drTStingray

I didn’t, but I did buy a Tim Commerford long scale passive which, I suppose is similar in some respects (although has a tone, volume, parallel/single coil/series, and boost/cut facilities so vastly more controls than the Joe Dart). The two areas where the Joe Dart differs a lot (and I love the tone on the MSG Vulfpeck concert to the extent I’ve watched it over and over, as per @fretmeister) is……. it’s Joe Dart playing it and it’s through the Vulf compressor - otherwise he’s using the same amp as me as well. I’m about to invest in a compressor (to get closer to his tone and also Bernard Edwards’s as well as some other things looking at) and have worked on trying to play as hard as Joe Dart appears to on some of his stuff. I came very close to ordering a natural Joe Dart but then the Commerford came along and I absolutely had to have that - so the Dart fell by the wayside. I don’t like the Jazz version. Gratuitous pics……

On basses which are set up with very low action, I expect to have to provide a minor adjustment at the start of winter, and then again to maintain the low action after the winter. This is because of the reaction of the wood to a complete change in the ambient temperature. It doesn’t really make much difference if the neck is figured, or lacquered, oil and wax finished or painted, the same applies, but as I said this is largely to do with setting a low action. The excellent thing is Musicman basses (post 1990) have the great design of a truss rod adjustment wheel so are an absolute doddle to adjust - rather than some of those vintage designed jobs which require the neck to be removed - thankfully I don’t have any of those 😄 I don’t perceive this minor variation in the wood based on significant changes in ambient temperature resulting from seasonal change to be an issue. It also tends to occur over a period - having a bass in a very warm car in the summer or very cold car in the winter for an hour or two tend not to result in any significant change (from my experience). I think any change over time is also in reality, relatively minor - after all these basses in most instances have the fretboard glued back on (maple) during manufacture and that is an extremely strong connection, making Musicman necks very robust, although unable to completely defy the laws of physics. For those basses with higher action in the first place I notice the whole bass needs retuning the first time it’s used into the winter or summer as each string changes by a couple or three spots on a Boss tuner. This also applies with low action basses which may need a minor truss rod tweak also.

Mine starts in the early 70s Marshall 50 watt; home made 2 x 12 Goodmans cab. Marshall replaced by home made (by someone else - I had a mate who was a wizard at electronics and enjoyed creating stuff) 100 watt solid state amp. HH IC 100 solid state amp plus Carlsboro 1 x 15 cab Acoustic 370 plus 301 1x18 reflex cab - for large gigs used the Carlsboro cab as well - small gigs the Acoustic amp and Carlsboro. Never had any volume problems after acquiring these. Would have gone down the Trace Elliott with 4 x 10s if I’d continued through the later 80s. From the early 2000s Ashdown MAG 300 and 4 x 10 cab Ashdown ABM Evo 3, ABM 1 x 15 and ABM 2 x 10 Markbass LM3; Markbass 2 x 10 deep; Markbass 2 x 10 Traveller. The only AAS gas I’ve had in recent years was created when another bassist invited me to pick up his Barefaced cab - v light, v compact, v loud!!!! Basses have been Musicman (but a lot of them) since circa 1980.

It’s very interesting but I wouldn’t have gone as far as that with it. And if it’s a wax and oil finish in the first place (looks like it) I would certainly not have lacquered it. That level of dirt might require very light wet sanding before applying the gun stock oil and wax. There is an item on the EBMM website regarding cleaning the standard finish neck. Going back to the comments about the wood on the oil and wax finished necks (and maple fretboards) changing colour slightly with time, they actually do darken in colour with time - I have a 2003 SR5 and the back of the neck has darkened significantly and some figuring has become more apparent (it’s a standard neck - not highly figured maple - however a light clean every so often gets the dirt off (and it is usually the first few frets of the board which get dirty).

I suspect the neck in question has the EBMM oil and wax finish.

