New toy (Not rocket related, though...)

[Mugs914]

I know we have a bunch of bass players on this forum, so I thought I would post this up...

The wife and I made a run up to the big city today to visit a couple of shops we don't have in town. Neither store opened 'till 1200, but the Guitar Center next door was open, so I texted my wife to tell her where I would be.

I hadn't been in a GC for years, but not much had changed. Looked pretty much the same and there was the obligatory kid in the guitar area "shredding". I went over to the new basses to have a look. I picked up a new Sterling by Music Man four string and was noodling about (ampless) when my wife walked in. She came over to let me know she was there and wandered off.

Just a few minutes later she came over and asked, "Are Sterlings any good?" I said "yeah, they're Music Man's budget brand and aren't bad at all".

"Well, there is a Sterling five-string over in the used section for $280.00. It looks beautiful."

"Oh yeah?"

Now, I have wanted a Music Man bass for years, love the tone, the way they play, look, all that stuff; but they are pricey. The Sterlings are essentially the same, but quite a bit cheaper, and this one was a steal. I have also been wanting a five-string for a while, feeling like I wanted to teach this old dawg a new trick.

Someone had purchased the thing for his girlfriend, but it was too big for her and he traded it in on a smaller bass a couple of days later. It still has some of the plastic covering on the pick guard. Hardly played at all...

I plugged it in and played around for a bit and was very impressed with the tone (classic Music Man) the way it played and looked, but there was one question I still had...

"You aren't teasin' me now, are ya.."

She-Of-The-Tight-Purse-Strings said "NO! It looks like a great deal! If you like it, you should get it."

"Just use your card, we haven't payed off the other one yet."

Well, here she is... I pick it up Friday. (Apparently GC has a policy that used stuff has to be in the store for several days to make sure it isn't hot.) Not too fancy or high-end but pretty darned awesome for three bills, and certainly good enough for me to figger out what to do with that low B string!!




Mike

 

[Woody's Workshop]

Record a Riff and a bakers dozen and post it!
Nothin sets the beat like a good bass, especially when it compliments the skins!
I would give my left arm to have my Gold Less Paul Back!

 

[Cape Byron]

So, I'm the only one who wondered how many wheels it had when @Mugs914 said "New toy"?

 

[David_Stack]

So, I'm the only one who wondered how many wheels it had when @Mugs914 said "New toy"?

Gotta admit it was my first thought too (and tinged with jealously it was...)

 

[bronicabill]

Very nice! Once you learn what to do with that B string you'll wonder how you ever did without it! I started out on a 5-string and am totally lost if someone hands me a 4-string... I use that low B string ALL of the time; practically every song!

Here is a pic of mine... a Ibanez SoundGear 2405W. Sadly it was a bit more $$$ than yours... a WHOLE lot more, but it's the last bass I'll ever need! (Please note that I'm using a stock image from Sweetwater as theirs is way better than I can do, but mine is identical!)

Edit to add: I did add strap locks to it as I've used them ever since I almost dropped a bass on-stage many years ago when the rear strap attachment slipped loose.

 

[Antares JS]

That is a really nice-looking instrument, Mugs914. That purple-black fade is fantastic.

Since you told that story, I have to tell the story of my instrument stable from a couple of weeks ago.

After noodling around with guitar on and off for a couple of years, I finally decided to buckle down and learn to really play it a couple of months ago. I ordered myself an Ibanez RG421 on Amazon, remembering how much I liked the feel of Ibanez guitars, and picking a basic six-string model.

However, then came the problem when you don't buy an instrument from an actual music shop - when I first got it, the RG421 had really bad string buzz on the lower frets (the strings were so low on that end that they were contacting the fret wires when picked, producing an unpleasant buzzing noise), so I tried to fix the strings myself by adjusting the tension bar in the neck and raising the action on the bridge. The result was... workable, but the action was really high (the strings were really high off the fretboard) on the high end.

I played the guitar like this for a while, but the high action on the high end was causing problems whenever I tried to play solos. I eventually started looking for music stores in my general area, and came across Earle Teat music of Delmar, DE as they were listed on the Ibanez website as a dealer.

And so, a couple of weeks ago, I brought that guitar in to the music shop and asked them to lower the action on the strings while avoiding the string buzz. They told me no problem, and it would be ready in a couple of days. While I was there, I had a good look around the shop and tried out a couple of other instruments, including basses. I had thought about playing bass as well for a long time, so I figured why not? One was out of my price range, one felt lousy to play, one had an ugly finish... after frustrating myself for about half an hour, I picked a random nice-looking one off the shelf, hooked it up to an amp and tried it out... and fell in love. It felt great, didn't buzz, and sounded really nice. I took a look at the headstock and saw an Ibanez logo on the front and the model number "TMB100" on the back. There was no price tag on it, so I looked up the model using my phone and found it had an MSRP well within my price range. I walked out of the store that day with that bass and a small amp for it.

