NBD: white MM SUB bass

[mcnach]

I just bought one
I just bought one
I just bought one

I just bought one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




I've been wanting one for ages. Had to be white.
Ended up paying a bit more than I hoped, but still fair, and the white ones are hard to find.

Not my bass, but one like it (I had even ordered the white scratchplate already):


Can't wait!!!!

Edited December 16, 2011 by mcnach

[Randy_Marsh]

Lucky man. I love the white subs, my favourite out of the colours that were available

[ezbass]

Great basses, mine is the bass I've had the longest. It's now been defretted and of course the obligatory replacement scatchplate. Enjoy.

[casapete]

I fancy a white one. Look good with a black plate, matches the headstock etc.
Great basses, enjoy!

[mcnach]

I have a spare black plate, so I'll have to see which one I prefer: all white or black. Tasty either way

There was a bit of a bid war over the past few days between a couple of eBayers... why do people do that on fixed term auctions? It doesn't matter who is on top with 4 days to go! I still paid £25 less than I was willing to, so... very happy.

[Grand Wazoo]

I wouldn't mind a cinnamon 5 strings active

[mcnach]

And... it arrived!!!

It came with the original aluminium pickguard, which still had the protective plastic on... but it lasted about 5 minutes on the bass, and I put the white pickguard I ordered last week from WD Music.








Going by the serial number it's either a late September (>24th) or October 2003 instrument.

It is in great condition, not a mark on the neck, the body will be wiped as it has the usual dirty hands kind of marks on some areas, but it's great.

Sound... I love it. Very punchy, very strong... I bet this one is wired in series. It is still a Stingray kind of sound, but it has something else. I heard the SUBs had the pickup wired in series, but then my SUB5 is wired in parallel... the sound of this one has the "series punch". I thought initially I would rewire the pickup to make it parallel... but I'm liking this, and I already have the Stingray (my avatar) so I will just open it up to verify, but I think it stays as it is.

The 2EQ preamp is sweet. It's funny that I didn't love it in my Stingray (replaced by the John East 3 band: traditional 2EQ plus a mid sweep module), and I didn't love it when I put it on my fretless OLP (sold a few months ago here)... but I like the 2EQ in my SUB5 and this SUB.

Now, the bad things...
Yes, there are bad things...

It was shipped in a gigbag with no extra padding...

Externally it did not have any obvious issues... but TWO tuners were bent
The tuners for D and G strings are bent a fair amount, and they vibrate

So I'm going to look for replacements now. I'll contact the seller and see whether we can get some kind of arrangement.
I don't think S&T will sell me just two tuners, so I think I will have to get the whole set...
I do have a spare E string tuner which I can use for the D (it came off my Stingray, when I installed a Hipshot Extender)., but the G string, on the treble side, I have nothing for it.

Who thinks that putting a bass in a gig bag is enough protection for shipping???

Anyway, at least nothing else is wrong (it will be inspected more closely later, but initially it seems alright) and I can use it while I sort out the tuner issue.

What a bass!
I like my OLPs but... there's just no comparison. I think this signed the "sale sentence" for my black OLP.

[loudandclear]

looks very nice with that white pickguard on

[Matt P]

mmm that's very nice,
let me know if the black olp needs a new home, i've really been enjoying the one i have on loan, wouldn't mind one for myself.
matt

[mcnach]

[quote name='loudandclear' timestamp='1323961161' post='1469226']
looks very nice with that white pickguard on
[/quote]

I have a black one and a blue mirror one too... oh, and a cream one currently on my #1 OLP...
I will see which one looks best. The black one seems tasty. But I think I prefer white-on-white, just like I prefer black-on-black guitars. And before anybody accuses me of being racist, my first wife was black

[mcnach]

[quote name='Matt P' timestamp='1323962342' post='1469256']
mmm that's very nice,
let me know if the black olp needs a new home, i've really been enjoying the one i have on loan, wouldn't mind one for myself.
matt
[/quote]

I will look really really really hard for reasons to keep that black OLP. But if I can't justify keeping it, I'll make sure to let you know.
It has a Seymour Duncan Basslines alnico SMB4A pickup (in parallel) on, but it is still passive. Very nice neck, wide like a Stingray but a bit shallower like most OLPs. Really nicely set up, frets were levelled well, so you can get good low action if you want to, and I think I had the nut replaced too. I don't have it with me right now and I can't remember but I think I did that to all my OLPs. Currently sporting a set of D'Addario Chromes, flatwounds... although I may try those on the SUB.
Aaaaanyway... I'll let you know if I decide to let it go, as I'd be happier selling it to someone I know, even if we only met once!

