Sales interference?

[Hellboy]

I was 16 when I bought my Bongo 6 I can't see it leaving any time in the future!

Well. I was 16 back in 1982 and 6-string basses didn´t exist back then. Those where the days.....

I´ve noticed that low cost instruments are SOO much better today than when I started out. My first bass bas a Duke. REALLY ****ty bass! And my second bass was a JBX. ****ty bass too. I would have loved to get my hands on a Sterling by Musicman back then...... I would guess that a Sterling by Musicman costs about the same as a JBX did back then if counting in inflation/saleries etc but the quality is just lightyears better..... The first really good bass I had was my old Stingray from -76 that I bought second hand. It got stolen. Bought another Stingray and now I have many. Fantastic instruments indeed. But I would not have minded to have a decent instrument like a Sterling by Musicman when I started out. Would have helped me out initially I think. Let´s put it this way. Noone would ever steal a Duke. That was the only good thing with the one I had. But I had no fun playing it and that was not a good thing. I would have had so much more fun with a Ray34, that´s for sure!

 

[laneline]

Yeah the Sterling by Musicman-basses are wonderful and great value for money but I personally prefer the US models. But if I was 17 years old and wanted a great bass that didn´t cost so much I´d buy one instantly.

While they're not made to compete with US models, they're not just a kids bass, I had a $200 credit at my bass pusher, so I bought a Ray 35 out of curiosity never expecting much. Man was I wrong, they are solid great playing basses, I just recently had it up on the sale thread to raise some cash for my ordered PDN Reflex, luckily I found I didn't need to and came to my senses, it stays and hangs with the big dogs with no problem. So it's a success on all levels.

 

[Gravesend Black]

I was 16 when I bought my Bongo 6 I can't see it leaving any time in the future!

There are still a lot of countries where 16 years old boys cannot afford even 400-500$ instruments) It's good to you that you never experienced such an issue)

 

[groove]

I live in a country where average earnings are 300$ per month...16 years old boys cannot afford even 100$ for the instrument.

 

[Gravesend Black]

But that's a motivaton. And every bass you've got is like a treasure. Not the another piece of wood in your basement.

 

[drTStingray]

Here it is in a nutshell.

If you dont address a segment of the market someone else will....especially in the countries where we don't have the same intellectual property coverage....

To survive you need to balance the leveraging of your designs to meet the price points of the market without compromising your brand integrity.

The Music Man sit in the black hole of the market.....not cheap and not super expensive....we have to address the price points where the velocity and action is...I have no interest in doing it so I license it to the Park Family...the very best in the world.

Great info here. Thanks for the insight into this.

I think others have said, the youngsters and anyone else buying the lower price point basses will probably lust after a Musicman bass all the more, and become a customer as a result.

 

[TherealAC]

It wasn't cheap by any means, I was just really determined!

 

[Gravesend Black]

And that's good! Nevermind - some of us just got envious If I'd have MM bass when I was 16 - I guess I'd die from happiness)

 

[DrKev]

There are still a lot of countries where 16 years old boys cannot afford even 400-500$ instruments) It's good to you that you never experienced such an issue)

I live in a country where average earnings are 300$ per month...16 years old boys cannot afford even 100$ for the instrument.

And don't forget that $400 instrument becomes a $600 instrument when you ship it for sale overseas.

 

[Gravesend Black]

And don't forget that $400 instrument becomes a $600 instrument when you ship it for sale overseas.

Indeed.

 

[five7]

I bought a 65 jazz bass for a $175 when I was 18. The good old days,lol!

 

[Jules]

....

I think others have said, the youngsters and anyone else buying the lower price point basses will probably lust after a Musicman bass all the more, and become a customer as a result.

Worked for me! I got a bona fide SR4 in yesterday!

 

[Gravesend Black]

I was 16 or 17 when I've heard the MM sound first time. It was love at first sight. It took almost 6 years for me to get my honey monster and I dreamed every day about it before the dream came true)

Unfortunately I had no opportunity to have SbMM at that time so it worked for me even without it)

 

[T-bone]

Worked for me! I got a bona fide SR4 in yesterday!

Very cool, Jules. How about a picture of that bad boy.

tbone

 

[RJKANEAO]

I just bought my son to sub series basses a four and the five string they just came in today and they're wonderful. Praxis, sterling by music man and the park family have done very good job with keeping up with the integrity of musicman. My bass player for my band plays a ray 34 and a friend of mines a ray 35 and they are amazing basses. When I first went solo 10 years ago releasing my first album here in the Islands my Bass player played a real stingray bass in red. He also played for one of the biggest reggae groups ever to come out of Hawaii and made this bass pretty darn popular amongst the island music scene. Hence the relation of many people in Hawaii who play in reggae bands and other genres using the Sterling line. Big Poppa said it right when he said if we ain't doing it somebody else will. And he needs to meet that price point for everyone. In other countries it's not as popular to be playing a American-made guitar as it is in the America or say parts of the UK etc. Whereas many countries and many musicians can't fork over the cash to pay for top-of-the-line axes. So I think in many ways sterling by musicman has given the musicians on a smaller budget some room to grow. I myself use three different Sterling guitars in the studio and onstage. I have my Albert Lee HH being built for me as we speak and I can't wait to have it here so I can use it and appreciate the great workmanship on one of the best guitars ever made. But it's not to say that I won't ever pick up my sterlng models again because they are pretty darn good and although they might not have the high price point like that American-made musicman guitars they are still musicman just made in Indonesia which keeps costs down of manufacturing.

