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Ernie Ball Music Man Custom Design Experience

Is there a best EBMM bass?

nurnay

nurnay

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Aug 26, 2010
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985
Location
Chico, CA
I've now owned and played Stingrays, regular and classic, Sterling, Big Al, and Bongo. They all rock. I wish I could afford to keep one of each in my stable

No one is better than the other. They have their own character, but they all rock, and the quality is top notch.

My friend saw that I just got a Sterling and said, "you really are into those Music Man basses" I said YEP.

Maybe I'll get my hands on a Sabre?.
 
sanderhermans

sanderhermans

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Nov 5, 2013
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1,091
Location
belgium
For me the classic stingray is hands down the best of what i have played and the bongo the worse imo.
Classic stingray for live use and sterling is a great recording bass for me because of the thinner and faster neck. And for studio use i like the series setting too, makes the bass come trough the mix nicely.
I would love to own a big all too for its versatility but i think my next bass will be a sandberg tm4 because of the different pickup placement. The big all just looks cool but weird too :) and not sure if it is really useable for the music i play.
 
Golem

Golem

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Aug 30, 2005
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`

If I had to choose, and actually buy my choice,
it would be traditional MM, fretless, with piezos.
The "if" part isn't very iffy, cuz I have several of
these. The only "if" is IF there was a special run
that offered a hog body and ebony FB, features
that are lacking from my current examples.

For a MM that I really would NOT buy, but could
acknowledge as some sorta ultimate MM bass, I
spoze I'd dream up a hog body Boingo 4 FSp FL
with ebony FB. I wouldn't buy it cuz the Boingo
body style bugs me for a few reasons. If EBMM
ever manages to combine the FS config with the
piezo option in the tradional bodies, THEN I can
imagine actually buying my ultimate: a Sterling
4 FSp FL, hog and ebony :)

For now, and prolly forever, I'm way cool with
my current MM piezo FLs.
 
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sanderhermans

sanderhermans

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Joined
Nov 5, 2013
Messages
1,091
Location
belgium
Golem said:
`

If I had to choose, and actually buy my choice,
it would be traditional MM, fretless, with piezos.
The "if" part isn't very iffy, cuz I have several of
these. The only "if" is IF there was a special run
that offered a hog body and ebony FB, features
that are lacking from my current examples.

For a MM hat I really would NOT buy, but could
acknowledge as some sorta ultimate MM bass, I
spoze I'd dream up a hog body Boingo 4 FSp FL
with ebony FB. I wouldn't buy it cuz the Boingo
body style bugs me for a few reasons. If EBMM
ever manages to combine the FS config with the
piezo option in the tradional bodies, THEN I can
imagine actually buying my ultimate: a Sterling
4 FSp FL, hog and ebony :)

For now, and prolly forever, I'm way cool with
my current MM piezo FLs.
Click to expand...

Why would you want an ebony fretboard so bad instead of maple, rosewood or pau ferro? Is it just looks or sound as well? I have a bad experience with an ebony fb. I have owned a fender tele with an ebony board once and after a few years it shrunk alot! Also cracked along the grains of the wood. So the neck needed alot of work to get it fixed. Altough i loved that guitar it just wasnt worth the effort and money. Annyone know why this occurs with ebony more than other woods? Or why it occurs at all..... is it not dried poperly at the factory?
 
KevinM

KevinM

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Joined
Feb 24, 2011
Messages
841
Location
SoCal
keko said:
nurnay,

...You didn't tried reflex yet?
Click to expand...

My 25th/Reflex is the only one they'll let me play at my home church.
It sounds so good that whenever I bring one of the others they say "We want the red one!!" :)
The rest have to share time at my other venues.
 
Tollywood

Tollywood

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Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Messages
4,178
Location
Rhode Island
muggsy said:
Hog=mahogany
Click to expand...

Oh, thank you.

4693a7f016a4026a4df277a685801262_zps9ed31733.jpg
 
five7

five7

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 24, 2008
Messages
4,296
Danny, you have yesterday and today but what about tomorrow?
 
Golem

Golem

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 30, 2005
Messages
2,283
Location
My Place
sanderhermans said:
Why would you want an ebony fretboard so bad instead of maple, rosewood or pau ferro? Is it just looks or sound as well? I have a bad experience with an ebony fb. I have owned a fender tele with an ebony board once and after a few years it shrunk alot! Also cracked along the grains of the wood. So the neck needed alot of work to get it fixed. Altough i loved that guitar it just wasnt worth the effort and money. Annyone know why this occurs with ebony more than other woods? Or why it occurs at all..... is it not dried poperly at the factory?
Click to expand...

What you experienced on your strat is not unheard of concerning
ebony. However, without fret slots it's much less troublesome. I
do have a board or two with a crack at one end or the other, not
the Grand Canyon, CLOSED cracks, parallel to the grain, which
do not progress ... they occur and then are stable.

There's a lotta argument about whether ebony resists RW strings
better or whether RWs are even a real threat to ANY species of
FB wood. None of that matters to me. It's about sound. Ebony is
distinct, nothing else has that "dry" whine like ebony and flats.
 
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