[LukeFRC]

this has me coming out in stingray lust.
How do the stingray/sub/OLPs stack up? If I went for one I think it would be an OLP- mainly as you seem to like them!

[mcnach]

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1323970490' post='1469423']
this has me coming out in stingray lust.
How do the stingray/sub/OLPs stack up? If I went for one I think it would be an OLP- mainly as you seem to like them!
[/quote]

Stingray lust.
Beautiful thing

Yes, I do like the OLPs.
A lot.
Although not quite as much as I did when I joined the forum, as someone might remind me very soon if they read this thread (Rich, Pete? )

I never really liked Stingrays in shops. They were ok. But not amazing, and I was not going to spend >£1000 on something that was just ok. So I bought an OLP, instigated by my guitarist in the Richt Hoat Chillis.
And I liked it.
But it was not without flaws. I will not go into the basic set up stuff, because in my opinion that's something you probably have to look at in any bass. Some just need a bit more work than others. This one had frets levelled, new nut, etc. I also had the fingerboard edges rolled a bit. I love that neck. It's as wide as a Stingray's, but shallower, and it felt very comfortable. But the electronics were disappointing. Original ceramic pickup was ok, but not very good, and not very Stingrayish. The SMB4A took care of a lot of it. Wired in parallel, it sounded punchier than the original, yet mellow and clear. Big improvement. I also installed the Seymour Duncan 3-band Stingray preamp, and the OLP was transformed. Its character was more like a 3EQ Stingray, it does the aggressive 'Ray very well. Huge bottom. Very nice bass for a fraction of the price of a Stingray, even used.
I checked Stingrays in shops again, and I could now see soem differences, and the MusicMan basses said "quality" before I even picked them up. But their sound was not incredible, they didn't make me want to own one. And I preferred the neck on the OLP.

Until I found a lovely 2EQ Stingray, natural/maple (the one in my avatar).
Neck is not as shallow as the OLP, but it is very comfortable, and over time it has become my favourite profile. You end up preferring whatever it is you play the most, I suppose, out of familiarity.
I didn't love the 2EQ at first. It was sweet, but there was an "I don't know what" that I didn't quite like, and concluded that I wanted more control over the mids. So I tried John East's preamp. With the mids flat, it;s supposed to be pretty much a 2EQ. But somehow, this sounded "tighter" than the original and I liked it. The mids, with the frequency sweep control, were fantastic... and suddenly I didn't play that OLP very much anymore.
How much better is the Stingray?
Enough.
Where I felt it really made a difference was playing at high volume and/or in a band context. Playing the OLP and the Stingray by themselves at low volume at home or in the shop... it just did not show the big differences. Playing loud with the band, the Stingray came into its own. The very first time I used it my bandmates immediately told me it sounded better than before. Only the guitarist had realised it was a MusicMan, the others thought I was using some FX or something to change my sound... but it was just the bass. Fuller, somehow.

If I could not afford a Stingray and had to use an OLP... I'd shrug and play the OLP (with the aforementioned modifications) and I'd enjoy it. But if I can afford a Stingray, I would definitely get one. For one, it doesn't just get close to the Stingray sound... it has it 100%, that's what it does. But it generally just feels more "solid", and nicer. Soundwise, I always find the right sound for me in the band with the Stingray straight away. With the OLP I need to do some extra tweaking, and don't find it sits as nicely. But it's a different pickup, preamp etc, so it it coud well be a reflection of teh different electronics more than anything else.

The SUB... Well, I have a SUB5 which I think is fantastic, but I did not have an SR5 to compare it with. However it sounded a lot like my Stingray (alnico pickup in parallel). The 2EQ preamp is not as versatile as the John East version, but I did not have the urge to change it, like I did with my Stingray.
Very good, very solid bass.
The SUB I just got... well, I only played it less than an hour. But it made me smile. A lot. I suspect the pickup is wired in series in this case, it just has that extra body/punch/midrange, but it still sounds like a Stingray. I'm quite happy with the 2EQ preamp... maybe I have just become used to how they operate so I know where to find the sweet spots, I don't know. Except for the cosmetic issues (finish, neck finish, pickguard, slab body) it *is* a Stingray. It is well made, miles away from an OLP, and it just feels and sounds like a Stingray.

