grayn

Now reviewed here: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/215245-ernie-ball-musicman-sterling/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/215245-ernie-ball-musicman-sterling/[/url]

I picked this bass up, preowned. I haven't managed to acertain it's age but I'm guessing it was built in the early to mid 2000s. It has been well looked after, with a few light scuff marks on the back and a couple of scuff/scratch marks, on the bottom side, not far from the jack socket. On the front is a tiny varnish crack, coming from the 3-way switch. The machine heads have lost some of their shine, from usage. But overall it looks very clean and in terrific condition. This is my first Musicman bass, though I've owned a couple of their guitars. And looking back, I've worked out that this is my 30th bass, over a period of 40 years. These range from beginners level to high end factory and handmade basses. From the Musicman guitars I have owned, I have come to regard their instruments as some of the best in the world. Designed for musicians, their instruments have evolved from their predecessors, to look individual and perform to a truly professional standard. This Sterling continues in that mould. It seems to have been designed to give lovers of MM's Stingray bass, a sleeker and dare I say it, faster alternative. When I bought this bass, I chose it from a number of other, quality basses. All of which I'd have been happy to own. So what was it that made me take this bass home, instead of the others. I could say, the excellent price, the high regard I already held the manufacturer in, the simple, handsome looks, or even the powerful and varied tone of it's iconic pickup. All of those could be a reason to take this bass home and I know they helped in my decision. But it was the feel of the bass, in my hands. Simply the most comfortable neck I have played, with a sleek solidity that just feels and plays right. I don't know the species of hard wood used on this bass's body but it has a lovely grain that shows through the translucent, dark red finish. The typical, egg-shaped, Musicman pick-guard, is a 3-ply, topped with matt-black. This goes rather well with the red body. The maple neck and fret-board, also stand out visually. I think I'm only the second owner of this bass and I don't think it got a huge amount of playing before. The neck looks and feels remarkably fresh, with no sign of fret wear. For those not used to it, the head, with a 3 tuner top and 1 tuner underneath, takes a little getting used to. Both in manipulation and looks. But overall I like the look of the smaller head, gained from this arrangement. As with many MM basses, you get a single, large, humbucking pickup. However this one comes with a 3-way switch, that gives you the options of Parallel Humbucking, Single Coil (with phantom coil) and Series Humbucking. At the moment, I prefer them in this order: 1st-Single-Coil. 2nd-Parallel Humbucking. 3rd-Series Humbucking. All three are very useable though and do give a some variety in tone. However, it has to be said that IMO, 2 pickups will always give more breadth of tone. That said, I do love the simpicity of this sytem and the active volume, treble, middle and bass, rotary controls give you the scope to get some great sounds. In general, I prefer passive basses, as every active bass I've played (which is a lot) has a certain amount of harmonic distortion. This is subtle and to many, is what constitutes a "modern" bass sound. You can hear it with this Musicman and I have to say that, when adjusted to my own taste, sounds quite beautiful. As my other 3 basses, at present, are all passive, this Sterling is a lovely difference. So, even though I'm a passive fan, this active bass has kind of, won me over. The bridge is a very solid, professional bit of kit, giving you all the adjustment you need and still transmitting the string vibration effeciently. It is stamped as Music Man's own. The tuners are also stamped with the MM logo, although they do seem very similar to my favourite tuners, Schaller. As I'd expect from Music Man, this Sterling it shaped and put together excellently. It definitely works, as a whole. The body design looks cool and lays against your body, very comfortably. The tuners, bridge and controls are solid and work to make this design a success. But it is the neck, that I can say is as close to perfection, as I have played. To my (medium-sized) hands, this neck is a perfect fit. The smallish frets keep things smooth but importantly, very solid. I like to play cleanly, most of the time and don't appreciate fret buzz, unless I'm playing to get it. This Sterling's neck and fretboard accomodate my needs, very successfully. This bass is superb, just as it is. But if I were to change one thing, it would be to add a single coil pickup, nearer the neck. As they have done, on some of the more recent Sterling models. I reckon Music Man knew what they were doing, when they designed the Sterling. It has a feel and sound of it's own. A second pickup may add some versatility but if you love the sounds it creates, why change a thing. So overall then, a high quality bass, fit for musical situations. It's a lovely blend of modern and vintage. Very simple and all the better for that. Yet quite versatile too. It's probably my favourite MM bass. Although the "Big Al" would make a fabulous stablemate.

