Classic Stingray 4 or 5,2 band, because it sounds like one, and you WON'T get THAT sound out of those multiple switched, multiple pickup type bass guitars...
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Recommend an EBMM
- Thread starter vivaknoxvegas
- Start date
Yep, you pretty much have to just go with a G&L L-2500 to do so. Not much else will, that I have experienced anyway.
Well, you asked for a recommendation on an EBMM. Personally, I have a Sterling 5H because I like the Sterling better than the Stingray and I like the H better than the HS or the HH (for the reasons I already posted). So, my recommendation for an EBMM would be a Sterling H - 4 string, if that's how many strings you want.
I do also have a G&L L-2500. It does offer MORE sound/tone options than any Stingray or Sterling. But, having more does mean they are better. Just like the Stingray HH having more doesn't mean they are better than the H.
Only you can decide which one is right for you.
yeah, he has always maintained that position. some of us though, myself included, have noticed fairly significant differences in tone between the 2-band and 3-band Rays. for example, to me the 2-bands have a warmer, more musical sound, and the effect of the preamp on tone and responsiveness is more subtle.
"More musical sound?" while the rest of your opinion may be valid that statement is absolutely non sensical and it causes one to question the lack of bias in your overall opinions.
you can play dozens of Music Man and you will be hard pressed to find two that sound the same. now put them in a band situation and you can pretty much Eq any of those different basses to essentially sound the same. I can get my Spector to sound like a music man in a band situation.
play more analyze less.
look at it this way if somebody likes the two they can buy the two if somebody likes the three they can buy the 3. Mr Ball has the market cornered on anybody who wants to buy a musicman bass therefore he has nothing to gain by fudging the fact. I assume that he has played and has access to far more musicman bass than you therefore his sample is more valid than yours and therefore his statement is a lot more accurate than is yours.
it is not as though only a three band is now available and he is desperate to sell it and convince you that you didn't really want a two band anyways. he has nothing to gain in saying that they are the same.
I'll echo some sentiment above that any and all EBMM basses will sound great with the Ampeg. The sort of muscly, thick-but-not-muddy signature of an EBMM is a great match for the Ampeg and rock music.
I'll also throw my support in for the EBMM Sterling. I have a plain ol' H from '95, and the value of its 3-way switch is really something. The series mode sounds aggressive and grindy, the parallel sounds compressed and hi-fi, and the single-coil setting sounds warmer and more vintage-y - more like a Jazz bass. (Note that the Stingray 5 also has this switch, but not the 4-string Stingray.) It's not too much of a stretch to say it's like having 3 basses in one. And the 3-band EQ is very handy - I use it very little, but when I just need a little more or less oomph in some aspect of the sound, it's easy to nudge the EQ.
Add to all of that a thinner neck and smaller body than the Stingray, and it's a winning combo. But that comes down to personal preference - some like the beefier, bigger Stingray (which I can understand, as I like my beefy, big 1980 Yamaha BB800). But I love the Sterling's feel - the neck is slender but round, not pencil-y like a Soundgear or Geddy, but still very fast. And the whole thing is lighter and shorter than many basses, but still feels solid and stout.
Good luck with your process. No matter which EBMM you end up with, you're going to get a great bass. As others have, I recommend trying some out if you can. Which shape feels right to you, and which one has the amount of tweakability that's right for you (it is possible to have too many options) will be much more apparent in the process of trying them out.
I'll also throw my support in for the EBMM Sterling. I have a plain ol' H from '95, and the value of its 3-way switch is really something. The series mode sounds aggressive and grindy, the parallel sounds compressed and hi-fi, and the single-coil setting sounds warmer and more vintage-y - more like a Jazz bass. (Note that the Stingray 5 also has this switch, but not the 4-string Stingray.) It's not too much of a stretch to say it's like having 3 basses in one. And the 3-band EQ is very handy - I use it very little, but when I just need a little more or less oomph in some aspect of the sound, it's easy to nudge the EQ.
Add to all of that a thinner neck and smaller body than the Stingray, and it's a winning combo. But that comes down to personal preference - some like the beefier, bigger Stingray (which I can understand, as I like my beefy, big 1980 Yamaha BB800). But I love the Sterling's feel - the neck is slender but round, not pencil-y like a Soundgear or Geddy, but still very fast. And the whole thing is lighter and shorter than many basses, but still feels solid and stout.
