Well I finally broke down a few weeks ago and traded my 25th 5 HH to MadMatt for his 25th 4 HH. I have a Stingray 5 that I use as my primary 5 because I LOVE the neck on it and I just don't really want to play any other 5. The SR5 is just IT for me in terms of a 5 string. I love the tone, the fit, the finish and the feel of them and I just don't want to play any other 5. I was playing the 25th regularly because it is such a lovely instrument to play and the tone is simply a thing of beauty. I had been considering trying to trade my 5 for a 4 and when I saw MadMatt's ad I immediately responded and we worked it out.
First off I have to say a BIG shout out to Matt for making the whole process so smooth for me. He REALLY went out of his way to make the transaction as smooth as it could be. I normally would not have traded with someone in Germany but I felt comfortable with him and I generally feel MUCH safer dealing with the forumites here and I have never had a bad experience. BIG KUDOS MATT!!
When I got the package (the bass was disassembled) and opened it everything was perfect. I immediately assmebled everything and strung her up with some Super Slinkys I had here. I normally use Sadowsky Blue Nickel strings but I really wanted to make the switch to the EBMM brand for some time and I figured this was the time to do it. Got everything assmebled, put the strings on and fired up my amp...
WOW! She sounded huge just like my 5 but considerably lighter and the neck was just INSANE! I played around with her for a couple of hours setting up the intonation and fine tuning the setup and headed off to a gig. I took my Stingray along just in case I needed to switch to another 4 for any reason. I did the sound check and my sound guy loved her. I had a Classic Ray that he just loved the sound of and he said this is a VERY close second to that bass. Personally I thought this 25th had a LOT more balls (no Pun intended) through the PA than I remember the Classic having. The bass is very warm and resonant but cuts through very nicely in a dense mix. We have a KILLER drummer that is a Heavy Hitter (and I like it in his case) a phenomenal Guitarist, a Keyboard player that also plays Trumpet and plays horn pads, and an absolute MONSTER Pianist/B3 player that is a band all by himself, and a gifted lead vocalist. I got a lot of good comments from all the guys after the sound check and figured everything was good.
I played the 25th for the first set and never even switched it out with my SR5 I just played the 4 string for the songs I usually play on the 5. I asked the sound guy at the break what he thought and he told me that the PA loved the bass. Very little EQ and NO compression on the bass at all and he was happy. He told me that he preferred the sound of the 25th 4 over the 25th 5 because it was smoother sounding to him and a lot more even from top to bottom. I would definitely agree. Finished out the night without touching the SR5 or the Ray I had brought along as a backup. In fact I never even took the Ray out of the case!
For the next night's gig I stopped by Guitar Center in Raleigh and bought a set of Coated Regular Slinkys and put them on at the club about 4 miles away from the store. I played them and did a slight tweak to the setup and intonation and was FLOORED! The sound guy told me THAT is it! Whatever you just did is it. That sounds killer through the PA. I put the bass on the stand and drove the Van back to Guitar Center Raleigh and bought the last 4 sets of coated Slinkys they had in the store...
WOW again is all I can say! The bass came alive with the Coated Slinkys I know that you are not supposed to feel that much of a difference but I did in the best possible way. The bass seemed more responsive in every way and the loudness of each string was a LOT more balanced to my ear. He made the comment that he actually had to use even less EQ than he had with the Super Slinkys...Once again I played the 25th the entire night and left the SR5 on the stand. I did not even take my Ray with me!
I LOVE everything about this bass! It is very lightweight compared to my 5 but it sounds like it weighs a ton. I pretty much ONLY use the rear PUP in Series or parallel Active with a little bit of bass boost, low mid boost, and treble boost. The tone is not exactly a Stingray but is in the same tonal family for sure. I have had this bass long enough to do over 2 dozen shows and numerous recording sessions (including one just last night that is absolutely KILLED on). I have found that live I ONLY use the Rear PUP but in the studio I REALLY like having the other tones available to try on different things. My band is currently in the process of finishing up recording an album and I have done 3 cuts with this bass. It makes me want to go back and recut some of the tracks I did on my SR5 and the 25th 5 I had on this bass!!! It is THAT good...
BP called it the MONSTER TRUCK and I agree! This is defintely a MONSTER TRUCK and a MONSTER BASS! I LOVE IT!!! Thanks to all the people who had a hand in building her! I can't wait to get a couple of Black Sugar beauties and keep this one around for studio work but I have the feeling that I will definitely be taking this one out to some of the fairly local shows I get to do around home. She is a bit too nice to drag out on some of the dates I do but I still want to do it just because she is too great not to play!
BP you guys REALLY HIT A HOME RUN WITH THESE!!
