Does Anyone Still Play Music Man Basses

[PleyswethSqwerl]

The Stingray 5 was my main bass for many years. I still have one as well as a Stingray 4 and I occasionally play them, but neither are my number #1.

I think of Music Man (and in particular, the Stingray) as one of the top 4 historic basses, which also includes the Fender Precision, the Fender Jazz and the Rickenbacker 4003.

I think Music Man popularity might have waned a little, but that may be in part to:
1) Having so many choices now, including designs and models based on Music Man (for example, Sire just released the very MusicMan/Lakland inspired Z Series basses).
2) The price of new USA made Music Man basses being significantly higher than their competitions' counterparts, making them less affordable to the average person.

I recently played a new Stingray 5 Special and it was a very nice bass.

After posting this thread, I just now looked up price and yes, I will say that this is why it is affected as it’s popularity has declined. $3000 for a bass that could possibly potentially be made of basswood in this economy is not efficient when you can get a Pbass or a Jbass for half the price

 

[jmattbassplaya]

Read my newest reply they won’t say what the other ones are made of they say “select hardwood”

The modern StingRays are made primarily of either alder (solid colors) or ash (transparent colors). Poplar has been used in the past, but I’m not sure if that’s the case with the Specials. Bongos are 100% basswood, which is a perfectly fine body wood.

 

[_Obra_]

Artists

John Petrucci, Steve Lukather, Steve Morse, Albert Lee, St. Vincent, James Valentine and more artists trust Ernie Ball Music Man with their tone. Shouldn't you?

www.music-man.com

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

Read my newest reply they won’t say what the other ones are made of they say “select hardwood”

Isn't basswood considered a softer wood?

I remember seeing a video on the development of the Bongo and they had initially investigated using alternatives to wood, but ended up settling on wood and particularily basswood because it sounded the best. Just because it is relatively cheap does not mean it is not good. I suspect that the higher cost of Music Man instruments is the labour costs.

 

[Wood and Wire]

Ok guys!!! After doing a quick research of musicman “In my opinion” you’re getting ripped off. They are using Basswood the most cheapest unreliable wood for a bass body and charging people almost $3000. They are so ashamed of saying that it’s Basswood because they know consumers will probably stop by and get that they classify it on Sweetwater site as “Select Hardwood.” If you are OK with paying almost 3 grand for a bass that uses basswood. Cool to each his own. I personally don’t like that wood, but that’s just me others might.

...so you've decided that means they're using basswood, and it's a fact.


No, they aren't using basswood for StingRays (they never have).

There was a catastrophic decline in the availability of Swamp Ash a few years ago, due to flooding, and the trees rotting and dying - the effects are still being felt in the industry (availability, cost, quality etc), and it's an on going concern

"Select Hardwood" means that depending on the instruments finish (translucent / opaque) it may use Swamp Ash, Alder, or Poplar.

Why We Use Basswood For Our Instruments

Basswood is one of the most frequently talked about tonewoods out there and there are many factors that go into the choice of wood for our instruments here at Ernie Ball Music Man. Our design team …

blog.music-man.com

Changing Times, Changing Timbers: Why the guitar industry’s swamp ash shortage won’t interrupt our mission to make the world’s best guitars.

Wood is at the heart of everything we do here at Ernie Ball Music Man. Step into our San Luis Obispo factory in California and the first thing you’ll see, right at the start of the production proce…

blog.music-man.com

 

[Al1885]

I’m not saying that it doesn’t sound good I’m saying I won’t pay $3000 for very cheap wood like Basswood. That is like a 200% markup for what that stuff cost. If it’s made of alder or swamp ash. Those woods are known for their reliability and withstanding the test of time. Basswood is not. Squire and other manufactures use it because it’s so cheap to get. It may sound OK I don’t know. I just wouldn’t pay almost $3000 for something using it is all I’m saying. however, if a company can buy such cheap wood and can get consumers to pay for it at an astronomical amount, then they have done their job and marketing. I can’t be mad.

The best wood, except for Plywood, are pretty much the one that's properly dried and ready for machining, unless it's going to have natural finish then some dramatic grain would be a big plus.

Between these 2 one cost $2800 and another cost me $350 including mods, both (necks) feel about as good as the other because while refining the finish, I have molested most of my American made satin finished necks to replicate the right feel. From another side of the room you probably can't tell the difference. Both sounds awesome!

A $3000 Bongo Bass is made out of Basswood body. Their claim is from the "Finest Materials". They are just puff/ filler words. I'm a chef, I know the concept of marketing, I don't pay much mind unless I can see the quality of the wood then, it can be Plywood, I'd still take it

FYI, Fender ran a limited series Guitars made from the (cheap) Disneyland ride attractions and priced them at about $15k each (not the lot). Probably over half of the people who bought them don't even play any instruments,

 

[Lance Bunyon]

My Basswood Bongo sounds like a million bucks but I paid $2200. Actually I paid $200 after one of the online services bought my Prius with the blown head gasket for $2000.

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

After posting this thread, I just now looked up price and yes, I will say that this is why it is affected as it’s popularity has declined. $3000 for a bass that could possibly potentially be made of basswood in this economy is not efficient when you can get a Pbass or a Jbass for half the price

They have done well in licensing the designs to make Asian made more affordable models (Sterling by Music Man) while keeping their flagship USA models to Music Man. Those are more readily available in my area than the US models.

