Musicman- pros, cons?

[flareaga]

I have yet to get a chance to play one

 

[BassyBill]

No it depends on the bass and the mix. I had a mid 90's Ray that got lost in the mix pretty regularly of a house gig I had back then. I am sure that if I had tried other Stingrays I could have found the right combo for that group/room. I think it had a lot to do with the wood,the mids on a three band Ray and the instrumentation of my band. Usually a Ray will cut right though, but not always.

Spot on. I've only used my SR4 on a gig ONCE.

It was a really weird phenomenon - when I started the night I was playing at my normal volume, but somehow the bass sound just "got lost" in with the rest of the band. The only way to be heard distinctly was to turn up a lot louder than I usually would with that particular band. Especially noticeable on the G string, as quite a few people have noted in the past with Rays.

My SR4 only gets played at home now - shame, as in terms of construction, finish and feel it's one of the nicest basses I own. Now, where's that impulse buys thread again... ?

 

[Baryonyx]

Pros-Good looks, good tone, they play nicely.

cons-Not the best looking basses, not the best sounding basses, not the best playing basses.

 

[Bobbo 77"]

Órale,
Just wanted to chime in on this subject. I used my 77' Stingray for 5 straight nites, and from the moment I plugged in, THAT Bass was just perfect! Tone, neck, weight, ect... Tried my Marcus but put that down after 2 song's, just was'nt happening
Now, I also own a Sr5, Maple/Ash, but I think we're talkin' about 2 different tones/Basses, Pre-Ernie Ball to the present. I'm a Alnico fan, cuz of the bottom, and the ceramic, thou close and mimics the Stingray tone, I prefer the tone and feel, along side of the fact that I prefer the 2 band EQ set-up. I beleive I'll be selling my Marcus, and just like back in the day, resume using my 77' Funk-machine as my #1!
Bobbo 77'

 

[mobax]

Órale,
Just wanted to chime in on this subject. I used my 77' Stingray for 5 straight nites, and from the moment I plugged in, THAT Bass was just perfect! Tone, neck, weight, ect... Tried my Marcus but put that down after 2 song's, just was'nt happening
Now, I also own a Sr5, Maple/Ash, but I think we're talkin' about 2 different tones/Basses, Pre-Ernie Ball to the present. I'm a Alnico fan, cuz of the bottom, and the ceramic, thou close and mimics the Stingray tone, I prefer the tone and feel, along side of the fact that I prefer the 2 band EQ set-up. I beleive I'll be selling my Marcus, and just like back in the day, resume using my 77' Funk-machine as my #1!
Bobbo 77'

I have a similar experience. I own a 1978 Stingray 4 string and once owned a 2003 SR5. I noticed quite a difference between the 2 band eq (1978) and the 3 band eq (2003). I prefer the 2 band eq and ended up selling the SR5 because it just could not get the tone that the 1978 produced. Also, I've recently returned to playing 4 strings and it looks like the '78 Stingray will be my main bass with some competition from a 2006 Fender Am. Deluxe Jazz.

 

[Ostinato]

You're the only person that I know of that says the MM got lost in the mix.EQ maybe?One of the strong points of the MM bass,especially the single H, is being able to be heard better in a band setting. You had to have had the mids cut not to have heard it. I currently own 3 and have no problems being heard.

Depends on how you EQ your amp. Some guys like to cut the mids on the amp, and these same guys are usually Fender players. I had exactly the same problem when I got my first Musicman and sold it off for exactly the same reason, I'd be doing gigs and as soon as I went up the neck the singer would turn around and yell "where's the bass?!"

..I just didn't know what I was doing with the EQ at the time

 

[mikopita]

I love MM. My Sterling is by far my favorite bass, while I really like my SR5 too (even though I toy with trading it from time to time). The only negative I have with the Sterling is that it currently only comes in 4 stringers...

I'm saving my pennies for the new Sterling 5's when they come out though!

 

[Art and Music]

Well, there are four basses in my house.....
Fender Jazz alder
Peavey Cirrus 5 bubinga
Peavey Cirrus 4 redwood
EBMM SR4 ash

Purchased them in that order. They all produce great and individual tones...Peaveys w/ 2 single coil soapbars....huge versatility of clear tones (very modern); Fender Jazz, well, classic J sound; and the Single H Stingray which is very versatile, too. IMHO the Stingray does have a classic sound of its own, particularly with slap and pop. Each bass has its own range of sound. I like a wide range of musical styles: blues, jazz, rock and funk. If I could only keep one of them it would have to be the Stingray because it covers what I like to play the most which is Rock and Funk. It is hands down best for these but it works well for blues, too. But I have them all because there isn't any one bass that can cover all the tones of these instruments.

One side note...what's the weight issue thing? I haven't used a scale, but my guess is that all of these basses are within about a half pound of each other, in fact, I never thought about it before with any of them, but I'm not a small guy either.