It's a toss up for me. I prefer maple over ebony but I prefer the Smoked Chrome finish.
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EBMM StingRay Special Club
- Thread starter MultiScaleMale
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On looks, I like the smoked chrome. As for tone, IMO, I didn't gel with the ebony board on my first special. I like the maple neck tone but the sparkle in the smoked chrome would be hard to pass up for me. I'm contemplating a clear pickguard to show more of the sparkle off. Maybe.
Yeah, I'm that guy with the wrapper on the pickguard until it falls off. What about it?
The Black Rock is pretty cool. Looks like a Silverburst, but the Smoked Chrome is really eye catching in person. It looks like a Galaxy far, far away.
Sorry I don't have access to any other pictures at the moment.
That’s a sweet looking finish! Very much like the Charcoal Sparkle I had but the black edges really do make the sparkles pop!
I was wondering if the black edges is a fingerprint magnet. I have a Sandberg in Tobacco Sunburst with similar black edges and that thing attracts fingerprints and stains like nobody’s business. Im wondering if that’s also an issue with yours.
I prefer my Charcoal Sparkle with the roasted maple headstock. It's a birdseye cut of maple and the splash of tan with black and grays works on this one, IMHO. You may be onto something with a bass that already has color, though.
Sure, but you have to make a choice here. You can't just pick and choose which body and which neck you want to put together....
Sure, but you have to make a choice here. You can't just pick and choose which body and which neck you want to put together....
I really wouldn't be able to say as weird as that may sound. While I play a lot and I'm all over the stage, I do baby my stuff and I'm always conscience of my surroundings. Plus I hate fingerprints so I always wear a wristband and when handling my basses it is always by the neck and bottom strap lock and I clean them after every use. You'll never see any of my basses dirty which is why I can't say if it is or isn't. Sorry
Agree 100%.
I'm pretty sure i've seen you post that before?
It's no secret that I'm a tort lover, but I never would have thought to put tort on the Charcoal Sparkle. But, after having the idea put into my head, I do think you make a great point. I think it would work especially well if it had enough yellow in it to tie in with the maple headstock.
But I also think the standard black pickguard looks great with the black hardware and ebony fretboard, too.
You might be already aware but my understanding is the new BlackRock finish is actually matte paint. Few implications there in terms of durability to dents and whatnot, feel, and most matte/satin finishes dont age well because spots where you contact alot will become shiney.
Personally i would go with the sparkle finish.
I've talked / complained about this before but what is it about the consistancy on finishes lol. This Charcoal sparkle looks dope, but then the other pictures posted it has a blackburst. Its like in 2023 they kept all the same finishes as the year before but got a new paint guy who sprayed a black border around every finish lol.
I really wouldn't be able to say as weird as that may sound. While I play a lot and I'm all over the stage, I do baby my stuff and I'm always conscience of my surroundings. Plus I hate fingerprints so I always wear a wristband and when handling my basses it is always by the neck and bottom strap lock and I clean them after every use. You'll never see any of my basses dirty which is why I can't say if it is or isn't. Sorry
Agree 100%.
No worries - this is actually quite telling. The fact that you are very careful about how your bass and that fingerprints isn’t an issue for you means that it isn’t so bad. I guess another to look at it is that it’ll force me to regularly wipe my basses after each use.
Thanks for helping me make my mind up. I am aware that the Black Rock has a matte finish but having never owned a matte/satin finish bass before, it is really interesting to note you brought up the fact that they do not age well. You may be right because I don’t ever recall seeing an aged matte finish thinking they look good. Smoked Chrome it is! Thanks a lot for the help.
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Oh yeah....
Interesting, I think the HH looks even better with the tort than the single does.
I think you may be confusing charcoal sparkle and smoked chrome. Smoked chrome has the black border around it. Charcoal sparkle never has.
