Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
MM-Trinity
- Thread starter Tumbao
- Start date
Bongo for all three: I'm a big fan that Sterling Ball and company made a conscious decision to break from the norm and design a bass that didn't look as if it stepped out of the '50s or '60s, painted necks don't bother me and I prefer the neck shape compared to both the StingRay and Sterling so playability goes to it as well, and the sound is as if they designed the pickups and preamp around a quarter stick of TNT... and even though some players think that the 4-band "Low-Mids"/"High-Mids" EQ is too complex, I'll be honest and say that I've never been that fond of the 3/5-way Strat-style lever pickup selector and that it plus 3-band EQ makes it too hard to find the "sweet spots" on StingRays and Sterlings (much of the reason that I love the steal of a S.U.B. Sterling I found for my collection for "The Music Man Sound" when called for: the pickup is hardwired in parallel and leaves only the EQ to use - the same as the Bongo, which I'd love to pick up a 5-string in Cabernet Pearl or Orange Firemist one day)
Don't have one yet but I think the intrduction of the Sterling 5 is the answer !
all of the above IMHO
....don't have one "yet"
all of the above IMHO
....don't have one "yet"
Playability goes to the sterling - for me the neck on the Sterling is the best I've ever played. I've owned 4 of them and they've all been great (particuarly the ones with rosewood boards)
for looks its the Stingray
for sound its the Bongo
for looks its the Stingray
for sound its the Bongo
I agree.
A lightweight Stingray 4 body with a Sterling sized neck and the Bongo pickup/electronics would be my perfect MM bass.
That's me too. Sound of a Bongo , Look of a 'Ray and the Playability of the Sterling
I love my Stingrays. They look, play and sound great IMO. The ultimate bass as far as I am concerned.
I used to love my Bongo but sold it to fund another purchase. I would like to get another one down the road as I really miss the tonal versatility. Looks cool to me, sounds great and my 5er was really easy to play.
I owned a Sterling (4 string single H) and suprisingly hated it. Didn't care for the tone AT ALL compared to my Stingrays. They look fine and the neck is nice and thin, but the Sterling just didn't do it for me. The 5 string HH might be worth another look though as I liked playing it for the 5 minutes I spent with it at a guitar store...
I used to love my Bongo but sold it to fund another purchase. I would like to get another one down the road as I really miss the tonal versatility. Looks cool to me, sounds great and my 5er was really easy to play.
I owned a Sterling (4 string single H) and suprisingly hated it. Didn't care for the tone AT ALL compared to my Stingrays. They look fine and the neck is nice and thin, but the Sterling just didn't do it for me. The 5 string HH might be worth another look though as I liked playing it for the 5 minutes I spent with it at a guitar store...
I just cant like stingrays in any aspect, but I love the sterlings. Especially the new Sterling 5. Bongos are cool, but a completely different flavor IMO. Sterling for all three for me
Hmm... Maybe the answer arrived first than the question. It looks like the Sabre bass model is the missing link!
As you are asking for MM opinions I'm going to throw a wrench in here. I like the look of the traditional SR but I hate the way the 5 stringer looks; the SUB5 looks more like a traditional SR than the SR5 does.
