I know MM SR's are usually much more sought after by bassists than EB SR's, and I'm not sure about guitars, but why is this? Is it just because of the name change, or something else? From what I've seen, quality hasn't diminished, and has probably gotten better in some areas.
- Thread starter nosajwp
- Start date
Nobody who has ever played both could possibly think the pre-EB Music Man guitars are better than EBMMs - the comparison is embarrassing! I personally have never, ever heard anyone - drunk, sober or even Scientologist - make that kind of assinine assertion...
bovinehost
Administrator
nosajwp said:
I agree with both of the above answers and I'm a bassist who's been around long enough to have owned those pre-EB basses before they were pre-anything.
Many of those 76-79 basses were very good instruments. Some were mediocre. Some were as bad as anything Fender was producing at the same time (goopy finishes, uneven fit, hit-or-miss QC).
Some of those early basses were a joy to play. Some of them weighed over 12 pounds. That is not a joy - that is a piano.
Having owned 5 or 6 pre-EB basses and (now) God knows how many modern-era instruments, my preference is firmly in the modern camp. Some people get all worked up, thinking they can somehow purchase 'mojo' because the instrument has the wear of 30 years or so on it, even if they don't know who played it or what it was used for or where it traveled or what it meant to the guy(s) who had it before they did.
I don't buy it. Mojo is maybe real, but IMO has nothing to do with age. Some instruments - basses, guitars, mandolins, whatever - have a certain something that sets them apart from the one that came off the line the same day, the same hour. The instrument can be 30, 40, 50 years old, or it can be 6 months old.
If it feels like a hot woman in your hands, it has it. If it's the one you reach for when you need to be comfortable, when you're playing something unfamiliar, when you just want to play your damned guitar and not worry about it, then it has it already and you don't have to wait 25 or 30 years for the mojo to develop.
Jack
SteveB
Well-known member
I had forgotten that MusicMan made 6-string guitars before EB bought them. I don't think any of the current models were made at that time, though.. just two models that are no longer around (StringRay 1 guitar, and Sabre guitar, as I recall?)
The 6-string magic didn't happen until Dudley came along. The 6-strings produced by MusicMan under Leo were utter failures.
The 6-string magic didn't happen until Dudley came along. The 6-strings produced by MusicMan under Leo were utter failures.
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tommyindelaware
Well-known member
SteveB said:
mabey overall.......but.....
in 78 or so.....i had a sabre II that screamed bloody murder !!!!!! i played it to death !!!!
I think there is so much general hype these days about 'vintage' things (including trainers?????), but particularly guitars that:-
a) A lot of people assume that if it's old it has to be good.
b) We've all got so used to the phrase 'pre-CBS' meaning 'better' that again people will assume that 'pre-anything' has to have some significance.
c) Because of points a and b, anybody with anything old to sell now will dress it up using terms like 'vintage', 'rare' and 'pre-whatever' to make it seem better and therefore more valuable than it is. Just scan ebay for such poetic licence!
Give me a new one any day!
a) A lot of people assume that if it's old it has to be good.
b) We've all got so used to the phrase 'pre-CBS' meaning 'better' that again people will assume that 'pre-anything' has to have some significance.
c) Because of points a and b, anybody with anything old to sell now will dress it up using terms like 'vintage', 'rare' and 'pre-whatever' to make it seem better and therefore more valuable than it is. Just scan ebay for such poetic licence!
Give me a new one any day!
Who knows why some people fixate on specific gear? When you consider that EVH recorded some of the greatest tones in history with home-made and home-modified gear, it just goes to show: Great tone can be had with almost any equipment.
Bungo said:I think there is so much general hype these days about 'vintage' things (including trainers?????), but particularly guitars that:-
a) A lot of people assume that if it's old it has to be good.
b) We've all got so used to the phrase 'pre-CBS' meaning 'better' that again people will assume that 'pre-anything' has to have some significance.
c) Because of points a and b, anybody with anything old to sell now will dress it up using terms like 'vintage', 'rare' and 'pre-whatever' to make it seem better and therefore more valuable than it is. Just scan ebay for such poetic licence!
