Music Man Sabre pre ernie ball pickups

Since the pickups are stamped "Bartolini" they are definitely not original... but then again... neither is the bridge... and who knows what else...

 

Refinished as well? There don't appear to be pickguard screw holes. And is that a red LED between the first two knobs?

 

I have a preEB Sabre, and it really boggles my mind why somone would remove the factory high-mass bridge to install that crappy set up. How terrible how modded up that bass is now.

 

First....Welcome to talkbass. I see you've been a member for over a year, but since this is your first post, welcome.

Second....The only thing that appears to be original about the bass in the photo you posted is the headstock....and even then, decals have been faked before. The neck, frets, truss rod adjustment all seem ok.

Third...browse the Music Man Sabre Club http://www.talkbass.com/threads/musicman-sabre-club.1088903/ to learn more about these fine instruments

Fourth....Were you considering buying that bass? If you are in the market for a pre-EB Sabre, pm me. I have two and am open to potentially selling one. It will NOT be cheap. Just being honest.

Peace,

James

 

That depends....

The 1990s and 2000+ Stingrays are all in the Ernie Ball Music Man family of instruments. Ernie Ball has significantly expanded the Music Man lineup, including multiple versions of Stingrays with different pickup configurations. Within the past few years Ernie Ball has aded the "Classic" line of Stingrays and Sabres which, in the case of Stingrays, pay homage to the original 1970 - 83 Stingrays. Slab body, single hum bucker, and string through body bridges are part of the Classic vibe. You won't find that combination on 1990s era Stingrays. For the non-Classic models, there's probably pretty good correlation between the 1990s models and the models you can buy new in the store today.

 

Just my 2¢

I've traded exactly this bass from a local guy a couple of years ago.
I also was cautious of that DIY modding, but this color has ultimate mojo (and I was totally baked), so I decided to check it in the studio.

I had full stack orange ad200 at that time. Well, this thing blew away my other basses, rick 4003(1984), aluminium neck Kramer DMZ 5000(1978) and MM sterling (2005).

Haven't heard any other pre-ernie basses to compare the sound, but it definitely has that gnarly 'boom' and 'bang' I love in bass sound and things get even nastier if you put a darkglass or assmaster on it.

Still have it, sold other basses and no regret.