Music Man Caprice: True Boutique Quality

[pickles]

I am still super smitten with my caprice twins. I didn't feel the need to adjust the pickups, but that's just preference. The stock strings are 45-65-80-100 which tends to make D and G sound meatier and louder. I have regular slinkys one one and dunlop ultra bright nickel on the other. Both sound great but if I had to choose I'd go with the slinkys.

 

[AngelCrusher]

Been using my Stingray Classic so much and loving the roasted maple neck that it definitely makes me want a Caprice someday. I just don't really have the desire or need to buy a bass right now, but the Caprice is high on the list when I do.

Anyone playing theirs with flats? I'd love to hear how that sounds.

 

[Joe Nerve]

Out of curiosity, did you raise the pickups just under the D and G string or did you raise the pickups equally at both ends? I'm wondering if I should try the same on my MM basses but not sure if I should raise the entire pickup or just the one end.

I raised them a wee bit on the D, G and lowered them a wee bit on the E, A.

 

[FingerDub]

Just want to drop another quick update.

After raising the pickups, the D and G now seem fine. I'm seriously SERIOUSLY getting into this bass. Have another wedding and club gig this weekend. The bass just feels "right" in every way. It's instantly shot up to #1 on my list, and that doesn't happen often. I buy lots of basses, many I don't even mention here, and most either wind up going right back out or sitting on a stand most of the time. This bass is giving me the same high my Ric gave me, but in a very different way.

That's all. I don't think there's anything left to say about it . From me, anyway. I need to start posting some pix.

I'm sure it's awesome and congratulations...but come on. You know you are going to say that same thing about another bass in a few months... , , .

 

[Joe Nerve]

I'm sure it's awesome and congratulations...but come on. You know you are going to say that same thing about another bass in a few months... , , .

...

Yes. But.

I've owned more than 100 basses. The only ones I REALLY ever fell crazy in love with are, in this order:

Bongo
Big Al
2013 Gibson EB
Rickenbacker
Caprice

That includes lots of Fenders, Warwicks, Ibanezes, Danos, a couple of custom made basses, and lots I can't think of right now. My Antigua Jazz almost made the above list, but I've been mad at it lately for some dumb reasons I won't get into.

 

[FingerDub]

...

Yes. But.

I've owned more than 100 basses. The only ones I REALLY ever fell crazy in love with are, in this order:

Bongo
Big Al
2013 Gibson EB
Rickenbacker
Caprice

That includes lots of Fenders, Warwicks, Ibanezes, Danos, a couple of custom made basses, and lots I can't think of right now. My Antigua Jazz almost made the above list, but I've been mad at it lately for some dumb reasons I won't get into.

Have you ever tried any Spectors? I ask because that's my new current crush and the neck width is super comfortable with a width right in between a P and J, which you both seem to love. And 24 fret P's are hard to come by and I really love the playability. Your list has got me curious about a Gibson though, which I have never tried.

 

[Joe Nerve]

Have you ever tried any Spectors? I ask because that's my new current crush and the neck width is super comfortable with a width right in between a P and J, which you both seem to love. And 24 fret P's are hard to come by and I really love the playability. Your list has got me curious about a Gibson though, which I have never tried.

I've played a few Spectors, though never owned one. They were always too modern sounding for me, and just felt odd in my hands.

The Gibson EB is awesome, and would still probably be a main player if not for 2 things. It has a chorusy sound going on that some people have been able to get rid of, but I can't. It's not horrible (I kind of like it actually), but it makes it difficult to drop tune. The other thing is I put a hipshot D-tuner on, but because of the way the headstock is, it doesn't really work. Headstock gets a little in the way and makes things weird. In the band I just started playing in a hipshot is essential as we never pause between songs. At all. What I love about the Gibson is that it's super lightweight, looks great (IMO), does a J and a P bass better than any other bass I know outside of a J and P, gets a lot more aggressive than a J or P if I want it to, and is really comfortable ergonomically. It's a long scale bass that for some reason feels very much like a short scale.

 

[copacetic]

I've played a few Spectors, though never owned one. They were always too modern sounding for me, and just felt odd in my hands.

The Gibson EB is awesome, and would still probably be a main player if not for 2 things. It has a chorusy sound going on that some people have been able to get rid of, but I can't. It's not horrible (I kind of like it actually), but it makes it difficult to drop tune. The other thing is I put a hipshot D-tuner on, but because of the way the headstock is, it doesn't really work. Headstock gets a little in the way and makes things weird. In the band I just started playing in a hipshot is essential as we never pause between songs. At all. What I love about the Gibson is that it's super lightweight, looks great (IMO), does a J and a P bass better than any other bass I know outside of a J and P, gets a lot more aggressive than a J or P if I want it to, and is really comfortable ergonomically. It's a long scale bass that for some reason feels very much like a short scale.

