Music Man sound and pickups

[Bboopbennie]

I feel there are 3 main attributes that contribute to the tone of a Music Man.
1. The larger humbucking (or dual coil) style pickup
2. The ‘sweet spot’ placing of that pickup
3. The EBMM preamp

Had a Dan Armstrong Bass with a sliding soap bar pickup on a track. How many have seen that ? Now when you got close to the neck its a p Bass. move it back AT THAT SWEET SPOT!!! You have the MM bass sound. funny I played it at that spot most of the time. Pretty cool bass for a lefty.

 

[ERIC31]

OK guys and gals, I want your opinions/experiences with this.

This is my 2002 OLP 5 string bass. As you can see I took it apart, painted it and tossed the original pickups and wiring. I got a Wilkinson MM pickup for it (it fits just fine) and now I'm down to two choices for a preamp that I like. Audere and Seymour Duncan. Both cost about the same and are within my budget. Any of you that have either or both, let me know what you think. TIA!

 

[mcnach]

I had the Seymour Duncan one in an OLP, together with a Seymour Duncan SMB4A.
Together it was a really good match and totally transformed the bass.
The preamp is pretty good. It's not trying to replicate a 'classic' Stingray preamp in sound or operation, but it sounds good.
No idea about the Audere. I only had one of their Jazz ones and I didn't like it.

 

[Stevorebob]

Audere sounds nothing like a StingRay pre. Too, polite. Great preamp, just not a StingRay tone.

 

[Glenn Johnson]

Music Man sound and pickups

Just to address some of the many posts as of recent regarding Music Man sound and pickups.

I feel there are 3 main attributes that contribute to the tone of a Music Man.
1. The larger humbucking (or dual coil) style pickup
2. The ‘sweet spot’ placing of that pickup
3. The EBMM preamp

You can get the majority of the tone IMHO with pickup and placing. Some manufactures do offer models like this the Modulus Funk Unlimited bass (previously known as the Flea bass) ,ect.

On EBMM preamp and parts:

The EBMM preamp IMHO (and many others as well) feel the preamp is the icing on the cake of the “MM” tone. (Not that having the other pres are bad…this is just in reference to nailing the EBMM tone itself) and the preamps are proprietary.

In general EBMM preamps appear to have more an effect on the natural tone of the bass then say several other after marked preamps (Ex: Bartolini, Aguliar, ect)

Note: EBMM does not sell aftermarket parts (pickups and preamps) the do repair and if necessary replace original EBMM parts that where stock on instrument. Nor will they modify your original EBMM bass with anything additional (EX: The will not modify your original Stingray 4 H to a HH model).

Aftermarket parts:

Nordstrand makes a dual coil and a quad coil MM style pickups in both 4 and 5 string. These are my personal favorite since they use wire, magnets and DC resistance as the original Music Man pickups.
http://www.nordstrandpickups.com/bass-pickups/modern/

Seymour Duncan makes both alnico (Stingray) and ceramic (Sterling) replacements in both 4 and 5 Home

John East makes some MM style preamps that where designed with the characteristics very similar to the original MM Stingray preamp (with and without the plates).
Invalid Link Removed

(There are others out there as well I just wanted to tip the iceberg of the most common post your experiences)

Additional information (various)

Some of this might be common knowledge to some players, so bare with me. This sticky is to address some of the common questions that do pop up.

Standard wiring and pickups are (with some exceptions with the wiring)

EBMM Stingrays: wired in parallel and use alnico pickup(s)
EBMM Sterlings: wired in series and use ceramic pickup(s)
H=Humbucking, HH=Dual Humbucking , HS=Humbucking&Single

I honestly think that the preamp is the true "secret sauce" that gives the MM it's unique tone, then pickup location, lastly the pickup itself. Obviously all 3 aspects are necessary to get it right. Cheers!

 

[mcnach]

I honestly think that the preamp is the true "secret sauce" that gives the MM it's unique tone, then pickup location, lastly the pickup itself. Obviously all 3 aspects are necessary to get it right. Cheers!

I thought so too... until I experimented bypassing the preamp. The 'sauce' is already there without it. You can use an external preamp to shape your sound (like, the one in your own amplifier) and get all the classic Stingray tones.

 

[Mepelsteeltje]

Try John East's preamp. I got one in my JB and it's absolutely stunning! I know he also does MM stuff. I never tried it, but I guess it hits the mark.

 

[mcnach]

Try John East's preamp. I got one in my JB and it's absolutely stunning! I know he also does MM stuff. I never tried it, but I guess it hits the mark.

+1

The MMSR is a great preamp.
My Stingray (on the left ) is a 2EQ from 2002. I ended up replacing its original preamp to install the 3 band MMSR. There are two things I liked about this design above others:

1) with the mids control in its centre detent, it does nothing, and it's essentially a 2EQ. I just like the 2-band Stingray more than the 3-band Stingray which is voiced very differently. It's still nice, don't get me wrong, but I prefer the 2-band sound. Also, it's actually a bit better than the original 2-band in my bass. The bass control seems a bit tighter and the treble not quite as shrill, it's just nicer. John based it on his own '76 Stingray, so I don't know how much of the difference is due to it being an earlier version, or his own modification. Either way, it's very good.
The bass and treble controls have a centre detent. It's NOT its flat position, but it's very useful as a reference, and it's actually not that far off flat. I had John install a bypass switch on my MMSR, so I can compare the sound, and it's very very similar.

