Help! Will a Musicman 5 String classic get me closer to this tone?

[Asomodai]

Hey guys.

So i have had a fair few musicman SR5's, none of which gave me the balls to the wall tone i was after and hear in records. A bit too polite. Even running through an Ampeg rig.

However, i did own a SUB5 String, that had near enough the exact tone of what the 4 string Musicmans can do and the tone that i wanted in my head!

So i hear that the SR5s have a wildly different pre-amp to the 4 string counterpart, which is why they dont do it for me!

The new Stingray 5 classics... Can they cut the mustard? Are they growlier and sound more like an MM then the standard SR5?

THIS tone.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQPRtDCFAGE&feature=related]YouTube - ‪A Wilhelm Scream - Jaws III, People 0‬‎[/ame]

 

[mynan]

So i hear that the SR5s have a wildly different pre-amp to the 4 string counterpart, which is why they dont do it for me!

That changed around April of 08, when the Sterling5 came out. The SR5s went from having Ceramic pickups and a preamp...like the Sterling4, to having Alnico pickups and a preamp...like the SR4. If you get an SR5 that was made after April/May of 08, it should have, essentially, the same electronics package as the SR4.

The Classic Series will also give you the "SR4" sound with the added B-string.

 

[five7]

I tried out a couple of classic 5s and yes they do have the tone you are looking for. I have owned several sub 5 basses and SR5s and I know what you mean. The classics I tried had the tone!!!

 

[Asomodai]

Brilliant! Thanks guys! Now to look for a newer SR5 or a classic 5

Is there an easy way to tell which is the alcino and which is the ceramic without resorting to serial numbers? (Ie just by looking at it and without removing anything?)

 

[oli@bass]

Ceramic: Shiny almost mirroring silverish pole pieces
Alnico: Rather dull and grainy, pole pieces varying from light grey to almost black when oxidated