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Music Man sound and pickups

#21
ericmknight1906 said:
OMG,why are you guys fixin' what ain't broke??:eyebrow:
What could that Nordstrand possibly do better than the MM stock PUP? Leave the Ray alone please.:cool:
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275px-FrameBreaking-1812.jpg
:hiding::hiding::hiding::cool:

PS: Its a sticky about MM sound and pickups, hence the concept of this thread.
 
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#22
topcat2069 said:
As far as Pickups and Pre amps.. I'm using a Nordstrand MM 5.2 and a John East MM SR 2 band EQ. As far as I can tell they (together) sound just like my 1976 MM String Ray (only now I have a low B string) The main difference is the finger board .
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Hey TC
I have heard from a few people that is the right combo for that 70s' MM sound. Match that with an ash body and you might just want to cope some Louis Johnson licks all day.

:cool:
 
#25
Its a little smoother, with that 'Nordstrand' string evenness that I hear in all of there pickups with with the upper mids a bit tamer (in a good way).
 
#26
basswave said:
Hey TC
I have heard from a few people that is the right combo for that 70s' MM sound. Match that with an ash body and you might just want to cope some Louis Johnson licks all day.

:cool:
Click to expand...


I'm using a Warmoth Alder Deluxe 5 P.... the neck is Maple and Rosewood Bound & Blocked (I have a hangup about the old '69 Jazz neck I used to have on a '62 P body in the olden days.... as in I love the look) But the sound is so strikingly similar that it amazes me !
 
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#28
topcat2069 said:
I'm using a Warmoth Alder Deluxe 5 P.... the neck is Maple and Rosewood Bound & Blocked (I have a hangup about the old '69 Jazz neck I used to have on a '62 P body in the olden days.... as in I love the look) But the sound is so strikingly similar that it amazes me !
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Alder and rosewood...Those mids must punch you in the chest.
I'm guessing you have no issue in the mix.:cool:
 
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#31
Bochafish said:
Kinda off topic, but I checked out a few of those louis johnson vids, what the heck kinda bass is this? MM pickup in neck position, and a single coil jazz pick up at the bridge?



OP, excellent post.
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No idea what that is Bockafish
I'm guessing (really guessing) that its a some custom one off but I could be dead wrong.
 
#34
topcat2069 said:
So..... just asking.... what's the difference in sound between the early MM Sting Rays and the new EB String Rays? I get the same sound as my '76 (I have live recordings), is it more of a feel thing? I'm just wondering.
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A lot of it is the 3 band pre-amp that most new Stingrays have, it's much harsher sounding than the classic 2 band.



Oh, got the SX sorted, very impressed with the Basslines setup, whish I had an actual Musicman handy to directly compare.
 
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#35
topcat2069 said:
So..... just asking.... what's the difference in sound between the early MM Sting Rays and the new EB String Rays? I get the same sound as my '76 (I have live recordings), is it more of a feel thing? I'm just wondering.
Click to expand...

If you have a '76 Stingray it has the first preamp design that was discontinued in '77. so it would probably sound different, maybe warmer. I noticed the new Rays are a lot lighter. The '77 I had weighed a ton. since the caps in your bass are over 35 years old, some if not all might be out of tolerance and that would influence the sound somewhat. it's kinda subjective, some people's ears are tuned to small nuances in sound. The 3 band Rays sound ok but I prefer the 2 band
 
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#36
topcat2069 said:
So..... just asking.... what's the difference in sound between the early MM Sting Rays and the new EB String Rays? I get the same sound as my '76 (I have live recordings), is it more of a feel thing? I'm just wondering.
Click to expand...

Good question.

My opinion on the authentic classics with the 2 band is slightly different then how others hear it or at least describe it.

I do find it a touch warmer but that I think is not because of the lows per say but how the highs are a not quite as sharpish and that the mids on a lot of the older Stingrays really standout with a distinct personality.

I had this conversation with John East and He also feels that the 2 bands have a different way that the frequencies interact with each other that the current 3 bands tend not to. IMHO
 
#37
Darkstrike said:
Oh, got the SX sorted, very impressed with the Basslines setup, whish I had an actual Musicman handy to directly compare.
Click to expand...

I have a 89 Stingray 5 with a stock pickup and and the Basslines pre. Yep its a 3 band but very clear and nice musical mid range to it. You can really hear it when you A/B-it on a direct recording.
 
#38
basswave said:
I have a 89 Stingray 5 with a stock pickup and and the Basslines pre. Yep its a 3 band but very clear and nice musical mid range to it. You can really hear it when you A/B-it on a direct recording.
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I'm suprised how musical it is, I haven't yet found a way to make the pre sound bad, even the bass cranked isn't overbearing, and the slap switch(which I'd expected to hate) is a different kind of fatness than boosting the pre, making both useful. Very happy with it. :cool:
 
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