40hz Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 (edited) Had this for a while actually, but forgot to NBD it! My poor SUB, always being the base for my graphite related tinkering, after having previously had a fretted Status neck and then being returned to its OG neck for a while, I thought it would be time to experiment once more. After wanting to buy a fretless and absolutely loving the tone a fretless ray gets, I'll be ashamed to admit it took me a while to realise that I didn't have to go and buy a whole new Musicman and could just change the neck on my SUB! A fair amount of money later, this was the end result. Now, It might just be the most resonant instrument I've ever had. The whole body and neck vibrate to an incredible level (even the tech who did the work commented, stating it was probably the most resonant instrument he had worked on) and although this might not be everybody's bag, the amount of mwah out of the graphite neck is off the scale - It absolutely *sings* Tonally, with 40-95 Flatwounds, the graphite just adds to that Musicman growl. It's an incredibly pokey instrument with the tone wide open, but roll it back, and there is a lovely, soft, warmth to be had, with total articulation. I'd describe it as a live 'studio' tone. The neck profile is the typical Status (what I'd term) flat 'D'. Narrower front to back than the stock Musicman profile, with stronger 'shoulders' but the same width. I'm not going to say it's better or worse as that sort of thing is totally down to preference. I went for lightweight, black Musicman tuners to set off the whole 'dark' vibe, which had the added result of making the bass a little lighter. Thanks for listening to my mini ramble/review, I'm off to go get my Pino on! *Stomps on OC-5* Edited January 29, 2022 by 40hz 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theyellowcar Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 Nice! Very stealthy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffb28451 Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 Nice work. Love me a Status Ray neck, esp. the slightly-wider-than-Jazz size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Browning Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 Very nice indeed. I have a SUB that I have considered doing the same. Where did you get the tuners? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
40hz Posted February 10, 2022 Author Share Posted February 10, 2022 10 hours ago, Steve Browning said: Very nice indeed. I have a SUB that I have considered doing the same. Where did you get the tuners? My tech guy got them direct from Ernie Ball themselves. I'd definitely recommend doing the same with your SUB! There is something about the tonality of a Stingray/USA SUB that lends itself amazingly to fretless. The graphite neck just amplifies it 10x. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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