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Musicman HH Players

seansbrew

seansbrew

Oct 23, 2000
2,791
1,672
55
Mesa AZ.
#1
I owned a music man single pup bass many years ago. I ended up selling it, but later regretted having gotten rid of it.

So for my birthday (last june) my lovely wife went out and purchased me a Musicman HH.

I have experimented (in live settings, gigs, in my room) with the pick up selector extensively.

In the end I always end up using only the bridge pickup. I don't think the other pick up positions really do anything for the bass. It's like it was meant to have the one pick up.

So I have since completely lowered the neck pick up and don't even bother with the selector.

Now I'm thinking of trading it or selling it for a musician bass with only on pickup

Do any of you HH players feel the same way?

Would you sell the HH if you only used the one pickup?
 
#3
I *might* sell an HH if I were only using one pickup, ... but not if my wife gave it to me for my birthday. Beware, there be dragons there!

Every instrument has its own voice, maybe give it a while to see if it sweetens up for you?
 
#4
I have a Stingray HH. For a couple of years I had a very similar experience, I found I was using switch position 5 (just bridge pickup) almost exclusively. Then I started to experiment with others. I've since fallen in love with position 4 (outside coils) and I'd say I actually use that sound more than position 5. I also use 2 every now and then, and 3 has a really tight slap sound. I love switching between them as I play to find the sound that seems to fit the song best.

Idea is once you really start experimenting, you may realize how awesome the different options are. I now have an EBMM GameChanger on order, so I'll soon have an almost infinite amount of tone possibilities and I'm excited about it.
 
#8
If you like the way it plays and sounds, I wouldn't flip it just because it's an HH... I would also raise that neck pup back up to where it's supposed to be - if it's switched off, what's the purpose of lowering it??? Look at it this way - it's not uncommon for a player's tonal tastes to change or evolve - and what seems "meh" to you *now*, might be just the ticket a year or two from now... If you keep that pup lowered, you can't just flip the switch to experiment with different sounds as the mood/situation suits you... Unless it's physically getting in your way, there is no good reason to lower it when it's already switched off...

I have an SR5 HH, and find myself using switch position 2 the most - IIRC, an inside coil from each pup - and that works well for me... I also have a SUB5 and a SUB Sterling, both with single H pups - so, I play both H and HH setups, and those are my thoughts on the matter...


- georgestrings
 
#9
What type of HH do you have? Ray, Sterling, Big Al etc?

If you sold your current HH and bought a single H - I think there's a good chance you would lose $ in the transaction.

If you just use the bridge pup via selector position 1 - which is basically the same as an H - why bother?

If you don't use the neck pup, why lower it? I would keep at factory settings to facilitate future experimentation.

The only reason I can see for swapping your HH for an H - or lowering the neck pup - is the "room" that would afford your plucking fingers.

Most players seem to use positions 2 and 4 - I'm a full-on position 3 guy myself. I find position 1 a bit "aggressive" but I'm sure it would really cut through in a band situation.
 
#10
I use the other selections on a fairly regular basis but switch to the back one often. I will say I like the HH because I can put my thumb on the first pickup. For some reason I don't like placing my thumb on the rear pickup. Makes me feel like my hand is too far back for my comfort. So if nothing else the first pup can be a really cool expensive thumb rest! :)

Take Care,
Timbros.
 
#12
If you like the way it sounds then I don't think there's any reason to get rid of it. I have 3 basses that have neck and bridge pickups and I pretty much only run the bridge pickups on all. I'm sure there's a tone of Jazz bass players who live on their bridge pickups and I've never seen anyone just get rid of the other one.

Its kinda like my truck. I have the ability to put it into 4 wheel drive but the majority of the time I'm in 2 wheel. I often think about getting something else until a lovely Chicago snow storm hits. It's about versatility and while right now you might not need it who's to say down the road you won't?
 
#16
Root 5 said:
I would NEVER sell an instrument my wife bought for me.
Click to expand...


Yeah, especially one that nice - I'm sure it wasn't cheap... I think the ONLY way you could pull that off is if she was totally cool with trading it for another bass - and even then, women can be hard to read... *I* probably would keep it, and just buy another, if I needed to - since I think that's the kind of thing most women would hold against you, even if they said they didn't... Besides, even considering getting rid of a gift so nice is kinda being a little ungrateful, IMO...


- georgestrings
 
#17
georgestrings said:
If you like the way it plays and sounds, I wouldn't flip it just because it's an HH... I would also raise that neck pup back up to where it's supposed to be - if it's switched off, what's the purpose of lowering it??? Look at it this way - it's not uncommon for a player's tonal tastes to change or evolve - and what seems "meh" to you *now*, might be just the ticket a year or two from now... If you keep that pup lowered, you can't just flip the switch to experiment with different sounds as the mood/situation suits you... Unless it's physically getting in your way, there is no good reason to lower it when it's already switched off...

I have an SR5 HH, and find myself using switch position 2 the most - IIRC, an inside coil from each pup - and that works well for me... I also have a SUB5 and a SUB Sterling, both with single H pups - so, I play both H and HH setups, and those are my thoughts on the matter...


- georgestrings
Click to expand...

You guys are right, I shouldn't trade away/get rid of a gift my wife secretly purchased for me.

Thanks for talking some sense into me. My preference probably will change at some point, and I will have the flexibility to do it if I keep this bass.
 
#18
seansbrew said:
You guys are right, I shouldn't trade away/get rid of a gift my wife secretly purchased for me.

Thanks for talking some sense into me. My preference probably will change at some point, and I will have the flexibility to do it if I keep this bass.
Click to expand...

Good man - I predict that with time, you'll be glad you came to this decision, and for several reasons...


- georgestrings
 
#19
About six years ago, my wife bought me a Stingray 5 HH as a Christmas gift. I worked with it for a year or so and could never get the low end to clean up. I then turned it over to a guitar tech and had him install a P/J set of EMGs. I now get exactly the tone I want and am totally happy. I didn't want to modify the Stingray, but this option was better than any other option open to me. My wife supports my music and I felt compelled to not only keep, but use this bass. Now, I am happy, she is happy, and all is still well at home. I hope you don't mind the humble opinion of a bassist that has been gigging for over 40 years.
 

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