Music Man Cutlass Redux

[Wood and Wire]

Nice!

Now hand your iPad back to your daughter, and have her shoot Redux-Redux

 

[Wood and Wire]

that seems like a model that EBMM should have used their mute bridge on.

I really don't get this...

Sterling Ball confirmed that in the early 1990's, some doofus sliced his thumb on the mute spring - and that EBMM's lawyers cautioned that the device could leave them open to future lawsuits.

The decision was made to remove the mutes, but offer a mute kit, to reinstall them at your own risk.

I guess it became obvious that a lot of people weren't bothering, so it made sense to eliminate the mutes entirely (cheaper to manufacture, and more aesthetically pleasing off the rack).

But of course, the Stingray Classic (and when it was available, the Sabre Classic) are supplied with the mutes - so I guess that original reason for removing them has fallen by the wayside.

Which makes one wonder, why don't they put it back on all their basses?

 

[Wood and Wire]

I completely understand . That’s one reason why I went with the Caprice over the Cutlass when I was auditioning them both . The Cutlass didn’t do anything better than my Classic Vibe 60’s P.
That’s the great thing about a Precision style bass. It doesn’t take a lot of money to get a good one.
I could justify the price for the Caprice because it offered something different than what I already had , but not the Cutlass .

That's why I'm a little concerned for the long term future of the Cutlass.

That said, I would certainly buy the Cutlass, over the equivalently priced Fender Precision.

 

[fourstringdrums]

I'd love to hear a comparison of the Cutlass and just the P pickup soloed on the Caprice. I love my Caprice but I'm just interested to see how the P pickups compare.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

Nice!

Now hand your iPad back to your daughter, and have her shoot Redux-Redux

I put this video out a few months ago, but it got little attention. I’m glad folks are finding it useful now.

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

I'd love to hear a comparison of the Cutlass and just the P pickup soloed on the Caprice. I love my Caprice but I'm just interested to see how the P pickups compare.

Its been a few months since I did a side by side comparison in 2 of my local GC's. From what I remember, the Cutlass seemed to have a higher output and a brighter, more aggressive tone. If I owned a Cutlass I would most likely use a mute of some sort and flats to tame the wild beast. If I played heavy music, i could see gravitating towards the Cutlass. The neck pickup of the Caprice and the pickup of the Cutlass are not the same.

 

[Wood and Wire]

From what I remember, the Cutlass seemed to have a higher output and a brighter, more aggressive tone.

That was pretty much my experience too.

I thought they were actually very close in tone, but the Cutlass definitely seemed to have more bite to it.

This was the exact opposite of what I had expected - the Cutlass having been marketed as having a more "vintage" tone, I was expecting it to be rounder, and more thumpy than the Caprice.

On paper (what info is on the EBMM website), both circuits seem to be the same, but I've no idea if the pickups are actually wound differently.

It was by no means a scientific comparison, as there were just too many variables : string wear / string height / pickup height etc, but they were different.

The fact that they weren't radically different, may mean more people gravitate towards the Caprice.

They did however feel utterly different from one another, which is another reason I will eventually own both.

 

[bovinehost]

They did however feel utterly different from one another, which is another reason I will eventually own both.

This was my approach. "I'll have one of each, please."

 

[pickles]

Making me want a cutlass.

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

In addition to the larger neck, the cutlass also has slightly more weight than the Caprice. So yes, they not only sound and look different, they feel different.
When I compared these 2 models, I was originally after a recent Fender American Standard P. Liked the feel, the weight, the pickup. I had a Sire V7 Vintage Jazz and my Squier Classic Vibe 60's P with T I Flats. The plan was to swap the CV60's P for the American Standard and keep the Jazz. I started reading about these new MusicMan passive basses and after watching a few videos had to go check them out for myself.

My favorite bass sounds are 2band eq Stingrays, Jazz basses with both pickups on full, and P basses. I could never bond with my 2band Stingray because of the neck and the weight and pickup position. I only liked the jazz bass set one way, nothing else. When I played the Cutlass and Caprice I was shocked. Build quality was immaculate, necks were the most playable and feel great and the weight was light. One I plugged them in it was just icing on the cake.

Even though I was initially searching for an American build P style to replace my CV 60"s P, The Caprice won me over due to the lighter weight , smaller neck and body. My fingers were flying across the fretboard like never before. I wasn't wrestling with the body size or neck shape. But the tone is really what sealed the deal. I could here P tones as well as that J tone that I liked but it was more fat and more smooth . I could even here some of that signature old school MusicMan tone, again only warmer and smoother coming from that bridge inline hum bucker. The Cutlass was in the running and almost had me but I realized for me the Caprice was the better choice.

I went to 4 different GC locations in the DC area just to make sure my mind wasn't playing tricks on me and to verify what I was experiencing was ligit and not just GAS. Each time, I liked the basses more and more. I ended up saying goodbye to Jazz basses forever and sold my SireV7 Vintage .After deciding to keep my CV 60's P I ordered a Caprice in Diamond Blue/maple. All my GC's stocked were the sunburst/rosewood Caprice and Diamond Blue/maple Cutlass. When I have the spare cash, Id like to replace my Fiesta Red CV 60's P with a Coral Red /rosewood Caprice to put flats on.

Ive never enjoyed a bass as much as I do my Caprice. You really can't go wrong with either or both of them. But if you only have the budget for one of them , I would suggest you try and compare them for yourself to see which you prefer, They are both great very different.

 

[JakobT]

That would possibly add more to the cost. Your foam under the bridge is much cheaper .

But the bridge with the foam mutes is WAY cooler!

 

[mpdd]

This is a re-shoot of a video I did last night that was terrible.
The Cutlass is much more of a vintage sounding instrument than the Caprice, which is a very modern take on PJ basses.

I think the Cutlass has a narrow neck for a P-Style bass. It seems like a D shape to me.

thank you for this little video, you have no idea how helpful and informative you've been on this lovely saturday

 

[Dr. Cheese]

thank you for this little video, you have no idea how helpful and informative you've been on this lovely saturday

Thanks so much!

 

[mpdd]

GC didn't have a cutlass, but...
The musicman caprice pj is freaking ballsy and old school sounding, not sure if a lot of you tb guys play passive 4 strings anymore, but it's the first thing I've played with the punch of an sb2 and the warmth of an L2000.

 

[AngelCrusher]

For some reason, I kept forgetting riffs while playing the Cutlass. Personally. I really like this bass. It plays like a dream, and it would be even better if it came with flats or half rounds, and had that bridge with the adjustable mutes, as Caca de Kick suggested. That said, I cannot honestly say it out plays or sounds better than my old 1998 Peavey Fury.

Yeah. I loved that bass but it didnt sound as good as my fenders. I put flats on it too. It still sounds awesome, but its more of a compresssed sound to me. I really am more of a fan of the fender sound. Just personal preference.