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MM S.U.B.

#21
sj_bass said:
Sub'd. I'd like to see other TBer thoughts on this. I've played ebmm and pre-ebmm basses for over 30 years. In fact, right now is the first time since '78 that I didn't have a Ray...
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I ALSO have the same history with Music Man Basses. I got a black '03 SUB some time back and, frankly, was very impressed. it has a sound close to the OLD passive MM's. The body's paint is what many people dislike. I believe it was a marine epoxy as it's SO tough, it's bizarre. It's also slightly textured and not too easy to remove.
"Playability" issues are mainly the painted neck, which people with moist hands occasionally don't enjoy. It doesn't bother me what so ever.
It is the last of any low priced USA-made Music Man & it's likely to be the last of most any USA-made bass below $800-$900.

I was VERY lucky as I got mine for $400 and new, virtually un-played. it simply sat in a hard case in a closet.
They Slap like any other MM, six bolt neck is very solid and the board was very nice.

I had heard that some units had poor fret tang insertion and moderate Rosewood. Mine was VERY nice with an unusually straight neck and very well done frets: Rosewood was quite dark and close grained. The body is very rudimentary with no "comfort curves". It's a very simple cut and paint body. The sustain on this instrument is some of the best (longest) I have heard in a very long time.
However this was a REAL '03 with a VERY low serial number & could have been a display. The pick guard sucked beyond reason and was a thin alloy embossed type. That was replaced immediately it was that ugly. unfortunately SUB pick-guards are often confused with OLP or Sterling PG's and occasionally have to be fitted.
The nut was lame also, it was plastic & the spacing didn't appear to be hand-fitted. But those two things took minutes to replace.
Since I like ultra low actions and this neck was straight I dropped the action down to the lowest it would go and still be able to bend a note. That was when I realized that the frets were excellent. I would recommend this bass with no reservations for someone who wants a passive Music Man (Slap sound is very "Ringy" but fingers are very "growly") and wants to keep the cost down
 
#22
itchy said:
Anybody want a white S.U.B?
PM me ;)
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I so want one 4 string sub in white... but unless you are in the UK, it won't happen this time.

I have a SUB 5 string in black with black guard. I echo previous comments: fantastic bass.

One thing about the pickups. For some reason it seems some are wired in parallel (like mine), and most are in series. If you truly want to nail the Stingray sound, rewire it so that the two coils are in parallel. Then it totally nails it.
 
#23
john grey said:
I ALSO have the same history with Music Man Basses. I got a black '03 SUB some time back and, frankly, was very impressed. it has a sound close to the OLD passive MM's. The body's paint is what many people dislike. I believe it was a marine epoxy as it's SO tough, it's bizarre. It's also slightly textured and not too easy to remove.
"Playability" issues are mainly the painted neck, which people with moist hands occasionally don't enjoy. It doesn't bother me what so ever.
It is the last of any low priced USA-made Music Man & it's likely to be the last of most any USA-made bass below $800-$900.

I was VERY lucky as I got mine for $400 and new, virtually un-played. it simply sat in a hard case in a closet.
They Slap like any other MM, six bolt neck is very solid and the board was very nice.

I had heard that some units had poor fret tang insertion and moderate Rosewood. Mine was VERY nice with an unusually straight neck and very well done frets: Rosewood was quite dark and close grained. The body is very rudimentary with no "comfort curves". It's a very simple cut and paint body. The sustain on this instrument is some of the best (longest) I have heard in a very long time.
However this was a REAL '03 with a VERY low serial number & could have been a display. The pick guard sucked beyond reason and was a thin alloy embossed type. That was replaced immediately it was that ugly. unfortunately SUB pick-guards are often confused with OLP or Sterling PG's and occasionally have to be fitted.
The nut was lame also, it was plastic & the spacing didn't appear to be hand-fitted. But those two things took minutes to replace.
Since I like ultra low actions and this neck was straight I dropped the action down to the lowest it would go and still be able to bend a note. That was when I realized that the frets were excellent. I would recommend this bass with no reservations for someone who wants a passive Music Man (Slap sound is very "Ringy" but fingers are very "growly") and wants to keep the cost down
Click to expand...

I don't understand a lot about your post.
Old passive MMs? They have always been active. The only foray into passive came with the SUB.
Confusing SUB guards with OLP? they are completely different shape.
Slab body is not unusual for a SUB. they all are slab body.
Unusual straight neck? It would be unusual for it not to be straight. MM's QC seems pretty good.

Apart from that :-) totally agree.
 
#24
Apologies: it was poorly worded (no coffee): I should have written an adjective to distinguish those issues:
The SUB had a slab body that some find uncomfortable ( & added "yet that is the norm"). Or perhaps some sentence to separate it's existing element & subjective comfort level.

The pick-guard issue is one that I had some purchasing trouble with - I had two orders messed up. I requested a SUB PG and (some company called Pick Guard World or something) sends me OLP, send it back they send me a Sterling, send it back they send me (I believe another OLP) as I eventually had to fit the thing. I did this after they told me that "this is a Music Man PG take it or leave it". I explained prior to them "does this fit MM SUB model?, etc, etc" - It was a very exasperating site to deal with. Hell I most likely screwed up their name but I wouldn't want to give them a word of publicity as they were a serious pain.
Regarding the neck: due to the time period & the instrument not being played the neck could have been in all sorts of shape. The point I was attempting to make was that as a neglected instrument it was in great shape. Additionally it's common in the USA at large companies for a new instrument to not be setup (no matter the firm manufacturing) & the relief to be so wide that the neck is severely bowed.While I would agree that MM has good QC I have also seen much higher priced units (such as a Bongo) with the Truss-Rod set in such a manner as to achieve a substantial bow (I saw several a few weeks ago). What is more, there has been some criticism of the SUB neck by certain individuals. So in this instance I would stand by that statement - that this was a very well fitted, well maintained, straight neck to address the past discussions of problems therein.
We all come to discussions like these with subjective personal experiences and it is my belief that obviously they may not all apply in another's experience.
 
