I've been a HUGE fan of musicman stingrays for years.
Even when I first started out at 16 years old I knew I was 'going to own a musicman stingray and an ampeg SVT classic + 810'.
Now at 34 I can say that I own both. I even own more than one stingray but that's not what this is about.
My story starts several years ago when I bought a second hand stingray bass. A black 3eq with a maple neck, my personal favorite colorway. I tested the bass when I bought it and instantly loved it. After a few weeks I started noticing trouble when I was tuning it. strings would snap and my tuning would always be 'off'. I didn't know what was going on and I took to the local guitarshop.
The owner told me that the stingray had a serious issue. The neck was not warping but bending sideways. I've never ever seen it but I was stuck with a bass which had a neck that was half an inch, to an inch 'off center'. You could easily spot it if you paid attention to it. So I was stuck with my favorite bass with a neck that had serious issues. I left the bass at the shop and asked the luthier that worked there to take a look to it.
While the bass was there I felt ripped off by the previous seller: maybe he had it fixed and sold it before it would do it again? Or was it an issue that it had from the beginning?
The luthier was kind brutal but honest 'the only thing I can do is... nothing. Normally they warp but this neck is bent to the right. Your truss ruined mate... so I can remove it and try fixing the neck? But I'd just find a new neck mate...'
I was considering a status neck, but I could never find one.
So after a while, hopeless and desperate I just mailed the MM customerservice.
It was bass that was long out of warranty, and they actually did not have to respond to my question.
But, I got mail back and the MM customerservice mailed me saying that I should get in touch with the local distributor.
I got in touch with the distributor and he also said it was a 'defect' and that he would try his best to fix the problem. After a few weeks I got a mail asking what kinda neck I needed. I was extremely happy with that email because that meant I was getting a new one.
After a few weeks I met with the distributor and I paid an amount for a new neck (won't say how much, that's classified ;-) )
My point is, that the customerservice was EXTREMELY helpful. I play in a band that plays abroad a lot (France, Belgium, Holland, Austria, Germany, Romania, Swiss...) . We have to get in vans, buses, planes... so the humidity and warmth is always fluctuating and I did not have a single issue ever since.
My hats off to MM and the way they treat customers. You have no idea how much I appreciate this. The quality of the basses would be the main reason that I own several musicmans, but the friendliness and kindness is now the main reason.
I will never play anything else. I can't imagine that another company would ever put the effort into this.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Kevin Hensels
Even when I first started out at 16 years old I knew I was 'going to own a musicman stingray and an ampeg SVT classic + 810'.
Now at 34 I can say that I own both. I even own more than one stingray but that's not what this is about.
My story starts several years ago when I bought a second hand stingray bass. A black 3eq with a maple neck, my personal favorite colorway. I tested the bass when I bought it and instantly loved it. After a few weeks I started noticing trouble when I was tuning it. strings would snap and my tuning would always be 'off'. I didn't know what was going on and I took to the local guitarshop.
The owner told me that the stingray had a serious issue. The neck was not warping but bending sideways. I've never ever seen it but I was stuck with a bass which had a neck that was half an inch, to an inch 'off center'. You could easily spot it if you paid attention to it. So I was stuck with my favorite bass with a neck that had serious issues. I left the bass at the shop and asked the luthier that worked there to take a look to it.
While the bass was there I felt ripped off by the previous seller: maybe he had it fixed and sold it before it would do it again? Or was it an issue that it had from the beginning?
The luthier was kind brutal but honest 'the only thing I can do is... nothing. Normally they warp but this neck is bent to the right. Your truss ruined mate... so I can remove it and try fixing the neck? But I'd just find a new neck mate...'
I was considering a status neck, but I could never find one.
So after a while, hopeless and desperate I just mailed the MM customerservice.
It was bass that was long out of warranty, and they actually did not have to respond to my question.
But, I got mail back and the MM customerservice mailed me saying that I should get in touch with the local distributor.
I got in touch with the distributor and he also said it was a 'defect' and that he would try his best to fix the problem. After a few weeks I got a mail asking what kinda neck I needed. I was extremely happy with that email because that meant I was getting a new one.
After a few weeks I met with the distributor and I paid an amount for a new neck (won't say how much, that's classified ;-) )
My point is, that the customerservice was EXTREMELY helpful. I play in a band that plays abroad a lot (France, Belgium, Holland, Austria, Germany, Romania, Swiss...) . We have to get in vans, buses, planes... so the humidity and warmth is always fluctuating and I did not have a single issue ever since.
My hats off to MM and the way they treat customers. You have no idea how much I appreciate this. The quality of the basses would be the main reason that I own several musicmans, but the friendliness and kindness is now the main reason.
I will never play anything else. I can't imagine that another company would ever put the effort into this.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Kevin Hensels
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