EBMM basses - what happened?

[budget bassist]

I probably haven't visited these parts in about ten years - my passion for bass dwindled a little while I pursued other hobbies (mostly cycling). I'm finding myself dipping a toe back into the bass world, and Music Man basses don't seem to be what they once were.
I don't mean this to come off as an insult, more that when I last checked in, basses seemed to be the larger share of the business - Bongos and Sterlings were big news and seemed to sell well, and the EBMM Bass forum was pretty active. The business seems to have shifted focus to guitars and the bass lineup is pretty pared down, the forum pretty quiet.
EBMM was always one of my favourite brands (still is) and I've owned a good few, I'm just curious what happened - is there a story there at all or is it just a case of shifting focus to guitars because that's where the money is?
Cheers

 

[DrKev]

I think it's a combiation of things (and I'm not an employee, this is guess work). 1) Music Man instruments are made to order, there is no stock pre-built sitting in a warehouse waiting for stores to order them. So I think if guitars are the bigger part of the business now it's due to growth in orders for guitars rather than a decision to shift focus. 2) Forums had their heyday and the rise of other social media outlets has taken traffic away. I suspect there will be swing back (perhaps small) to traditional forums, thanks to the enshittification of Facebook/X/reddit etc. But we'll see. Of course there is one way to help build a community - be present and contribute to the community. Welcome back!

 

[nebadon]

Talkbass Forum has 2 very active Stingray Clubs[1 is for Special] also have Bongo Club but yes I would prefer more interaction here

The New 'Custom Experience', Stingray Special, Retro, finishes, short scale,Artist versions and BFR's seem to be going strong on Bass side

 

[WhtMtnGrv]

I probably haven't visited these parts in about ten years - my passion for bass dwindled a little while I pursued other hobbies (mostly cycling). I'm finding myself dipping a toe back into the bass world, and Music Man basses don't seem to be what they once were.
I don't mean this to come off as an insult, more that when I last checked in, basses seemed to be the larger share of the business - Bongos and Sterlings were big news and seemed to sell well, and the EBMM Bass forum was pretty active. The business seems to have shifted focus to guitars and the bass lineup is pretty pared down, the forum pretty quiet.
EBMM was always one of my favourite brands (still is) and I've owned a good few, I'm just curious what happened - is there a story there at all or is it just a case of shifting focus to guitars because that's where the money is?
Cheers

This likely goes without saying, but I'd imagine COVID played a role in shaping the new landscape that you're seeing, at least relative to the EBMM product offerings. At the same time, I've found them to be open to accepting orders for things that may not show as readily available in the current line-ups. Perhaps they pivoted (intentionally or just as a consequence of market conditions) to a more focused approach to official line releases and concentrated their production efforts on the meat and potatoes products.

The Custom Design Experience indicates (to me at least) that they're aware of the desire and market for some level of customization, and are able to support a broader range of configurations out the door for now.