 

[Gravesend Black]

they are pretty darn good and although they might not have the high price point like that American-made musicman guitars they are still musicman just made in Indonesia which keeps costs down of manufacturing.

I have to disagree. Different country, different factory, different company, different wood and different wood quality makes SbMM a different bass. Yeah it is awesome for it's price and even more but it's uncompetitive compared to the real MM)

 

[Jules]

Very cool, Jules. How about a picture of that bad boy.

tbone

Sure! I haven't actually touched it, yet. I worked late the night it came in and was too tired again last night to fool with it, either. Here she is still mummified:


I don't have my 810 cab in yet, and took my combo back, so I have been playing through headphones lately. I may not actually take it out and fire it up until my cab is here which seems to be thrown back a week!

 

[drTStingray]

Congrats Jules - lovely bass in a classic colour combination.

Now just wait till you crank that up through the 8 x 10 - it'll sound awesome.

 

[Jules]

Congrats Jules - lovely bass in a classic colour combination.

Now just wait till you crank that up through the 8 x 10 - it'll sound awesome.

Thanks! I had originally wanted a burst, but had also considered the black/black/maple. Then a company that offers a payment plan on your debit card approved me, and they only had this color option. But, it worked out nicely. I could very well be game for a PDN bass next year, so this new one may be my all around workhorse for practicing, tossing into the car, etc.

I can't wait to get my cab. Like my amp, the cab is a limited run!

 

[RJKANEAO]

I have to disagree. Different country, different factory, different company, different wood and different wood quality makes SbMM a different bass. Yeah it is awesome for it's price and even more but it's uncompetitive compared to the real MM)

@Gravesend Black: yes it's truly a different bass but the quality is still there and on the competitive level I didn't know that I was putting them up against each other I'm sorry if I was misunderstood. After all, Sterling by musicman and musicman are family and should never be competing with each other. Although I don't think I said that it's the same completely, it's still the same lavish look and same feel to have a musicman product in your hands with that undeniable headstock Tuner pegs configuration.. A great example for what I'm trying to tell you or tell everyone is I own AX 30 sterling by musicman copy of Axis Super Sport and I've had my dear and close friend Sherwood Ball play it and he was amazed by the quality and the significant familiarity's between the American made and the Indonesian made. Certainly his brother Sterling Ball has made sure that the integrity of musicman was well-kept and trusted to with this company Praxis looking over Sterling by musicman. So it may be a different country, different factory, different company, a different wood and the different wood quality but like I said before the integrity of the company is as good as what you put out. These were made to help the struggling musician or the musicians on a budget have the necessary tools to pursue their dreams, aspirations and their musical endeavors. Let's just face it, not every musician in this world has a couple thousand laying around to buy a guitar. And although it may not be competitive to the real deal "American-made" it was good enough for me and good enough for guys like Sherwood who's been around his brother's and his father's company from a quite early age I Knows all the guitars quite well. I think we can all agree that this is a far cry from the old OLP models that came out before, it's worlds apart in value and in quality. Since becoming an Endorsee for EBMM I've done quite a bit of research and quite a bit of studying of different guitars, strings and everything to do with EBMM. And I stand by my word by saying on every level,on every plain and on every single company affiliated with the original EBMM there is world-class written all over it. You could say the difference between sterling by musicman and musicman itself is a close comparison to Fender and it's affiliation with Squire. But I think it's miles apart in the difference between quality and what you get for the money. Clearly the price points were hit by Sterling by musicman successfully and to put it quite frankly and honestly if it was an open battle squire would lose out to Sterling by Miles. I think I can speak by experience because I've owned quite a few Squire products also myself and have since then handed them down to my son. Once in a while you find that little diamond in the rough that it's like striking gold when you find it but from what I've experienced with Sterling by musicman you do not go through that mystery "luck of the draw" situation because all of the guitars and basses are checked and have inspected and set up before they leave the warehouse. On a very rare occasion you might find one that slips through the cracks that is not quite up to par but easily fixable. So in conclusion although it may not fully compare to an "American-made" musicman guitar it is still on the same road of instruments, there is still a sense of pride and honor to be playing any sort of musicman instrument.. Much aloha