#27
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Absolutely love mine. Paired with DR Black Beauties, it sounds SWEET. I actually like the paint. It's different, and it can take abuse (not that I actually do that), but most importantly, NO FINGERPRINTS. My previous main bass was a Fender Aerodyne Jazz, aka fingerprint magnet.

I'll probably get a matte black pickguard eventually.
 
#28
Wow, that pickguard purchasing episode must have been truly exasperating!!!

For those looking to get a replacement, the Stingray guards fit perfectly.
A bit of a problem, though, if you have a SUB5... although now that the Classic series is out, maybe we can find the round type guard for 5strings too.
Alternatively, I second the suggestion of Pickguard Heaven. That's where I got mine (matt black 3ply) for my black SUB5.
 
#30
upandb said:
I actually like the paint. It's different, and it can take abuse (not that I actually do that), but most importantly, NO FINGERPRINTS.
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Oh my. :eek:

That looks just like mine! Man, that's an ugly bass! :D

It's hard to exaggerate how incredibly hard that finish is.

The first thing I did when I got it home was to smack it really hard against a chrome cabinet corner. BAM!

Not a scratch. Not a trace of one. Amazing.
 
#32
I have noticed that under lights on stage the paint has an almost metalic sparkle to it and sparkles with the colour of the lights almost like flip flop paint they use on cars.
I must admit I like marmite basses-Rick,Thunderbird.
I got mine when they come out because it looked right to me.I always liked the stingray but I didn,t like the cosmetic look of a regular one and the SUB floats my boat.
If they had made one in black with a maple neck then I would be in heaven.
I have said it before they are the perfect gigging bass-rock solid
 
#33
onosson said:
If anyone is looking to replace their SUB pickguard, I ordered a custom guard from "Pickguard Heaven" Pickguard Heaven: Pickguards for Every Guitar for my 5-string SUB ... it fit like a charm, I would definitely recommend checking them out.
Click to expand...

Remember, it only happened if there are pics to prove it...

Oh... NBD!!!

Picked up a SUB-5 today! After reading this thread, and lamenting about the loss/sale of my old SR-5, I bought a charcoal SUB locally from a fellow bassist. Can't wait to try it out, but yeah... I'm not a fan of the diamond plate, so I guess it's "Pickguard Heaven" for me (unless I can flip over the stock guard... after all, it 'looks' symmetrical...)

Must update my pics soon... AFTER I change out the pickguard.
 
#34
sj_bass said:
Picked up a SUB-5 today! After reading this thread, and lamenting about the loss/sale of my old SR-5, I bought a charcoal SUB locally from a fellow bassist. Can't wait to try it out, but yeah... I'm not a fan of the diamond plate, so I guess it's "Pickguard Heaven" for me (unless I can flip over the stock guard... after all, it 'looks' symmetrical...)

Must update my pics soon... AFTER I change out the pickguard.
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Congrats on your SUB, looking forward to pics.

If you're lke me, you'll find the underside of the stock plated pickguard even uglier than the top side.

Pickguard Heaven is a great resource for pickguards, I've used them many times. But for my refinished SUB, I couldn't find a stock pre-cut SUB pickguard that fit. The SUB guard is drilled and cut slightly different than a standard MM 'Ray-style pickguard.

I wanted something clear, thin, and custom cut to my SUB, so I sent the original pickguard to Terrapin Island Custom Pick Guards

They cut me a thin .060" clear guard to perfection. Highly recommended if you can't do better elsewhere.

Good luck with your new bass!
 
#35
It was mentioned somewhere else on this thread but I'll second it. DR Black Beauties are THE string for this bass. They emphasize the deep lows the SUB 5 is capable of going to and roll off just a bit of the top end that can be problematic with some Stingrays. Really allows the best of the preamp and pickup combo to come out.
 
#36
I have both an active and passive SUB I think both around 2006 -2008.

The active is disappointing in that I cant get the treble/bass co-ordinated so far. Also getting way too much clip. Of course its used so might try to get a pro setup and see if that helps. Jet black with industrial chomey thingy pickguard ...not pretty

Bought the passive new.Dark Grey black pickguard. Great mids and crunch. Lows a bit dull but still powerful. 2 band passive eq gives easy flexibility and range. Heavy as hell but nice action. This ones a keeper.

Might swap for lime green classic stingray
 
#37
hdracer said:
I have a last year made model and it has the same tuners AND bridge as a regular SR along with the compensated nut.
As I said before, EVERY year was different.
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don't part with that - except to me please.

My greatest bass regret was selling my last year SUB before I left Korea (mind you it paid my way home and to Thailand...)

it had the regular tuners, bridge, and compensated nut....and damned if that wasn't a near perfect playing and feeling bass - played over 200 shows and recorded a couple CDs with it....figured it was replaceable...have had a few more, all decent, but nothing like that one.... :)
 
#40
Some final comments (with respect to John Grey cheers) about the MM SUB bass before I buy a new P Bass.

1. Body Paint is tough and can sparkle with right colored lights.
2. Painted neck? get some wd40
3. Frets and fingerboard fine especially with the darker rosewood. Good low action but can twang on higher notes. Needs setting up well.
4. Pick guard? Thanks to contribs here on suppliers. Will be looking for an Abalone with extra purples and greens soon.
5. Passive? I thought all MMs were active.
6. Strings. Using a .105 on the G string and finding it ok.
 

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