Educate me on the EBMM basses.

[ZiggyDude]

Welcome to EBMM world!

Regarding bass choice. What type of music do you play? Finger, slap, or pick?

Do you like to twiddle with knobs for a granular control of tone or prefer quick set and forgets?

 

[shakinbacon]

welcome aboard

Try as many EBMM basses as you can. I personally think you cannot go wrong with any EBMM bass in their lineup (and I haven't even tried the Big Al or the 25th yet). Once you get a sense of the philosophy of the company by checking out their products you quickly realize they don't play any games - you will get what you pay for and then some!

If there is anything in particular you must have in terms of features we can steer you in the right direction (blend knob vs switches, etc). However, for tone you're just gonna have to try for yourself.

 

[syciprider]

Oh yes you CAN go wrong. You're wrong if you think you can have just one!

 

[JayDawg]

Welcome to EBMM world!

Regarding bass choice. What type of music do you play? Finger, slap, or pick?

Do you like to twiddle with knobs for a granular control of tone or prefer quick set and forgets?

I play mainly finger style and then occasionally I will play with a pick. As far as slapping goes, I suck at that. I can maybe do something for a few seconds that sounds like the Seinfeld theme but that is probably it.

Assuming the weather is nice, I am going to go to Denver on Monday and look at some basses. I am now looking at selling off all of my Ibanez stuff so I can hopefully get a Music Man much sooner. Also after reading about the company, I have even decided to switch strings to Ernie Ball's as well. I have used D' Addario's probably since I have been playing and because I liked them, I never switched to anything else but I have played EB's a few times and also like them too. Lately the D's appeared to have gone down in quality. They are losing their brightness a lot sooner than they used too.

 

[kevins]

Oh, and it sounds like this, which makes me happy in my pants:

and it looks like this!

its a great bass none the less though, and it has 2 batteries instead of one! it has so many knobs that the knobs are piled on top of knobs! in all seriousness though you can get any sound you want out of it while leaving the amplifier completely alone. and you can get any sound you want out of it in seconds. its ridiculously great sounding and the frequencies the knobs control are incredibly well selected and incredibly useful. i love my stingray to death but despite its weird appearance, the bongo is by far the most practical bass ive played and would be an incredibly great recording bass.

 

[sitonmybass]

You will be quite surprised how quickly the Bongo's looks will grow on you. All too soon you will find it hard to believe that there ever was a time when you thought the looks weren't "for you." The comments and "oohs and ahs" that you will receive will only validate this.

And the sound...

And the comfort...

And the versatility...

 

[JayDawg]

After looking at the Bongos, they are starting to grow on me. If I want to buy a EBMM sooner rather than later, and I do, I need to sell my other basses and guitars first. They are all high end Ibanez guitars that are still in mint condition so hopefully as soon as I get them sold, I can get a new bass ordered.

 

[JayDawg]

Okay, here are some more stupid questions for you all.

What is the difference between the Sterling by Music Man bass and the Sterling Music Man bass? Other than price, I don't know what is different?

Also, on certain EBMM models I am seeing next to it, it says SLO special. I did a search but came up with nothing on what is special about the Slo?

 

[sitonmybass]

Sterling by MusicMan: Licensed off-shore production "versions."

MusicMan Sterling: U.S.A. made original.

SLO: U.S.A. made Limited Edition (at least I think they're limited editions) with different neck profiles than their respective non-SLO counterparts.

Please correct me if any of this is wrong!

 

[Powman]

What is the difference between the Sterling by Music Man bass and the Sterling Music Man bass? Other than price, I don't know what is different?

Message to Music Man.

You know I love you and all of your stuff as do all the rest of us here at this forum. But I must say that calling another entire line of off-shore basses the same as one of your made in US of A models to be a source of major confusion.

I wonder what the logic was for this decision.

 

[mynan]

Also, on certain EBMM models I am seeing next to it, it says SLO special. I did a search but came up with nothing on what is special about the Slo?

U.S.A. made Limited Edition (at least I think they're limited editions) with different neck profiles than their respective non-SLO counterparts.

Please correct me if any of this is wrong!

SLO Specials are Stingray4s with the Sterling4 neck profile. They are not LEs.

Message to Music Man.

You know I love you and all of your stuff as do all the rest of us here at this forum. But I must say that calling another entire line of off-shore basses the same as one of your made in US of A models to be a source of major confusion.

I wonder what the logic was for this decision.

The search function is your friend. I don't think anyone here want to rehash this one again.

 

[JayDawg]

Cool, thanks for the replies on the questions. With the Bongo's, I called EB today. They were very helpful and friendly. Unfortunately, the colors that I want are now unavailable so I will have to look at buying used. I did call find out though that the Stingray that I want has to be ordered through Guitar Center but can still be done. I called one of the Guitar Centers here in Colorado and am waiting for them to call me back with a price on the Black Magic Sparkle. I am leery about buying from Guitar Center again because they really did me wrong several years ago and I vowed never to do business with them again but if I want this particular bass, I have no choice so I will see how this store treats their customers. The one I had issues with was in San Diego so if this was has good service, then I might resend my Guitar Center boycott.