Musicman SUB USA neck finish question

[sirmuppet]

Have the option to buy one of these. I owned one a while ago and loved it. It's the USA model that had the metal pickguard, no body contours and the plastic type finish. I've searched but I can't find an answer to the following. I remember these basses having a painted headstock and neck. This one appears to have a painted headstock but natural finish on the neck. It still has the logo sticker with the serial number at the top. Did the USA ones ever come with an unpainted neck? I looked and all the photos I dig up online appear to have it painted. 

[mouthmw]

No, they all came with the painted black neck. It was a cost saving thing, and they were still losing money on them. A lot of people stripped the finish though, so that's what you're seeing there. Somebody stripped it and refinished it, or just stripped the paint and left the sealer coat on. Either way, ask the seller about details.

[sirmuppet]

1 minute ago, mouthmw said:

No, they all came with the painted black neck. It was a cost saving thing, and they were still losing money on them. A lot of people stripped the finish though, so that's what you're seeing there. Somebody stripped it and refinished it, or just stripped the paint and left the sealer coat on. Either way, ask the seller about details.

Thanks. I thought as much. The seller was saying they bought it like this and didn't know. Wasn't sure if there was a later run that came like that. Do you reckon 300 is fair considering this has been done?

[bassmachine2112]

hiho, if there are no issues with the bass it,s a good deal they are fabulous basses .Had mine since 2003.

[ezbass]

I stripped the paint of of my old one and sealed it with Danish Oil, then it was much nicer. If I were to buy another, the first thing I'd do would be to strip the neck. £300 sounds fair to me.

[mouthmw]

£300 is a great price if it's in good condition. They go for quite a bit more on Reverb these days, damn price hikes. Things I'd check - I wouldn't want it to be too heavy, I'd want it to be an active 2eq model (not the passive one) and the obvious neck in good condition part (truss rod, frets).

[sirmuppet]

From what I can see it looks to be in decent condition. The headstock still has the front painted but it a little chipped at the edges. Apart from that it looks great from the photos. It's got 3 controls on it so I'll email asking if it's the passive or 2 band version. In Gunmetal and comes with what looks like a very nice hardcase too. 

[BreadBin]

Sounds just like mine, except for the stripped neck. There's a website where you can ID them from the logo - http://www.musicmanbass.global/headstock-logos-part-2/

[sirmuppet]

1 hour ago, BreadBin said:

Sounds just like mine, except for the stripped neck. There's a website where you can ID them from the logo - http://www.musicmanbass.global/headstock-logos-part-2/

That's some awesome info on there. I can tell from that the bass was made from at least 2004 due to the dots not being in the SUB. Thanks.

 

[BreadBin]

6 minutes ago, sirmuppet said:

That's some awesome info on there. I can tell from that the bass was made from at least 2004 due to the dots not being in the SUB. Thanks.

 

Exactly like mine then! Great basses, I love mine 👍

[mouthmw]

2 hours ago, sirmuppet said:

From what I can see it looks to be in decent condition. The headstock still has the front painted but it a little chipped at the edges. Apart from that it looks great from the photos. It's got 3 controls on it so I'll email asking if it's the passive or 2 band version. In Gunmetal and comes with what looks like a very nice hardcase too. 

If any of the photos shows the back of the body, you can tell it's active if it has a battery box. If there's no box, it's a passive model.

[drTStingray]

For checking the date of birth, use either the EBMM serial number database available on their website or email EBMM customer services. They were built between 2003 and 2006.

The painted necks are similar to those on MM Bongos, also made from 2003. 

I paid around £500 for mine (5 string) about 5 yrs ago. That is a very good price indeed even if it is mildly modified and not stock. They seem to command £450-£550 in decent shape. 

They do sound great as well - standard EBMM 2 band EQ and pick up - poplar body/rosewood board seems to make them very resonant. Mine is extremely light, to the extent it has a bit of neck dive.

im afraid I've ceased to buy this lightest is bestest fashion - I used my very heavy SR5 natural/maple for two gigs in one weekend a couple of weeks ago - it balances beautifully on a strap and I had no ill effects, even to my late middle aged frame....and the sound is fantastic. 

id say if you like the bass, buy it. The range on four string Stingrays up to 2018 is around 8 lbs to just over 10. Unless you've got a bad back problem the balance of these basses on a decent strap will result in no problems. 

 

Edited August 26, 2019 by drTStingray

[Dazed]

I stripped the neck on mine. Paint was worn in places with a few other scratches and I prefer an oil finish to painted.

Price is good too assuming the rest of the bass is fine. I sold mine for more, 4 or 5 years ago and the prices appear to have risen since then.   

[Paddy515]

Passive models are mighty fine too. I had both at one time, both 2 eq models, prefered the thump of the passive, so sold the active. Not regretted it one iota.

[sirmuppet]

I'm still waiting to hear what model it is. So far zip. Doesn't look promising. 

[mcnach]

On 26/08/2019 at 10:14, sirmuppet said:

Thanks. I thought as much. The seller was saying they bought it like this and didn't know. Wasn't sure if there was a later run that came like that. Do you reckon 300 is fair considering this has been done?

 

300 is an extremely good price!  Grab it!!!!

(is it the active 2-band version? They also made them passive, not as common... I'd get the active version and if this one is not, I'd wait until another one arrives. They do come up for sale regularly)