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Musicman Big Al Club

#141
Joe Nerve said:
How does the reflex compare to the big al? Is it a lot bigger and heavier? Does it sound more Stingrayish, or Bongoish?

MM20... I owned a Sterling a while back. There's a certain sound I love in the stingray, that as silly as this sounds, the Sterling does even better. That funky, rubbery like sound. And it cuts like a razor. Only thing I didn't like was I sometimes wished it had a tad more bottom end, and a little more versatility. The Stingray HS gave me all of that and then some. I'm imagining the addition of a neck pickup on a Sterling 5 would give me the same.

The neck profile is the same on the Sterling as the Big Al. If my memory serves me correctly the Sterling is smaller and lighter than the other two. No bass ever fit me quite as well as that one did. Always loved the looks of it too. The slightly different shape of the pickgard specifically.

I've pretty much narrowed down my choice to the Sterling or Reflex. I want something different. Having a really rough time deciding though. Anyone know of any good reflex reviews out there?
Click to expand...

So heres mine.
Definitely the warmest of the MM line and Ive owned a Ray, Sterling, Reflex, Bongo, and the Al. So I gave up the ray as I found the neck fatiguing in the first few positions. I gave up the Sterling as I could never warm the tone up and found it "clacky". That left me with the BA, Bongo, and Anniversary (reflex for all purposes with a fancy top). The Anniversary was like a warmer more versatile Bongo so off it went. I gave up the Anniversary as I was purging my four strings but find the BA neck perfect. Im still hoping for 18mm-19mm fiver one day! The reflex has a Bongo neck which is nice and can do an almost perfect Ray tone! My favorite tone however was the two inner coils in series, huge and unique! If you like the Sterling I think youll like the Reflex due to its series settings, its just warmer and less processed sounding. I really hope that EB will come around and offer a wide neck five, they seem to be doing everything else the market asks for!
 
#144
Picked up these two, thinking to keep one....Didn't take long to appreciate the vast array of sounds from this bass and, importantly, the controls are quickly tweekable.

This bass may be the sleeper of recent times, reminiscent of how the Fender Roscoe Beck 5 was for many years an unknown quanity. Thought i would keep only the rosewood, but the maple truly nails the P bass sound with either middle or neck pickup; looks like new twins in the family.:bassist:
 

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#145
duke2004 said:
Picked up these two, thinking to keep one....Didn't take long to appreciate the vast array of sounds from this bass and, importantly, the controls are quickly tweekable.

This bass may be the sleeper of recent times, reminiscent of how the Fender Roscoe Beck 5 was for many years an unknown quanity. Thought i would keep only the rosewood, but the maple truly nails the P bass sound with either middle or neck pickup; looks like new twins in the family.:bassist:
Click to expand...

Congrats x2! :D
 
#146
Ok here's pics as promised! "Well how do you like it?", you ask...Duh, winning! I've got about 10 hours of play time on it and haven't found a bad tone yet. Even the cats in my doom band dig it.

This thing is a tone MONSTER. Regardless of how people feel about the body shape, you'd be doing yourself a big disservice by not trying one of these out.

BigSheenFull1.gif


Matching headstock!
BigSheenHS1.gif


BigSheenFull4.gif
 
#149
Ur2funky said:
Yep, your ground connection is broken. Should be an easy fix. It's easy with a continuity checker (most volt meters have them). Start with the input jack, checking that the black wire is electrically connected. If that connection is good, make sure the bridge has continuity with the input jack. Just follow the ground path back to where it is broken. A quick hit with a soldering gun, and the hum will be gone.


Most times it's right at the input jack.

.
Click to expand...

Yep, that was it! The EBMM tech said that the main harness was not grounded. They fixed the wiring and gave the bass a fresh setup with new strings and sent it back just in time for my weekend gig. The bass is dead quiet now as it should be.

Hmm... now I'm tempted to trade-in the Sterling for a Big Al 4H. :D
 
#152
Well, I've had my Big Al sss at two weekends worth of gigs now. Lots of big-time tone compliments from bassists!

This last weekend I slapped some Chromes (flats) on it and was very pleasantly surprised. Soo nice to go from a big, round tone to an aggressive funk-out with just a press of the active/passive switch.

I'm still adjusting to the ergonomics. I'm thinking of lengthening the upper horn strap button to see if that helps.
 
#153
Ur2funky said:
Well, I've had my Big Al sss at two weekends worth of gigs now. Lots of big-time tone compliments from bassists!

This last weekend I slapped some Chromes (flats) on it and was very pleasantly surprised. Soo nice to go from a big, round tone to an aggressive funk-out with just a press of the active/passive switch.

I'm still adjusting to the ergonomics. I'm thinking of lengthening the upper horn strap button to see if that helps.
Click to expand...

Are you using straplocks? I had a friend who didn't like how it hung on a strap when using the stock buttons. I suggested to him to use straplocks and it cured his issues.

For me its one of the most ergonomically perfect basses I have played. FWIW, I use straplocks.
 
#154
Smallequestrian said:
Are you using straplocks? I had a friend who didn't like how it hung on a strap when using the stock buttons. I suggested to him to use straplocks and it cured his issues.

For me its one of the most ergonomically perfect basses I have played. FWIW, I use straplocks.
Click to expand...

Same here. The angle of the strap button on the horn worried me, so I added Ernie Ball strap locks. Now it hangs just right.
 
#156
Ur2funky said:
I'm still adjusting to the ergonomics. I'm thinking of lengthening the upper horn strap button to see if that helps.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I use straplocks. My strap bends 90 degrees from the straplock, which hasn't been a problem, but seems weird.

No neck dive either. Seems to balance well.

My minor adjustment has been that at age 43 I have a bit of a belly, and with the tummy tuck and forearm curve of the bass combined with my belly, it tends to tilt the face of the bass a bit more towards the ceiling than I am used to. Which makes reaching for an "F" on the first fret tweak my wrist a bit more and I've felt a bit of discomfort after playing the bass. But just a bit and it didn't last, but I'm going mess with strap length and get a fix on it.

I guess I just gotta lose some weight!

The sound of this bass is worth it!
 
#158
Can anyone confirm that the Big Al pickguards are lined with aluminum? Mine was not, but the website states that it should be. It's ironic that I found out now because I just sent my Big Al in thinking I had a grounding issue, but totally let it slip my mind that there was no shielding on my pickguard.
 

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