• 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.

The Official MARUSZCZYK CLUB!

#8,061
jb90 said:
Now I have Musicman Stingray 4 H. Maybe I write here what I like/don't like with it so will be easier to understand what my preferences are.
1. Neck is a little bit too wide. I think that Jazz Bass neck would be easier for me to playing because I don't have big hands so any big, wide necks/fretboards with wide string spacing are not for me. And especially with 5 string difficulties may be even bigger.
2. This bass is quite heavy. I think that could be a little bit lighter.
3. I like bridge which is massive and stable. Tone-wise I like that this bass is powerfull, clean, have good electronics (but not as good as I think bass should have. Especially in mids and treble.)
4. I think that just one humbucker close to bridge is not very versatile thing. Of course I can get a lot of useful sounds but I think that there's not so much useful thump from mids and nice meaty lows. Probably because of lack of neck pickup. Instead there's a lot of treble (even though I roll off treble on preamp still a lot of high end! Sometimes I think that even too much but maybe that's the thing and it helps to sit better in the mix?), sometimes lack of this nice round low mid (500hz is actually kind of "honk" than nice warm growl which cut through in many great records) and lows are rather thunderous instead nice and round in the whole range (probably because of type of pickup and placement of it). Don't get me wrong. It's StingRay. So this sound is iconic in bass world. But I think that this tone is not so much used in today music. Musicians and producers looking for something rounder than harsh and with "unusual character" which most of the time doesn't fit to the music.
5. Just active electronics is not what we always need as a bass players. Sometimes simple, more "vintage" and "natural" sound of bass is necessary and none of only-active basses can pretend that. So active/passivewhich sounds great in both modes will be good solution.
6. I like basses which looks like standard "Fender-ish" thing. Musicman, G&L shapes and so on. Most of Maruszczyk basses have too strange shapes which I don't like too much.I don't like fancy shmancy stuff like unnecessary pickguards, pot plates, light and complicated bridges, "amazing" woods which cost a fortune but not improve sound of instrument at all - just "looking good" (but good looking woods are important too - I like natural and great wood grain. My StingRay is natural and I love nice maple neck and ash grain on its body. Just don't like too fancy things which just increase price of the instrument but are not necessary to have them).
Those are all things comes to my mind right now so my new instrument must be improved in all those aspects ;)
Click to expand...
When I got my Maruszczyk bass, I asked for a 40mm nut and 18mm spacing at the bridge. I also asked for a slender neck, so they made the neck 20mm front to back at the 1st fret, instead of the usual 21mm. This resulted in a very nice, very fast, very playable neck, and I absolutely love it.

It sounds like you need two pickups. I have Delano jazz pickups on mine. They are hum canceling, and I get all the tones I want from them. But you could use any hum canceling pickups and I think you would be alright.

You want a traditional shape. Those are easy to order.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BlackWolf, Bartrinsic, TK4261 and 2 others
#8,062
jb90 said:
Now I have Musicman Stingray 4 H. Maybe I write here what I like/don't like with it so will be easier to understand what my preferences are.
1. Neck is a little bit too wide. I think that Jazz Bass neck would be easier for me to playing because I don't have big hands so any big, wide necks/fretboards with wide string spacing are not for me. And especially with 5 string difficulties may be even bigger.
2. This bass is quite heavy. I think that could be a little bit lighter.
3. I like bridge which is massive and stable.
4. I think that just one humbucker close to bridge is not very versatile thing. Of course I can get a lot of useful sounds but I think that there's not so much useful thump from mids and nice meaty lows. instead there's a lot of treble (even though I roll off treble on preamp still a lot of high end!), sometimes lack of this nice round low mid and lows are rather thunderous instead nice and round (probably because of type of pickup and placement of it). Don't get me wrong. It's StingRay. So this sound is iconic in bass world. But I think that this tone is not so much used in today music. Musicians and producers looking for something rounder than harsh and with "unusual character" which most of the time doesn't fit to the music.
5. Just active electronics is not what we always need as a bass players. Sometimes simple, more "vintage" and "natural" sound of bass is necessary and none of only-active basses can pretend that. So active/passivewhich sounds great in both modes will be good solution.
6. I like basses which looks like standard "Fender-ish" thing. Musicman, G&L shapes and so on. I don't like fancy shmancy stuff like unnecessary pickguards, pot plates, light and complicated bridges, "amazing" woods which cost a fortune but not improve sound of instrument at all - just "looking good".
Those are all things comes to my mind right now so my new instrument must be improved in all those aspects ;)
Click to expand...
I haven't looked at the F shaped objects Maruszczyk makes, but re 5, if you mouse over the preamp options in the Configurator, i think they all show whether they have an active/passive switch.