Re the Gibson EB 'chorusy' sound you are getting: The DeCola humbuckers (they are also on the Gibson '15 TBIV and on the new 2017 EB's) require careful height and string adjustment. The chorus effect drove me crazy on '15 Tbird until I realized how that it was the settings of those two components. The Babicz bridge was a great help. Now one problem was those pickups are quite strong and once you arrive at the setting where the strings are far enough away from the pickup, you might not like where you are. That was my case so... here comes the Caprice. No problem at that end. The one adjustment for me on the Caprice: because light weight body it was neck heavy so On go the Gotoh resolite keys and you have 1/2 lb less and voila bass back in balance.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

I think the Caprice slap tone is really growing on me. This one sounds pretty good on an old Marcus Miller riff!

 

[eastcoasteddie]

I have never looked at this thread because I wanted to form my own opinion before reading anyone else's.

My most-local GC (there are now 3 within 10 miles of me) got a Honeyburst Caprice about a month ago, and I had to try it out.

In my opinion, it sounds fantastic for a passive PJ configuration - an obvious departure from the company's heritage. But I felt like something was missing...and 4 days later, I still can't pinpoint what it is. The bass seemed pretty light, and I noticed that the bridge saddles are made hollow to save weight, and in fact the bridge is very "light-duty" in comparison to their standard bridges. But this is - in my opinion - a bit of a turn-off. One of my Bass pet-peeves is low-mass bridges.
It wasn't set up too poorly...string height could have been lower, but it was still very playable. This particular sample didn't feel smooth in the neck, frets felt a little on the sharp-side (but not to the point of scratching/cutting your hand)...it really didn't feel like a USA-made MusicMan.
My GC also has a SBMM Ray 34 in cherry-burst. I picked this one up immediately after the Caprice for comparison. The Ray 34 actually had a smoother neck with impeccable fretwork. The sound was 100% Stingray (I know that the Caprice is not a Stingray...I am just making a statement). It weighed about a pound heavier - and in my opinion - this is a good thing. Everything that I know and love about MusicMan is right there in a bass that costs half as much as the Caprice (and made in Korea...)

I don't know how to wrap my head around this...I don't know how to go about my day now...

 

[Dr. Cheese]

I have never looked at this thread because I wanted to form my own opinion before reading anyone else's.

My most-local GC (there are now 3 within 10 miles of me) got a Honeyburst Caprice about a month ago, and I had to try it out.

In my opinion, it sounds fantastic for a passive PJ configuration - an obvious departure from the company's heritage. But I felt like something was missing...and 4 days later, I still can't pinpoint what it is. The bass seemed pretty light, and I noticed that the bridge saddles are made hollow to save weight, and in fact the bridge is very "light-duty" in comparison to their standard bridges. But this is - in my opinion - a bit of a turn-off. One of my Bass pet-peeves is low-mass bridges.
It wasn't set up too poorly...string height could have been lower, but it was still very playable. This particular sample didn't feel smooth in the neck, frets felt a little on the sharp-side (but not to the point of scratching/cutting your hand)...it really didn't feel like a USA-made MusicMan.
My GC also has a SBMM Ray 34 in cherry-burst. I picked this one up immediately after the Caprice for comparison. The Ray 34 actually had a smoother neck with impeccable fretwork. The sound was 100% Stingray (I know that the Caprice is not a Stingray...I am just making a statement). It weighed about a pound heavier - and in my opinion - this is a good thing. Everything that I know and love about MusicMan is right there in a bass that costs half as much as the Caprice (and made in Korea...)

I don't know how to wrap my head around this...I don't know how to go about my day now...

It's simple. You like what you like. There is no law that says the Caprice has to be the bass for you.

 

[copacetic]

The a Caprice and the SBMM Ray are two different basses. If you think/feel the problem for you is the bridge on the Caprice (if you already own one) try putting on the Babicz bridge. You'll be surprised. TheCaprice is a top of the line instrument Music Man has succeeded in bringing quite a few elements of their basses and others together that actually impressed me. However to each his own. You could walk into some shop tomorrow and finds 1966 Silvertone that will floor you. Getting back to the original point, tweaking our instruments is the way to go if you really love that instrument but want to really make it to your ultimate taste. Some may say, 'but why do that if you've just spent $$ $'. That's your choice to get where you want to go.

