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John Myung Bongo 4

Incoming: New Stingray RS

Thanks.
No surprise. It’s a Charcoal Frost.

I’m so excited. For years, I’ve wanted that great feeling Music Man neck, but with SS frets. I know there have been PDNs and some limited editions, but I’ve always been late to the party. I also prefer the mahogany body/maple neck/rosewood board woods. And I’m in love with humbuckers.

I really like that Charcoal Frost color too. It looks super nice.
Couple that with the figured roasted neck, and it was a no-brainer for me.

I wanna say it’s been more than 10 years since I’ve owned a music man. Very excited to have one again.
Since then, I’ve had so many guitars.

One thing that’s really impressed me is how forward-thinking Music Man has been with their builds and designs.
They’ve really listened to their customers and the market, I think. Modern designs plus traditional ones.
Plus made in USA. Couple that with excellent prices, Id have to say that Music Man has definitely set themselves apart from other companies.
 
Yup I'd agree they are moving forward and everyone seems to love both the Stingray and the Cutlass.

I have not had the pleasure of trying either out, but I'm also not in the market. But I have a few close friends around who have them and really, really love them.

Best of luck and we'll be looking forward to the NGD thread. Glenn |B)
 
You're going to love the SR. I had one of the BFRs for a short while and now I have a Tobacco burst (which I'm keeping). Outstanding guitar! Very solid-feeling guitar. The SS frets are awesome and the Mahogany body with the custom pups - sounds really good. Not to mention the neck. Even the "plain" tinted maple neck on mine is outstanding.

Good luck with it! You won't be sorry... :)
 
Thanks for those insights. I’m hoping this guitar is everything I believe it to be.

It comes in tomorrow.

I can’t wait!
 
darchirnoj said:
Thanks for those insights. I’m hoping this guitar is everything I believe it to be.

It comes in tomorrow.

I can’t wait!
Click to expand...

I promise you it will NOT disappoint. The waiting sucks but is sooooooo worth it. Enjoy! And, don't forget your NGD post with LOTS of pics!!!
 
Feeling your anticipation for the delivery as well / I'm expecting a used Reflex, but I would be climbing the walls right now if I knew a SR in that color and neck was on the way !
 
Congrats on your new guitar, Click Track.

What’s keeping me grounded at the moment is how busy I’ll be over the next several days (work and personal).
I’m going to have to steal away moments with her.
 
It’s here! Came in Thursday night. I haven’t had too much time to enjoy her, but I will say that this guitar is amazing.

Here’s my not-so-professional initial review:

I’ll start with some, hmm, not bad stuff, but i guess what I found wrong (although these have no bearing on what I think of the guitar overall).

Right where the body meets the neck(upper horn side), it looks like the finish is a tad different . Either it was applied as a touch-up or the blend of paint ran out. It’s minimal (and I could care less because this guitar is outrageous), but wanted to note it. Funny thing: first thing that came to my mind was that video where Steve Morse says his wife has been touching up his blue No. 1 with paint. To clarify again, this is a very small spot and takes NOTHING away from the instrument.

2nd thing: it feels like there is some slight trem bar movement within the bridge housing. It’s minimal but very noticeable.
Best way I could describe it would be there’s a delay to the trem action because the bar has to hit he other side of the housing before the actual bridge lifts (not sure if I’m explaining correctly). I suspect this can be corrected somehow, and again, takes NOTHING away from the guitar.

Now the good: where do I begin?
Let me start by saying that I’ve owned some really nice guitars: PRS, Knaggs, Suhr, Whitfill, Gibson Custom Shop.
Those are all great builders. Not taking anything away from them.
But let me say this: my new Stingray is as good as, or in most cases better (to me) than guitars costing up to 2.5 times more!
I’m not sure how EBMM does it, but this could easily be a $4,500 instrument (such as those from more boutique builders).

The guitar is incredible. Great balance. One of the, if not the best necks I’ve played. The SS frets feel great too.
The tone coming out unplugged is loud and vibrant. I don’t know if it’s the bridge or the SS frets that add that zing to the sound, but it lends to the clarity of each note when plugged in.

The weight is perfect. It’s not too light or too heavy. Just a good overall balance.

I dig the tones plugged in. I’m playing through a Blackstar Soloist 60 (EL34s). The pickups sound perfect for each position.
Doesn’t sound like a S-styled guitar or an LP, but I’d say closer to an SG. With that said, however, I will say it has more of its own sound, but trust me, sounds very, very good. Personal preference, but I don’t anticipate changing out these pickups.

The controls work very well. Extremely smooth pots, and using the volume and tone, you can really get some additional and good sounding tones.

Again, just a initial, brief review.

Love, love, love this guitar. I’m finally home.
In fact, I’m so tempted to order a Cutlass now too!

GC has these for 0% interest x 36 months.

No brainer. Get one!!!
 
Last edited:
I agree. I’m a moron when it comes to tech stuff. How do I post pics? I’ll start a new actual NGD thread and copy and paste this review.

I’ll add that there is something really special going on with the neck pickup. You can actually use it as an actual true rhythm pickup. It’s got clarity and bite similar to bridge but with a tad less treble.
It sounds really good.

Today while I played it, sometimes I’d forget I had it on neck pickup (thought I had it on bridge).
 
Darchirnoj you can add the pictures in here, no big deal. Are you hosting them somewhere or are you just gonna upload them via the forum tool?

Glenn |B)
 
darchirnoj said:
Upload from my iPhone
Click to expand...

Ok you can either host them somewhere else like imgur.com or imgbb.com and then link there here or use the forum tool and post them that way. What kind of phone do you have?

So as not to tie up your thread shoot me a PM, we'll get you straightened out.

Glenn |B)
 
Thanks, Glen. I’ll do that. Sorry hadn’t replied. I had boss riding with me plus a business plan do.
.....still loving my new StingRay RS, btw!
 
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