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Ernie Ball Musicman Owners

#25
I love my 4 HH SR! I got the slo special with the jazz/sterling-profile neck, which took some getting used to as I'm used to playing normal SRs, but now I love it. Construction, feel, everything! Just right. :D

I tend to think of the 2nd (outer) selection as close enough to the jazz double single tone for me, while 4 and 5 are my P approximation. 4 is a bit too smooth though, used to be my favourite. My new favourite is position 2 (outer coils) with the mid boosted a fair bit, so grindy and punchy. That setting scoops out a fair bit of mids, but if you put them back it kills.


IotaNet said:
As someone who really "resisted the hype" for a long time, I'll have to say that these are really good instruments. The quality is consistently high and their customer service is excellent.

EBMM's have a signature tone that is somewhat unique to the brand and is present across the product line in some degree or anther. Some folks will tell you that this tone is so prevelant that the bass is a "one trick pony" and only good for this or that kind of music.

I disagree for a few reasons:

1) Every EBMM has a pretty powerful preamp that lets you do some aggressive tone-shaping.

2) While the EBMM signature tone can sound a trifle bit clanky at times when played alone, it sits in a mix EXTREMELY well -- in all kinds of music. It flat-out works.

3) EBMM offers some of most varied electronics choices available in bass-dom right now ... H, HH, HS, HSS, SSS, Hp, HHp, HSp. You can also get EBMM's with 2-band, 3-band, or 4-band preamps and most have a series/parallel option as well as active/passive switches. And they all work as advertised.

With all this, plus a wide variety of body shapes/styles, you should really be able to fiind SOMETHING in the EBMM lineup that suits your tastes and your gig.

My personal sense is that the company discourages modding of their basses and offer no support or options for such. That said, I don't think they need very much of that -- they work right out of the box.

These are great axes that do a great job. Here's a gratuitous photo of my three ...

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Click to expand...

The grain on that honeyburst is DELISH!!!
 
#26
Much love for the EBMM's!

...Unfortunately, I'm one of those people who has done the unthinkable and modded my SR5. :mad::hiding::mad:
Replaced the stock preamp with a Glockenklang 3-band that I removed the blend pot from (my SR5 is a single H).
Replaced the stock 3-coil pickup with a 4-coil Nordstrand MM5.4 which has a slightly darker sound and AlNiCo magnets instead of ceramics (this is no longer true of the newer SR5's).
I'm personally loving this change, but I will say that EBMM's sound amazing out of the box and will go on to further +1 adding flats to your bass. I've got mine currently strung up with D'Addario Chromes, but am going to be trying some DR Sunbeams since I've been meaning to ever since they came out. I imagine that my foray into rounds will only be short-lived however and that I'll be going back to the flats once the rounds go dead.
 
#27
A Glockenklang preamp sounds interesting. Can you give me info on it ? From what I know it was expensive. Also what was the reason for the mods? What year is your 5 ? I hope noone from MM finds out we've been discussing mods. There could be hell to pay! HA!
 
#29
I don't understand the bassmonkey post.

One thing I have noticed since I've owned MM guitars is the high intensity that goes along with having one. Not like just having a bass. It's more like owning a pet. I think my Sterling was breathing a little while ago!
 
#31
hiho,I,ve got a sub 4 and I bought it in 93 cause I prefer the finish and scratch plate over the coffee table wood grain thing.
Having gigged and recorded this bass the only mod has been a hipshot d-tuner and stadium elites strings and a couple of batteries.
I know they are not everyones cup of tea but if in doubt ,musicman out.Some people look down their nose at these basses and consider them an inferior bass hardly fit to have the musicman name but I love the bullet proof finish ,build quality and simple 2 band vibe.
To me it is the perfect working bass.
 
#32
zenrad said:
Leo Fender designed the Stingray. HE wanted to take the bass to the "next level" ...


Sterling Ball helped design the Bongo. Up until that bass it's really all Leo...
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This is not accurate AFAIK. Sterling Ball was part of the team that designed the original Stingray. Sterling actually worked for the original Music Man company long before Ernie Ball bought it.
 
#33
There is a thread over at their forum where I asked Sterling this question.
He said he just worked there but did not have any design input on the SR and that some of the info on whicki about MM is incorrect.
As I understand it much of the Bongo body design was farmed out and the electronics were done in house
 
#34
Its true that modding an Ernie ball bass will destroy its re sale value as most people looking for one are not interested in a bass that has been messed with. Ernie Ball does not support modding their instruments the way fender does and doesnt sell parts to the public such as pickups, pre amps, necks etc. This tends to really upset some people but it is their choice to limit the number of "frankenRays" floating around out there.

I have 5 Ernie Ball basses with a sixth en route and would not change a thing about them. I used to mod every bass automatically but now seek out basses that don't need anything changed. It takes away a lot of guesswork and I find I enjoy them a lot more. I spent more money modding a Mexi Fender jazz then I paid for my last used Stingray and the jass never gets played. The Mexi Jazz is worth nothing to re sell but I could re coup what I spent on the Stingray at any time. Something to consider. :)
 
#35
Jim C said:
There is a thread over at their forum where I asked Sterling this question.
He said he just worked there but did not have any design input on the SR and that some of the info on whicki about MM is incorrect.
As I understand it much of the Bongo body design was farmed out and the electronics were done in house
Click to expand...

Yeah, I don't think watching Leo work when you're a kid qualifies as helping design the instrument. :)
I think I saw a video on the EBMM forum where Sterling talked about those days.

The EBMM Sterling is just a smaller bodied Stingray with a narrower neck and ceramic magnets in the PUPs, so aside from some preamp changes the 'Rays and Sterlings are basically slight variations on the bass that Leo built.

The Bongo was designed by BMW with the assistance of Sterling Ball, other members of EBMM worked on developing the electronics and so on. That's the first bass EBMM produced that isn't a continuation of Leo's design.

There's plenty of info at the EBMM forum, I just go there to read though. It's not the place to discuss a differing opinion about their products...or anything really. You can't even talk about other brands of strings there, or post photos of your 'Ray that include another bass brand in the photo. :rollno:
 
#37
No worries; whicki did have some interesting info on the start of MM and CFL which was Leo's other company that made the parts for MM to assemble, the QC problems, and Grover Jackson being the guy that assembled the last batches.

Ultimate info on earlier instruments can be found here:
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#39
zenrad said:
The EBMM Sterling is just a smaller bodied Stingray with a narrower neck and ceramic magnets in the PUPs, so aside from some preamp changes the 'Rays and Sterlings are basically slight variations on the bass that Leo built.
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P and J differences
1. Electronics
2. Pups
3. Neck width
4. Body shape

And we consider the P and J two different basses

SR and Sterling differences
1. Electronics
2. Pups
3. Neck width
4. Headstock size
5. Body size
6. Number of frets

There are more differences between the SR and Sterling than the P and J. Who will say that the Jazz is just a variant of the Precision?

Pretty much the only thing EBs have in common is the signature bridge humbucker and the basic double cutaway shape. None of the models in the entire lineup have the same electronics and switching options.
 

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