Were the modifications worth it?

[mike jewels]

What mods have you done to your Music Man bass, and in the end, were you satisfied with them?

I just started this thread to see who's done what to their basses.

Mike

 

[RockinRayDuke]

Just pickguards, MM's don't really need anything else IMO, fine like they are.

 

[bassmaniac]

Just pickguards, MM's don't really need anything else IMO, fine like they are.

I agree, if I was going to change anything, it would just be the pickguard. The pickguards I have are on my StingRay5's are fine, but actually I wish I could just get rid of the pickguards. They are big stupid ugly things on great looking bass guitars - IMHO

 

[Psychicpet]

I'm still waiting to get into SR5 #2 and use that as a MonsterGarageRay a la Jesse James...
I do want to hear what an Aguilar 3-band will sound like in it as well as possibly flanking the humbucker with J pick-ups, a guy here in town has that and although it might not look as appealing, it definitely is a Swiss Army Knife when it comes to tone options. But if #2 never comes I'm perfectly happy with the way my Ray sounds.... its my fingers that munky it up !

 

[Augusto Lopez]

Hi,
I fitted my SR4 with a Seymour Duncan Basslines preamp and rewired the pickup in series. Generally I found the midrange increased and the bottom end a little bit as well; the preamp set offers the midrange cut when pulling the volume knob, and i found that handy for Dub or Latin.
The initial sound wasn't bad at all to start with but when playing live I found that with trhe parallel mode, I wasn't cutting through as I would like to so I rewired th PU and the mid range turned out beautifull but I lost the slap snap, so ended up fitting the SD preamp. I think Ernie Ball must've had some feedback on this regard when they designed the Sterling (& SR5)with the series/parallel switch.
Regards
Gus

 

[Fretbuzz]

Bartolini

Thanks for the input on the jazzbar. I would like to know if anyone has put a Bartolini Pickup in a Sterling Bass. If so, which model and how does it sound. OR if anyone has heard of anyone doing it and if it was a big mistake or not. Thanks in advance.

 

[Augusto Lopez]

Hi Fretbuz,
In fact lots of manufacturers have issue models offering jazz bars neckPU and Musicman style humbuckers as bridge PU.
Warwick (Dolphin pro & JB models) & Carvin just to mention two.
I used to play an Ibanez before my SR4, and had a PJ pick up configuration. when I moved on to SR I noticed that although the tone was stronger and crispier, it lacked some body specially when when hitting with the thumb when slaping. It's hard to explain because the tone was ballsier but there was some kind of warmth missing that I knew staight away had to do with the lack of a neck PU.
Cheers
Gus

 

['raybass_nz]

Hi Mike, I've kept my SR standard, I've always been happy with the sound, plus the fact that SR's are quite collectable over here, although my bass is a '97 and the posts on the pickup are getting dull and even began to go kinda rusty!

I'll probably go to Basslines if the pu needs replacing.

Does anyone know of any other brands of replacement pu that fit the original routing?

 

[mike jewels]

Does anyone know of any other brands of replacement pu that fit the original routing?

Hey, 'raybass_nz. I think Bartolini's replacement pups will drop right in, though I'm not 100% sure. www.bartolini.net

Augusto, I know what you mean about a bass with only one pickup sounding stronger and crisper. I wondered about that too. I never knew the explanation, but, a guy at my regular site told me it has to do with the fact that when both pickups on a two pickup bass are on full they cancel some of each other's frequencies, which results in fatter, but, not as articulate tone.

I also have a Yamaha BBN5 II - essentially a Yamaha Jazz bass.
When both pups are on full, the bass has a very full and kind of smooth tone. If I back off just a little bit on either volume control, the tone gets sharper right away. It really surprised me the first time I did it.

Anyway, back on topic. I'm pretty much satisfied with the tone of my 'Ray, I just wanted to see if someone made some kind of Earth shattering mod. Lately I've been experimenting with the tone controls on my bass, and have been getting a semi-Jazz bass sound out of my 'Ray. The settings are:

Bass: 7
Mids: 4
Treble: 4

The signature Stingray tone can still be heard, but, it does get you in vintage Jazz bass territory. Pluck the strings just in front of the pickup.

Try it guys, tell me what you think.

Thanks for replying to this thread.

Mike

My regular hangout: www.talkbass.com

 

[ebb soul]

I just like to put a thumbrest above the E on basses that don't have one, that's about it.