it was.
Soundwise, I am extremely pleased with the options: Judging from my experience with other double PU EBMM models and the switching diagrams of the Sabre, I'd have expected to not like positions 1 and 2 (neck single coil, and H+S) but find both of these settings very attractive as well. I did expect to get a lot of noise on the single coil settings, but it didn't have more hum than any of the other settings. Actually, those could become my favorites on this Sabre!
I've expected that the remaining positions sound very similar to the modern HH StingRay but maybe a bit mellower. I was wrong. The bridge H sounds similar to a classic 'Ray, maybe a tad less open with more of the gnarly mid range bite. The neck H and the HH combination both sound different from the StingRay HH, offering a less growly sound with great warm bottom and much more high end sizzle than I'd have expected. Naturally, I'm still in the learning phase with this instrument and my observations may change over time and with experience.
Bottom line: IMO, this is a great allround model which covers many grounds from the classic StingRay bite to vintage P bass style (single coil neck) to scooped slap funk (HH) to deep dub bubble (neck H) and many in between. A very interesting aspect of this bass is that all the pickup settings work extremely well with effect pedals (octaver, auto filter) without getting too muddy or lost. As often mentioned already, the 2 band EQ is much more versatile than it seems, especially when using it to cut instead of just diming everything. I love the sounds I can get from this bass, and I will definitely try to find a fretless with these electronics.
Rano Bass
Well-known member
Very nice bass, congrats.
Those late 80s early 90s basses were really good looking IMO.
Those late 80s early 90s basses were really good looking IMO.
