igto Posted March 23, 2008 Posted March 23, 2008 (edited) This is a completely original Ernie Ball Music Man Sabre Bass. I purchased this bass from the original owner, who bought it new from Sam Ash in Florida. The active pickups are the originals that came with the bass, as are all knobs, switches, tuners, wiring... you get the picture. The strings have been changed, from time to time, and are currently new. The Bird's Eye Maple neck is in excellent condition, the frets remain tight, and there is little wear, a good polishing and your ready to go. The truss rod is functioning properly. The body has some scratches on the back , and there are a couple small dings and dents in the enamel on the face, nothing horrible, the paint is original. The pick guard has a couple of cracks in it from shrinkage, it has never been replaced. One tuner is slightly looser than the others, but is fully functional. The Alan keys needed for any adjustments to the string height or truss (there are 2) are included. The bridge as well and the strings raise and lower just fine. None of the Alan screws were stripped. The bridge is fully adjustable and in perfect working order including the mutes. The controls are for volume, bass boost, and treble boost, all work well. The switch is five way giving you plenty of tonal options and phase capability. The pickup covers show some wear, they were never replaced . The case is the original case that was sold with the bass, black velvet and all. None of the vinyl is peeling and all seams are solid as far as I can tell. There are some slightly worn spots and although the latches and fittings look roughed up, they do still lock and the key is included. A nice sounding piece of bass history, yours for a mere 1200 pounds. Can be played and compared to the rest of my stable for sale (Celinder, Zon, Modulus, Fender Geddy Lee 73', Pedulla Rapture fretless, MTD Z5 and Parker PB51) in London N6 area. Please contact me if interested. Edited July 6, 2008 by igto
dub_junkie Posted March 23, 2008 Posted March 23, 2008 Oh fcukin 'ell, I'd love this!. damn too much G&L spendage of late
Shaggy Posted March 24, 2008 Posted March 24, 2008 That's an absolute beauty, stunning in black. Late '80's was the real "golden age" for MM in terms of woods and QA, irrespective of EB / pre-EB. Good luck wth the sale - only wish I could afford her as a back-up!
silverfoxnik Posted March 24, 2008 Posted March 24, 2008 [quote name='Shaggy' post='162580' date='Mar 24 2008, 11:57 AM']That's an absolute beauty, stunning in black.[/quote] +1 Played a few of these over the years but sadly, never owned one. Great range of tones available.. Never quite worked out why it wasn't a more popular design than the Stingray - kind of a P-Bass vs J-Bass thing, I suppose?
Ghosts Over Japan Posted March 24, 2008 Posted March 24, 2008 i really really admire that bass, tis gorgeous! good luck with the sale
Shaggy Posted March 24, 2008 Posted March 24, 2008 [quote name='silverfoxnik' post='162591' date='Mar 24 2008, 12:28 PM']+1 Played a few of these over the years but sadly, never owned one. Great range of tones available.. Never quite worked out why it wasn't a more popular design than the Stingray - kind of a P-Bass vs J-Bass thing, I suppose?[/quote] I can only guess it was overpriced at the time - much, much more versatile than a 'Ray, although without its funky simplicity IMO (back to your very apt P vs J thing, but at least Leo went for a very different look with the J)
igto Posted March 24, 2008 Author Posted March 24, 2008 Thank you all for your nice comments - you are all right!
Lfalex v1.1 Posted March 24, 2008 Posted March 24, 2008 [quote name='silverfoxnik' post='162591' date='Mar 24 2008, 12:28 PM']+1 Played a few of these over the years but sadly, never owned one. Great range of tones available.. Never quite worked out why it wasn't a more popular design than the Stingray - kind of a P-Bass vs J-Bass thing, I suppose?[/quote] And yet OLP seem to have revived it! And invented a 5 string version that's never previously existed... (Have a free bump!)
nig Posted March 24, 2008 Posted March 24, 2008 I have a red one, these have a unique tone, as well as emulating a stingray no sweat, so bump from me too, in fact....I was working in a music man dealership in the mid 80's and the stingray was the killer bass that sold in spades, but the guitars never did big buisness either, weird old world. bump.
ped Posted March 24, 2008 Posted March 24, 2008 IIRC it was discontinued because the magnetic pull from the dual pickups meant the strings behave differently which was deemed to be undesirable, but frankly I have no idea what they were on about, they sound brilliant!!!
Kiwi Posted April 4, 2008 Posted April 4, 2008 I'm loving my Cutlass II (sabre with a graphite neck) at the moment, loads of sounds coming out of it from the slap sound off that transformers citroen ad to a nice firm stingray sound. There's a lovely firmness to the E-string on mine.
joegarcia Posted April 5, 2008 Posted April 5, 2008 Lush. Sooooo wish I could afford this. Love my '79 Sabre but the birdseye on that is divine.
ahpook Posted April 5, 2008 Posted April 5, 2008 lovely. although i'm still seriously thinking about selling my 79 sabre.
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