2) The mids! Being able to control the centre frequency for the mids is sooooooo useful. I don't use it all that much, but when you need it it's there. I've identified a couple of positions that I sometimes change, just boosting a bit or cutting down a bit...

 

[jeff62]

+1

The MMSR is a great preamp.
My Stingray (on the left ) is a 2EQ from 2002. I ended up replacing its original preamp to install the 3 band MMSR. There are two things I liked about this design above others:

1) with the mids control in its centre detent, it does nothing, and it's essentially a 2EQ. I just like the 2-band Stingray more than the 3-band Stingray which is voiced very differently. It's still nice, don't get me wrong, but I prefer the 2-band sound. Also, it's actually a bit better than the original 2-band in my bass. The bass control seems a bit tighter and the treble not quite as shrill, it's just nicer. John based it on his own '76 Stingray, so I don't know how much of the difference is due to it being an earlier version, or his own modification. Either way, it's very good.
The bass and treble controls have a centre detent. It's NOT its flat position, but it's very useful as a reference, and it's actually not that far off flat. I had John install a bypass switch on my MMSR, so I can compare the sound, and it's very very similar.

2) The mids! Being able to control the centre frequency for the mids is sooooooo useful. I don't use it all that much, but when you need it it's there. I've identified a couple of positions that I sometimes change, just boosting a bit or cutting down a bit...

Y'all have me convinced. I just ordered mine. I'm hoping that it is all I need to cop the 70's Stingray tone better than my 3-band Stingray can. Smooth out the harshness I hear. Hoping that I can get away with the stock pickup.

 

[LoveJackBruce]

Just got my RAY4 and I love it. I may consider an Aguilar P/U for $119 down the road (if I find it's a worthwhile improvement) but it sounds damn good as it is. Incredible for the price.

 

[Mepelsteeltje]

Y'all have me convinced. I just ordered mine. I'm hoping that it is all I need to cop the 70's Stingray tone better than my 3-band Stingray can. Smooth out the harshness I hear. Hoping that I can get away with the stock pickup.

I'm really curious fot the result. Let us know, please. I might be the next one, droppin' a line to John East...

 

[SteveCS]

I'll add another vote of confidence for the East MMSR 3-band. I put on in my 91 fretless StingRay. With mids set flat it is pretty much the same as the EBMM 2-band, but the sweepable mid-range, which also has 2 internally selectable ranges, makes it a winner. There is also a push/pull treble boost on the treble knob, not dissimilar to the 'pick attack' feature on the Wal custom. Have a listen...

 

[jeff62]

I'll add another vote of confidence for the East MMSR 3-band. I put on in my 91 fretless StingRay. With mids set flat it is pretty much the same as the EBMM 2-band, but the sweepable mid-range, which also has 2 internally selectable ranges, makes it a winner. There is also a push/pull treble boost on the treble knob, not dissimilar to the 'pick attack' feature on the Wal custom. Have a listen...

check the link to the recording... I'm getting an error when trying get to play from my iphone

 

[SteveCS]

check the link to the recording... I'm getting an error when trying get to play from my iphone

Might be an iPhone thing? Is it the download link or direct streaming that fails? The file itself is uploaded to the TB host so I can't control the linking...

 

[Spidey2112]

I uploaded a song I had recorded, recently... many received it just fine, but a few experienced errors... they eventually were able to listen to it, though.

Patience?

I don't believe it's isolated to any platform... more likely than not, it's on the backside of the equation (i.e. TB server, data path, end-user).

I could hear it just fine, @SteveCS... Android platform, "Complete Action Using... Google Play, Just Once"... no download, just streaming.

 

[jeff62]

This is what I see when I hit play. iPhone.

 

[SteveCS]

I uploaded a song I had recorded, recently... many received it just fine, but a few experienced errors... they eventually were able to listen to it, though.

Patience?

I don't believe it's isolated to any platform... more likely than not, it's on the backside of the equation (i.e. TB server, data path, end-user).

I could hear it just fine, @SteveCS... Android platform, "Complete Action Using... Google Play, Just Once"... no download, just streaming.

Yes, I uploaded it from my Android phone and the playback stream works just fine. Maybe I should go all 21st century and set up a SoundCloud account... I just remember there being some Safari/iTunes lock-ins that caused some folks a few problems in the past. Thanks for listening!

 

[SteveCS]

This is what I see when I hit play. iPhone.
View attachment 3561575

Do you get the same from the download link?

 

[jeff62]

Download works

 

[Spidey2112]

... set up a SoundCloud account.

I said the same very thing.