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John Myung Bongo 4

Just ordered My Caprice!

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
 
GregP said:
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
Click to expand...

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.
 
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
 
GregP said:
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
Click to expand...

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!".
IMAG2368_zps4cnnapm6.jpg
 
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. :-)
 
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?
 
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
 
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.)

35822104812_3e5781bf57_b.jpg
 
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!!!!!!
 
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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
 
GregP said:
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!!!!!!
Click to expand...

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?
 
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.
 
Karl said:
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?
Click to expand...

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 :-)
 
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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
 
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