A New Bass Day Tale

[Wicked G]

Warning: Long thread ahead.

Throughout the years I have primarily gigged with ESP, Schecter, BC Rich and Dean basses. Several years back I purchased a couple of Sterling Ray34's and really liked the punch.

That led me to trying G&L and I purchased 2 Tribute M2000's which sounded more muscular to me than the Ray34's.

They sounded so good that I stopped using the Rays and sold them. Eventually I missed them, but I wanted them to sound more muscular. So I was pretty happy when Sterling finally came out with the Stingray Ray34HH's.

Now we're talking. Killer Stingray tone with plenty of beef behind it.

All of this led me to finally give Fender a chance. I'm not a big fan of their headstocks and body styles, but hey if they sound as good as the Stingray Ray34HH's and G&L's, then I will be pretty happy.

Oh yeah, these 2 Jazz Basses are really good. Very impressed. 75th Diamond Anniversary Jazz and a Plus Top Limited Edition Jazz.

So where am I going with this you may ask? Well, I luckily ran into a bonus at work recently for working through the pandemic at the office.

Needless to say I was not expecting this at all. So I decided to go shopping for another bass only this time I was going to get myself a pricey one since this kinda thing doesn't normally happen to me.

I'm going to go ahead and play it for a bit as I am using it tonight. We're playing with a Zeppelin Tribute band so perfect timing on picking it up yesterday.

While I'm playing it I'm going to let you guys throw in your guesses on what it might be. I'll be back in an hour or so with pictures of it and a quick impression on it. No poll but feel free to say carrots.

Hint: it's not carrots.

 

[bholder]

I like the blue flamed one.

 

[ricardol]

Needless to say I was not expecting this at all. So I decided to go shopping for another bass only this time I was going to get myself a pricey one since this kinda thing doesn't normally happen to me.

I'm going to go ahead and play it for a bit as I am using it tonight. We're playing with a Zeppelin Tribute band so perfect timing on picking it up yesterday.

While I'm playing it I'm going to let you guys throw in your guesses on what it might be. I'll be back in an hour or so with pictures of it and a quick impression on it. No poll but feel free to say carrots.

1962 Fender Sunburst Jazz Bass

 

[Roger W]

1962 Fender Sunburst Jazz Bass

That would definitely be pricy.
An EBMM Stingray Special HH?

 

[BassmanM]

We're playing with a Zeppelin Tribute band so perfect timing on picking it up yesterday.

Another Fender Jazz bass, American Original or American Pro.

 

[JLY]

Used Sadowsky Metro?

 

[wvbass]

I'm going to bet the Zep show is just a chance to put your new bass on stage and not a Jazz/Alembic reference.

You "stepped up" to an EBMM StingRay HH?

 

[Wicked G]

That would definitely be pricy.
An EBMM Stingray Special HH?

I'm going to bet the Zep show is just a chance to put your new bass on stage and not a Jazz/Alembic reference.

You "stepped up" to an EBMM StingRay HH?

Ding ding ding ding ding.

Yes I did get an EBMM Stingray Special 4HH in HD Yellow with a roasted neck. The last one in the warehouse. The neck and headstock are actually darker than the pictures. More like a coffee brown.

The neck is really comfortable to play and the tuners are smooth. The thing that really surprised me is the tone. It sounds just like the SBMM Stingrays. It really shows me just how good the SBMM's are.

Sure the EBMM has the nicer tuners, 18 volt preamp, better nut, lighter weight and smoother neck, but playing them next to each I really don't notice the difference all that much.

I like the bass a lot. There really isn't anything negative to say about it. Anything. I'm just finding the price difference a little hard to swallow.

Then again the Fender American Professional II Jazz Bass in roasted pine and the Dark Night weren't all that different from my MIM's either.

So again I really like it a lot, but I'm just not feeling the OMG feeling I thought I would.

 

[Roger W]

Congratulations!!
I see an Ampeg cab back there; can you provide any comparison between Ampeg and the Orange amp and cabs you're using?

 

[wvbass]

Nice! I'm not a fan of many of the finishes/color combinations that EBMM has done lately, but I really like this one. Looks great, and I already know how it plays and sounds.

 

[InhumanResource]

Ding ding ding ding ding.
View attachment 4403337 View attachment 4403338 View attachment 4403339 View attachment 4403340 View attachment 4403342 View attachment 4403344 View attachment 4403345 View attachment 4403346 View attachment 4403347 View attachment 4403348
Yes I did get an EBMM Stingray Special 4HH in HD Yellow with a roasted neck. The last one in the warehouse. The neck and headstock are actually darker than the pictures. More like a coffee brown.

