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Can a brothah get a MM Stingray 6 string?

#22
aasti3000 said:
Immigrant and blendermassacre - what do you mean by basswood? (Sorry, still learning the "bassists" terminology)
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Basswood is a type of wood, pronounced like the fish. It's light and was generally considered a lesser wood because it doesn't look good without finish. It sounds different than other woods, but the overall sound depends on how much influence the pickups and pre has. The EB type pickup has a very strong tonal character and the subtle differences in wood are less apparent.
 
#23
Not to thump the tub of one of my endorsed companies, but Carvin will make an LB76 6 string bass with one or two Music Man style humbuckers with coil tap option. I have one they built for me in 2003 with the MM bridge pickup, an H50N stacked coil in the neck position (my basses need to be quiet for studio work) and even the Ghost piezo pickups in the bridge. They will make a lot of different configurations and I can vouch for the fact that you can get close to MM tone with the LB76 and some knob twiddling. You could also likely drop in MM pickups and electronics aftermarket if you can get them.
One of my students had a Bongo at my bass camp last week and it sounded great, BTW. Another reason they may have gone that direction is that the Bongo is, to my knowledge, the only Music Man with a 24 fret neck. Since a lot of 6 players want as much range as possible that makes sense.
 
#24
Can a brothah get a six string Stingray? Absolutely not, and how dare you even ask...

That's basically the response you'll get from ol' Sterling Ball himself, and his mindless army of fanboi followers. I've seen those guys insult so many bass players for simply wanting their basses in a configuration that better suits them. Seriously, don't even pose the question, or you might end up like me, a former MM fan turned MM hater. You won't catch me dead playing anything with the Ball name on it, because I just can't support an arrogant s.o.b. who comes out and personally disses his fans for asking for something he doesn't make. Spend your money with someone who cares, as a few others have mentioned, a custom luthier. /rant
 
#25
aasti3000 said:
Immigrant and blendermassacre - what do you mean by basswood? (Sorry, still learning the "bassists" terminology)
Click to expand...

Basswood's just a type of wood mate. I think some of the squier classic vibe's and vintage modified's are made of basswood, correct me if I'm wrong.

And I agree with you about the looks, but they play fantastic and sound, well, FANTASTIC! Wish I could afford one, but unfortunately I can't.

And what's with EBMM's attitude ATM?
 
#26
Roy Vogt said:
Not to thump the tub of one of my endorsed companies, but Carvin will make an LB76 6 string bass with one or two Music Man style humbuckers with coil tap option. I have one they built for me in 2003 with the MM bridge pickup, an H50N stacked coil in the neck position (my basses need to be quiet for studio work) and even the Ghost piezo pickups in the bridge. They will make a lot of different configurations and I can vouch for the fact that you can get close to MM tone with the LB76 and some knob twiddling. One of my students had a Bongo at my bass camp last week and it sounded great. Another reason they may have gone that direction is that the Bongo is, to my knowledge, the only Music Man with a 24 fret neck. Since a lot of 6 players want as much range as possible that makes sense.
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Yes Carvin will make a bass the CUSTOMER actually wants. Very customer friendly company.
 
#27
jim777 said:
I'd be willing to bet the only reason there is a 6 string Bongo is that John Petrucci told Sterling Ball to make John Myung happy :) I don't think EBMM cares all that much what folks want from them, honestly. They certainly like it if the public likes what they like and what they produce, don't get me wrong, but I don't think the public influences them that much in terms of new ideas and such. They have their own way of doing things that has been very successful for them and that's what they tend to do.
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Mind you, the public had cried for an MM5 with a 19-mm string spacing at the bridge. And they gave it a shot. And not even 10% of the people who said they'd buy it purchased it in the end.


Ric5 said:
Ernie Ball won't make a 6 string Stingray and Rickenbacker won't make a 5 string 4003/4004 bass.

Find a luthier and have them do a custom one-off or build it yourself.
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Ric won't make a 6-string 4003. :crying:
 
#29
RFord04 said:
Can a brothah get a six string Stingray? Absolutely not, and how dare you even ask...

That's basically the response you'll get from ol' Sterling Ball himself, and his mindless army of fanboi followers. I've seen those guys insult so many bass players for simply wanting their basses in a configuration that better suits them. Seriously, don't even pose the question, or you might end up like me, a former MM fan turned MM hater. You won't catch me dead playing anything with the Ball name on it, because I just can't support an arrogant s.o.b. who comes out and personally disses his fans for asking for something he doesn't make. Spend your money with someone who cares, as a few others have mentioned, a custom luthier. /rant
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Attitudes against the fans of your basses? ***?

Stealth - I didn't know that.

Roy - I did try a Carvin and it did sound good but the feel just wasn't there. And I just followed the advice given to me that "if it doesn't feel right in your hands then don't get it". But you're saying they'll custom make a neck that'll feel right for me?

