SBMM hates us

[danbb]

Boycott MM and get the new Sire V range.  Way better quality, sound, parts and QC.  Literally zero reason to buy MM in the UK now, unless you're buying the high end Ernie Ball stuff.  

[neepheid]

  On 04/11/2024 at 09:42, danbb said:

Boycott MM and get the new Sire V range.  Way better quality, sound, parts and QC.  Literally zero reason to buy MM in the UK now, unless you're buying the high end Ernie Ball stuff.  

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No time to say hi first?

 

 

[tauzero]

  On 04/11/2024 at 09:42, danbb said:

Boycott MM and get the new Sire V range.  Way better quality, sound, parts and QC.  Literally zero reason to buy MM in the UK now, unless you're buying the high end Ernie Ball stuff.  

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Surely the M or Z series would be a far more sensible option if you're after MM sound.

[asingardenof]

  On 04/11/2024 at 09:42, danbb said:

Boycott MM and get the new Sire V range.  Way better quality, sound, parts and QC.  Literally zero reason to buy MM in the UK now, unless you're buying the high end Ernie Ball stuff.  

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Sire have very much put a shot across the bow of SBMM. I'd been eyeing up a Ray5 as a possible future purchase, but other than it having a cooler headstock and the cachet of the model name there's no advantage to getting one rather than the Z3, given the Z3 is cheaper, better built and sounds more than a MM Stingray.

[mcnach]

  On 04/11/2024 at 09:42, danbb said:

Boycott MM and get the new Sire V range.  Way better quality, sound, parts and QC.  Literally zero reason to buy MM in the UK now, unless you're buying the high end Ernie Ball stuff.  

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Erm... maybe the Z series, not the V, right?

 

 

[mcnach]

  On 04/11/2024 at 17:16, asingardenof said:

Sire have very much put a shot across the bow of SBMM. I'd been eyeing up a Ray5 as a possible future purchase, but other than it having a cooler headstock and the cachet of the model name there's no advantage to getting one rather than the Z3, given the Z3 is cheaper, better built and sounds more than a MM Stingray.

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If string spacing at the bridge matters to you, check it first. I think the Z3-5 is narrower spacing than the Z7-5 (the Z7-5 is 17.5mm, like a Stingray).

 

 

 

[danbb]

Yeah I meant Z series not V

Edited November 4, 2024 by danbb
Type o

[asingardenof]

  On 04/11/2024 at 19:09, mcnach said:

If string spacing at the bridge matters to you, check it first. I think the Z3-5 is narrower spacing than the Z7-5 (the Z7-5 is 17.5mm, like a Stingray).

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I'd be surprised if that was the case, and would have thought they'd use the same for both like they have the same bridge across the V series, however I stand to be corrected. If it's a similar spacing to the SBMM Ray5 then I found that quite comfortable.

[mcnach]

  On 05/11/2024 at 11:44, asingardenof said:

I'd be surprised if that was the case, and would have thought they'd use the same for both like they have the same bridge across the V series, however I stand to be corrected. If it's a similar spacing to the SBMM Ray5 then I found that quite comfortable.

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16 mm is very common among the cheaper Stingray5 copies, and you can generally tell by looking at the pickups and the relative distances between polepieces, the polepiece diameter, and the pickup edges. On pictures the Z3-5 pickup looks to be for a narrower spacing than the Z7-5. Maybe the Z3 has an overall slimmer neck, much like SBMM do with their Ray4 vs Ray34 etc.

 

I'm 87.4% convinced that the spacing is narrower, but I'm still waiting for an owner to confirm one way or the other.

[patrikmarky]

Love mine ..for £349.00 from bax I can’t fault it ..curious about the bottom horn …was slightly put off by the stumpyness from the online pics ..but I’m pretty sure they’ve changed from the original mine seems slightly longer ..probably a pointless remark 🤟🤣..

[Russ]

  On 01/12/2024 at 19:02, patrikmarky said:

Love mine ..for £349.00 from bax I can’t fault it ..curious about the bottom horn …was slightly put off by the stumpyness from the online pics ..but I’m pretty sure they’ve changed from the original mine seems slightly longer ..probably a pointless remark 🤟🤣..

