Just ordered My Caprice!

[GregP]

Wow! So I got my bass back from being set up with the EBMM Cobalt Flats. Soloed the neck pickup and set the tone knob to zero. Rocked out a little "I Heard It Through the Grapevine". And I only have one thing to say...."Holy Jamerson, Batman!!!". The tone is dead on! The only way it could be made better is with that Classic Stingray Mute Bridge(Hint Hint!) ;-)
-Greg P

 

[bovinehost]

Wow! So I got my bass back from being set up with the EBMM Cobalt Flats. Soloed the neck pickup and set the tone knob to zero. Rocked out a little "I Heard It Through the Grapevine". And I only have one thing to say...."Holy Jamerson, Batman!!!". The tone is dead on! The only way it could be made better is with that Classic Stingray Mute Bridge(Hint Hint!) ;-)
-Greg P

Not sure what other strings might sound like on mine - and am unlikely to ever find out. I'm with you. Those Cobalt Flats and the Caprice - a match made in Tone Heaven.

 

[kinopah]

Coral Red on ebay - first I've seen for sale!
Ernie Ball Music Man Caprice 4 String Electric Bass Guitar Coral Red with Case | eBay

 

[GregP]

G String Slipping

Dear Community,
When I got my bass restrung and setup the installer had an issue with the G string slipping when it was being brought up to pitch. So he did some work around where he looped the string. I didn't like the look of this so I ordered a replacement G string. However, when I went to string it today I experienced the same issue. To the best of my knowledge I'm doing everything correctly. Cutting the string ~10cm beyond the post, putting a 90 degree bend at the end of the wire, cutting just beyond the bend, the windings going under each other...but when I get around D or D# the string just slips and I can't bring it up to pitch. I've got another G coming this Friday. The only thing I can figure is the saddle on the G string is lower than the saddle on the D string any maybe that's adding unnecessary tension???

Best Regards,
-Greg P

 

[the_eigensheep]

Coral Red on ebay - first I've seen for sale!
Ernie Ball Music Man Caprice 4 String Electric Bass Guitar Coral Red with Case | eBay

This may be just enough to prompt me to wait patiently instead of ordering a color I'm less interested in!

 

[GregP]

Dear Community,
When I got my bass restrung and setup the installer had an issue with the G string slipping when it was being brought up to pitch. So he did some work around where he looped the string. I didn't like the look of this so I ordered a replacement G string. However, when I went to string it today I experienced the same issue. To the best of my knowledge I'm doing everything correctly. Cutting the string ~10cm beyond the post, putting a 90 degree bend at the end of the wire, cutting just beyond the bend, the windings going under each other...but when I get around D or D# the string just slips and I can't bring it up to pitch. I've got another G coming this Friday. The only thing I can figure is the saddle on the G string is lower than the saddle on the D string any maybe that's adding unnecessary tension???

Best Regards,
-Greg P

Well, I found out why my G string kept slipping. I neglected to loop the string through the post. As I tell the kids..."Reading is FUNdamental!".

 

[nurnay]

Well, I found out why my G string kept slipping. I neglected to loop the string through the post. As I tell the kids..."Reading is FUNdamental!".

There ya go!

 

[GregP]

After playing with the Cobalt Flats I definitely think the Caprice should ship with them. They just seem to bring out the best in this bass.

 

[Karl]

I am interested in this Bass, I wonder if EB are looking to add more body colours and fingerboard options in regards to either being rosewood or maple?

 

[GregP]

Don't get me wrong I love, love, love how light this bass is(8.3lbs) but i'm getting a little neck dive when standing. Can the community recommend me a strap that may alleviate this issue. I think the ones I have aren't grippy enough(made of seatbelt).
I like the 3" variety.

Best Regards,
-Greg P

 

[kinopah]

I'm using the GruvGear Solo Strap with my Cutlass and have zero neck dive or discomfort issues.
(I substituted the Ergostrap on my StingRay and it works just as well.)

 

[GregP]

Thanks! Just ordered mine in cream

 

[kinopah]

Cool! Hope you dig it!

 

[GregP]

The Sound of my Caprice

Caprice Demo by Greg P | Free Listening on SoundCloud

I just wanted to share with everyone the amazing tone of my Caprice. The sound chain is as follows: MusicMan Caprice---MXR bass preamp----MXR Bass Compressor----Ampeg PF-50T transformer out----Scarlett 2I2----Ableton Live.
The only tone shaping that's been done is a slight bump in the lows with a little more in the highs and dabble of 1000HZ. I'm running the compressor at a low 4:1 ratio. Both pickups full on.

