johnDeereJack

Yeah, I bought a really nice used 2-band 4-string StingRay not that long ago - my first EBMM bass. I had always been a Fender player prior to this bass, with fretted and fretless Jazz basses, and an excellent mid-80's Fender Japan 57RI Precision (strung with flats of course!) I'd always hankered after a 2-band StingRay, and I finally found a nice used one in good condition for a decent price, so I played it for half an hour and bought it. I was instantly taken with the playability and build quality (not that there is anything wrong with the playability / build quality of the Fenders I have!) and have since become a big fan of MM basses because of this used SR - plus, the EB Customer Services are excellent, which is always a bonus. When I first saw the Bongo design, I really didn't know what to think. Like I said, I certainly didn't think I'd ever own one, but they're freaking excellent. I can't stop playing it!

I recently went into my local GuitarGuitar looking to buy a decent mic, which I did! However, while wandering about the store, admiring all the pretty basses I couldn't afford, I spied this 'creation', finished in shiny orange, hanging in the 'Used Instruments' section of the shop. I wandered closer, checked the price - 'Hmmm, reasonable!' So I took it off the wall hanger and sat down with it... And suddenly everything just clicked... the world fell into place... my reason for being a bass player - nay, my reason for being - became clear; it was simply to sit down with this utterly bizarre shiny orange creation, and play it! Ultimately, I bought it! So, what did I buy? Well, I bought an orange MusicMan Bongo HS 5-string! Bwaaahahahahahaaaa! 🤣 Oh my god, it's the freaking best bass I have ever played. The looks may not be to (most?) people's taste, but jeez this thing is freaking amazing! It's so versatile with the range of sounds you can coax out of the 4-band, 18v preamp (I'm not overly enamoured with the hi- and lo-mid EQ stack, been mostly using the pickup blend and the bass / treble EQ stack); the bass hangs perfectly - no neck-dive at all; the neck is really nice(a wee bit thin front-to-back compared to previous 5's I've owned, but I adapted almost instantly); it's not overly cumbersome (haven't weighed it yet); and it's shiny and orange! 😁 (well, Desert Gold according to the EBMM Serial Database!) When I first saw the MM Bongos, I seriously wondered who had lost their mind, and I never in a million years thought I'd ever own one, but this thing may seriously end up being my only bass, it's that good! Buy one! They're grrrrrreat!

It's Jerry Jemmott's bass - a custom instrument by Abe Riviera. Here's an excerpt from an interview regarding the Modern Electric Bass video Jaco did with Jerry: The Abe Rivera Bass: "Neither one of these instruments is really my bass," reminded Jaco Pastorius. "I'm using Jerry Jemmott's bass. Both of my main basses have fallen apart, which is a bad time since I'm doing the video. But it's cool, because I'm not really burnin' out. I'm showing more technique and stuff." Holding the beautifully scrolled instrument he added, "This Rivera bass sounds good, doesn't it?" The instrument's designer Jerry Jemmott actually played acoustic bass before he moved on to the electric bass. "When I designed that bass, I wanted a natural sound in the instrument," Jemmott recalled, "yet when I'm playing electric bass I also want that electric sound. So I wanted an instrument that could do both. I also wanted it to be lightweight and easy to play. It originally had frets on it, but I pulled the frets out. It sounded so good, and so warm with the frets. I felt it would sound even more fantastic without the frets. Jaco loves it! Abe Rivera did all the design, all the beautiful work. That's his forte. It's semi-hollow in design. The wood is maple, ebony, and some type of red wood."

Just bought Dave's Mooer Sweeper. Pristine pedal, excellently packaged, great comms, all made for a hassle-free transaction. Cheers Dave, JDJ

Thanks for all the replies, folks. When I contacted GuitarGuitar they offered to take the bass back, but it's now part of the (ever-growing!) family so it's staying with me. If I had the choice I'd rather have a maple board, but I bought it with the rosewood board, and if I hadn't done that wee bit digging regarding the serial number / date of manufacture, I'd be none the wiser regarding the neck not being original to the body, so I guess it's all a bit of a moot point? I spoke to Guitar Guitar on Friday to see if they had any info regarding the neck swap - they had contacted the fella that traded in the bass, and it turns out he's the second owner; he bought it from his bass tutor in 2011, and had no idea the neck had been swapped. He's offered to contact the original owner and get the story behind the swap, and it would be interesting to get the story behind it, but it's not high on my list of priorities right now. I'm just enjoying the bass for what it it - a really nice EB MM StingRay that looks cool, sounds killer, and plays exceptionally well! Merry Xmas, folks.

Hi folks, I'm hoping to trace the previous owner of a 2005 EB StingRay 4-string I recently picked up in GuitarGuitar, Edinburgh. The bass was part of a trade-in and was listed for sale at £969 and came with a MM hard shell case. It's a 2-band / natural finish, with a maple neck, and rosewood board - serial is E45793. There was a bit of ambiguity regarding the date of manufacture (the ad said 2005, the sales guy said different) so out of curiosity I emailed Ernie Ball Customer Support with the serial number of the bass, along with the configuration (i.e. 2-band / natural finish / maple + rosewood) to get a definitive date. EB responded saying the bass left the factory in Feb 2005, but was fitted with a maple board, not a rosewood board, and said the neck had obviously been replaced. I've taken the neck off, and yes, the neck is dated after the bass left EB factory, so it appears that EB customer support are correct in the assumption that the neck has been swapped from the original maple / maple neck to a maple / rosewood replacement. Basically, I'm looking to hopefully contact the previous owner (have also asked the store to reach out to them) and find out why the neck was swapped - you can't simply contact EB and say 'Hi, can you send me a replacement neck for my bass, please?' so there has to be a reason..? I know it's most likely a long shot, but hey - gotta try! Anyhoo, here's the bass. Anyone recognise it..?

I found out today via Syra Larkin's (Chris's wife) Facebook page that Chris passed away today. Am truly shocked and saddened at her news and my thoughts are with Syra and her family at this time. https://www.facebook.com/syra.larkin/posts/10156532809403908 I was lucky enough to meet Chris in 87/88 at a music fair in London. Such a warm and genuinely friendly guy, was a pleasure to meet him. I'm also lucky enough to own one of his amazing and truly magnificent instruments - a fretless Reacter 4B built for me in 1986/87. Rest easy, Chris. You'll be sadly missed.

Just bought Steve's Diago Showman pedalboard. Great comms from Steve, board was well packaged, and a great price to boot! Cheers Steve *thumbs up*