Free from Fender, what a relief (kinda long, sorry)

[Soul Man]

First of all, this is NOT a bash Fender topic. I'll explain.

Since I am still a newbie here, I have a lot to learn about the EBMM "family", and that means everyone here.

Being new, I have been reading a number of old posts and was especially taken by something Big Poppa had mentioned regarding Fender.

This isn't the correct verbage but BP mentioned that Fender continues to reinvent the same instrument over and over. It hasn't left the 50's. Well, Fender still makes some very nice products but he is 1000% right. Nothing wrong with a P or J bass but why not break away?

I became tired of Fender in general and bought a Lakland Skyline Duck Dunn model because of the neck. I have smaller hands so the neck profile was a bonus for me. I really like the bass (color and inlays) but really it is still a Fender design. It's a Lakland Fender. I like it but I makes me feel like something is missing.

A local shop has a used Stingray. I always thought they were cool but no local shop carried new MM products so I never have a chance to look things over. Well, for fun I messed around with the SR in the shop and loved it (well, almost, the neck was too much for me). Cool looking body, cool headstock and great feel and overall design. Loved it.

A week later I saw Celine Dion in Las Vegas and her bass player Marc Langis had an Envy Green Bongo - WOW!

Once I was back in town I bought a used OLP MM2 from a friend which I thought would be fun to practice on. That was it. I again loved the design and knew I had to make a change.

Whereas I really have nothing bad to say about the quality or playability of my Lakland, I have this strange feeling of calm between my ears because I have just purchased a used Sterling (as noted elsewhere in the forum). Winds of change have blown.

Just knowing that I have purchased an instrument that was designed and developed with a large chunk of FORWARD thinking makes me feel pretty damn good.

Escaping the Fender influence is a wonderful feeling and maybe this sounds naive but I wonder how many others like me still are (were) under the spell that there is only "one" bass..........?

O.k., sorry to ramble, maybe this is a musical/spiritual revelation that I am experiencing but man, as a lover of music I feel "free."

Whew, what just happend to me?

 

[T-bone]

Great post, Soul Man!

I'll bet everyone here remembers that first "wave of calm feelings" experienced when we picked up these instruments for the first time. Almost like it was instinctual.

So again, great post (except for the Celine Dion part )

tbone

 

[Big Poppa]

Let me make it clear...I love Fender Basses. I grew up with them. Lakland assembles great Fender Copies.....

Im happy that you love your sterling bass!

 

[mynan]

Congrats. Enjoy your Sterling and welcome to the family.

 

[Soul Man]

As I mentioned in my post, I have nothing against Fender either - I think I was just under their spell for so long that I was blind to any other options.

I went Lakland for the neck and realized that I hardly changed anything at all.

The Stingray was awesome but the Sterling which I don't even have yet I know will be it.

After the bejillion posts I have read and e-mails I have sent people back and forth across the net about them, I KNOW this will be the one.

All these people can't be wrong!

 

[Soul Man]

Great post, Soul Man!

I'll bet everyone here remembers that first "wave of calm feelings" experienced when we picked up these instruments for the first time. Almost like it was instinctual.

So again, great post (except for the Celine Dion part )

tbone

The Bongo looked cool!

 

[Road Pop]

You'll love the neck on the Sterling!

 

[syciprider]

Lakland assembles great Fender Copies.....

I LOL'd

 

[stevenee]

Soul Man,

I agree with you totally. I believe that Fender's have their spot within every bass player, but once you play and EBMM bass, you'll never want to play anything else. Granted, I now have two Sterlings, and a few Fender basses, I reach for my MusicMan basses the most.

As much as I hate to say it, I was first drawn to Fender instruments because it was THE brand for guitars (in my mind). I grew up seeing people like Marcus Miller and Jaco playing Fender's, so they HAD to be good. I started out on a MIM Jazz bass, and eventually turned to the American series. However, I wasn't always happy with the tone. My cousin got me into EBMM basses...he was pretty "on top" of the Louisianna jazz scene, and a lot of musicians down there were picking up Ernie Ball products. I played my first Sterling and bought it on the spot (well, traded in 2 Fender basses and some $$ for it).

Overall, I think you'll be EXTREMELY satisfied if you go the EB route...they have a bass for every kind of player. Personally, I like the Jazz-style neck, so i prefer the Sterling. If you like a wider neck, go for the Stingray...and if you're adventurous, you'll enjoy the Bongo. Whatever it is, rest assured that Ernie Ball will take care of ya.

Sorry for the rant, but you reminded me a lot of myself in your experience.

