Is this true about Musicman Bass quality?

Poplar is a perfectly fine tonewood, which is used on MM's with solid colour finish. The transparent finishes are painted on ash bodies. I saw a recent MM ('99 or '00 I think) in a store with birdseye neck and also, I think, birdseye fretboard. So IME what you've heard is not true.

 

As a matter of fact, there are renowned bass builders who consider birdseye maple to be less than optimal for neck construction and greatly prefer maple with a good straight grain... so it's not really a sign of quality. This refers to the neck itself, not the fretboard, where figuring would have less of an impact.

 

As I sit here looking at 14 assorted Music Man Sterlings, Stingrays, and Stingray 5's....


...where did you hear this goofiness?

Quality and customer service are neck-and-neck for job #1 at Ernie Ball. I've never seen a bass come from them that wasn't perfect, and anytime a customer has had the slightest problem or complaint, they've responded aggressively to correct the problem.

Among the "factory made" (i.e. not made by "hand" in a small shop by a single person or a small group, like Alembic or MTD) basses, I'd say they're the best I've seen.

All that said, I don't play one myself, I just think very highly of the basses and the company that makes them.

 

Well, I have a '92 musicman with the solid color/poplar body and to me, it has certain small tonal characteristics that the new ones don't have. But generally, every musicman I've ever played has been well constructed with top notch attention to detail.

 

I have. All of them suck.

No but seriously, a Sterling I played (and tried to like, but couldn't) in a store had some goofiness D) going on with its knobs. Just had to say it.

 

I have to disagree Gard. I've seen at least 4 of them that had serious flaws. All of them had the same flaw. They costed more than I had in my wallet at the time!

 

I agree with Gard. I played 4 or 5 different MusicMan basses at Long & McQuade in Toronto a couple of weeks ago and they all felt amazing, looked solid and pretty and sounded the way a MM bass sounds. The only thing I don't like about them is the high price but they are quality instruments.

 

You have to consider that the aging process of wood has a serious effect on the tone quality. Sure, a new bass is going to sound a little different than a 10-year-old bass. In ten years, each will sound different than it does now.

As for the construction quality and craftsmanship, I would call it outstanding. As for the expense, I don't consider it excessive. I think that EBMM basses compare favorably to similarly-priced instruments, and compete with some that are more expensive. (Pedulla comes to mind)

 

I also wanted to add that was in the GC a few days ago, and they had a 'Ray 5 in a nice cherryburst oversprayed with sparkleflake clearcoat. Rosewood board. I played it for a while. The subtle roundness in tone with the dark board made it an excellent compliment to my L-2500 (ash with maple). As soon as I struck a string, I knew I wanted it.

I tried it this way and that before delicately placing it back in its cradle. As I was leaving, I had to look back over my shoulder at it one more time. There may be a romance brewing.

Chas

 

All right, the myth has been dispelled.

All that remains is for lo-end to tell us where he got his info...


How about it?

 

Ten days ago I purchased a Stingray in Burnt Apple. It's absolutely gorgeous. I E-mailed Ernie Ball as to what type of wood this is made of, mine being a solid color. I was told that it's most likely ash. He said the great majority of Stingrays are made of ash, solid or translucent, and only a fraction are made of poplar. So, it's NOT true that all solid color Stingrays are made of poplar (not that that's neccessarily a bad thing).

 

All of the EB/MM basses I've seen have been flawlessly constructed but lately when I've looked at some Silhouette and Morse signature models the neck pockets had big gaps. They weren't even close to being tight. No excuse for it and if it was delivered to me I'd send it right back.

 

knobs are easily abused by stupid careless bass shoppers at GC.. that might have been the problem

 

Did I say that?

 

Might have been. Couldn't have been anything serious, for the bass was apparently sold the next time I visited the store.

 

Hey lo-end, didn't you just get an American Precision? You already need a new bass? Oh well, Musicman makes a sweet bass. Maybe you should have saved an extra few bucks and got an American Deluxe Precision. They are killer.

Later,

Dan

 

When I got the itch for a new bass, I played everything at GC for under $2000. I had never considered a Stingray, because I heard they were " 1 trick ponies", but when I picked it up, I knew I didn't have to try Another one.

The fit and finish of mine is flawless, and as far a birdseye maple necks, I don't know, but mine has a gorgeous flamed neck. (Thanks Gard)

Dave