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Yep, they restyled the Z series before release because they got a lot of comments that the bottom horn on the pre-production models looked too "bulbous". Looks a lot better now. Nice to see a manufacturer taking feedback from customers before the instrument is even released! 

 

Although they've obviously ignored any and all calls for them to redesign their fugly headstock! 

Edited December 2, 2024 by Russ

[neepheid]

  On 02/12/2024 at 01:11, Russ said:

Yep, they restyled the Z series before release because they got a lot of comments that the bottom horn on the pre-production models looked too "bulbous". Looks a lot better now. Nice to see a manufacturer taking feedback from customers before the instrument is even released! 

 

Although they've obviously ignored any and all calls for them to redesign their fugly headstock! 

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Look again - the headstock has been shortened and reprofiled a little on the Z with the tuners smooshed together a little closer.  Still quintessentially theirs though, and I think that's a good thing, f the haters

Measurements (D5 compared with Z7)

 

Headstock length from nut to farthest edge
D5 - 239mm
Z7 - 208mm

 

Centre of E tuner to centre of G tuner (approx)
D5 - 145mm
Z7 - 131mm

Edited December 2, 2024 by neepheid

[patrikmarky]

  On 02/12/2024 at 09:11, neepheid said:

 

Look again - the headstock has been shortened and reprofiled a little on the Z with the tuners smooshed together a little closer.  Still quintessentially theirs though, and I think that's a good thing, f the haters

Measurements (D5 compared with Z7)

 

Headstock length from nut to farthest edge
D5 - 239mm
Z7 - 208mm

 

Centre of E tuner to centre of G tuner (approx)
D5 - 145mm
Z7 - 131mm

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Personally think it looks better than the Ernie ball with the slightly longer bottom horn ..as for the headstock it is an improvement but I think they could have gone further..I’m so tempted to take my orbital sander to it ..🤟😂..I have upgraded my tuners to black and put a clear pick guard on it ..I’ll probably do the bridge and plate black ..

[neepheid]

  On 02/12/2024 at 10:23, patrikmarky said:

Personally think it looks better than the Ernie ball with the slightly longer bottom horn ..as for the headstock it is an improvement but I think they could have gone further..I’m so tempted to take my orbital sander to it ..🤟😂..I have upgraded my tuners to black and put a clear pick guard on it ..I’ll probably do the bridge and plate black ..

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It's your bass... and I'm with you on the clear pickguard - I'm about to send my Z7's guard to earlpilanz for copying - I wanna see more of that burgundy (mist) and the routing around the pickups is surprisingly tight considering it was designed to be covered up - no swimming pools here!

 

Personally, I'm glad they have kept their headstock.  It's part of their identity.  Compared to some of the utterly ridiculous monstrosities that exist in the world (which I'm sure are designed with the express purpose of ending up on "worst headstock ever" type threads/posts), the Sire headstock is pretty innocuous and I really don't get why people dogpile on it.

[drTStingray]

  On 04/11/2024 at 09:42, danbb said:

Boycott MM and get the new Sire V range.  Way better quality, sound, parts and QC.  Literally zero reason to buy MM in the UK now, unless you're buying the high end Ernie Ball stuff.  

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Not from some of the pics I’ve seen (in Sire threads on here and also Talkbass) - some have horrifically tatty looking construction in terms of neck joints and necks. 
 

I’m also confused - I thought this was an SBMM thread concerning their new lines of basses but the last page has been purely about Sire cheapo copy Stingrayish basses which are nothing to do with them (or did I miss some instruction somewhere that threads like this and Fender threads should be bombed with discussion about cheap knock off copies?) 🥴😂

Surely the best way to get Stingray sounds on a budget is with the officially licensed product??!! 

Edited December 3, 2024 by drTStingray

[neepheid]

  On 03/12/2024 at 02:33, drTStingray said:

Not from some of the pics I’ve seen (in Sire threads on here and also Talkbass) - some have horrifically tatty looking construction in terms of neck joints and necks. 
 

