The neck on my Al started to get a little rough-feeling. I gave it a couple of light coats of Danish Oil. It's very easy to apply with a rag. Wipe on, wipe off. Let it dry.
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Musicman Big Al Club
- Thread starter Melvin7822
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I got the Big Al 5 SSS from UPS yesterday!
This thing looks awesome, I'll post some pics when I get time time. Its in great shape aside from needing some de-crudding on the back of the neck. I cleaned most of the ick off with some naptha, and have some Tru Oil and Gun Stock Wax on order.
Weighs in under 10lbs, which is a pleasant surprise.
After plugging it in I was disappointed with the dull lifeless sound. However, after swapping out the corroded strings that it came with with a fresh set, this thing sounds awesome!
I'm totally loving the middle pickup soloed - very P bass like. I was worried that the bridge pickup would be useless given how close to the bridge it is, but no, it sounds great too. I love the sound of the bridge+middle in series, too.
This is one of the more useful preamps I've used, too. The EQ points are very well chosen.
The neck profile is slimmer than I'm used to, but I think I'm going to adjust to it just fine.
This thing is a keeper for sure. I only hope my L2500 doesn't get jealous of all the attention Big Al will be getting.
As a question to all you Big Al owners - What do you guys use the neck pickup for, if anything? I'm totally not used to having a pickup that close to the neck.
This thing looks awesome, I'll post some pics when I get time time. Its in great shape aside from needing some de-crudding on the back of the neck. I cleaned most of the ick off with some naptha, and have some Tru Oil and Gun Stock Wax on order.
Weighs in under 10lbs, which is a pleasant surprise.
After plugging it in I was disappointed with the dull lifeless sound. However, after swapping out the corroded strings that it came with with a fresh set, this thing sounds awesome!
I'm totally loving the middle pickup soloed - very P bass like. I was worried that the bridge pickup would be useless given how close to the bridge it is, but no, it sounds great too. I love the sound of the bridge+middle in series, too.
This is one of the more useful preamps I've used, too. The EQ points are very well chosen.
The neck profile is slimmer than I'm used to, but I think I'm going to adjust to it just fine.
This thing is a keeper for sure. I only hope my L2500 doesn't get jealous of all the attention Big Al will be getting.
As a question to all you Big Al owners - What do you guys use the neck pickup for, if anything? I'm totally not used to having a pickup that close to the neck.
I got the Big Al 5 SSS from UPS yesterday!
This thing looks awesome, I'll post some pics when I get time time. Its in great shape aside from needing some de-crudding on the back of the neck. I cleaned most of the ick off with some naptha, and have some Tru Oil and Gun Stock Wax on order.
Weighs in under 10lbs, which is a pleasant surprise.
After plugging it in I was disappointed with the dull lifeless sound. However, after swapping out the corroded strings that it came with with a fresh set, this thing sounds awesome!
I'm totally loving the middle pickup soloed - very P bass like. I was worried that the bridge pickup would be useless given how close to the bridge it is, but no, it sounds great too. I love the sound of the bridge+middle in series, too.
This is one of the more useful preamps I've used, too. The EQ points are very well chosen.
The neck profile is slimmer than I'm used to, but I think I'm going to adjust to it just fine.
This thing is a keeper for sure. I only hope my L2500 doesn't get jealous of all the attention Big Al will be getting.
As a question to all you Big Al owners - What do you guys use the neck pickup for, if anything? I'm totally not used to having a pickup that close to the neck.
The neck pickup is the warmest pickup to my ears... it doesn't have much grit\grind... so when I need that all round tone, its where I go. Its my least favorite pickup soloed by far but tames the others when needed.
The Big Al can be in a weird spot... its not quite vintage but its not quite musicman aggressive... so I find a newer pair of strings is a must for aggression & a good set of flats for vintage tones. Its particular about strings. A Sterling \ Bongo IMO can make any set sound good.
I consider the neck pickup to be sort of a reggae or dub type pickup. Wooly and thumpy. It sounds kind of pleasant paired with the middle pickup.
