First EBMM Day: Blue Dawn Sterling!

[firecrasher]

After months of searching, my EBMM Day Has Arrived! The FedEx truck brought me a beautiful 2003 Blue Dawn Sterling courtesy of eBay.

So far the biggest surprise is that she is very, very heavy! My unreliable scale has her weighing in at 10 pounds. :-o It's a huge difference from the Sterlings I've played in person. Her strings are ancient so I picked up my first set of Extra Slinkies, and can report back to you all on her sound once she has a good cleanup and setup. I know this has been asked a zillion times before, but what is the consensus on cleaning her neck *and* fingerboard? I seem to be getting different options on what to do with the maple fingerboard, such as:

1) Lemon oil (already have some for my rosewood instruments)
2) EBMM Wonder Wipes (neck only)
3) Diluted Murphy's Oil Soap and a toothbrush
4) Lighter fluid and a cloth (scary)
5) Sandpaper/Steel wool (also scary!)

I want the simplest option so I can get her up and running.

Now for the best part... the cheesy iPhone photos!

 

[five7]

If not real dirty, wonder wipes. If it is filthy, murphys, and then gun wax. Doesn't look to bad in the pictures.

 

[Gravesend Black]

Wonder wipes are great for maple fb. But it will clean the dirt from the surface only. It will not handle aged ingrained dirt (like in case with my 1995 SR5). But you know, that dirt can add some mojo to the instrument)

 

[keko]

I've sealed mine whole maple neck with high gloss lacquer paint job at local custom guitar workshop!

Just sayin'..

 

[bignasty]

beautiful bass! great choice of colour.

 

[lowliferumble]

I have the exact same bass , Born February the 12th 2003 ....and it is heavier than my Stingray ('92 9.1 lbs) at 9.8 lbs!! I to was surprised at how something so little could weigh so much. This bass is not ever going anywhere! It is the perfect counter part to my 'ray. It also has SPARKLES!!!!

 

[Tollywood]

Congrats - Blue Dawn is an awesome color. Maybe a wide leather strap will make it feel a little lighter?

 

[fly]

you will love that Sterling.........best damn basses out there.

 

[GWDavis28]

Congrat, that is awesome!!!!

Glenn |B)

 

[Yango]

Very nice bass. Every time I see a picture of one, it makes me miss the Sterling that I traded for my Classic Stingray—my hand just did not enjoy the slim profile Sterling neck. It used to give me cramps in my hand... but I LOVED the tone that came out of the bass!!

If there were a Sterling with a Stingray neck model available, I'd definitely be all over that!

When I still owned the bass, I even considered switching the pickups, preamp and controls into one of my Stingrays, but I just couldn't bring myself to route out the body to accommodate the phantom pickup and three way switch... and unfortunately, the necks aren't a match either, so that option went out the window. No worries though, my Classic is my numero uno.

You're going to love the tone. It's tight, it's punchy, and it's full. Have fun!

 

[Davecg2]

Excellent choice, I love my Sterling! Congrats!