I’m also confused - I thought this was an SBMM thread concerning their new lines of basses but the last page has been purely about Sire cheapo copy Stingrayish basses which are nothing to do with them (or did I miss some instruction somewhere that threads like this and Fender threads should be bombed with discussion about cheap knock off copies?) 🥴😂

Surely the best way to get Stingray sounds on a budget is with the officially licensed product??!! 

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You're talking to thin air - first post, one follow up, hasn't been back since.

 

Anyway, back on topic - UK/EU price gouging

 

[ossyrocks]

Just a heads up. I played one of these yesterday at Promenade Music in Morecambe. Gary thrust it into my hands and said play this! He reckons it's the best playing bass in the shop. 

 

....and it was £250.

 

Edit: hmm, not sure now, as I'm sure the one I played had a control plate and was active. I don't understand MM models at all!

 

Rob

Edited December 7, 2024 by ossyrocks

[BassApprentice]

That sounds like one of the SUB series, which was the previous base level model.

 

They aren't bad by any means but I think this thread makes us question what value you get from paying full RRP from Music Man, whatever series or model you buy

[rwillett]

  On 07/12/2024 at 13:55, ossyrocks said:

Just a heads up. I played one of these yesterday at Promenade Music in Morecambe. Gary thrust it into my hands and said play this! He reckons it's the best playing bass in the shop. 

 

....and it was £250.

 

Edit: hmm, not sure now, as I'm sure the one I played had a control plate and was active. I don't understand MM models at all!

 

Rob

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Rob,

 

Dangerous place to go unless your credit cards are locked away.

 

Then again £250 isn't a bad price, however must resist the temptation. Oddly enough I am down that way tomorrow, coaching girls rugby at Vale of Lune Rugby club. Vale of Lune is a left turn at McDonalds as opposed to a right turn to Morecambe. Thankfully Promenade Music is closed on a Sunday, so I can't accidentality go there.

 

Rob

[Russ]

  On 03/12/2024 at 02:33, drTStingray said:

I’m also confused - I thought this was an SBMM thread concerning their new lines of basses but the last page has been purely about Sire cheapo copy Stingrayish basses which are nothing to do with them (or did I miss some instruction somewhere that threads like this and Fender threads should be bombed with discussion about cheap knock off copies?) 🥴😂

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We're allowed to digress where relevant, and it's definitely relevant, when Sire are doing a better lower-priced MM-style bass than MM themselves. 

 

  On 03/12/2024 at 02:33, drTStingray said:

Surely the best way to get Stingray sounds on a budget is with the officially licensed product??!! 

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The Z series sound more like a proper Stingray than any of the Sterling range, whether it's the new cheap ones or the more expensive ones. 

 

There were similar discussions back in the day when Ibanez came out with the ATK range, which sounded much more Stingray-ish than the "official" lower-priced Stingrays of the time, the OLP range. 

 

On the upside, maybe this will encourage MM to up their game. 

[ossyrocks]

  On 07/12/2024 at 14:56, rwillett said:

Rob,

 

Dangerous place to go unless your credit cards are locked away.

 

Then again £250 isn't a bad price, however must resist the temptation. Oddly enough I am down that way tomorrow, coaching girls rugby at Vale of Lune Rugby club. Vale of Lune is a left turn at McDonalds as opposed to a right turn to Morecambe. Thankfully Promenade Music is closed on a Sunday, so I can't accidentality go there.

 

Rob

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I've just come back from Promenade Music this minute (I can't stay away!). They have two vintage 70's Precisions in, a '74 and a '76.

 

Rob

[ezbass]

  On 07/12/2024 at 15:12, Russ said:

We're allowed to digress where relevant,

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This is BC, it is the way (sometimes it’s not even relevant ).

[tauzero]

  On 07/12/2024 at 15:12, Russ said:

We're allowed to digress where relevant

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The more highly trained of us can go off-topic within the first post of a thread.