The neck is really comfortable to play and the tuners are smooth. The thing that really surprised me is the tone. It sounds just like the SBMM Stingrays. It really shows me just how good the SBMM's are.

Sure the EBMM has the nicer tuners, 18 volt preamp, better nut, lighter weight and smoother neck, but playing them next to each I really don't notice the difference all that much.

I like the bass a lot. There really isn't anything negative to say about it. Anything. I'm just finding the price difference a little hard to swallow.

Then again the Fender American Professional II Jazz Bass in roasted pine and the Dark Night weren't all that different from my MIM's either.

So again I really like it a lot, but I'm just not feeling the OMG feeling I thought I would.

Nice. Looks like a pretty cool venue too. Play in good health.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Warning: Long thread ahead.

Throughout the years I have primarily gigged with ESP, Schecter, BC Rich and Dean basses. Several years back I purchased a couple of Sterling Ray34's and really liked the punch.
View attachment 4402799

That led me to trying G&L and I purchased 2 Tribute M2000's which sounded more muscular to me than the Ray34's.
View attachment 4402804
They sounded so good that I stopped using the Rays and sold them. Eventually I missed them, but I wanted them to sound more muscular. So I was pretty happy when Sterling finally came out with the Stingray Ray34HH's.
View attachment 4402803
Now we're talking. Killer Stingray tone with plenty of beef behind it.

All of this led me to finally give Fender a chance. I'm not a big fan of their headstocks and body styles, but hey if they sound as good as the Stingray Ray34HH's and G&L's, then I will be pretty happy.
View attachment 4402805 View attachment 4402806 View attachment 4402807
Oh yeah, these 2 Jazz Basses are really good. Very impressed. 75th Diamond Anniversary Jazz and a Plus Top Limited Edition Jazz.

So where am I going with this you may ask? Well, I luckily ran into a bonus at work recently for working through the pandemic at the office.

Needless to say I was not expecting this at all. So I decided to go shopping for another bass only this time I was going to get myself a pricey one since this kinda thing doesn't normally happen to me.

I'm going to go ahead and play it for a bit as I am using it tonight. We're playing with a Zeppelin Tribute band so perfect timing on picking it up yesterday.

While I'm playing it I'm going to let you guys throw in your guesses on what it might be. I'll be back in an hour or so with pictures of it and a quick impression on it. No poll but feel free to say carrots.

Hint: it's not carrots.

I love that player jazz. I almost walked out with one a couple times

 

[luciens]

Strange but true: you don't have to play a Jazz Bass to do LZ tunes. It may sound a little weird, but you can do them on another bass.

For example, here's my now-deceased Carvin Bromberg 5 fretless plinking around with LZ, sort of. I recorded this about 7 years ago on a practice amp, but you get the idea:



Would I have gigged in a LZ band with this tone? Probably. The audience wouldn't have known, I don't think. If they insisted, I'd have just turned on the neck PU...

My latest project is YYZ on my L2000 fretted bass. I've also been working on it on my Tony Franklin, but that's almost a bridge too far. But the L2000 gives a surprising sound on YYZ that's completely different than GL's sound.

Anyway, the moral of the story is, not only is it ok to try a different bass than the original artist, it might be cool to try a completely different sound, especially if your tone isn't like the origina artist generally...

L

 

[Wicked G]

Congratulations!!
I see an Ampeg cab back there; can you provide any comparison between Ampeg and the Orange amp and cabs you're using?

Sure. I have played that exact rig before as it is the house rig (Ampeg/GK). I know that head very well as I own the 700rb II. It's capable of a lot of boom and sizzle, but that Ampeg does not translate it very well at all.

No matter what you do with the EQ all you are going to get is gnashing mids. I don't like it at all which is why I brought my Orange. The OBC115's have beautiful mids and can also give you all the low end and highs that you want. Really nice cabs IMHO.

Nice! I'm not a fan of many of the finishes/color combinations that EBMM has done lately, but I really like this one. Looks great, and I already know how it plays and sounds.

Thank you. I really like the color also. I was interested in the Frost Green and Dropped Copper as well, but when I saw this one online and was told it was the last one in the warehouse plus the big price drop they were going to give me, well it became a no brainer to me.

It's now off of the website as well as others like MF so I know they weren't lying to me. I think the yellow goes really well with the roasted neck which looks quite a bit darker than the pictures.

Nice. Looks like a pretty cool venue too. Play in good health.

Thanks. It is a nice venue to play at and they like us there. We play there a lot and were asked if we could play with a Van Halen Tribute band in two weeks. Since the date was still available, of course we said yes.