There are a few of these still out there and I HIGHLY recommend that you check them out if you are so inclined. I know the Reflex is coming soon but the 25th is the original...it is so good it makes me want a 5 HH Reflex in a Black Sugar finsh!!!! AND a SINGLE H 4 Reflex in a Black Sugar Finish!!!
Ya'll go get you one!
Peace,
T
First off I have to say a BIG shout out to Matt for making the whole process so smooth for me. He REALLY went out of his way to make the transaction as smooth as it could be. I normally would not have traded with someone in Germany but I felt comfortable with him and I generally feel MUCH safer dealing with the forumites here and I have never had a bad experience. BIG KUDOS MATT!!
When I got the package (the bass was disassembled) and opened it everything was perfect. I immediately assmebled everything and strung her up with some Super Slinkys I had here. I normally use Sadowsky Blue Nickel strings but I really wanted to make the switch to the EBMM brand for some time and I figured this was the time to do it. Got everything assmebled, put the strings on and fired up my amp...
WOW! She sounded huge just like my 5 but considerably lighter and the neck was just INSANE! I played around with her for a couple of hours setting up the intonation and fine tuning the setup and headed off to a gig. I took my Stingray along just in case I needed to switch to another 4 for any reason. I did the sound check and my sound guy loved her. I had a Classic Ray that he just loved the sound of and he said this is a VERY close second to that bass. Personally I thought this 25th had a LOT more balls (no Pun intended) through the PA than I remember the Classic having. The bass is very warm and resonant but cuts through very nicely in a dense mix. We have a KILLER drummer that is a Heavy Hitter (and I like it in his case) a phenomenal Guitarist, a Keyboard player that also plays Trumpet and plays horn pads, and an absolute MONSTER Pianist/B3 player that is a band all by himself, and a gifted lead vocalist. I got a lot of good comments from all the guys after the sound check and figured everything was good.
I played the 25th for the first set and never even switched it out with my SR5 I just played the 4 string for the songs I usually play on the 5. I asked the sound guy at the break what he thought and he told me that the PA loved the bass. Very little EQ and NO compression on the bass at all and he was happy. He told me that he preferred the sound of the 25th 4 over the 25th 5 because it was smoother sounding to him and a lot more even from top to bottom. I would definitely agree. Finished out the night without touching the SR5 or the Ray I had brought along as a backup. In fact I never even took the Ray out of the case!
For the next night's gig I stopped by Guitar Center in Raleigh and bought a set of Coated Regular Slinkys and put them on at the club about 4 miles away from the store. I played them and did a slight tweak to the setup and intonation and was FLOORED! The sound guy told me THAT is it! Whatever you just did is it. That sounds killer through the PA. I put the bass on the stand and drove the Van back to Guitar Center Raleigh and bought the last 4 sets of coated Slinkys they had in the store...
WOW again is all I can say! The bass came alive with the Coated Slinkys I know that you are not supposed to feel that much of a difference but I did in the best possible way. The bass seemed more responsive in every way and the loudness of each string was a LOT more balanced to my ear. He made the comment that he actually had to use even less EQ than he had with the Super Slinkys...Once again I played the 25th the entire night and left the SR5 on the stand. I did not even take my Ray with me!
I LOVE everything about this bass! It is very lightweight compared to my 5 but it sounds like it weighs a ton. I pretty much ONLY use the rear PUP in Series or parallel Active with a little bit of bass boost, low mid boost, and treble boost. The tone is not exactly a Stingray but is in the same tonal family for sure. I have had this bass long enough to do over 2 dozen shows and numerous recording sessions (including one just last night that is absolutely KILLED on). I have found that live I ONLY use the Rear PUP but in the studio I REALLY like having the other tones available to try on different things. My band is currently in the process of finishing up recording an album and I have done 3 cuts with this bass. It makes me want to go back and recut some of the tracks I did on my SR5 and the 25th 5 I had on this bass!!! It is THAT good...
BP called it the MONSTER TRUCK and I agree! This is defintely a MONSTER TRUCK and a MONSTER BASS! I LOVE IT!!! Thanks to all the people who had a hand in building her! I can't wait to get a couple of Black Sugar beauties and keep this one around for studio work but I have the feeling that I will definitely be taking this one out to some of the fairly local shows I get to do around home. She is a bit too nice to drag out on some of the dates I do but I still want to do it just because she is too great not to play!
BP you guys REALLY HIT A HOME RUN WITH THESE!!
There are a few of these still out there and I HIGHLY recommend that you check them out if you are so inclined. I know the Reflex is coming soon but the 25th is the original...it is so good it makes me want a 5 HH Reflex in a Black Sugar finsh!!!! AND a SINGLE H 4 Reflex in a Black Sugar Finish!!!
Ya'll go get you one!
Peace,
T
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