NBD! (Pre-Ernie Content)

'78 Ray! Refin (not very well buffed out), but otherwise all stock. All metal parts look like they were polished with Brillo and the finish on the headstock is peeling pretty badly, but all electronics are original and it plays and sounds great!

 

Yeah, it's good all around. It's a little warmer sounding than some old Rays I've played, maybe smooth is a better word. Anyway, it's nice. Not too heavy, either.

I agree with the two-band assessment. I know it's a hot-button topic here on TB, but I have newer Rays and went with two-band on those as well. I just prefer where the treble control sits, frequency-wise.

It's also kinda good that it's not a museum piece so I can gig it in bars with impunity.

The CL seller, as it turns out, was somebody I knew, too! Small world....

 

$1250. $1249, actually. He insisted on giving me the dollar change.
That's really good, I think, even with it's cosmetic issues.

 

I haven't commandeered the kitchen scale yet, but if I had to guess I'd say somewhere between 9.5 and 10 lbs. That's really just a guess based on other basses I have and how it feels on the strap. NOT a very accurate system.

The body is ash, which leaves me to believe that it was probably either a natural or a sunburst finish originally. Musicman used poplar for most of the solid colored bodies (with exceptions, of course). Doesn't matter to me; I like the white.

 

...and here I am at work - NOT playing my new bass.

 

As it turns out, I already found out a lot more here:
http://www.musicmanbass.org/default.htm

I found my bass listed by an earlier owner:
B00xxxx..Owner says 1978. Walnut with Maple. Black pg. No "MM" stamp on bridge. Encircled "R" on headstock logo.

So it seems my bass was originally walnut. Truth be told, I'm kinda glad someone painted it!

Thanks for the link. I'm going to check that next.

 

Not a very accurate system, indeed! I just weighed it and it measures out quite a bit heavier than I thought at 10lbs.,14oz.

Actually pretty heavy, but it doesn't really feel too bad. Maybe I'm just excited to have a new toy.

 

Played my first gig with this last night at The Grand Victory in Brooklyn. A pop/punk set with one guitar, drums and female vocals. I ran my SVT3-pro through the house cabinet; an old Peavey 2x15. I ended up with the input gain cranked to get the grind I was looking for, but the end result was classic Ray aggression. Perfect for the gig. This bass is really fun to play!

Interestingly, this bass has a smoother sound than some other Rays I've played and seems to have slightly lower output. I'm not sure why that is. The electronics are definitely stock. Not a criticism, just an observation.

Anyway, now that I've gigged it, I'm even happier with the purchase than I was before!