- Thread starter Jornan
- Start date
The quality control on pre-EB Stingrays varied from bass to bass. I have played some that were awesome and others that I found very disappointing. If you are looking for a finished neck, why not look at the new classic series? It has the best of the old with today's quality control.
Chuck B
Well-known member
Is a 86 Ray pre ErnieBall?
strummer
Enormous Member
Erm, I seem to recall Ernie Ball aquiring MusicMan in 1983, so the 1986 StingRay you're looking at is definitely an EB product. But in 1986 they were high gloss...
If the neck om your Bongo is "horrible" why did you buy it?
You want unfinished, either get a Stingray or remove the "laquer" on the Bongo neck.
Good call Chuck, I missed that when I first skimmed the thread. I would suggest that you just head to a local Music Man dealer and try out the finished and waxed/oiled necks of today.
oli@bass
Well-known member
StingRay necks were lacquer finished until about 1993.
There is a thread here about this...
http://www.ernieball.com/forums/music-man-basses/951-calling-derek-unfinished-necks.html
There is a thread here about this...
http://www.ernieball.com/forums/music-man-basses/951-calling-derek-unfinished-necks.html
My mistake. I recognized the old logo and old truss rod wheel and didn't see the EB logo 
it's not a pre EB! I can't go to a local dealer because I live in Norway. Everything is overpriced and hard to get (for instance, a Big Al costs 6800 USD!). I might save a few thousand dollars buying an old MM instead of a new classic one ...
I bought the Bongo because except from the laquered neck, it's by no doubt the best bass I've ever had! The neck is just a downside I have to live with, and it's worth it because of all the awesomeness of the rest of the bass. But for practice I'd like to have one I feel more comfortably playing.
So, correcting myself, does the 1986 EBMM StingRay come with a laquered neck?
Edit: didn't see the last reply. Looks like i'm gonna look for a newer SR
it's not a pre EB! I can't go to a local dealer because I live in Norway. Everything is overpriced and hard to get (for instance, a Big Al costs 6800 USD!). I might save a few thousand dollars buying an old MM instead of a new classic one ... I bought the Bongo because except from the laquered neck, it's by no doubt the best bass I've ever had! The neck is just a downside I have to live with, and it's worth it because of all the awesomeness of the rest of the bass. But for practice I'd like to have one I feel more comfortably playing.
So, correcting myself, does the 1986 EBMM StingRay come with a laquered neck?
Edit: didn't see the last reply. Looks like i'm gonna look for a newer SR
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MrMusashi
Well-known member
strummer
Enormous Member
Aussie Mark
Well-known member
No you don't. There are a couple of forum members who have posted photos of their Bongos with the paint removed. It's a pretty easy DIY job. Remove the neck, mask off the headstock at the nut, and go at it with fine sandpaper until the paint is gone and it's nice and smooth. Then, oil and wax it, and you're done.
Sheppardslegion
Well-known member
My bongo neck has become smooth with use and it feels more like a lacquered neck to me now. It was the feel for the neck that I liked the most, actually.
Cheers,
Shepp...
Cheers,
Shepp...
five7
Well-known member
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- Nov 24, 2008
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Chuck B
Well-known member
it depends on personal taste IMHO. I really loved the feeling on the 05 Ray's neck but I used to play the finished neck all the time and feel ok with it.
Calaveras
Well-known member
Okay somebody please shoot me out of the water on this if I am wrong. I am under the impression that the necks on the older basses are the same finish as the bodies. High gloss polyester clearcoat. Lacquer is a specific kind of finish from a tree resin (shellac is from bugs). but then one of my parents was an antique dealer so I may just be being more of stickler on word usage.
Also, I have 93 EBMM with a finished neck and it is the nicest finished neck ever. Very smooth and slick, not sticky at all.
I think the whole debate about finished/unfinished necks is ridiculous. Have you ever played a fretless bass for an hour then jumped right on a fretted bass? Whenever I do that I feel like the action is too high and the bumpy metal things are in the way. It's just relative to what your hand is used to.
Or a more "exrtreme" analogy, it is kind of like durometer on skateboard wheels. Harder wheels go faster in theory (on a smooth clean surface), but softer wheels dont have as much problem with rough surfaces and grit so they are funcitonally faster. Both kinds feel funny when you switch back and forth.
Also, I have 93 EBMM with a finished neck and it is the nicest finished neck ever. Very smooth and slick, not sticky at all.
I think the whole debate about finished/unfinished necks is ridiculous. Have you ever played a fretless bass for an hour then jumped right on a fretted bass? Whenever I do that I feel like the action is too high and the bumpy metal things are in the way. It's just relative to what your hand is used to.
Or a more "exrtreme" analogy, it is kind of like durometer on skateboard wheels. Harder wheels go faster in theory (on a smooth clean surface), but softer wheels dont have as much problem with rough surfaces and grit so they are funcitonally faster. Both kinds feel funny when you switch back and forth.
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oli@bass
Well-known member
Your '93 might have the famous velvet finish, which was discontinued for environmental reasons. My '88 fretless is gloss poly finished and rather sticky.
Maybe it is, but I prefer the slightly "rough" or "uneven" surface of an newer oil & wax finished necks to the feel of a gloss finish. It's a personal preference. Obviously the OP has the same preference.
lovechick
Well-known member
I had an '88 or '89 SR4 with the glossed neck. It felt nice under my thumb and I liked it better than the neck on my '77 as it didn't have that previously mentioned "sticky" feel. That being said, I much prefer the newer wax/oil finished models.
