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Should I buy another Musicman?

#21
I was going to add that I know someone with high end Martin acoustics who has had problems with fingerboards lifting at the neck joint - he has a humidity problem in his place and has had to take action to avoid damaging his guitars - however high end Martins don't have a fingerboard problem - people keeping them in very damp conditions do it seems ........
 
#22
Get another MM.

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#24
I live in a relatively crazy environment in terms of weather, including wild fluctuations in temperature, and my oil finished Sterling neck has been nothing but rock solid. I also had a gloss finished neck on an SR5, and that bass was put in storage for long periods of time, taken to gigs in the winter where it was -40 outside and then played indoors before being brought back out again...not exactly kept in a glass box! Anyway, that neck never needed a single truss rod adjustment in over two decades. So IME and IMO, EBMM necks are as stable and reliable as you'll find out there.
 
#25
DommyLama said:
A couple years ago I bought a used Musicman Stingray from Guitar Center. I really loved everything about it with the exception of the setup. I took it to my guy and he set it up for me while I waited. He said the neck had a bit of relief in it. We sat and talked for awhile after he was done. I take the bass home and go out of town for a week. I come home and the neck is back to the way it was before the setup. Now my guy has been setting my stuff up for years and knows what he's doing. I took it back again and he tells me that the neck is twisted! I left it with him to see if he could get it right and he was not able to get it done. Needless to say I took it back to guitar center and got my money back. Are the necks on musicman basses temperamental or did I just get a bad one?
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Sounds like you got a bad one. These things happen.
I've owned... 4 different EBMMs and they were all good basses. I currently own two Sterlings (one of which will be on the market shortly!) and they are both a joy to play.
 
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#28
DiabolusInMusic said:
This is what I was going to say as well. I know a couple other players that find MM necks to adjust at the slightest change, including a guitar player.
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+1 Flea quit using Sting Rays because they needed too much adjusting to play right while on the road. They are great basses with a signature sound, just need to be proactive about keeping proper neck relief. Doesn't bother me at all as I do professional setups and all my Music Mans have been great with no issues.
 
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#30
drTSTingray said:
The answer to your original question is yes, of course you should [emoji4] if you want a tango pearl HH that is going to be rare so your best bet is to order a new one - it will come from the factory set up impeccably so unless it has experienced extraordinarily extreme low or high temperatures it will remain good. There should be no need to alter anything but if there is a minor tweak of the truss rod wheel adjuster will do it.

As for your experience with the musicman neck, another good thing about Musicman is awesome customer service - they would likely have sorted out that neck for you.

I have 7 of their basses and they all have great necks - people are known to set them up badly - the truss rod is the only likely adjustment ever needed in my experience. Their consistency is second to none so duds should not happen and having great customer service should give you peace of mind anyway.

And if you do go for a new one shop around for the best deal.

It'll probably take three months to be delivered but you can choose your colour (though you've done that already, and a v cool one it is too), pick guard colour (I would go with plain black or white with that colour), maple/rosewood/fretless fretboard etc.
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I agree with this. EBMM has great QC. Still, they are human, and surely a dud or two gets by every year and it sounds like you got one. They also happen to have impeccable customer service. I have no doubt that they would have replaced it for you if you sent it to them. Not many companies out there like EBMM that care about their brand as much as they do.

I've owned 5 Musicman basses, and they have all been superbly made and great at what they do. If you're considering another, don't let one bad experience dissuade you.
 
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#31
I had a bad neck on a Stingray 5 - the truss rod would set up just fine and then after a day or so go back to a setting of relief that was unacceptable for me. This went on for a year or so, always the same problem. I mentioned this on the EB forum and maybe here and it was suggested that it could never happen because Sterling Ball said so and that I was doing something wrong. I've been doing this for decades and have forgotten about more gigs than most people have even played, but that's a whole 'nother topic.

The neck in question was a birdseye maple neck/fingerboard, a wood that apparently does have some stability issues. I eventually traded the bass with a guy that had a Status neck to put on it. I've owned three other MM basses that had perfect necks that never required much adjustment. Maybe a bad neck combined with questionable materials was the origin of my bad experience.
 
#33
shrigg said:
+1 Flea quit using Sting Rays because they needed too much adjusting to play right while on the road. They are great basses with a signature sound, just need to be proactive about keeping proper neck relief. Doesn't bother me at all as I do professional setups and all my Music Mans have been great with no issues.
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I am pretty sure that Flea left his endorsement deal because he wanted to have an Ernie Ball "Flea" bass and they would not do that.
 
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#35
Hi get or try a USA SUB bass,out of production now.
Had mine for 11 years now .Adjusted neck when I got it and haven,t touched it since-still spot on.Alot of bass for the money.
Solid build like USA Peaveys now there,s an avenue to explore,very good basses with good necks for playing.
 
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#37
I love those roasted maple necks in my opinion nobody does it better than MM I'm even thinking about just buying one of those necks to hang on a wall they look so good. This is the first time I've heard about any issues with their necks?
 
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#38
pedroims said:
In my experience SR necks are very sensitive, i need to adjust the relief periodically because the minimal change in temperature/humidity will affect it. I think is because the finish they use on their necks.
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Jup, this is my experience too. I have to tighten the neck every two to four weeks, unless I want a super high action.
My worry is, whether it is the screw that loosens or something else? If it's the screw, this is no problem, just tighten it. However, if it's something else then the screw's reach will come to an end. What then?
 
#40
I have a "black beauty" '95 V strings. Bought it used in '98 or '99 in Usa (Atomic Music, Washington DC). Excellent instrument overall; only thing is each now and then (more often than not) it needs a tweak on the rod to set it back to the right point. Never had this problem on any other of my basses. Would never part with it anyway: it plays, sounds and feels absolutely good!!!
 
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