Now for the third instrument... When I was playing my RG421, I tried out a few different tunings that some of my favorite bands used. Amaranthe (who wrote our wedding song, Amaranthine) and The Sword both used C-standard tuning, two whole steps below the usual E-standard tuning. While the RG421 could handle playing in Drop D, D, and Drop C without much of a problem, going all the way down to full C-standard loosened the strings so much that it felt like trying to fret limp spaghetti and brought back my old nemesis, string buzz. I thought about using heavier strings, but if I did that, the strings would end up finger-cutting tight when I wanted to play normal E-standard. The best solution was probably going to be to get another instrument and outfit it with heavier strings if I wanted to play at those low tunings.

When I got the call from the music shop that my guitar was ready, I went down to have a look and found they had done a great job; the action was even throughout the fretboard and no more dreaded string buzz. At that point, I decided to just take the plunge. I had tried a few guitars out as well when I bought the bass, but either I didn't like them or they cost more than I wanted to spend. The best solution, in my mind, was to have them order me another RG421 with a different finish. So I asked the guy about doing a special order, and after noting what I was looking for, he excused himself and checked his stock. When he came back, he was carrying an Ibanez guitar box and I commented that I sure was lucky that he happened to have another RG421 on hand. He replied "It's not exactly the same one you asked for, but it's close so I'm going to show it to you," as he opened the box.

The guitar he took out was an RG421PB - PB for poplar burl, with a finish called "Carribean Shoreline" - a blue and gray fade finish shaded by the poplar burl, and man this thing was beautiful. I held it, tried playing it for a minute, found it had the same great feel as my RG421, looked it up online, found it actually was the same as my RG421, the only difference was the cosmetic poplar burl plate on top of the body.

I bought that guitar that day, and took it home the next day after the shop installed heavier strings for me. Next time my two guitars need to be restrung though, I think I am going to switch them and put the heavier strings on the 421 and regular strings on the 421PB, just because cosmetically, the older 421's darker look matches the lower tuning better, while the PB's brightness matches more with the Bon Jovi songs I like to play on E-standard.

If anyone lives in this area or is passing through, Earle Teat Music of Dover and Delmar, Delaware, is good people.

 

[bronicabill]

I have been saying for years that Ibanez guitars seem to offer the "most bang for the buck" of anything I've tried, and I've been messing with guitars for nearly 50 years now... and owned quite a few different brands! While I have owned American Standard factory hot-rodded Strats (which were amazing), and several other high-dollar guitars and basses, the ones I've NOT regretted the price paid have all been made by Ibanez, simply because the value I received was so great compared to the price paid!

My most recent, the SG-2405W mentioned above, cost me a shade over $1,800.00... the most I've ever paid for any instrument. However, the build quality, playability, adjustability, and tonal quality is far, FAR above the only other bass that came close in price at just under that amount!

Anyway, I don't work for Ibanez... just a VERY satisfied owner!

 

[Antares JS]

Agreed, every other similarly-priced guitar I've tried wasn't nearly as good, and I have tried a bunch in various music shops. In my experience, Ibanez really does seem to be the best you can get in the $300-400 range.

(With respect to the OP, I have never tried a Sterling. I don't think I've seen one before.)

 

[Sooner Boomer]

I started playing with guitars about five years ago. "Playing with", because I was designing and building effects boxes and needed to see what they sound like. I thought playing bass would be fun. I picked up a Squeir Jazz bass at a pawn shop. Someone had butchered the 12-13 fret interval by grinding it away. It doesn't affect the playability, but looks like crap. I put new Earnie Ball strings in, and added Seymour Duncan "Classic" and "Quarter-pounder" pickups. A friend was wanting a new "Stratish", so we went in together on an order from Germany. I bought a Harley Benton PB-20 (Precision Bass clone - black with a white pickguard). I tore it apart, shielded the cavity with copper foil, replaced the pots with 25mm Alphas, changed the tone cap to allow more highs, and added a treble-bleed cap. I really like the sound. I need to tear the Squeir apart and shield the cavaties. Like most basses (and other guitars), it has a bit of noise except when both volume pots are at the same setting (essentially making a humbucker). I'll never be any good, but I enjoy working on the guitars and learning how the modifications change the sound.