 

[eastcoasteddie]

I think you're missing the point of what I was trying to convey in my last post. What I'm saying is that the Caprice supposed to be a top-of-the-line instrument, where the Sterling Ray34 actually felt more like a top-of-the-line instrument than the Caprice did. And that's where the problem lies.
It's not a matter of what the right instrument for me is, or whether I like what I like or not...

 

[Joe Nerve]

I think you're missing the point of what I was trying to convey in my last post. What I'm saying is that the Caprice supposed to be a top-of-the-line instrument, where the Sterling Ray34 actually felt more like a top-of-the-line instrument than the Caprice did. And that's where the problem lies.
It's not a matter of what the right instrument for me is, or whether I like what I like or not...

My Caprice is flawless.

GC doesn't always treat their instruments as they should. I have picked up many Squiers in GCs that felt and sounded better than basses costing 1000s more.

 

[eastcoasteddie]

My Caprice is flawless.

GC doesn't always treat their instruments as they should. I have picked up many Squiers in GCs that felt and sounded better than basses costing 1000s more.

They just got the frickin thing, so it is pretty much as it has been delivered.
The Ray34 has been there for 5 months already and is flawless. If I had the $835, I wouldn't mind taking the one off the rack home...

 

[Joe Nerve]

They just got the frickin thing, so it is pretty much as it has been delivered.
The Ray34 has been there for 5 months already and is flawless. If I had the $835, I wouldn't mind taking the one off the rack home...

OK then. Sterlings by MM are much better basses than Caprices. According to you and your GC experience. Noted.

If that sounds sarcastic it is only slightly. I guess I have a rough time understanding why people feel compelled to critique basses they don't like - especially when their experience is limited to 15 minutes on a bass at a GC. I don't do that.

And I know, you're not me . I'd go grab that Ray if I were you though. Sounds like a great bass.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

They just got the frickin thing, so it is pretty much as it has been delivered.
The Ray34 has been there for 5 months already and is flawless. If I had the $835, I wouldn't mind taking the one off the rack home...

A good shop would give a new bass the once over, to make sure it was up to snuff. That goes double for $1,700 like the Caprice.

 

[eastcoasteddie]

OK then. Sterlings by MM are much better basses than Caprices. According to you and your GC experience. Noted.

If that sounds sarcastic it is only slightly. I guess I have a rough time understanding why people feel compelled to critique basses they don't like - especially when their experience is limited to 15 minutes on a bass at a GC. I don't do that.

And I know, you're not me . I'd go grab that Ray if I were you though. Sounds like a great bass.

Bro...
Never did I say that I did t like it. Read my posts thoroughly before making accusations...please...pretty-please with sugar on top.
Oh and I played both basses for over an hour each...not 15 minutes.
If you actually read what I wrote then you'd see that all I commented about was that I feel the Caprice was not finished as well as the Korean bass.
No need to get panties into bunches. No need to get offended by my comments about a bass that is of the same model as yours...it still isn't your exact bass. Maybe the one I played for OVER AN HOUR was a bad one...

And don't assume $hit unless you know the whole story. I know this is Drama Bass, but come on...

 

[Dr. Cheese]

Bro...
Never did I say that I did t like it. Read my posts thoroughly before making accusations...please...pretty-please with sugar on top.
Oh and I played both basses for over an hour each...not 15 minutes.
If you actually read what I wrote then you'd see that all I commented about was that I feel the Caprice was not finished as well as the Korean bass.
No need to get panties into bunches. No need to get offended by my comments about a bass that is of the same model as yours...it still isn't your exact bass. Maybe the one I played for OVER AN HOUR was a bad one...

And don't assume $hit unless you know the whole story. I know this is Drama Bass, but come on...

In all fairness, if I don't like a bass after 15 minutes, I am probably done with it. True enough, there are basses, that I played again later that I ended up liking, but 15 minutes is enough time to get an idea of whether you like a bass or not.

 

[kinopah]

That escalated quickly. I didn't see any accusations or even bunched panties, but I do tend to miss that stuff. I've played two, and they were for sure on par with my Stingray in terms of fit/finish. BUT I've also played a ton of other quality GC and Sam Ash basses with setups which completely turned me off - not nesc what you're describing, but still. As with all instruments, YMMV...

But yeah, Caprice is definitely on my list. I've got the Cutlass, which I think is prob more for me. But the new Coral Caprice is soooo slick. I'd settle for a Starry Night, too... I guess...