Gorgeous bass and well done for recovering it from the Clampets.

Thanks guys. My mate described it as a funk machine. I reckon it's also a top, balls-out, rock bass too. Fantastic neck. I'm favouring the middle position, on the 3-way, myself. It definitely sounds better through my GK+MarkBass set-up, than through my Ampeg combo. It really suits the clarity of the former.

Went down to the Manchester Bass Lounge and tried out some great basses. Including a Sandberg California TT, a Jap Tokai Jazz, a US G&L L-2000 and a couple of Warwicks. A Thumb and a Corvette, I think. All of them were stonking instruments. Particularly liked the Japanese Tokai Jazz. Amazing quality. But the bass that came home with me, was a USA EBMM Sterling, with a lovely trans-red body and maple fret-board. Supremelly comfortable to play and the active controls, with a 3-way pickup selector, for S/C, H/B and series/parallel, gives some very mean tonal choices. I got such a good deal that i also picked up a Cort GB99. A gorgeous, lightweight, passive J-style bass, that punches well above it's price. I actually owned one of these before, about 7 or 8 years ago. Great find.

Congrats, a very cool bass. Nice that your persistance paid off.

Very cool looking bass. Looks like a precision with a jazz neck.

Looks cool. Is it a 30" scale?

I honestly don't think you'll beat this: [url="http://www.promenademusic.co.uk/overwater-j-series-natural"]http://www.promenademusic.co.uk/overwater-j-series-natural[/url]

If you want aa superb J or P custom, I don't think you'll beat an Overwater.

Very cool looking. Not keen on the control layout. Could be a lot more comprehensive and versatile. Be interesting to hear it with a real player.

How about this: [url="http://manchesterbasslounge.com/?p=1911"]http://manchesterbasslounge.com/?p=1911[/url] Tasty Sandberg.

[quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1374137831' post='2145613'] The new Gordon Smith Gryphons are great basses, really good pickups. [/quote] +1 to that. Here's what i think of mine: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/210940-gordon-smith-gryphon/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/210940-gordon-smith-gryphon/[/url] No wait either, there's a gorgeous blue one, at MBL.

Why not use the classifieds for a trade. Make sure you get a good, balanced deal. Then, in the future, if you realise you've made a mistake, try another trade. Just a thought.

I've had 3 Overwaters, 2x 4-stringers and one fiver. All in the jazz bass style. Really great tone and so playable. Top woods and finishing too. Good luck.

You can't argue about how Fender pretty much invented the electric bass guitar and their designs have been the basis for everything that has followed. Whereas Gibson gave Fender a run for their money, in guitars, no one seemd to really challenge Fender's dominance with basses, in those early days. Most of it is down to getting that design so right. But I wonder is some of it down to us being essentially, really conservative. The 50s and 60s were a time of great change and an upsurge in new thinking. The new instruments and the music they played, were ground breaking. So, what's happened since? Have we just settled for refinements and minor inventions?

Excellent write up of your visit. Where are you going next?

Just posted a review: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/210940-gordon-smith-gryphon/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/210940-gordon-smith-gryphon/[/url]