Re 6, that’s why something like a Configurator is so nice. And some of your preferences here will actually bring the cost down. I would look at some pictures of the common woods though. Those can be subtle, but still have some character. I have a fancier wood top but went with an ash body and transparent white and I think it looks really nice, but I wouldnt call that a fancy wood.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BlackWolf, Bartrinsic, TK4261 and 1 other person
#8,064
Oliver Stein said:
From your Nr.1 and 6 I think an Elwood would be your friend. If you want lightweight get the „L“ Version which is chambered. Delano pickups are very versatile and with some models there are interesting switch capabilities (single, series, parallel). If you call Adrian and ask for P, JB and more modern sound he‘ll guide you through.
Click to expand...
The Almighty Configurator is also his friend! :smug:

 
  • Like
Reactions: Wagner Trindade, Bartrinsic and TK4261
#8,066
jb90 said:
But almighty configurator won't tell me "real life" scenarios and solutions and tells nothing about sound quality ;) And we know that every manufacturer make "the best sounding gear in the world" but sometimes it's not 100% true ;)
Click to expand...

I'm in agreement, Elwood-L with Delano's. Choose a pickup size that's standard across manufacturers so you can swap out.

I've got a 5-string Elwood-L. I wish it were a little lighter, but I wouldn't call it heavy by any means, especially for a 5-er. Mine's a 32" medium scale and I honestly think the body size could be a tad smaller too.

I've got Aguilar pups and pre in it. I'll probably change them out.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Bartrinsic, twangcat and Barticus
#8,067
jb90 said:
But almighty configurator won't tell me "real life" scenarios and solutions and tells nothing about sound quality ;) And we know that every manufacturer make "the best sounding gear in the world" but sometimes it's not 100% true ;)
Click to expand...

"Best sounding" is totally subjective. Nobody can tell you whether you will like the sound of any bass through your rig.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BlackWolf, twangcat, MrClassicMetal and 2 others
#8,068
jb90 said:
But almighty configurator won't tell me "real life" scenarios and solutions and tells nothing about sound quality ;) And we know that every manufacturer make "the best sounding gear in the world" but sometimes it's not 100% true ;)
Click to expand...
Fair point. But relying on our experiences isn't a guarantee either. Regarding Maruszczyk and sound quality, you can take a lot of comfort in the fact that they use high quality components. In my opinion, they don't offer any low quality pickups or preamps. In your case, I would be sure to have two hum canceling pickups, and a preamp that has a passive option. Other than that, it's just a matter of deciding which features you want or need.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BlackWolf, scott sinner, twangcat and 2 others
#8,069
jb90 said:
But almighty configurator won't tell me "real life" scenarios and solutions and tells nothing about sound quality ;) And we know that every manufacturer make "the best sounding gear in the world" but sometimes it's not 100% true ;)
Click to expand...
I find this amusing. It comes down to the electronics selection, if you know what you want then you’ll get the sound you want through the Almighty Configurator, as it will get you there. ;):thumbsup:
 
