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Music Man Caprice: True Boutique Quality

#641
engedi1 said:
So they finally got a Caprice at my local GC and I finally got to play one. I was super impressed. Great tones, great neck. Very powerful and punchy E string. Only issue was pronounced neck dive.
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Edmang said:
Neck dive is the only real criticism I have heard about the Caprice. I am hoping the EBMM goes to the lighter tuners they use on the Bongos. This should solve that issue
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I installed Hipshot Ultralights. This shaved almost 6 ounces off the headstock. Gotoh Resolites are not quite as light, but would likely cover the holes from the stock tuners, or nearly so, if that is something that bothers you. I didn't have what I would call "pronounced" neck dive, but did have some, enough to bother me. I have none at all now. Of course, doing something like this means spending more money on an already rather spendy bass (for my resources, at least), so I hope they do what @Edmang says and move to lighter tuners as stock items.

caprice_hipshot.jpg
 
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#642
Inara said:
I installed Hipshot Ultralights. This shaved almost 6 ounces off the headstock. Gotoh Resolites are not quite as light, but would likely cover the holes from the stock tuners, or nearly so, if that is something that bothers you. I didn't have what I would call "pronounced" neck dive, but did have some, enough to bother me. I have none at all now. Of course, doing something like this means spending more money on an already rather spendy bass (for my resources, at least), so I hope they do what @Edmang says and move to lighter tuners as stock items.

View attachment 2764098
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But if MM changes to lighter tuners, I hope they keep the clover design rather than switch to Y tuners like they did with the Bongo. Worked wtith the Bongo esthetic, but the Caprice needs the vintage-style clover tuner vibe.
 
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#643
Stevorebob said:
But if MM changes to lighter tuners, I hope they keep the clover design rather than switch to Y tuners like they did with the Bongo. Worked wtith the Bongo esthetic, but the Caprice needs the vintage-style clover tuner vibe.
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That would be better... but would still take the Bongo tuners rather than neck dive. Just figure it would be an easy swap for them since the tuners exist already.

Don't have a Caprice, but in the market for one next year some time. Hopefully they come out with the rumoured fiver then, but will probably end up with the 4 if not.
 
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#644
kinopah said:
Well, here's them clips you ordered. Unfortunately, um... I don't have much of a setup AND I have no actual idea how to demo how a bass sounds, soooo.... yeah I just sort of messed around. Hopefully you kind of get the idea - if not listen to the Joe Dart demo and pretend it's me!
(Way better with headphones)



Strings: EB Cobalt Flats
Settings:
0:00 tone rolled off full
0:35 tone dimed
1:15 tone at 50%
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Wooh this sounds realllly good! Thanks for the sample!
 
#645
Yeah, the cutlass could be super slept on. I will know soon enough, but hearing those tones and playing 2 Caprices already tells me that this thing is probably going to be a serious player.

I spent the past year browsing for a modern playing Pbass and nothing stuck out to me like this thing. I think the price tag is what scares people, and that is fair. Essentially, you are paying for serious quality, which is not something everyone needs. But when I look at the Fender American Professional, which is not much less, it's a no brainer. I love Fenders, but their under 2k crown jewel is probably the AVRI or a slight step down to the MIMs. I would take either over the pricey American Professional.

The Caprice compared to the Am Pro was eye opening to me in terms of craftsmanship, tone..etc. I can't imagine what the Cutlass will be like.
 
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#647
The Caprice and Cutlass are prime examples of never judge a book by its cover.
My first thoughts when these basses were announced was a pretty solid NO THANK YOU.
Fast forward a year later and I bought the Caprice and now want a Cutlass . If I come across a Cutlass in the $800 range I'll jump on it.
Thank goodness I'm not a 5 string player or I'd be in the front of the line in 2018 .
 
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#655
engedi1 said:
My ideal 5 string spacing is just a touch wide, like on a fender am standard 5. 19 is a little too wide. 17.5 a little too small for me.
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I hear you, but think about what you are saying. When it comes down to 1.5mms you can adjust to it if you want to.

Think of all the things we adjusted for back in the day before internet message boards, where every little detail became an obsession. I honestly never even thought of some of this stuff and didn't even know what neck dive was..lol.
 
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#656
I got the Cutlass today - awesome bass. The neck feels fantastic, it's nice and light and it has a killer look.

My issue with it is the sound. Don't get me wrong, it sounds amazing, but for what I am looking for, I do not think it is my thing. HUGE low end. Extremely thick tone. The top end reminds me of the Caprice, it almost sounds rolled off a little, or compressed. I think for many players, this will be perfect to be quite honest. I tried it with rounds and flats. With flats the lowend was even more huge, which I think a lot of people will dig. This is an exceptional bass for a rock tone.

My issue is that I am looking more for that crisp, mid heavy Fender P tone. The AVRI has probably ruined me there. It's my gold standard tone and I think I just want it in another bass that plays a little more modern. Honestly not sure where I would go from here. Maybe just play the AVRI for now. If anyone has a 63 AVRI with flats on it, you will probably understand what I am talking about. It is an unbeatable tone for me right now unfortunately.

On the Cutlass, I can't really find an issue with it and tone is a personal thing. I bet a lot of people will think this tone is absolutely perfect. If I was to describe it, I would say huge lows, thick undefined mids and glassy highs that sound almost a little high passed. Both the Caprice and Cutlass have a characteristic to them that reminds me of the tone of an Ampeg amp.
 
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#657
AngelCrusher said:
I got the Cutlass today - awesome bass. The neck feels fantastic, it's nice and light and it has a killer look.

My issue with it is the sound. Don't get me wrong, it sounds amazing, but for what I am looking for, I do not think it is my thing. HUGE low end. Extremely thick tone. The top end reminds me of the Caprice, it almost sounds rolled off a little, or compressed. I think for many players, this will be perfect to be quite honest. I tried it with rounds and flats. With flats the lowend was even more huge, which I think a lot of people will dig. This is an exceptional bass for a rock tone.

My issue is that I am looking more for that crisp, mid heavy Fender P tone. The AVRI has probably ruined me there. It's my gold standard tone and I think I just want it in another bass that plays a little more modern. Honestly not sure where I would go from here. Maybe just play the AVRI for now. If anyone has a 63 AVRI with flats on it, you will probably understand what I am talking about. It is an unbeatable tone for me right now unfortunately.

On the Cutlass, I can't really find an issue with it and tone is a personal thing. I bet a lot of people will think this tone is absolutely perfect. If I was to describe it, I would say huge lows, thick undefined mids and glassy highs that sound almost a little high passed. Both the Caprice and Cutlass have a characteristic to them that reminds me of the tone of an Ampeg amp.
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Indeed - tone is a very personal thing. It kind of reminds me of something by old boss said to me years ago with respect to something I had written: "I realize phrasing in many respects is highly arbitrary, but change it anyway." We all have a sound we want in our heads and when it's not there, welp, it's not there and the search continues. I am a fool for my Caprice, though. :thumbsup:
 
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#660
AngelCrusher said:
The AVRI has probably ruined me there. It's my gold standard tone and I think I just want it in another bass that plays a little more modern. Honestly not sure where I would go from here.
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Maybe a Nate Mendel P with the AVRI pickup installed? The Nate has a slim neck, though not Jazz/Caprice slim ... it's 1.615, versus the standard modern P of 1.625, versus the AVRI at 1.74. Or just an AVRI with a different (more modern feelng) neck fit to it?
 
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