Last Thursday I finally got the call that I’ve been waiting for 4 months now. My dealer informed me that my classic arrived. First let me put a good word on this dealer:
When I ordered I was hesitating between sunburst/maple and white/rosewood. I took a chance and asked them if they’d be willing to order both so I could choose the one I like best and they could keep the other one for stock inventory. To my biggest surprise, they said yes! So a BIG thanks to Centre de Musique Victor (they have 3 stores in the province). I ordered the first day after NAMM; in fact they didn’t knew the classic serie existed at that time. I sent them a link to the torture thread and they got back to me the next day with a price (a really good price I have to say). I originally wanted to order from The Perfect Bass or Bass Central because they have a huge inventory but I learned they are not allowed to sell EBMM outside of USA. In the end, I’m really happy to have made business with the local dealer. I received personal attention, good price and service that I couldn’t want more.
I was originally quoted a two month wait. It finally took 4 months. I started to get nervous when someone from the UK received his classic. Canada may not be close to California but it’s not THAT far. Then I received the noticed that the basses were ready and leaving the factory. A week later the basses arrived at the dealer.
I showed up last Thursday to choose my bass excited like a kid the morning of Christmas. Let me explain: I’ve always wanted a Stingray. I’ve been playing bass for 15 years and I’m lucky enough to have an incredible collection of super nice instruments (see my website for a list) but still no EBMM. My first bass teacher played Musicman’s (SR4 and SR5) so it became a model for me. I was also a lot into Flea when I started playing so the Stingray became sort of iconic for me. Finally, I remember a D’Addario ad which had a beautiful sunburst stingray.
On the other hand, when I started playing I was mostly into super versatile instruments (multi pickups) for the wide range of gigs that I do (I’m a freelance session player). As the years pass by, I became able to afford basses yielding a more specific tone. Also, I’ve always wanted a vintage stingray but the nice ones are more and more difficult to find. The arrival of the Classic serie definitely was a godsend for me.
So 15 years later, I now have my Stingray!
I came to the store and was showed the two basses. Both were incredible. The white finish is really close to buttercreme and the birdseye was super nice. In the end I took the sunburst/maple home. It was lighter (9lbs vs 10lbs for the white one) and sounded better in the mids (I was surprised to prefer a maple fingerboard as I generally go for rosewood).
Construction:
Everything about this bass screams quality. The hardware (bridge, tuning keys) are super solid. The body and neck woods resonate nicely and the sunburst finish is wonderful.
I first thought that the body was one-piece ash but upon closer inspection it’s actually two-piece. We clearly see the two pieces around the upper part of the bridge.
I’m super happy with the 9 lbs weight. It’s just enough to get a good sound (I do believe that heavy basses gives a heavy tone) but still manageable to handle on a long gig. The neck balance is great with no neck dive.
The neck pocket is super tight; the string alignment is perfect over the pickup and the nut is well cut.
The thing that amazes me the most is the neck construction. Correct me if I’m wrong but the neck and fingerboard seems to be constructed from one piece. If I compare to my other basses even the ones with a maple fingerboard have a separate maple strip of maple for the fingerboard laminated to a maple neck. My stingray seems to be just one piece, neck AND fingerboard. Is this possible? If it is, then it’s beautiful…
The fretwork is perfect. I never like the jumbo frets of regular production stingray’s so those small frets are super nice.
Setup:
The setup from the box was great. A bit too low for my taste but I understand some people might like that. To me this setup (low string height with a lot of relief) gives the classic clacky sounding SR sound so many people have. It’s not really what I’m looking for so I got the strings higher at the bridge and straighten the neck. The trussrod wheel is something every instrument builder should use. It’s so practicle!
Once the setup was at my taste, the sound became alive. One interesting point: I did notice the shy (low volume) G-string problem many people mention. It was definitely there. Once the bass had the correct relief and the strings were higher, the problem was resolved. I also played with the pickup height a bit so I’m not sure exactly what the solution was but the problem was resolved to my satisfaction.
Sound:
The bass sounds like a musicman, no surprise. Heavy and bright by nature with wonderful note definition. I’ve always found stingray’s to be very in front in the mix and now I understand why. While by itself it may be a sound that’s a little aggressive, in the mix it just punch heavily. I can clearly see why soundman’s would like this bass. All the definition you need with great bottom. That said, we have to be careful with the highs as there’s room to get excessively bright past the mid-point. On the plus side, the bass control is usable is its whole range. It also don’t boost the volume like other preamps (aguilar) do.
Conclusion:
It’s the stingray I’ve always wanted. Beautiful look, great construction, playability and wonderful sound. With all those qualities, I can understand why some of you get so fanatical of those instruments and don’t play anything else.
I’m happy to join the EBMM family!