 

[Nebadon2000]

Read my newest reply they won’t say what the other ones are made of they say “select hardwood”

They are Ash as is mine;

They may have used some different woods IE; Alder during the 'Ash' crisis hence 'select hardwood'; not sure why still listed but it doesn't say Basswood

On Bongo wood is 'listed' as Basswood and they are more expensive. but I am confident if there was something 'lower quality' about it for Bass Body EBMM wouldn't use it[see below] only semi- negative thing I heard about Basswood[lots of Guitars use it] is that it is a softer wood and may be a little more susceptible to 'Dings"

Now if it was Balsa Wood that would be different

Fender stopped selling Ash Basses also;

My 2019 Fender Ultra Precision Plasma Red that was Ash but discontinued soon after I bought it because of 'Crisis' and they still don't have Ash bodies outside of Custom Shop as far as I know

From EBMM Website; you must of missed it Heading " Why we use Basswood"

Basswood is one of the most frequently talked about tonewoods out there and there are many factors that go into the choice of wood for our instruments here at Ernie Ball Music Man. Our design team prefers to use grain heavy wood to accentuate the look and sound of the instruments, but not all tone woods have such a nice aesthetic, basswood being one of them. Though basswood may sometimes be less expensive to purchase out in the wild, this does not mean that the tone of the instrument will be worse. In fact, in many cases it’s exactly what a player is looking for. Basswood has been used in many high-end guitars for decades and is considered a great tone wood for instruments throughout the industry.

 

[mercbass]

The electric bass peaked with the SR5. Everything after that is just some bass.

 

[Snibborwocky]

Whew, op dodged a bullet not asking about the Bongo model these days. That was a close one.

 

[PleyswethSqwerl]

The Stingray 5 was my main bass for many years. I still have one as well as a Stingray 4 and I occasionally play them, but neither are my number #1.

I think of Music Man (and in particular, the Stingray) as one of the top 4 historic basses, which also includes the Fender Precision, the Fender Jazz and the Rickenbacker 4003.

I think Music Man popularity might have waned a little, but that may be in part to:
1) Having so many choices now, including designs and models based on Music Man (for example, Sire just released the very MusicMan/Lakland inspired Z Series basses).
2) The price of new USA made Music Man basses being significantly higher than their competitions' counterparts, making them less affordable to the average person.

I recently played a new Stingray 5 Special and it was a very nice bass.

After posting this thread, I just now looked up price and yes, I will say that that is why it is affected as popularity $3000 for a base that could possibly potentially be made of basswood and this economy is not efficient when you can get a Pbsd or a Jbass for half price

...so you've decided that means they're using basswood, and it's a fact.


No, they aren't using basswood for StingRays (they never have).

There was a catastrophic decline in the availability of Swamp Ash a few years ago, due to flooding, and the trees rotting and dying - the effects are still being felt in the industry (availability, cost, quality etc), and it's an on going concern

"Select Hardwood" means that depending on the instruments finish (translucent / opaque) it may use Swamp Ash, Alder, or Poplar.

Why We Use Basswood For Our Instruments

Basswood is one of the most frequently talked about tonewoods out there and there are many factors that go into the choice of wood for our instruments here at Ernie Ball Music Man. Our design team …

blog.music-man.com

ahh gotcha i’d like to know which one if I’m gonna drop three grand on it especially if they post a particular one and a particular for that price. However, Harley Benton is using the same materials and charging 200 or $500 tops for some of their basses. Including ones with MM pups so the markup is real.

 

[Wood and Wire]

After posting this thread, I just now looked up price and yes, I will say that that is why it is affected as popularity $3000 for a base that could possibly potentially be made of basswood and this economy is not efficient when you can get a Pbsd or a Jbass for half price

ahh gotcha i’d like to know which one if I’m gonna drop three grand on it especially if they post a particular one and a particular for that price. However, Harley Benton is using the same materials and charging 200 or $500 tops for some of their basses. Including ones with MM pups so the markup is real.

Read the linked articles in my post.

 

[Gluvhand]

We're being played, folks. I'm out.

 

[Al1885]

Harley Benton is using the same materials and charging 200 or $500 tops for some of their basses. Including ones with MM pups so the markup is real.

You just jumped the shark!

 

[Sid Fang]

I still play a Music Man, but only when I play fretless. ‘cos my only fretless is also my only Music Man. It’s true that I haven’t seen a lot of MMs on stage lately, but as others have noted, they’ve gone in and out of fashion a couple of times since the 70s and may well be in an “out” phase.

 

[Brian Patterson]

While I wholly understand your obtuse colloquialism. It is vague and unduly burdensome as this was a post to gauge who still plays it as their go to instrument {emphasis added}. Thus, this rather “smug” reply was largely “superfluous.”

Jealousy is the greatest form of flattery. Good humor is hard to get today....

 

[Nebadon2000]

• Sep 30, 2019 from a post here on TB[They have been back to Ash for a good while now]

Music Man just announced that they will start using Alder and Poplar for their Stingray and Sterling basses. They've been using Ash exclusively recently, but they claim an industry-wide shortage of Ash means they will once again have to use non-Ash body woods.

One consequence of this is that they will temporarily not accept orders for "Natural" finishes. I guess they only want to do that finish over Ash.

Here's some more detailed info from their blog:
Changing Times, Changing Timbers: Why the guitar industry’s swamp ash shortage won’t interrupt our mission to make the world’s best guitars.

R-E-L-A-X as Arron Rodgers would say; You are never going to purchase one

 

[Lance Bunyon]

I think I'll go play my Bongo and stop arguing for a while.

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

I have a very different thesis. It stands that based on the active threads here on the biggest bass site in the universe that EBMM basses remain extremely popular, owned and played.
Never a day goes by that one or more of the EBMM threads isn't refreshed several times.
P bass is to Stingray as McDonalds is to In N Out. Been around longer, there's more of them (because they've been around longer).
EBMM makes better products than FMIC. Pricey? Damn straight. Worth it?
You bet your booties they are.