Good luck with your process. No matter which EBMM you end up with, you're going to get a great bass. As others have, I recommend trying some out if you can. Which shape feels right to you, and which one has the amount of tweakability that's right for you (it is possible to have too many options) will be much more apparent in the process of trying them out.
I do like hard-finished necks, and glossy most of all. I'm kind of sorry to see so few around these days, with everyone going to satin or oil finishes. But I've enjoyed my Sterling's oil-finished neck a lot more since I started using a [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] several years ago. Much better than the hideously toxic gunstock oil they recommend - healthier, feels better under my hand, and seems to protect the wood very well.
The one on the left is exactly like mine, if you change the pg to pearloid and make it a lefty.
I already have a nice LH jazz, which combined with the EBMM Ray5 gives me all the tonal qualities I need. The Ray is far better construction and feel, and I never have to mess around with it in regard to set up, intonation etc. a very quality build.
The EBMM tone is divisive - it's not everyone's cup of tea, but it truly sits beautifully in the mix both live and recording. It can be hard to get used to if you are used to Fender sound, it's a bit more twangy and clanky until you dial it in properly. The neck is certainly fatter, and more "baseball" than a jazz, but it takes very little to get used to.
Just my opinion.
I was unbiased prior to forming an opinion based on experience. that's how it works. here's a question for you: what makes you think it's ok to talk to me in such an arrogant tone on a bass guitar internet forum? don't you know that you devalue yourself and this community by doing that? I don't want to derail this thread with a petty squabble, but man, you just shouldn't talk to people like that.
Here's a guy with examples of each and a frequency analyzer and he also disagrees with Mr. Ball.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
I gave my opinion which is just that, I have no bass company or axe to grind, I just had money in hand & played everything they had to offer and on that, made an educated opinion based on a one shot buy and bang for the buck, no disrespect to Mr. Ball intended. But the OP wanted OUR opinion which is based on our ears and experience, not the opinion of someone with a vested interest. On a side note, I have not played the Reflex bass.
Stuart V: Thank you, I read the analysis that you linked. The author thoroughly qualified his analysis of the difference with a number of significant things such as plucking, pick-up height and even differences in the wood. That's some pretty major qualification for such minor differences. Again, I played somewhere around 10 MM's that one day that I bought 2 and their sounds were all over the place- even when comparing "same" basses. Again, I'll trust Mr. Ball who has access to far more Music Man basses for comparison. Again, he sells both 2 and 3 band basses so he has no reason to be biased in saying essentially that "the three band is the same as the two, only with more flexibility."
IronLung: I questioned your term "more musical sound." If you interpret that as arrogant, so be it and I'm truly sorry to have hurt your feelings but "calling out BS" when BS is offered as a supporting argument does not fit the definition of arrogance. How about calling it altruism towards future readers who are looking for credible facts about basses? So please refrain from insulting people on the internet by calling them arrogant. I didn't insult you, I just used logic to counter your argument.
Your term "more musical tone" is gobbledygook and seems to be a stretch that you pulled out to justify your opinion. I'm sure your 2 Band is spectacular but it is not "more musical sound[ing]" than the worst bass out there. My rebuttal was merely calling into question your gobbledygook allegation, and, it was merely a part of a long conversation, and my assertion and others, including yours somewhere, that basses of the same construction can vary and one must decide for one's self- one can get an expensive lemon if one is unlucky or a cheap peach if one is lucky. But I digress; hitting a frying pan with a spoon can be musical. Throwing some uncooked, hard green peas into a pot can be musical. One type of any bass cannot have a "more musical sound" than any other bass just the same as you can't categorically state as fact that the 2 Band can do something that the 3 Band can't do. By the way, I liked at least some of the 2 Bands I've played, and I absolutely love the way they look- they just aren't an option for me since my left hand has some deficits that don't work so well with the traditional Stingray neck. I had a 92 or 93 Ray 5 (sold long ago cuz the neck didn't work with my hand in more intricate playing) that felt completely different from my current model Stingray 5's.
