• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

NBD: Ernie Ball Music Man Caprice

#101
Got my new vintage pearl pickguard from Chandler / Pickguard Planet and put it on - I love it! :)

caprice-pearl-guard-closeup.jpg
caprice-pearl-guard-full.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: armybass, Dr. Cheese, MrAtomic and 7 others
#102
Inara said:
Apologies - I have not been able to get over there! :(
Click to expand...
Don't worry about it. I've decided I don't need a P bass on top of the Caprice. But I like the black/tort/maple, so when I finally order a G&L Kiloton 5, that's the colour I'm going with.

That pearl pickguard just looks fantastic on the blue Caprice. It's unfortunate that they don't choose that as their default guard.
 
  • Like
Reactions: armybass and Inara
#103
So I don't play this one in a band right now ... my Ibanez Portamento fretless 5 works best for both bands I'm in currently. I've primarily been a fretless player most of my life, but I was feeling a call to simplicity yesterday after tons of rehearsals and learning / writing basslines on the fretless 5. So I picked up the Caprice.

Lo and behold, a new song just flowed right out of the instrument. I nearly have it finished, and will post a clip soon. It's a chordal fingerpicking and tapping thing inspired by someone I love deeply. There are sections where I let multiple harmonics ring, and I'm shocked by how long they keep going with these not-new nickel roundwounds. For an experiment, I let them ring until they died out. Both the neck body of the bass were very noticeably vibrating, and it just felt and sounded like heaven.

I did a lot of this type of thing (chordal and tapping stuff on a fretted four string) early in my playing days, but not a lot for many years. Yesterday made me feel young again, lol. I love this bass.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Spidey2112, 4stringsjack and wintremute
#104
Inara said:
So I don't play this one in a band right now ... my Ibanez Portamento fretless 5 works best for both bands I'm in currently. I've primarily been a fretless player most of my life, but I was feeling a call to simplicity yesterday after tons of rehearsals and learning / writing basslines on the fretless 5. So I picked up the Caprice.

Lo and behold, a new song just flowed right out of the instrument. I nearly have it finished, and will post a clip soon. It's a chordal fingerpicking and tapping thing inspired by someone I love deeply. There are sections where I let multiple harmonics ring, and I'm shocked by how long they keep going with these not-new nickel roundwounds. For an experiment, I let them ring until they died out. Both the neck body of the bass were very noticeably vibrating, and it just felt and sounded like heaven.

I did a lot of this type of thing (chordal and tapping stuff on a fretted four string) early in my playing days, but not a lot for many years. Yesterday made me feel young again, lol. I love this bass.
Click to expand...


What, you're old? I don't think so!:roflmao:

Lo and behold, a new song just flowed right out of the instrument.

Why are you surprised at this? Didn't you know that a technology is built-in all EBMM products?? (just the basses, not the guitars)
There is a type of wax, I believe, somewhere in the control cavity, that when activated by a player touching the strings,
immediately triggers creative and tasteful playing. "Big Poppa" doesn't like to mention this because he would then have a leg up on the competition, and he's a straight-shooter, except when it comes to BBQ cook-offs.

So I hear.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Inara
#105
B-line said:
What, you're old? I don't think so!:roflmao:
Click to expand...
Lol, thanks. I'm older than I look, sadly. I won't say how old, of course! ;)

Lo and behold, a new song just flowed right out of the instrument.

Why are you surprised at this? Didn't you know that a technology is built-in all EBMM products?? (just the basses, not the guitars)
There is a type of wax, I believe, somewhere in the control cavity, that when activated by a player touching the strings,
immediately triggers creative and tasteful playing. "Big Poppa" doesn't like to mention this because he would then have a leg up on the competition, and he's a straight-shooter, except when it comes to BBQ cook-offs.