I use a slightly damp piece of kitchen roll to get dirt off mine followed immediately by drying with a dry piece of kitchen roll. It gets dirty marks off really well. If you want to spend some money, get a pack of Ernie Ball Wonder Wipes - also work a treat. If you’re going to wipe with lemon oil (I’m not convinced it’s worthwhile apart from on rosewood, pau ferro or ebony to combat the wood drying out) then beware putting the bass back in the case immediately - I’ve found this has resulted in the case taking on an unpleasant smell afterwards……. though not as bad as opening your bass case after a night in a pre smoking ban pub 🥴

I find it extraordinary that there are only a couple of posts in this thread that refer to the apparent pick up design error (is too narrow for the string spacing). Or are people on Basschat not worried about having a bass where the E string has 1/3 the volume (or less) of the other strings?! I can imagine that getting in the way of most bass parts I play!! Pity as the rest of the bass sounds ok (if you like that sort of thing). The other issues can be dealt with (although taking the neck off to adjust the truss rod is a buggeration (design feature/error/compromise) too far for me, unless it’s an actual vintage bass or exact replica thereof)!!

Surely the biggest problem with these basses is the alignment of the E string over the pick up. It appears to be much quieter than the other strings as a result - so is the pick up rout wrong or the pick up not wide enough in the first place? I also noticed that Billy Thakidd virtually played no notes on the E string in his review, but when he did they were significantly quieter. I would have thought, as did Lobster, that that’s a fundamental issue on a bass guitar. Regarding the £ = $ situation, at least there’s a real excuse - since the value of one £ got ever closer to the value of one $ since B**x** there’s a bigger excuse for the value of instruments priced in the two currencies to be closer together or the same when you consider taxes and increased shipping costs. There didn’t used to be, however. The only people who seem to have profited from this situation seem to have been financial traders (some of which appear to be politicians!!!).

Do you mean the volume control on the bass itself on full? If so, where do you generally have the Bongo EQ controls set? My experience has been the Bongo signal and the Stingray Special signal are fairly similar, based on the EQ settings at centre. The 9 volt Stingray is somewhat less hot in that sense, to the extent I would never activate the ‘active’ button on an amp with a 9 volt active bass, just adjust the input gain to suit - however I would with an 18 volt bass (although having used an ABM 500 at a jam session with both the Bongo and Stingray Special I didn’t press the active button and controlled it with a combination of lowering the input gain and lowering the volume on the bass). Note also that active basses often work better without the volume control on full (the exact opposite of passive basses).

I have both types. I would say they’re somewhat different from each other in a number of ways. However both pack, in my opinion a bigger signal than a 9v Stingray (dependent on EQ setting) to the extent I lower the input gain a little to avoid the amp clipping, based on playing the 18 volt basses hard compared with playing a 9 volt Stingray hard - another thought - perhaps because of the increased headroom I don’t play the Stingray Specials as hard… The main differences:- The Bongo EQ is 4 band (includes upper and lower mids) whereas the Stingray Special is 3 band. However the Stingray Special, like the Bongo, has a lot of boost available - very noticeable on the bass control (much more than a 9 volt Stingray). An HH Bongo has a pick up blend control - the SR Special has a 5 way switch allowing selection of either or both pick ups in their entirety, or combinations of single coils per pick up. Although we all know body wood makes no difference 🤪 (various long running internet forum threads show this), the Bongo is designed around a basswood body and painted maple neck - it has a different sound from a Stingray Special and even played acoustically the sound produced has a different timbre. In my view the Stingray Special can sound just like a normal Stingray - the Bongo does not particularly in my view. I think the Bongo is a great bass - I wouldn’t be without mine but there again so is the Stingray Special - I would err on the side of having both if it’s possible.

These look great, as always, @rodney72a. Both with highly figured necks? As I said above, EBMM have always gone the extra mile with their basses. Great value for the price.

Fabulous - EBMM go the extra mile with their basses.

I think Butterscotch Ash replaced Peach as an ‘additional charge’ colour - I didn’t know EBMM didn’t offer 3TS until 1990 - it was always a standard colour pre EB.

I use a Mark Bass LM3 and usually a Traveller 2 x 10, but if a bigger venue I add a 2 x 10 HF. However I was at a jam session and the bass player was using a TC class D amp with a Barefaced 1 x 12? (I think). I tried the weight of the cab and it was positively featherweight compared with anything I’ve ever used - sounded great as well. Now back in the 70s/80s I used an Acoustic 370/301 - and an extension cab (Carlsboro 1 x 15) on bigger gigs - the Carlsboro + Acoustic 370 on smaller ones - very similar to using an Ashdown ABM but the 301 cab was huge - never a problem because it generally lived in the group van!! However my Markbass set up is louder and definitely more focussed and articulate with the 10” speakers. Must try some Barefaced stuff out!!! Small/medium venue Larger venue