Give me a new one any day!
Kinda like pre-lawsuit PRS singlecuts!
edensdad
Well-known member
bovinehost said:
ROTFLMAO
Funky Chicken
Well-known member
At 25 years old, there are a lot of "just okay" instruments that become more coveted/desirable/valuable for no good reason. That's not to say that there aren't some really good 70's Rays around, but they are nowhere near as consistent as current EBs.
Look at late 70's Strats. Most of them are complete boat anchors, but since 60's and early 70's Strats have escalated in price to the point where it's collectors only, people jump on the stuff that's newly 25-30 years old, begin calling it "Vintage" and there they go up in value.
I have a '72 Jazz Bass that has some sentimental value to me. I bought it for $800 in 1995. If I really tried I could sell it for $2500+. It's not an"amazing" bass AT ALL, just an older one.
Look at late 70's Strats. Most of them are complete boat anchors, but since 60's and early 70's Strats have escalated in price to the point where it's collectors only, people jump on the stuff that's newly 25-30 years old, begin calling it "Vintage" and there they go up in value.
I have a '72 Jazz Bass that has some sentimental value to me. I bought it for $800 in 1995. If I really tried I could sell it for $2500+. It's not an"amazing" bass AT ALL, just an older one.
smallequestrian
Well-known member
SteveB said:
Based on what Sterling has said in the past, by the time Leo was designing the MM guitars his treble hearing had gotten pretty bad. Consequently the tone of those guitars were very treble happy.
Plus, I saw a Stingray 1 guitar at a show in the past year, and they definately weren't much to look at.
phatduckk
Well-known member
i dont know too much about this topix but here's my guess:
people like to generalize ... so, if people generalize that preCBS Fender is better and vintage Les Pauls are better than new ones than all old guitars should be better than new ones.
im guessing thats what theyre all thinkin. + being able to say "its vintage" sounds cool to some people.
I like what Jack said. Some guitars have MOJO and some dont. Ive played $400 axes at stores and loved them ... something about that particular peice felt/sounded "right" to me but the identical axe to its left didnt have the same thing going on.
I figure you should buy any guitar you cant put down. new, used, this brand, that brand - whatever. if you wanna keep on playing it - well, that's what its all about right?
people like to generalize ... so, if people generalize that preCBS Fender is better and vintage Les Pauls are better than new ones than all old guitars should be better than new ones.
im guessing thats what theyre all thinkin. + being able to say "its vintage" sounds cool to some people.
I like what Jack said. Some guitars have MOJO and some dont. Ive played $400 axes at stores and loved them ... something about that particular peice felt/sounded "right" to me but the identical axe to its left didnt have the same thing going on.
I figure you should buy any guitar you cant put down. new, used, this brand, that brand - whatever. if you wanna keep on playing it - well, that's what its all about right?
SteveB
Well-known member
I guess I should qualify my earlier post. When I said the 6-string MusicMan guitars designed by Leo were failures, I meant in the marketplace. He certainly knew a few things about guitar design!
Still, I'm a Dudley fan.
Still, I'm a Dudley fan.
edensdad
Well-known member
phatduckk said:
Last year I got several vintage guitars at a yard sale (for a song - literally). Anyway with the exception of a '61 Gibson, I wasn't impressed. One of them was a pre-CBS Fender Jag, and it was no better than my beater Squier that I let the kids play. In fact the Squier plays better.
I like new shiny stuff. It only stands to reason that a high quality guitar based on new technology would play and sound better than a high quality guitar of the past.
When I buy my next MM guitar, hopefully a 2007 maple topped JP6 (Hint Hint), I have no doubt that I will be just as impressed with it as my "Ernie Ball" MM JP6.
What's in a name?
