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Music Man Caprice: True Boutique Quality

#181
Dr. Cheese said:


My favorite store just got a Music Man Caprice in today. I was pretty skeptical because the P/J has been done more times than anyone can count. The Caprice is not ground breaking, but it is incredibly well executed. The fit and finish is absolutely boutique in quality. The finish of the neck reminds me of a Lull Jazz I played at Bass Central about eight years ago. The fretwork is flawless. The neck size reminds me of a Sterling. I am guessing the weight is 8 lbs. The only issue I noticed was a buzz on the open A that I am sure can be easily fixed.

The large pole piece pickups are incredibly loud and clear. I am pretty sure there is a dummy single coil out of sight on the Caprice because it is dead silent. The pots are all first rate and very responsive.

This bass is a great player. It would be a great bass for someone who only wants one bass. I absolutely loved playing it. I have to be careful because I love playing around on fours, but I really prefer fives when gigging. That said, this a bass worth saving up for. A young guy could probably be gigging this bass thirty years later without missing a beat.

The Caprice can hang with Sadowsky, A-C, you name it. This is a $1,700 bass that feels like a $3,500 boutique.
Needless to say, it crushes any Fender P/J I have ever heard or played. The same goes for class Yamaha P/Js too.
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Three months after it first came out, I think the Caprice is the best new model bass I have seen this year. I have been playing my Atlas four a lot lately, and contrary to what a lot a people say, a standard tuned four string in Gospel is quite functional. That said, if I ever get a Caprice, I will install a Hipshot D-Tuner. A Caprice would be worth selling off a few basses to help finance it.

That's it. My love of the Caprice has not died since I first played one in August. I still think it is the kind of bass a young guy could buy and keep playing for the next thirty years.
 
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#182
I had a chance to play a Caprice today for the first time. Went to GC to buy a cable and walked over to the bass dept and what do ya know, they had the sunburst one hanging on the wall. The amp selection was lacking so I plugged into a Rumble combo. The bass was really comfortable and light, neck felt great too. Killer tones from each pickup separately. I'd like to hear it out of my amps as the Rumble left
a lot to be desired.
I want one. I don't need it at all as I already have two PJ's. Hmm, what can I sell?
 
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#183
TrentB said:
I had a chance to play a Caprice today for the first time. Went to GC to buy a cable and walked over to the bass dept and what do ya know, they had the sunburst one hanging on the wall. The amp selection was lacking so I plugged into a Rumble combo. The bass was really comfortable and light, neck felt great too. Killer tones from each pickup separately. I'd like to hear it out of my amps as the Rumble left
a lot to be desired.
I want one. I don't need it at all as I already have two PJ's. Hmm, what can I sell?
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I played a sunburst Caprice myself today. This is simply a well designed bass with no flaws. I honestly prefer five string basses, but the Caprice just feels right and sounds great. Hopefully, I can buy one next year.
 
#185
Dr. Cheese said:
I played a sunburst Caprice myself today. This is simply a well designed bass with no flaws. I honestly prefer five string basses, but the Caprice just feels right and sounds great. Hopefully, I can buy one next year.
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I thought both pickups on their own sounded great. The J pickup tone alone was awesome full on. Super thick sounding for a J in that position.
 
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#187
Well I played one at GC in Greensboro, NC and the setup was shameful, and the bass had been generally abused. Sad, especially since I was so looking forward to testing one out. Bass was nice and light with a smallish body, but the action was horrendous to the point the bass was pretty well un-playable. Plus it was obvious the bass had been abused to the point of not even passable as a store demo, more like a blemished item than even close to a new one.

Of the five or so GC's I have visited, this store has the poorest overall appearance and general condition of instruments. They were quite busy, mainly younger "non-customers" who were making it their business to be as much as an annoyance as possible. My friend and I were there as more than just "tire-kickers" - but most of their new inventory of +$1K basses were in heavily used condition. We had actually made the trip to check out a blue Music Man HH but it was beat all to crap, reduced to $1300 or so, but sadly really a $800 bass at best.

Nothing like the experience I enjoy at Asheville, NC's GC for sure. But they have no new Music Man basses. Only SBMM.
 
#195
Bought a used/almost new Caprice from Reverb, white/white/maple. Of the 20+ I own, this has my sole attention. I'm partial to PJ configuration, but these PUs are larger hum buckers each with big sound. Has the same low-end clarity of my MM Sterling without the battery. Remarkable tone, and the best workmanship I've seen from a large production shop. No string-through option, but I don't miss it. The neck compares to my Fender Jazz American Special with a nice thin C profile and yellowed tint, ultra smooth. If you're considering one, go for it.
 
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#196
halfwound121 said:
Bought a used/almost new Caprice from Reverb, white/white/maple. Of the 20+ I own, this has my sole attention. I'm partial to PJ configuration, but these PUs are larger hum buckers each with big sound. Has the same low-end clarity of my MM Sterling without the battery. Remarkable tone, and the best workmanship I've seen from a large production shop. No string-through option, but I don't miss it. The neck compares to my Fender Jazz American Special with a nice thin C profile and yellowed tint, ultra smooth. If you're considering one, go for it.
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Yes, those punchy and quiet humbuckers plus the fit and make the Caprice a boutique level bass.
 
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#200
keithbroussard said:
Does anybody know if the pickups in the Caprice are able to be replaced? The J-style pickup looks slightly larger than a standard J style pickup. I am looking into getting one soon and I may love the sound right out of the box but I did want to ask this question "just in case".
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I know some folks love to tinker, but the Caprice is really expensive to buy with the idea of swapping pickups. A major source of the Caprice's attractiveness is that the bridge pickup is not the typical Jazz single coil. It is humbucker that can bring much more beef to the bridge position than a standard P/J.
 
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