- Oct 7, 2000
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- Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
With all the tonal options available on the Big Al, I can pretty much make any pickup soloed sound completely awesome - and work for pretty much any type of music. I think it just takes an open mind with them there 4 tone pots . Being open to making changes with the volume adds a lot of versatility also.
Example: If you solo the neck p/u, roll off ALL the tone controls, go 1/4 - 1/3 of the way up on the bass, and crank the volume on the amp a bit... you get a useable tone to start tweaking a wee bit with the other controls. Passive/active switch on the amp could help even things up a bit too.
. Being open to making changes with the volume adds a lot of versatility also.Example: If you solo the neck p/u, roll off ALL the tone controls, go 1/4 - 1/3 of the way up on the bass, and crank the volume on the amp a bit... you get a useable tone to start tweaking a wee bit with the other controls. Passive/active switch on the amp could help even things up a bit too.
been a while since I had one, but agree with everything everyone has said about the neck soloed, or neck plus middle.
Don't forget my (and I think Tuna's) favorite stealth setting, all buttons up in active mode
Don't forget my (and I think Tuna's) favorite stealth setting, all buttons up in active mode
Am I imagining things, or are the single coils pickups actually stacked humbuckers or some such thing? I'm not hearing ANY hum when soloing pickups. Which is awesome, by the way.
I'm noticing the neck pickup is adding meat to the D & G string. I like it, its been money tonight
Sunday its LB-100 vs the Big Al SSS. Neither has ever been gigged out. Which one is still up in the air!
Drummer picked the Big Al so thats whats making the cut. After trashing the neck pickup... I'm gonna need it tomorrow for a church gig. Theres no possibility of switching basses.
Anybody else have volume roll off WAY too fast in passive mode with the knob? Active is fine.
Daddario XLs arent cutting it for me, they NEVER do but they are fresh so they are staying on for now. I'm gonna want a better nickel string for sure.
Anybody else have volume roll off WAY too fast in passive mode with the knob? Active is fine.
Daddario XLs arent cutting it for me, they NEVER do but they are fresh so they are staying on for now. I'm gonna want a better nickel string for sure.
So some Big Al SSS pre gaming for tomorrow morning. Did some setting up, neck adjustments as its never been done before. In active mode I like to bring the bass down a bit, boost the low & high mids a bit, treble neutral... really in every pickup position. We'll see how it plays through my GK NEO 115s which add some tightness & aggression in the high mids... something I think the Big Al will love!
Friday night I got to play my Big Al into a different amp than I normally do. Normal amp is either an 80's GK 400rb or a MB200, into an older Crate 2x15. The sound is really good and the settings on the AL would be- all buttons up, passive, tone wide open, -or- all buttons up, active, low mids and high mids boosted about 75%.
Friday night I used my GK 1001rb first gen 2x10-combo, sitting on top of a Euphonic Audio 2x10. For the first time, I found a use for the other pickup buttons. Middle P/U soloed passive, neck and middle active. I was happily suprised by the sound.
Now, a question for all the Big Al owners who have the humbucker equipped version, Do they sound like a Bongo, Stingray or a Sterling? As I understand it, all Big Al basses have the Bongo preamp, and the humbucker ones have the same p/u as the 25th anniversary Stingray.
Thoughts?
Thanks again,
Ken R
Friday night I used my GK 1001rb first gen 2x10-combo, sitting on top of a Euphonic Audio 2x10. For the first time, I found a use for the other pickup buttons. Middle P/U soloed passive, neck and middle active. I was happily suprised by the sound.
Now, a question for all the Big Al owners who have the humbucker equipped version, Do they sound like a Bongo, Stingray or a Sterling? As I understand it, all Big Al basses have the Bongo preamp, and the humbucker ones have the same p/u as the 25th anniversary Stingray.
Thoughts?
Thanks again,
Ken R
I'm going with some nickels that add mids & adds D & G presence. I like DRs, I'd have to check em again.
