19mm EBMM 5 string: fact / fiction?

[dickfitts]

I keep hearing about how the company ALMOST did one, on more than a couple occasions, under decades of popular demand. I've done enough fruitless digging to just post a thread about this and see if they ever followed through.

Their 4 strings are some of the most comfortable wood I've ever sported. If they could just duplicate that format in a 5, for the sake of my big dumb fingers...

Thoughts? Resources? Looks like this is a recurring theme and if somebody needs to be pestered to make it a production item I'm happy to lead whatever charge might prove fruitful or pyrrhic or whathaveyou...

 

[eastcoasteddie]

As far as I remember, they tried it once...and tried as in Sterling Ball told everyone to put their money where their mouths are. If Sterling got at least 100 orders, he would do it. But alas the order fell short by about 50% or more. I think he said that was the last he wanted to hear of it...which was about 12 years ago. Every so often it gets brought up as sort of a joke...

However, G&L was recently working on a 19mm L2500. As far as I know they built one to test, then revised it for more testing....

 

[dickfitts]

From what I've deciphered they gave TB members like two weeks to order 125 instruments to make it a viable production run, but I've been unable to locate the original thread (if there is one). This whole affair is starting to sound suspiciously Polybius at this point and I'm genuinely contemplating the potential psychedelic qualities of the tryptophan experience and if I'm really experiencing today or if it's just a particularly deep and delirious post-Thanksgiving nap...

I'd like to think that with instrument sales in the pandemic era higher than they've ever been: might be the perfect storm to break a mold and ask for something unique new. Unless they actually got made at one point...

 

[Dr. Cheese]

From what I've deciphered they gave TB members like two weeks to order 125 instruments to make it a viable production run, but I've been unable to locate the original thread (if there is one). This whole affair is starting to sound suspiciously Polybius at this point and I'm genuinely contemplating the potential psychedelic qualities of the tryptophan experience and if I'm really experiencing today or if it's just a particularly deep and delirious post-Thanksgiving nap...

I'd like to think that with instrument sales in the pandemic era higher than they've ever been: might be the perfect storm to break a mold and ask for something unique new. Unless they actually got made at one point...

It was a real thread and I posted on it. Sterling Ball made his point, but I do not believe he would have such a short leash on something he really wanted to do. The bottom line is that it’s his company, if you want a five string Music Man bass, you buy it the way he sells it.

 

[eastcoasteddie]

125 instruments to make it a viable production run

They should try it again because these days EBMM is making a lot of viable production run instruments in numbers much smaller than that - like 26 Cliff Williams Icon Series basses....for $7000 each.
(Yes, all proceeds are donated to charity...but really, who is actually doing the donating...?)

I honestly don’t think Sterling wanted to do it. His stance has usually been “if you don’t like how we build instruments, don’t buy them”

 

[Dr. Cheese]

They should try it again because these days EBMM is making a lot of viable production run instruments in numbers much smaller than that - like 26 Cliff Williams Icon Series basses....for $7000 each.
(Yes, all proceeds are donated to charity...but really, who is actually doing the donating...?)

I believe the issue was always Mr. Ball’s ego, not the ability to made a wide spaced Stingray or its commercial viability. I just don’t think he appreciated a bunch of forum nobodies telling him what he should do.

 

[dickfitts]

Ok, good to know and thanks for verifying.

Indeed it's Sterling's outfit, true enough indeed. Boy I'd love to see it though! Seems like there's maybe a few others out there who feel similarly. Hmmmm...

It was a real thread and I posted on it. Sterling Ball made his point, but I do not believe he would have such a short leash on something he really wanted to do. The bottom line is that it’s his company, if you want a five string Music Man bass, you buy it the way he sells it.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

I just had a thought; I was out shopping with my kids when I responded first to this thread, and I stopped off at GC on the way home where I played this Sterling Stingray Classic. The bass could use a minor setup and fret end dressing, but it is an excellent version of the Stingray for $499 new. It occurred to me that if he were interested, Sterling Ball could easily introduce a wide spaced Sterling Classic Stingray Five for $600. That would make it only a little more than a Squier five and cheaper than a Tribute. I suspect Sterling Ball would not go for it, but if he ever did, this would be the way to do it with the least risk, and the imports are close enough to the real thing that many pros would buy them as second basses.

 

[jim nolte]

They should try it again because these days EBMM is making a lot of viable production run instruments in numbers much smaller than that - like 26 Cliff Williams Icon Series basses....for $7000 each.
(Yes, all proceeds are donated to charity...but really, who is actually doing the donating...?)

I honestly don’t think Sterling wanted to do it. His stance has usually been “if you don’t like how we build instruments, don’t buy them”

Yup,that’s why I sold my SR5 and bought a Fbass and never looked back, the other thing I remember about that thread was that you could have that fantasy 19 mm SR5 in any color,as long it was black .

 

[dickfitts]

Absolutely!! They'd sell a ton more of them and they'd be fun to mod. Not at all saying that because my master plan would be to swap out the electronics for multicoil humbuckers and a dual lowpass filter preamp either...