  • Like
Reactions: BlackWolf, scott sinner, twangcat and 2 others
#8,071
jb90 said:
Now I have Musicman Stingray 4 H. Maybe I write here what I like/don't like with it so will be easier to understand what my preferences are.
1. Neck is a little bit too wide. I think that Jazz Bass neck would be easier for me to playing because I don't have big hands so any big, wide necks/fretboards with wide string spacing are not for me. And especially with 5 string difficulties may be even bigger.
2. This bass is quite heavy. I think that could be a little bit lighter.
3. I like bridge which is massive and stable. Tone-wise I like that this bass is powerfull, clean, have good electronics (but not as good as I think bass should have. Especially in mids and treble.)
4. I think that just one humbucker close to bridge is not very versatile thing. Of course I can get a lot of useful sounds but I think that there's not so much useful thump from mids and nice meaty lows. Probably because of lack of neck pickup. Instead there's a lot of treble (even though I roll off treble on preamp still a lot of high end! Sometimes I think that even too much but maybe that's the thing and it helps to sit better in the mix?), sometimes lack of this nice round low mid (500hz is actually kind of "honk" than nice warm growl which cut through in many great records) and lows are rather thunderous instead nice and round in the whole range (probably because of type of pickup and placement of it). Don't get me wrong. It's StingRay. So this sound is iconic in bass world. But I think that this tone is not so much used in today music. Musicians and producers looking for something rounder than harsh and with "unusual character" which most of the time doesn't fit to the music.
5. Just active electronics is not what we always need as a bass players. Sometimes simple, more "vintage" and "natural" sound of bass is necessary and none of only-active basses can pretend that. So active/passivewhich sounds great in both modes will be good solution.
6. I like basses which looks like standard "Fender-ish" thing. Musicman, G&L shapes and so on. Most of Maruszczyk basses have too strange shapes which I don't like too much.I don't like fancy shmancy stuff like unnecessary pickguards, pot plates, light and complicated bridges, "amazing" woods which cost a fortune but not improve sound of instrument at all - just "looking good" (but good looking woods are important too - I like natural and great wood grain. My StingRay is natural and I love nice maple neck and ash grain on its body. Just don't like too fancy things which just increase price of the instrument but are not necessary to have them).
Those are all things comes to my mind right now so my new instrument must be improved in all those aspects ;)
Click to expand...
Heck you’re in Poland, why not just call Adrian directly????
 
  • Like
Reactions: Wagner Trindade, twangcat, MrClassicMetal and 2 others
#8,072
jb90 said:
But almighty configurator won't tell me "real life" scenarios and solutions and tells nothing about sound quality ;) And we know that every manufacturer make "the best sounding gear in the world" but sometimes it's not 100% true ;)
Click to expand...
Only you can know what those scenarios will be like, as it's a personal thing. Also, it depends on what you are willing and able to spend on the instrument.

What we can tell you is that this particular manufacturer does make high quality instruments. I don't think you'll find anyone who's dissatisfied with a Maruszczyk bass due to its quality.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BlackWolf, scott sinner, twangcat and 3 others
#8,076
jb90 said:
But almighty configurator won't tell me "real life" scenarios and solutions and tells nothing about sound quality ;) And we know that every manufacturer make "the best sounding gear in the world" but sometimes it's not 100% true ;)
Click to expand...
I already have the bass you want, but its not for sale.
Jazzus 299-21.jpg


Trouble is, you probably want something different. There are many fans here who have a bass that they believe checks your boxes, but each of those sounds different and feels different. Also, there are plenty of options on the configurator so that it is not hard to order a bass with a peculiar, if not horrible, sound.

Since you are looking for a general performer, exercise restraint. Make conservative choices
Get a maple neck.
Get an Ash, alder or mahogany body.
Get an Ash (e.g. quilted ash on mahogany, as in the above picture) or maple top.
No dark, dampening body, top or neck woods such as ebony, ziricode, bocote, jatoba, bubinga, purple heart, etc. (fretboard only for these; above is Wenge, which is also OK for neck laminates and body tops or contrast layers)
Get clean pickups -- 2 in jazz positions (e.g. noiseless Delano jazz bars above--clean humbuckers like Nordy Zen blades or Aggy DCB also work).

Letting your imagination run wild will likely get you a more specialized bass, which may not be versatile. I ordered the multiscale above because 35" is the shortest B string I want to play. I'm not sure if you can get 35" straight fret. Maybe check.

You will certainly get a high quality bass. How it sounds and feels depends on what you choose.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BlackWolf, gigetto, gscroggin and 4 others
#8,077
BlueTalon said:
When I got my Maruszczyk bass, I asked for a 40mm nut and 18mm spacing at the bridge. I also asked for a slender neck, so they made the neck 20mm front to back at the 1st fret, instead of the usual 21mm. This resulted in a very nice, very fast, very playable neck, and I absolutely love it.

It sounds like you need two pickups. I have Delano jazz pickups on mine. They are hum canceling, and I get all the tones I want from them. But you could use any hum canceling pickups and I think you would be alright.

You want a traditional shape. Those are easy to order.
Click to expand...
I have stock necks. They are already quite slim and fast. OP might not need the extra shave.
 
  • Like
Reactions: xbud, twangcat, Shibata and 1 other person

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back