Gig report:
Went Neck & Middle pickup. I just had that parallel warm sound I needed. I usually run my Sterling 5 HH in parallel mode with the mids cranked up a bit. The streamliner is EXCELLENT for adding meat to the upper strings & it did that today. I had some VERY different settings with the Big Al then I do with the Bongo\Sterling in the same venue. I usually have lows at 10, mids at 10 but I had lows at 12 & mids at 600hz at 3. The GK NEO 15s remove low end so I had to goose some there.
Went very well, the people LOVED the shape & sparkle green. Its definitely an eye catcher
After a few evenings of dorking around with the new Big Al, I think I've finally got it how I like it.
The back of the neck was filthy and had been worn down to bare wood. I cleaned off the crud, applied three coats of Tru-Oil, and it has a wonderful feeling satin-y finish new. Looks way better, too. Tru-Oil is incredibly easy to use stuff. First wood finishing product I've used that didn't make me worry that I was killing all my brain cells.
The G and B string saddles were bottomed out while still having overly high action, which worried me. Thankfully the truss rod is fine and the neck isn't warped, which meant it was time to mess with the neck angle. Shims ahoy! Strangely enough, there was already a factory installed shim in there. The shim had managed to get pressed into the neck pocket wood to the point where the shim was flush with the neck pocket, and no longer doing its job.
Itty bitty strip of material shims like that always worry me, so I made my self a tapered whole neck pocket shim out of a thin sheet of card stock and a number of layers of making tape, more layers on the bridge end of the neck pocket. Problem solved! Having a shim in my Big Al makes me feel only slightly icky, as this is a pretty common issue in many bolt on basses as they age/materials move around. And the tapered whole pocket shim shouldn't have the same issue of being compressed into the neck pocket wood - the problem should be solved for good now.
Anyway, it now plays and feels as great as it sounds now. The Big Al is now in the "you can pry it from my cold dead hands" collection along with my L2500. A keeper for sure! Now I just need to get some time to take a couple pictures, she's quite a looker.
The back of the neck was filthy and had been worn down to bare wood. I cleaned off the crud, applied three coats of Tru-Oil, and it has a wonderful feeling satin-y finish new. Looks way better, too. Tru-Oil is incredibly easy to use stuff. First wood finishing product I've used that didn't make me worry that I was killing all my brain cells.
The G and B string saddles were bottomed out while still having overly high action, which worried me. Thankfully the truss rod is fine and the neck isn't warped, which meant it was time to mess with the neck angle. Shims ahoy! Strangely enough, there was already a factory installed shim in there. The shim had managed to get pressed into the neck pocket wood to the point where the shim was flush with the neck pocket, and no longer doing its job.
Itty bitty strip of material shims like that always worry me, so I made my self a tapered whole neck pocket shim out of a thin sheet of card stock and a number of layers of making tape, more layers on the bridge end of the neck pocket. Problem solved! Having a shim in my Big Al makes me feel only slightly icky, as this is a pretty common issue in many bolt on basses as they age/materials move around. And the tapered whole pocket shim shouldn't have the same issue of being compressed into the neck pocket wood - the problem should be solved for good now.
Anyway, it now plays and feels as great as it sounds now. The Big Al is now in the "you can pry it from my cold dead hands" collection along with my L2500. A keeper for sure! Now I just need to get some time to take a couple pictures, she's quite a looker.
Time for an update. Here's my old Big Al (black sugar 4H with roasted neck):
Decided I'd prefer an SSS, so I sold the H and bought this (thanks projectapollo!):
Love the flexibility of the SSS setup. The H was great but I still have two other single H EBMM basses (30th Anniversary Stingray and fretless Sterling) so the SSS is a totally different beast. And the full rosewood neck is smooooth.
Decided I'd prefer an SSS, so I sold the H and bought this (thanks projectapollo!):
Love the flexibility of the SSS setup. The H was great but I still have two other single H EBMM basses (30th Anniversary Stingray and fretless Sterling) so the SSS is a totally different beast. And the full rosewood neck is smooooth.
I always wonder does slap on BA SSS is comfortable ? I see that space between neck pickup and neck is really narrow... What about comparison between Big Al 5 SSS and ex. StingRay 5 HH ?
The gap looks narrower than it is... I've just taken delivery of a Big Al 5 SSS and it slaps easily and just fine.
