Inquiring minds want to know… did it arrive yet? I really, really want to be able to live vicariously through you
Sorry for so late of a reply. Had a very busy weekend.
Yes, I did finally get my new bass on Friday. I can't put up pics yet due to my computer setup, but will add some tomorrow. Yum, she is a beauty.
So where to start.... THE Neck. Wow. So fast. I've never felt something so smooth with zero friction. It is very playable art and hard to describe. Took me about 2-3 minutes to kind of get used to it and pretty much that was it. This is by far my favorite bass and happiest NBD yet.
Fit and finish. Excellent. I added a Zero Mod thumb rest that I had already ordered (already had one on my SMBB too due to pickup location where on most other basses I'd use the pickup as a thumb rest). I also added Ernie Ball strap locks. The buttons were high quality as are the ones on my SBMM, but I wanted an added level of protection.
Very light bass and very comfortable to wear/play. Tone knob is definitely different with less "harshness" on the high end and smoother range.
The 3 pickup positions are similar to the SBMM and I know someone said it would be hard to tell a difference, and maybe it's just me, but I can hear a difference in all 3 positions. It's a happy pleasant difference too. More full range and clear and thumpy if that's possible. I really didn't like the single coil position on the SBMM because it's just too thin and frail. On the EBMM it's much more smooth and Mo-towny and very useful. I like both the parallel and series positions better too regardless of where I put the tone knob. Chord tones are better and ring more clearly.
I get the Stingray goodness kind of that mwah on all 4 strings where on the SBMM it's only noticable on the higher register of the D and G strings (which is what made me a fan already).
I wonder if pickup adjustment could be the difference to be fair, but I can say that they look very much the same set up to me. I had to adjust my SBMM slightly away from the strings because I play hard and the initial pop was too much. I only very slightly adjusted the high end of the EBMM a little closer to the strings. Maybe it's tone woods. Maybe it's the roasted maple....
The hardware is better. The tuners are great in comparison. very big upgrade. The frets shine like the sun. The knobs seem more sturdy. The bridge may not be as heavy duty looking as the SBMM. Don't know if it's an upgrade or not; just different.
I did adjust the action one turn on each allen head down and it plays like butter. I still dig my SBMM, but this new EBMM is easily my new number 1. Going to sell a bunch of basses now. No joke. I can't see myself reaching for the others nearly as much now.
And the case, it's case is very nice. Great fit; great look, useful compartments. 3 latches. Very lightweight rig compared to my others in their hard cases all the way around.
At home I play through an Ampeg SVT-7 Pro through my Ampeg 410 HLF. It sounded better through my HLF than any of my basses (I know this is subjective to say, but YMMV) Couldn't wait to take it to church Sunday and run it through my Ampeg 810E. Still can't get the smile off my face from Sunday. Ridiculous. This is my first Ernie Ball and I am a huge fan and will be for life now. Couldn't be happier with this purchase.