I just had a thought; I was out shopping with my kids when I responded first to this thread, and I stopped off at GC on the way home where I played this Sterling Stingray Classic. The bass could use a minor setup and fret end dressing, but it is an excellent version of the Stingray for $499 new. It occurred to me that if he were interested, Sterling Ball could easily introduce a wide spaced Sterling Classic Stingray Five for $600. That would make it only a little more than a Squier five and cheaper than a Tribute. I suspect Sterling Ball would not go for it, but if he ever did, this would be the way to do it with the least risk, and the imports are close enough to the real thing that many pros would buy them as second basses.

 

[Rayjay]

I was really hoping for that and especially in a 5-string Cutlass

 

[lomo]

I am one of those who was eager for a Ray 5 with 19mm spacing. Mr. Ball was thoroughly obnoxious in that thread.....offered the bass only in black and from the get go approached the entire affair with a chip on his shoulder.....acting as though he was doing the universe a big favour and proving a point equal in significance to the 1st law of thermodynamics. From my standpoint as a consumer/bassist, it was an epic fail on multiple fronts. I await G & L's offering. Thus far that company seems to see it as a new feature that just might bring in some more business.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

I am one of those who was eager for a Ray 5 with 19mm spacing. Mr. Ball was thoroughly obnoxious in that thread.....offered the bass only in black and from the get go approached the entire affair with a chip on his shoulder.....acting as though he was doing the universe a big favour and proving a point equal in significance to the 1st law of thermodynamics. From my standpoint as a consumer/bassist, it was an epic fail on multiple fronts. I await G & L's offering. Thus far that company seems to see it as a new feature that just might bring in some more business.

It would be great to drop a preamp into a wide spaced Tribute Kiloton 5.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

It was an "offer" set up for failure to prove his point and then he used the charity to deflect any criticism, IMHO. There was a bit of an anti-TB thing going on in the EBMM forums back then and TB'ers making fun of EBMM fan boys. That has mostly mellowed out, so let's keep it that way. Technically 19mm was offered and only 2-3 people put up the money, so Sterling Ball was right, you can't sell 100 19mm SR5 to individuals only within a two week window. I swore off EBMM products for a long time after that as it really left a bad impression. Forgive and forget. Well, forgive, I guess.

 

[ModuMan]

I remember this as well. I was one of those who would have really liked a black SR5 in 19mm despite already owning a black SR5. But I didn't pony up. Can't remember if I genuinely couldn't at the time or was put off by the whole attitude of it. It was clearly intended to fail.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

It was an "offer" set up for failure to prove his point and then he used the charity to deflect any criticism, IMHO. There was a bit of an anti-TB thing going on in the EBMM forums back then and TB'ers making fun of EBMM fan boys. That has mostly mellowed out, so let's keep it that way. Technically 19mm was offered and only 2-3 people put up the money, so Sterling Ball was right, you can't sell 100 19mm SR5 to individuals only within a two week window. I swore off EBMM products for a long time after that as it really left a bad impression. Forgive and forget. Well, forgive, I guess.

I admire your attitude. I am still a SR5 fan although I do not own one. I really like wide spacing on fives, but I have always been able to handle narrower spaced fives that did not have tiny Soundgear style necks. The bottom line is that nothing else sounds quite like a Stingray.

 

[joeyl]

I am one of those who was eager for a Ray 5 with 19mm spacing. Mr. Ball was thoroughly obnoxious in that thread.....offered the bass only in black and from the get go approached the entire affair with a chip on his shoulder.....acting as though he was doing the universe a big favour and proving a point equal in significance to the 1st law of thermodynamics. From my standpoint as a consumer/bassist, it was an epic fail on multiple fronts. I await G & L's offering. Thus far that company seems to see it as a new feature that just might bring in some more business.

I remember that thread and how abrasive/jerkish his responses were. I was in the market for a Music Man then and that kinda turned me off from the brand. I assembled an MM clone with a pre-Ernie Ball MM pickup and John East electronics I hoarded over the years to make sure my dollars did not go to his company.

 

[dickfitts]

Funny enough that's almost exactly where I'm thinking myself: Alan Cringean just re-released the John East EQ 01 preamp, I snagged two of them. I might follow your path on this, in my quest to assemble a Frankenstein-esque "Ernie Wal". I think I may start searching for a clone body / neck! Good thinking...

I remember that thread and how abrasive/jerkish his responses were. I was in the market for a Music Man then and that kinda turned me off from the brand. I assembled an MM clone with a pre-Ernie Ball MM pickup and John East electronics I hoarded over the years to make sure my dollars did not go to his company.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

These incredibly rare, but both American and import TCB made some nice Stingray 5 alternatives.

 

[logdrum]

Yeah - I always wondered why Ernie Ball had smaller spacing for the 5 string. That is why I sold mine. But this was when the printed Bass Player mag was still the only source of info and the trend was neck-through 19mm and 35 inch scale and active pickups.

Not too digress too much but TUNE Japan just went all out with 19mm - 36 inch scale on their BEB series. I happen to have the 6 string. I can literally use the neck as a ramp for loading a motorcycle into the back of the truck.