faceman

The situation was that we were discussing StingRays and I showed him the ones I was contemplating buying. I asked if he was planning on selling on this '83 baby and he said yes as he didn't need it and was looking for another type of bass. It was purchased at what one might consider less than its true value (the fellow sold it at that price because it is what he paid for it, as said on the thread) and was going to sell it on to fund a future purchase. We agreed to pay the minimum he needed to do the upgrade to his bass and that's what happened. Yes, he made a profit but not as big as he could have made, this is why it was a friendly purchase, as it was a favour to me to sell it for less The neck feels great and has already had work as you said...any thoughts on where I could look for a bridge matey? There doesn't seem to be an official source of MM spare parts anywhere.

Nice, didn't see that one! Am guessing finding a pickup and fitting would be a good £100, unless you wanted to keep what is in there. The 3EQ Honeyburst he was asking £750, Andy Baxter was asking £725 but got him down to £675 for 2EQ. £650-700 seems to be standard for MMs these days. I'm guessing you would have paid less for my frankenbass? Personally, something that sounds better, feels better and is known to be from a good era is worth paying a little more for. I'll agree the bridge isn't great as it doesn't like great, lacks mutes so I am going to attempt to find something original or similar to replace it. Again, I'm happy so I'll just absorb the criticism on behalf of my *special* bass no one likes

Now I used to think they were £600 but they have been creeping up in price recently, depending on condition. The 2000 one I was looking at was £650, others have been £700 but I haven't seen one go for £600 for at least a year. This is true, if a bass is right for you then the price doesn't matter However, looking at this one at the Gallery (http://www.thebassgallery.com/product_details.cfm?ID=1291) which is up for £1,600. Others might have paid the same for a newer one but I do like my mojo on basses. The condition is very similar to the one I have, the only difference is the bridge is original. Considering mine was less than half the price, I'll take it I've posted on the EB forum about a bridge and emailed MM Customer Services about a new one from their classic series. Any other places to look? I just fancy having those mutes, as well as the look.

That's the one. My friend bought it and decided it didn't offer much more than his other StingRay. It was a close call between this and a newer 2000 2EQ StingRay, also with some battle damage, that was of a similar price. However, I just loved the feel of the neck, tone and road worn look of this baby and considering most StingRays are now going for £700 minimum, £750 didn't seem too bad at all. They may not all be the original parts but it is definatly a pre-EB bass together It feels a world away from the old standard EBMM I've played in the past and old my SUB bass. He bought it for that price from that thread and probably could have sold it for more privately. We came to an agreement because we are mates so I got it for this price, which we were both happy with. Yes it's a bit of a frankenbass but I'm not bothered too much...would like the bridge sorted at some point, as it's oversized, missing mutes but does hold tuning and intonation very well. And here's a nice photo with the black pickguard...

Sorry guys, I'm desperately revising for a big exam tomorrow so no time for photos but I will do some. Some notes on it through * '83 StingRay body in white, with the usual road worn damage for a 25+ year old bass * 2EQ original electronics, original input jack replace but still have original * Neck from an *84 Sabre, excellent feel and much quicker than any other MM bass I have played * Bridge is not original, appears to be a Schallar through-bridge. I'm convinced it's bigger than usual a standard bridge (see below). However it does keep in tune very nicely! * Original tuners with Hipshot D-Tuner on E string * Had an awful mirrored pick guard that I replaced for a standard MM Black one. However, it sits on the top part of the bridge and it appears the bridge covers up the hole. I'll show some photos to get some advice on how to solve this one. The screw holes also didn't exactly match some screws are at an angle. However, it feels and sounds bloody excellent! It has a very strong G string and the whole thing is just the best StingRay I've ever played. It's not too bright like my old SUB but it's got a lot of bite. And all for only £750! It may be a Frankenbass but it's a pre-EB StingRay for a very small amount. I would possibly be on the lookout for a bridge from one of the new classic series ones as finding an '83 bridge will be hard!

In just a few months time, it's going to be my twenty first birthday (shock, growing old!) and my family is putting together a party up home and there should hopefully be a fair number of people turning up. Therefore, the main thing I wanted to do was to put a band together. I've got my usual keyboardist, an awesome mate on sax and singing (not the same person!) as well as a guitartist and drummer friend. I was planning on doing two sets, the first of background instrumental music when people arrive, and the second of the main set. i've tried get a balance between things I like and things others will like. It's my party but what I like won't please everyone in the second set, so thoughts? The instrumental set we will probably blag with charts or something. Probably won't play them all either, it's all just considerations [b]Set One - Instrumentals[/b] 'Round Midnight - Monk Blue Rondo a la Turk - Brubeck Chameleon - Herbie Hancock Get Carter Theme - Roy Budd Green Onions - Booker T How High The Moon - Oscar Peterson I Can't Turn You Loose/Time is Tight - Otis Redding Jean Pierre - Miles Davis So What - Miles Davis Take Five - Brubeck Take The A Team Tequila - The Champs Unsquare Dance - Brubeck Watermelon Man - Hancock [b]Set Two - Main Set[/b] As The Days Go By - Daryl Braithwaite Money - Pink Floyd Do It Again - Steely Dan Like A Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan Ulysses - Franz Ferdinand Take Me To The River - Talking Heads The Wanderer - Dion The Logical Song - Supertramp Viva La Vida - Coldplay Enola Gay - OMD Smooth Operator - Sade Who Are You - The Who

[quote name='Gareth Hughes' post='839905' date='May 17 2010, 04:59 PM']Have fun - and if I can be of any help with anything, ask away. I have the book here too if that helps.[/quote] Thanks very much, I'll let you know how I get on. Apart from Santa Fe, the only other ones that need watching out for are La Vie Boheme seems to have some interesting scales and Finale, which has Santa Fe again! Anything else to look for particularly? This is an amateur production but the pianist was telling me how many harmonies and singers there are!