Rford - I think I will just talk to the luthier I found in my area then before I get the Steve Bailey Fender VI. Actually, it's 2 people. One builds the bass and the other handles all of the electronics. I actually was under the impression that to have a custom bass built that it would cost tons of doe but it sounds like you guys are saying that if you can afford one of the top brand of basses then you can afford to have a luthier build one to suit your needs. Just learning all this...still a newbie. This all is very educational.

Spade2you and Josiah - Thanks for the info. Didn't know.
 
#30
Stealth said:
Mind you, the public had cried for an MM5 with a 19-mm string spacing at the bridge. And they gave it a shot. And not even 10% of the people who said they'd buy it purchased it in the end.




Ric won't make a 6-string 4003. :crying:
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But they put a very small order window for it ... between a week and a month ( don't remember but too small ) so people didn't have the time to turn on their heel. It seems no one saw that one coming.

It feels like they did it on purpose to say :" Told ya it wasn't a good idea"
 
#31
Clef_de_fa said:
But they put a very small order window for it ... between a week and a month ( don't remember but too small ) so people didn't have the time to turn on their heel. It seems no one saw that one coming.

It feels like they did it on purpose to say :" Told ya it wasn't a good idea"
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That was a trip. People were too literal in saying that they'd buy one in a New York minute (I think that was the term), but they gave folks 4-5 days to do so. There were SEVERAL TBers who did what they could and tried to sell gear to accomplish the small window.

Personally, I don't think they're that great in the low B department and thought the fanbois are kinda odd in the sense that nobody else would get angry if some "n00b" wanted to buy a custom shop bass. Giving the false hope and making sure it failed seemed like a jerk move.
 
#33
aasti3000 said:
4 to 5 days? I should have never started this thread because I'm stating to feel different about MM company. (But I still love my Stingray).
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They let ya off really easy by not insulting you. ;) Very odd indeed.

That being said, Carvin is an option that won't break the bank. As far as custom basses go, the sky is the limit.

The Bongo is still a decent bass. The body is really comfy. I just don't get along with the low B or fret work.
 
#35
The only reason a Bongo is made in 6 is because of John Myung, period. If he hadn't said go they never would have done it, EB could care less about what players want because players let them down, as mentioned remember the 19mm string spacing Rays... people are all talk.

Also, I amazed nobody has mentioned that they won't make a 6 becuase it would suck.... hard... a sloppy B with (probably) a super anemic C string. Don't forget Rays are famous for a weak G string, why would C comes through any better?
 
#36
DiabolusInMusic said:
The only reason a Bongo is made in 6 is because of John Myung, period. If he hadn't said go they never would have done it, EB could care less about what players want because players let them down, as mentioned remember the 19mm string spacing Rays... people are all talk.

Also, I amazed nobody has mentioned that they won't make a 6 becuase it would suck.... hard... a sloppy B with (probably) a super anemic C string. Don't forget Rays are famous for a weak G string, why would C comes through any better?
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Oh yeah, it was a 19mm 5 string Ray, not a 6 string. Some people are all talk, but there were people who did their best to come up with the funds in such a limited window. Had they been reasonable and gave it a week or two, it might have gone through. However, I think most realize they didn't want to build it in the first place, so they made sure it couldn't succeed.

Had I wanted it, I could have probably put down the $. I'm still human and have bills, so not every possible moment is convenient for splurging like that. Most of my purchases are planned long in advance.
 
#37
EBMMs are great basses, for what they offer. I was so put off by the difference in appearance of the 5 string Stingray as opposed to the usual 4 (how shallow am I?) that I went to a different brand of bass because of it!
Now they have a Classic 5er,but I have NO GAS to fuel my ardor.
 
#38
DiabolusInMusic said:
Don't forget Rays are famous for a weak G string, why would C comes through any better?
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DiabolusInMusic - I'm a newbie bass player so maybe my ears don't hear this "weak G string". My stingray sounds fine to me....I love it. I'm running through a Markbass Combo and sounds great. But again...I'm a newbie. So this John Myung is the sole reason for the 6 string Bongo.
 
#39
spade2you said:
Oh yeah, it was a 19mm 5 string Ray, not a 6 string. Some people are all talk, but there were people who did their best to come up with the funds in such a limited window. Had they been reasonable and gave it a week or two, it might have gone through. However, I think most realize they didn't want to build it in the first place, so they made sure it couldn't succeed.

Had I wanted it, I could have probably put down the $. I'm still human and have bills, so not every possible moment is convenient for splurging like that. Most of my purchases are planned long in advance.
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well said....
 
#40
aasti3000 said:
DiabolusInMusic - I'm a newbie bass player so maybe my ears don't hear this "weak G string". My stingray sounds fine to me....I love it. I'm running through a Markbass Combo and sounds great. But again...I'm a newbie. So this John Myung is the sole reason for the 6 string Bongo.
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I'm NOT a newbie, and I've owned over 9 EBMM SR5's and never a weak ANYTHING over here. Maybe that was an isolated incident.
 

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