So, if 10 is a Stingray and 0 is a nameless clone whose only similarity with a Stingray is that it is shaped vaguely similar... I'd put an OLP stock at 6.5, and OLP modified at 8, a SUB at 9.5 and a Stingray at 10.

I would still have a Stingray, because I prefer maple fingerboards and SUBs were only made in rosewood. But anything else... they're very close.

Hey, you are in Edinburgh. If you want, you can come round some time and check the OLPs, SUB and Stingray side by side.

Edited December 15, 2011 by mcnach

[mcnach]

... and tonight it's seeing some action at rehearsal

[Jigster]

great posting mcnach -

[MattM]

The SUBs are fantastic bang for the buck, I used to have a red one (sold to a Mr Jones of this parish) and managed to upgrade to an awesome late 80s 2EQ 'Ray. The SUB is definitely voiced a wee bit differently, probably down to the series wiring, but has got bags of cojones, and the 2EQ is as you know and love it. Great back up, or lower price alternative to a 2EQ 'Ray. If I was needing a fretted spare for gigging, a SUB is where I'd be looking.

[mcnach]

[quote name='MattM' timestamp='1324159030' post='1471445']
The SUBs are fantastic bang for the buck, I used to have a red one (sold to a Mr Jones of this parish) and managed to upgrade to an awesome late 80s 2EQ 'Ray. The SUB is definitely voiced a wee bit differently, probably down to the series wiring, but has got bags of cojones, and the 2EQ is as you know and love it. Great back up, or lower price alternative to a 2EQ 'Ray. If I was needing a fretted spare for gigging, a SUB is where I'd be looking.
[/quote]

I'm really enjoying the extra scrotal mass of the SUB. Haven't opened it yet, but it's got to be series-wired.
I used to have a Warwick Corvette $$, and I did not like the series position much, not compared to the parallel. But on the SUB it seems to work very nicely. It's certainly staying unmodified, which is pretty rare for me!

I've done a couple of rehearsals with the SUB last week, and at home playing the Stingray and the SUB back and forth. They are very similar but they both have their own thing going on. Both are fantastic.

MM SUBs are not exactly a secret, but they're not well known. It took me a while to come across them, and to understand what they were...
Now that I found a white SUB, next on my search will be a fretless SUB. A lot rarer, but there are some out there...

[longtimefred]

looks ace! my old man used to have a SUB which i liked very much. S&T should sell you 2 tuners, they sold me a single one. shame about the shoddy packaging, not cool really.

[mcnach]

[quote name='longtimefred' timestamp='1324297664' post='1472623']
looks ace! my old man used to have a SUB which i liked very much. S&T should sell you 2 tuners, they sold me a single one. shame about the shoddy packaging, not cool really.
[/quote]


S&T indeed sell individual ones.
I haven't got anywhere yet with the seller. So far he responded quickly, but remain non-committal. I sent him pictures and forwarded teh details of the tuners and cost. I already ordered them, and this morning I received an email from S&T saying they had been dispatched. I'm not going to wait indefinitely to fix the bass. I will fix it, and then I'll try to recoup my money from the seller directly or raise it with eBay/Paypal.
I'm not going to lose much sleep over it anyway. Really great bass
My Stingray is really getting jealous
(novelty, you know... it's all the white bass now... but it's still the Stingray on the gig on Thursday... I don't want to experiment with dodgy tuners at a gig)

[ezbass]

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1324241771' post='1472236']
Now that I found a white SUB, next on my search will be a fretless SUB. A lot rarer, but there are some out there...
[/quote]Were there actual fretless factory models or are they conversions like mine? Just great basses. The first one I ever saw being used live was by Cliff Hugo (Carl Verheyen/Supertramp) and he described it it as the ultimate Precision, not far off the mark IMO.

[mcnach]

[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1324338387' post='1473297']
Were there actual fretless factory models or are they conversions like mine? Just great basses. The first one I ever saw being used live was by Cliff Hugo (Carl Verheyen/Supertramp) and he described it it as the ultimate Precision, not far off the mark IMO.
[/quote]

I have seen pictures of fretless SUBs, with unlined rosewood boards, so I assume they are original unless the fretlines are very well disguised. It could be.