Is it Musicman or Fender....or Both??

[dudelove]

i better like MM than fender, in look and sound. but fender is not that bad, so im om g&l

 

[RaginRog]

I used to be a Musicman-man, now I am a Fender-man.....man.

I've flip-flopped before...even sold a Dargie I had about a year ago...went straight Fender, and then decided I can get a close enough P bass sound with my Jazz basses...so I sold 2 P basses, and picked up a couple of MM basses.

I have one Fender Jazz 4 and one MM SR5 - I like them both, but!! If I had to pick one I would say Fender!! The sound I get from the MIA Jazz is unique to any other bass that I have had the privilege to play.

If I was told I could only bring 1 bass with me to a remote island...rather than Wilson the volleyball...I'd likely take my Sunburst Jazz....BUT...if I was told I could only bring one bass to record with, it would be my Sterling HS.

I'm waffling!

I had an American Fender J back in the day that was a pretty darn good bass. It was transparent tangerine, so it looked really good!

But after 30+ years of playing live in every imaginable kind of gig and genre, I am totally in love with my EBMM Sterling 5 HH. There's nothing I want in bass tone that I can't tweak outta that thing. Plus it's light, and small, and the neck is fast, and it's Medallion Gold so it looks sexy as hell (especially in flash photos... yowza!).

But, it's such a personal thing. Lots of guys get everything they need out of a passive P bass. Meh, who the hell knows? If you strap on a bass and dig in at a gig and you're smiling, life is good. Play what you love, love what you play, and rock on!!!!

You must have posted a picture of that bass on the EBMM forums a couple of weeks back...very nice indeed.

After having a few examples of each, I have come to the conclusion that I prefer Fender. I like MM, but don't love them. Even if I want a more modern sound, there are other brands I prefer over EBMM. Nothing wrong with EBMM, they make great stuff. Just not for me.

I know everyone says that Fenders are great basses to record with, but I must say that for rock & punk, my Sterling a Stingray are incredibly punchy....as a matter of fact...my guitarist will ask for it that way. "Hey Sanchez, bring the punch bass."

 

[RaginRog]

I've owned 2 Stingrays. Both had deadspots. Got rid of them abot 7 years ago and don't plan on trying them again.

I've had plenty of basses with deadspots...My 2010 Am Std Jazz has one...My new Stingray does as well; however, my Sterling doesn't.

Go figure....

 

[RaginRog]

I have Fenders and love them. For the look, sound and playability they are hard to beat.

Having said that, I also really like the MM tone in other peoples hands but personally I have been unable to get a good tone out of the ones I have tried.

So I voted for Fender. All hail the "F"!

It does take a while. I have noticed that when I play through my Markbass cmd 102p and 115 hr (2x10 + 1x15), my Fender Jazz basses sound better than my MM basses; however, when I play through my other rig which is a Markbass LMIII & a Peavey 410....the MM basses (Stingray & Sterling) rule the Jazz basses. So basically I think you need an amp that works well with the either bass.

 

[Fuzzbass]

Love 'em both.

Caveat: I now play five string, and the MusicMan Ray 5 will never be an option because the string spacing is too narrow for me. Most Fender fivers have standard spacing and feel great. So maybe I should have voted Fender...

 

[theduke1]

BBE May Manage G&L, but it is his last creation, the last designs for the man who created the electric bass.
So Parsons you are correct, and we all have our personal favorites, mine is G&L
Rock on
Peace and love!

 

[MtManiac]

G&L the only TRUE guitar by Leo still in production...

Does that, IYO, make it better somehow...?

 

[RaginRog]

G&L is no more a true Leo guitar than anything else ever done by Fender. BBE has managed that company for 20 years... just like every other company Leo developed, it has been passed along to someone else.

Doh!

 

[RaginRog]

Love 'em both.

Caveat: I now play five string, and the MusicMan Ray 5 will never be an option because the string spacing is too narrow for me. Most Fender fivers have standard spacing and feel great. So maybe I should have voted Fender...

Do you play a 5 out of necessity, or is it because you've become accustomed to playing notes in the lower register on a B string?

It sounds like your a fan of the tone...not the spacing...

-Captain Obvious signing off!!

 

[RickeyC]

I voted both because i have played all types of both and love them all. Right now, however, I'm playing my new American Deluxe Jazz V from Fender and love every second of it! Amazing tone, great neck, and absolutely beautiful! (3TSB)

 

[Fuzzbass]

Do you play a 5 out of necessity, or is it because you've become accustomed to playing notes in the lower register on a B string?

It sounds like your a fan of the tone...not the spacing...

-Captain Obvious signing off!!

I played four strings (mostly Fender and MM) for 20-odd years, and had Hipshot Xtenders on all of them because of the occasional need for lower notes. Then I tried a fiver, and decided that I liked it better even when I didn't need the low notes -- it's great to have additional range in each fingering position even when playing above the 5th fret.

And yes, I'm a huge fan of the MusicMan tone... it's just that the string spacing on the MM fivers is too narrow for me. The Ray 4 feels great, but since Y2K I've played fivers exclusively (note: don't get me wrong -- all I'm saying is that five string is better for *me*.)

I've mentioned this to EB/MM and asked if they'd ever make a "wide" fiver, but their reply essentially said "thanks for the feedback, no plans now but we'll take it under consideration". Translation: "we're selling plenty of fivers as is, so there's no need for us to go through the expense of tooling up for a different version to serve a relatively small section of the market". And even though this is unfortunate for me, I can't blame them at all.

 

[jlepre]

Guess who I voted for...

 

[RaginRog]

I played four strings (mostly Fender and MM) for 20-odd years, and had Hipshot Xtenders on all of them because of the occasional need for lower notes. Then I tried a fiver, and decided that I liked it better even when I didn't need the low notes -- it's great to have additional range in each fingering position even when playing above the 5th fret.

And yes, I'm a huge fan of the MusicMan tone... it's just that the string spacing on the MM fivers is too narrow for me. The Ray 4 feels great, but since Y2K I've played fivers exclusively (note: don't get me wrong -- all I'm saying is that five string is better for *me*.)

I've mentioned this to EB/MM and asked if they'd ever make a "wide" fiver, but their reply essentially said "thanks for the feedback, no plans now but we'll take it under consideration". Translation: "we're selling plenty of fivers as is, so there's no need for us to go through the expense of tooling up for a different version to serve a relatively small section of the market". And even though this is unfortunate for me, I can't blame them at all.

Have you ever given the 5 string Bongo a try...I believe they have a shallower, but wider fretboard...unfortunately, they're not the most attractive bass.

 

[RaginRog]

Guess who I voted for...

Hey J...funny I was searching old posts on the EB forums yesterday and came across one where you mentioned getting temporarily banned from TB for bumping a "for sale" thread....AND...here you are voting for "Balls."