-Steve

 

[carpedebass]

Uh...sorry but Fender does NOT make a bass for everybody! I've NEVER played a Fender that I liked...not trying to be contentious, just speaking the truth.

 

[oli@bass]

Me neither. As long as I thought they were cool, I couldn't afford one. And after building two basses from quality kits, I was so spoiled I thought the Fenders weren't worth the money.

Then I bumped into a Sterling...

and a second one... then thought I'd need to go five string and all fancy, and own great assembled Fender copies (they are good, really)... just to come back to the roots and finally buy the bass which tone I've always loved....

The StingRay...

and a second one... and a third one... number four on its... uh.. well... yeah... way...

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

I guess you could say the same thing with MM up to relatively recently too though (Bongo, multiple pickup configurations). They have refined the same basic design through the years. Compensated nut, battery compartment, hum cancelling phantom coil, oil finish neck come to mind. Fender does the same but they generally keep on coming back to the original designs more whereas EBMM seems happy to advance and keep things going in a forward direction. There is nothing wrong with that. Go with what works and what people want. People would be unemployed if they didn't.

I own too many basses and one thing I've come to realize is that they all have something to offer. There is no such thing as a best bass or instrument. All I know is that I love bass and that can come in many shapes and forms. The StingRay5 is one of them!

 

[Musicman Nut]

Let me make it clear...I love Fender Basses. I grew up with them. Lakland assembles great Fender Copies.....

Im happy that you love your sterling bass!

Yes we Love Fender Basses OLD Fender Basses, Fender Lost it Somewhere around 1972, and hasn't made a decent fender Bass since, I've had over 300 in my time mostly 1951 to 1968,
What you see with Ernie Ball is this, They are the only company who through different owners has actually made the Stingray BETTER, Something many Other Companies have not done once they've purchased their Company.
Ernie Ball Also has set out to put their Quality in Other Basses & Guitars to fit what's happening in the 2000's,
So not only have they made the Stingray Much Better & easier to play, they've moved with the times and made Basses for the Modern Musical Musician.
Just an In Tune Company, Nothing Better out there.
DJ

 

[paranoid70]

I still love Fender amplifiers, and their basses are really good too..... it's their guitars that have lost favor with me.

 

[cheezewiz]

Color me weird, but I love Fenders and Musicman basses equally.

 

[bovinehost]

Color me weird, but I love Fenders and Musicman basses equally.

Your close personal relationship with me is the only thing that keeps you alive at this point.

 

[cheezewiz]

Your close personal relationship with me is the only thing that keeps you alive at this point.

But Jackson, I love them both! A nice Jazz bass is truly a thing of beauty....as is a ray!

 

[oli@bass]

I own too many basses and one thing I've come to realize is that they all have something to offer. There is no such thing as a best bass or instrument.

Sure! I think my point was coming across a bit odd. I grew up with P-Bass copies (hey, I was a huge Roger Waters and Steve Harris fan...), and I still dig the tone you can get from a good Jazz, so much that I even wanted to add one to my collection lately, but from the roughly ten Jazz basses I tried (more than half of them US made), there was only one that seemed to have great playability and no small quality issues... (naturally, it was the first one I tried and that was gone at the moment I went back to the store to get it...) ...and they are way too expensive for what they are.

However, to me, the StingRay 4 is the best bass, because it comes very close to what I consider an ideal instrument. So calling it "the best bass", is a personal thing, a point of view, not an absolute.


PS: The best Jazz I'd played was one that belonged to a drummer, rather famous at the time, who lend it to my bass teacher, and so I was able to play it during a lesson. Absolutely fabulous. Needless to say it was a very very old one (but in pretty good shape, none of that "cool" "relicing" on it).

 

[carpedebass]

I guess it's all in the hands of the player but every Fender bass I've ever picked up had a rotten woody tone that just sounded like 6 day old oatmeal. Fenders are very popular with the rock crowd, and I've heard several players that sound great with them. For some reason, I cannot find my tone on a Fender. Try as I may, I cannot do it. Literally every other bass I've ever played, I could find my tone on it to an extent...but not a Fender. Perhaps it's just me...or perhaps the players I've heard are processing their signal. I just wanted a bass that sounds killer straight into the amp. I got that in bucket loads with my SUB5.

 

[Kristopher]

I remember the days when all I could think about was what Fender I was going to buy. But then I came along a Sterling....

I guess when you find the right sound for you, everything else pales in comparison. I'm sure that holds true for everyone, even if that sound comes from Brand X or Brand Y.