As you can hear the tone is tight and focused with a nice bump in the lower midrange thanks to that split coil. You can probably hear I play just north of the bridge pickup because I love the tight tone you get there. This was the exact tone I was looking for. The articulation of a single coil bass with the nice bump in the low midrange that the split coils give you. This is truly an amazing instrument. Thank you Ball Family for brining a passive guy into the MusicMan Family.

-Greg P
P.S. I'm using Cobalt Flats 40-95. Oh, and check the incredible sustain of the 5th Fret Harmonic on the G string at the end. It's unbelievable!!!!!!

 

[CaseyBall]

Very well done, thanks for loving our bass enough to make a sound demo!

 

[GregP]

Neck Dive Issues...

Dear Awesome Community,
I'm still having the neck dive issues I spoke about earlier. I've tried several different straps: 2.5" EB neoprene comfort strap, 3 1/2" leather Levy strap w/suede backing, & the Solo Strap mentioned above. No matter what I do the neck always dives. I don't think I've noticed it much before because I play sitting mostly.

I remember being excited because the bass was listed as weighing 8.3lbs on sweetwater but I guess their is no such thing as a free lunch ;-). I love everything about this bass it's just so frustrating because I can't get it to balance when I'm standing. Anyone else having this issue? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated because I absolutely love this bass.

-Greg P

 

[Karl]

Caprice Demo by Greg P | Free Listening on SoundCloud

I just wanted to share with everyone the amazing tone of my Caprice. The sound chain is as follows: MusicMan Caprice---MXR bass preamp----MXR Bass Compressor----Ampeg PF-50T transformer out----Scarlett 2I2----Ableton Live.
The only tone shaping that's been done is a slight bump in the lows with a little more in the highs and dabble of 1000HZ. I'm running the compressor at a low 4:1 ratio. Both pickups full on.

As you can hear the tone is tight and focused with a nice bump in the lower midrange thanks to that split coil. You can probably hear I play just north of the bridge pickup because I love the tight tone you get there. This was the exact tone I was looking for. The articulation of a single coil bass with the nice bump in the low midrange that the split coils give you. This is truly an amazing instrument. Thank you Ball Family for brining a passive guy into the MusicMan Family.

-Greg P
P.S. I'm using Cobalt Flats 40-95. Oh, and check the incredible sustain of the 5th Fret Harmonic on the G string at the end. It's unbelievable!!!!!!

Great tone mate!
I am looking to buy a Caprice and also use a MXR Bass Compressor which I place first in my chain.Are you getting better results placing it after your pre amp?

 

[djaxup]

great tone Greg! And nice playing, too.
Concerning the neck dive, there was no amount of neck dive my Harvest strap couldn't fix. It has a rough suede inside and even fixed T-Bird and WW Thumb neckdive, and that means something.

 

[GregP]

Great tone mate!
I am looking to buy a Caprice and also use a MXR Bass Compressor which I place first in my chain.Are you getting better results placing it after your pre amp?

Placing the compressor after the preamp was actually done out of necessity. Before I got my Caprice I was playing my G&L JB all the time. It's a great bass but has very low output. I couldn't get the output to go over threshold on the compressor without cranking the gain on the compressor. However, when I dimed the gain I got some hiss.

So what I did is used the preamp to add some gain before the signal reached the compressor so i could reduce the gain used on the compressor itself. It worked perfectly...no hiss

Thank you for the kind words on the tone. I have been really practicing my technique. It really pays off playing everyday. Everyday I pick up something new. #Consistency.

-Greg P.

P.S. thank you for the strap advice. I really love this bass and am trying everything concievable to get it balance right while standing. Lucky for me I'm incredibly persistent

 

[GregP]

Great news! After spending about 20 minutes w/my Levy strap I found a setting that almost completely eliminates neck dive. I emailed customer service about the issue earlier today and they asked if I had considered getting aftermarket tuners. I'm glad I got it sorted out because I don't think I could bring myself to modify this awesome instrument.

I also made another recording for the community... this time with the neck pickup soloed and the tone control off. I want to show any prospective buyers how the Caprice nails the motown sound. I start off with my rendition of the intro of "Heard it Through The Grapevine" and go onto some fun jazz fiddlings.
-Greg P

Caprice - Motown & Jazz by Greg P | Free Listening on SoundCloud