I love that player jazz. I almost walked out with one a couple times

It is a very nice sounding bass plus it's light and the neck feels awesome. It's the reason I went back and bought the 75th Diamond Anniversary Jazz Bass and what made me also go back and check out the American Professional II Jazz in roasted pine and the Dark Night when I completely changed my mind and checked out the Stingray instead. The quality, tone and feel of the Player is really impressive. I really like it a lot.

Strange but true: you don't have to play a Jazz Bass to do LZ tunes. It may sound a little weird, but you can do them on another bass.

For example, here's my now-deceased Carvin Bromberg 5 fretless plinking around with LZ, sort of. I recorded this about 7 years ago on a practice amp, but you get the idea:



Would I have gigged in a LZ band with this tone? Probably. The audience wouldn't have known, I don't think. If they insisted, I'd have just turned on the neck PU...

My latest project is YYZ on my L2000 fretted bass. I've also been working on it on my Tony Franklin, but that's almost a bridge too far. But the L2000 gives a surprising sound on YYZ that's completely different than GL's sound.

Anyway, the moral of the story is, not only is it ok to try a different bass than the original artist, it might be cool to try a completely different sound, especially if your tone isn't like the origina artist generally...

L

In case there's a misunderstanding here, I don't play in a Zeppelin Tribute band. My band played a show with a Zeppelin Tribute band and we'll also be playing with a Van Halen Tribute band in two weeks.

 

[wvbass]

I was interested in the Frost Green and Dropped Copper

The dropped copper is one I like too. I have a fiver in Frost Green - Tbh, I'm not a huge fan of the color, but it checked every other box. Plus, the first Ray5 I ever saw was a blue burst of some sort and this one is reminiscent of that.

 

[Wicked G]

The dropped copper is one I like too. I have a fiver in Frost Green - Tbh, I'm not a huge fan of the color, but it checked every other box. Plus, the first Ray5 I ever saw was a blue burst of some sort and this one is reminiscent of that.

I have not seen a frost green in person yet, but would like to. If you don't mind posting a picture of it here, I'm pretty sure there are others who would like to see it as well as I. I've seen a picture of the dropped copper with a black pickguard.

 

[wvbass]

I have not seen a frost green in person yet, but would like to. If you don't mind posting a picture of it here, I'm pretty sure there are others who would like to see it as well as I. I've seen a picture of the dropped copper with a black pickguard.

Normally, I wouldn’t post my own bass in someone else’s NBD thread, but since you asked…

I swapped out the black pickguard for a white one. I thought the dark pickguard with the roasted neck made the whole bass look too dark. I actually ordered the white guard from EB before the bass even arrived.

 

[B-Mac]

Ding ding ding ding ding.
View attachment 4403337 View attachment 4403338 View attachment 4403339 View attachment 4403340 View attachment 4403342 View attachment 4403344 View attachment 4403345 View attachment 4403346 View attachment 4403347 View attachment 4403348
Yes I did get an EBMM Stingray Special 4HH in HD Yellow with a roasted neck. The last one in the warehouse. The neck and headstock are actually darker than the pictures. More like a coffee brown.

The neck is really comfortable to play and the tuners are smooth. The thing that really surprised me is the tone. It sounds just like the SBMM Stingrays. It really shows me just how good the SBMM's are.

Sure the EBMM has the nicer tuners, 18 volt preamp, better nut, lighter weight and smoother neck, but playing them next to each I really don't notice the difference all that much.

I like the bass a lot. There really isn't anything negative to say about it. Anything. I'm just finding the price difference a little hard to swallow.

Then again the Fender American Professional II Jazz Bass in roasted pine and the Dark Night weren't all that different from my MIM's either.

So again I really like it a lot, but I'm just not feeling the OMG feeling I thought I would.

Nice score! Last one in the warehouse! Not too shabby!

 

[Wicked G]

Normally, I wouldn’t post my own bass in someone else’s NBD thread, but since you asked…
View attachment 4403970
View attachment 4403972
I swapped out the black pickguard for a white one. I thought the dark pickguard with the roasted neck made the whole bass look too dark. I actually ordered the white guard from EB before the bass even arrived.

Nice. It looks lighter than I thought, but that could be the pickguard doing that. I like it.

Nice score! Last one in the warehouse! Not too shabby!

Thanks. When I got the email with the receipt and a link to the page, it wouldn't come up anymore. Lol. Then I looked for it at MF and several other sites and it was gone.

 

[P. Aaron]

Geez! Nice basses! And gear! You’re your own bass section at a nice music store.

Congrats on getting what you want.