Update - my score arrived today and it all doesn't look too bad! Lots of steady patterns and whole notes, just 43 songs is all! I'm really looking forward to the first rehearsal on Friday. I've made flash cards with the notes on the staves and ask my friends to quiz me on which note it is and where it can be found on the fretboard. Once I've got this sussed, just need to jog my memory of which notes are white. Apart from a few songs which have specific lines (Santa Fe particularly), the rest one could in theory get away with chords. The pianist from the band suggested that I just wing it like this but since this is my first pit band, I'll do it properly. I'll happily keep on reporting back if people are interested in a little diary of this

Thanks mate, will keep that in mind I'm so glad it's not a bigger problem because it feels such a good bass and has an amazing tone. I want to put the original jack back in, which disables the power if there is no jack in! Therefore battery will last longer

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='839826' date='May 17 2010, 03:40 PM']I does sound a little like you have a short to earth somewhere which is causing the circuit to momentarily blink out. Don't play it anymore until you have checked it over thoroughly as you may be doing irreparable damage.[/quote] Solved the problem! I was using a stereo jack into my computer and it is indeed wired incorrectly. To quote my friend "on a mono jack, the sleeve and ring are connected, so the weird wiring makes no difference. With the stereo lead only partly in, not all the connections are made. Those that are are not connected to the right places" Therefore, it's fine! We will rewire the input jack when time allows so it copes with a stereo lead

I received my pre-EB StingRay today and besides being a workhouse and feeling fantastic, the electronics appear to be dead. I've bought a new battery but it has made no difference. My friend suggested briefly that there could be a loose conncetion or incorrect wiring. Following this [url="http://www.musicmanbass.org/mycustompage0019.htm"]http://www.musicmanbass.org/mycustompage0019.htm[/url] for the late-MM period (1983, when the bass was made), it appears to be wired correctly. However, the original input jack has been changed (I still have it) and am thinking this may be the cause of the problems. I made a little sound file of the recording here - [url="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1480908/StingRayProblem.mp3"]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1480908/StingRayProblem.mp3[/url] to demonstrate the problem. The most interesting part is at 0:13, when I push the cable all the way in and it starts loud and seems to die. The first half is with the jack half way in and the second is all the way. It's the same wire I've used countless times with other basses without a problem. Any thoughts? I want to play my new StingRay

Despite starting to feel some SUB love, I've put for sale. I've decided to make the jump to a Musicman Stingray and have a potential deal on the go. If you are interested, PM me!

Bought Mark's CIJ '75 Jazz bass, which I'm unfortunately having to sell on because of an excellent offer I have had. Mark and I did a very quick and prompt sale and he did everything humanly possible to get the bass for me in time for a gig and he succeeded, despite the crapness of DHL and Interparcel. Mark was great in communicating and was a great chap to do business with. An excellent top notch seller that shows what our little community is about here. Fully recommended from me

Sold my lovely Squier Precision CV to mort after it had been hanging around on the for sale pages for a while. He messaged me and I had the payment within a hour and the package shipped that day. He also seems to be very helpful too! Fantastic guy, although I have yet to speak to the fellow! Quick fast payment and very easy sale. Would do business again and thanks a lot for the purchase mate!

I played my Little Mark II and Ampeg B115E cabinet at my gig last Saturday and it was bloody fantastic. Got some complements from some mates in the audience on my tone and from the recordings it sounded great. It wasn't too expensive either with the LMII second hand for £300-ish and the Ampeg was a swap for my old Ashdown 4x10. Example of deep, thick, modern and old. Not too expensive either and it's on wheels too. However, my keyboardist decided to buy himself a new 35kg Roland Phantom thingy that requires too people to lift. Or a cabinet on wheels...

The pup change would just be to give it some extra beef. My mate in college has just bagged the £550 pre-EB StingRay that was on sale here and in comparison, the SUB just sounded like water. The Pre-EB have balls and guts, although not as much as his 5-string 3EQ StingRay. However, I have just done a quick recording (as it seems to express a better sentiment than I can say in words) about the G string on the SUB. Dave, how did you change the poll pieces as they are on springs and can't work out how to lower them? What are the general thoughts on this one? [url="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1480908/SUBStrings.mp3"]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1480908/SUBStrings.mp3[/url] This is with the bass knob around half way, and the treble dialled a little back from this. Can someone explain, are they both boost or boost and cut?! Trebble past half way is too much me thinks. I'm looking for a tighter growl sound with a deep low end.