So I hear.
Click to expand...
I'm a believer!! :bassist::bassist::bassist::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
  • Like
Reactions: B-line
#107
B-line said:
Age is a mind-thing, you know that!
I wish they included some BBQ in the case of any new MM bass!:roflmao:
Click to expand...
Age is mostly a mind thing, true. Though there is another element, eloquently expressed to me by a teenage bicycle stunting guy I saw one day ... he jumped his bike off a 25 foot drop between unpaved parking lot levels where I had just parked. Another teenager, one I know, was there as well, and he said "Wanna try that?" I laughed and said "No, I'm definitely too old for that!" The guy who had done the jump said "Age is just a number!!" Then he paused, and added "Well, that and healing time ..."
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4stringsjack and B-line
#108
Inara said:
Age is mostly a mind thing, true. Though there is another element, eloquently expressed to me by a teenage bicycle stunting guy I saw one day ... he jumped his bike off a 25 foot drop between unpaved parking lot levels where I had just parked. Another teenager, one I know, was there as well, and he said "Wanna try that?" I laughed and said "No, I'm definitely too old for that!" The guy who had done the jump said "Age is just a number!!" Then he paused, and added "Well, that and healing time ..."
Click to expand...
Hahaha! All of it is true... I am significantly younger then my calendar years might suggest- I have no doubt about that. I think my birth certificate is incorrect, and there is one digit that needs to have 2 subtracted from it.

On the flip side, I had a really bad skiing accident one year, 7 months, and 1 day ago (not that I'm counting), in which I shattered my tibial plateau. Recovery has been sloooooow... I'm still not 100%, but getting closer. I used to think that only my bicycle would have titanium components...

Just to get back on topic, I really do believe that our instruments can inspire us! I will never forget... One day I picked up a bass that I was thinking about buying and I began to play. For the next few minutes I didn't really believe that the sounds I was hearing were coming from *me*. That was years ago and I'll never forget it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Inara
#110
4stringsjack said:
Hahaha! All of it is true... I am significantly younger then my calendar years might suggest- I have no doubt about that. I think my birth certificate is incorrect, and there is one digit that needs to have 2 subtracted from it.

On the flip side, I had a really bad skiing accident one year, 7 months, and 1 day ago (not that I'm counting), in which I shattered my tibial plateau. Recovery has been sloooooow... I'm still not 100%, but getting closer. I used to think that only my bicycle would have titanium components...

Just to get back on topic, I really do believe that our instruments can inspire us! I will never forget... One day I picked up a bass that I was thinking about buying and I began to play. For the next few minutes I didn't really believe that the sounds I was hearing were coming from *me*. That was years ago and I'll never forget it.
Click to expand...
Hope your recovery continues!

Yes, they do! I've learned things from instruments, and had a similar experience to what you're discussing. My early-70s Precision did that for me, and this Caprice is doing it even more ... while weighing 3 pounds less and being more versatile with a neck that fits my hands better. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4stringsjack
#111
Inara said:
Hope your recovery continues!

Yes, they do! I've learned things from instruments, and had a similar experience to what you're discussing. My early-70s Precision did that for me, and this Caprice is doing it even more ... while weighing 3 pounds less and being more versatile with a neck that fits my hands better. :)
Click to expand...
Thanks!! Biking > walking/running >>> skiing :)

I'm finally back where I can do 3+ hour gigs and still be able to load out and walk the next day. :)

I've been eyeing a Caprice since they came out. Until I sell some basses, though, I have made a vow to myself that I will not add any.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Inara
#112
Wow, the pearloid guard looks very sharp with the blue!
Inara said:
If you don't mind the look, going with Hipshot's Y-key version saves another 8 grams per tuner. So if you installed a set of four of those, you'd save 6.6 ounces.
Click to expand...
Don't know if you've switched the tuners yet, but in case you're wondering what Y keys look like on MM headstock, here's a former bass of mine (Sterling SUB Ray4). I don't have a full shot, but it looked quite good/balanced, and it (incredibly) shaved off a full pound!
IMG_0913.JPG
 
  • Like
Reactions: Inara
#113
fermata said:
Wow, the pearloid guard looks very sharp with the blue!
Click to expand...
Thanks! I am loving it!

Don't know if you've switched the tuners yet, but in case you're wondering what Y keys look like on MM headstock, here's a former bass of mine (Sterling SUB Ray4). I don't have a full shot, but it looked quite good/balanced, and it (incredibly) shaved off a full pound!
View attachment 1198479
Click to expand...
Thanks for that pic! The Y keys by my calcs would take this bass under the eight pound mark, which would just be incredible. And I like the way they look in your pic ... although the Caprice headstock is larger than the Stingray style headstock. But I have a Sterling Ray34 fretless that is toooo heavy that I could through them on if they don't look right on the Caprice ... hmmmmmmmm ... :bassist::bassist::bassist:
 
  • Like
Reactions: fermata

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back