It’s sunburst - they changed the name to honeyburst around 2000 and started producing a three tone sunburst as a standard colour - previously 3TS had been a custom colour at extra cost and is thus extremely rare from the late 80s/90s. The board is almost certainly pau ferro although that one looks a little dry - but a wipe over with lemon oil will deal with that! As they’re so rare, Stingray fretless basses command a premium over a similar bass but fretted version. I have an earlier (93) one in a similar colour but with the three band EQ. I bought it about 15 yrs ago off EBay for around £750…… I don’t plan to part with it but if I did I’d be looking for upwards of £2k. EBMM occasionally produce fretless basses these days but sell them via their on line shop, and are often £3k. In days gone by you could specify a fretless but as with lefties, they didn’t make that many. You may wish to consider the price being asked accordingly!! Here’s mine for interest. It goes without saying it sounds superb - the owner of a Wal fretless, no less, was waxing lyrical to me about it at a jam session, commenting on how mellow it sounds - of course, it can do more in yer face if desired!! Needless to say I’m totally green with envy of any Wal bass as well…….

There’s not much to beat a Stingray H as far as fretless goes - needs the EQ and other accoutrements though (mutes are useful as well). Think Pino early to mid 80s. Would be even better with coil tapping (and series/parallel/single coil.

It’s against the rules of that forum - calling other people’s expensive basses toilet seats is considered offensive. Those who call mine such names usually come into contact with the pointy headstock at some point or other - purely accidentally of course 😉 HOWEVER it should be noted it’s only bass players who have this toilet-type fetishy thing 🤣

What even this one??!!! Quite right too - one of the reasons I’m not a subscribing member here is the lack of infractions for such things 😀 mind you it has it’s upside - at least we can praise counterfeits (especially of Rickenbackers), refer to pre 1966 Fenders as the musical equivalent of early mechanised agricultural equipment - but beware of mentioning real Rickenbackers though 🤣🤣

Wow that’s a big bass - if it was a toilet seat all but the largest people would fall through it!!!! I was playing my white Bongo 5 at a jam session a couple of nights ago and the house bassist came up and made comments about the lavatorial nature of my bass - I pointed out the pointy headstock makes a superb ear wax remover if he cared to continue the conversation 😂😂🤣 he obviously hadn’t noticed the Bongo, in comparison to the comparatively weedy sounding passive basses being used by others, had enough bass EQ to rip his speakers out 👍😀😀 however I didn’t activate it for fear of structurally damaging the venue!!!! 😁 Enjoy the Bongo they’re great basses!!

The original Precision Special 5 string had a humbucker at the bridge. I tried one once but IMO it didn’t sound like a Stingray 5 - It had been offered by a retailer who didn’t have an SR5 at the time!!

Yes there was a massive hoo haa over this with literally hundreds of posts demanding a 19 mm spacing SR5. IIRC one was offered, one colour available, providing 50 orders would be received within a month. I seem to recall less than five (maybe four) expressions of interest were received - which goes to prove the old adage that internet commentators generally disappear once they’re required to do anything but……. internet commentate!! Go on any specialist forum and you’ll find plenty of people with sage advice for established companies on how to run their businesses better, or improve their product one way or another, this one is no exception (eg Rickenbacker; BBC/Jools etc etc). The suggested alternatives (Lakland, Fender Dimension) are good but also I understand a 19 mm spaced G and L can be ordered, which would also get you in the ball park, sound wise. Sandberg California can get similarish sounds (not sure what the 5 string spacing is). However another suggestion is to get an SR5 and simply get used to it (it doesn’t take much quite frankly). I play 4 string Stingrays (19 mm spacing) and 5 strings (17.5 mm spacing), and have no trouble interchanging one to the other - in fact I find playing intricate pieces (eg Teen Town) less challenging on the SR5. As with any 5 string, managing the left hand muting is a key to success, rather than string spacing. A 19 mm spacing 5 string makes for a significantly wide neck, which would be pretty difficult to play for me.

Yes alive and well!!! Although I must confess I’ve lowered the ramp a lot more recently.

Ah you finally got one 👍😀

Beautifully posed though eh (I think they had some sort of Gibson deal for a while) - fear not, Louis played a Precision, then a Stingray (and Sabre) and also an Alembic in the 70s- early 80s era. Some great bass parts in the book!! That pose is, of course, Musicman’s original symbol - appears on several albums (Louis with a Stingray, and a Precision at the start).

Merry Christmas all. This rather fabulous book by Stuart Clayton.