I think, like the majority of bass players, I have to like the look of a bass, to want to buy it. And the looks of this Gordon Smith Gryphon, certainly appeals to me. The single colour body(in this case, a lovely Dakota Red), with a pearloid, white scratchplate and matching, red headstock, are rather classic. But all three are shaped in a more innovative, contemporary way. The head has a hint of Burns about it, which is very OK by me. The extended, upper horn, giving better strap balance and retracted, shorter, lower horn, giving better, high fret access are practical and quite beautiful. Also the head is sylish with a practical rake on it, to negate the need for string trees. And to top it off, a stunning, maple fretboard, with highly practical, wear-resistant alloy, Dutch frets. The hardware is all good stuff, with my favourite hardware company Schaller, providing the tuners and strap pegs. The bridge is a very classy Gotoh affair and the pickups are hand wound and made by Gordon Smith, themselves. A rather nice touch, is the brass nut, which is not only cut and fit to perfection but looks glorious against the red, with gold lettering, headstock. The body is heavily contoured, back and front. Which makes it feel very snug against your arms and body and gives a lovely balance and position, with the strap. The short, lower horn makes playing without a strap and balancing the bass on one's leg, a lot trickier though. The Gryphon came set up with very low action. It was still surpringly solid but I had to put the action up a little, for my playing style. It was nice to know it could go that low, though. The bass can get a great slap sound but with the strings being pretty close to the body and pickups, it may not suit players who specialise in that style. The neck is wideish, more P. than J. and is supremely playable. I felt immediately at home with the neck, even though it wasn't like any of my other basses. Access to all parts of the fretboard is easy and comfortable. Again, unlike my other basses, that have distinctive tones, with less variety, the Gryphon gives you a multitude of tonal options. With the usual, master tone and volume, comes 3, 3-way switches. One selects the 2 pickups, in the conventional manner. The other 2, 3-way switches (one for each humbucking pickup) give various coil tapping options. And so, each pickup has 1 HB and 2 S/C modes. So when you add the conventional 3-way pickup selector switch, there is a vast array of sounds to be got from the Gryphon. My favourites, at the moment, are the bridge pickup on HB mode, which is just so warm and yet punchy. And the middle pickup on either S/C mode, which gets a lovely P.bass tone. Both have a ton of definition and character. Nice to have so many choices but as usual, I tend to find 2 or 3 and stick with them. The only negative on this particular instrument's controls, is the 3-way, pickup selector switch, which is a little noisy, in operation. Oh yes, I nearly forgot, the tone knob is push/pull, to activate a treble boost. Which to me is totally un-necessary. Overall, the finish on this bass, is as you'd expect from a handmade instrument. Really excellent. I've really scrutinised it and can find no flaws. Purely on personal taste and being totally over picky, I think the 2 back plates (neck and electrics) finish too close to the edge of their respective parts of the body. My favourite things about this bass are: The shape, colour and contours of it's body. The total "at homeness" of the neck. And the 2 tone settings (previously mentioned) that I use the most. My least favourite thing about this bass is: Too many switches, just look unattractive to my eyes, practical as they are. For me, just HB and 1 S/C mode for each pickup would have been enough. Possibly activated by push/pull on the tone (lose the treble boost) and volume knobs. My other 2 basses (Epiphone Rumblekat & Gibson Grabber) are retro, with loads of period charm, in their tone and looks. The Gordon Smith Gryphon is very much a contemporary bass but sill with loads of nods to the past. Fortunately it's tonal versatility doesn't stop it from having some very characterful tones. It's definitely NOT a jack of all trade trades and master of none. More a jack of many trades and a master of some. The quality in design and manufacture of this bass is undeniable. And when you consider it's price, it's outstanding. To my eyes and ears, it is a high end bass, coming in at a higher-mid price range. Added to which, the more I play it, the more I love it.

You might want to consider the Epiphone Allen Woody Rumblekat bass. It's a lovely, short scale semi, that is so much better than it's maeagre price would suggest.

I would highly recommend the ESP Ltd B-205SM Amazing for the price.

A follow on from this thread: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/210858-brand-new-production-gordon-smith-gryphon-bass/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/210858-brand-new-production-gordon-smith-gryphon-bass/[/url]

It's definitely not heavy and I've played far chunkier necks than this Grabber's.

Following on from this thread: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/190884-new-gordon-smith-gryphon-bass/page__p__1856434__hl__gordon%20smith__fromsearch__1#entry1856434"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/190884-new-gordon-smith-gryphon-bass/page__p__1856434__hl__gordon%20smith__fromsearch__1#entry1856434[/url] I can say that I am now the proud and first owner of a Gordon Smith "Gryphon" bass. I went to The Manchester Bass Lounge, this morning. They have worked with the long established English luthiers Gordon Smith, to start production of a bass line, called the Gryphon. The MBL have 2 prototype Gryphons, mentioned in the previous article and two production models, that have slimmer neck profiles and rounded off heels, at the base of the neck. As suggested by the guys in the former thread. This was my first visit to the MBL and it was an absolute pleasure. It's full of wonderful basses and amps and it's owner Drew, is a pleasure to talk to and do business with. I ostenibly went to check out the Gordon Smiths and was so glad I did. I agree with the remarks in the previous thread, concerning the prototypes. The production models, one black, one red, seemed to have taken the suggested improvements on board and I can't believe I've got such a classy, handmade, English bass, for not much dosh at all. Oh yeah, I got the red one. And I was double chuffed, when Drew told me I was now the very first owner of a Gordon Smith Gryphon, production model.

I think the bridge gives these basses their identity. Once seen, never forgotten. Love the finish and colour of the body and scratchplate. Looks and sounds a quality instrument.