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Music Man sound and pickups
Just to address some of the many posts as of recent regarding Music Man sound and pickups.
I feel there are 3 main attributes that contribute to the tone of a Music Man.
1. The larger humbucking (or dual coil) style pickup
2. The ‘sweet spot’ placing of that pickup
3. The EBMM preamp
You can get the majority of the tone IMHO with pickup and placing. Some manufactures do offer models like this the Modulus Funk Unlimited bass (previously known as the Flea bass) ,ect.
On EBMM preamp and parts:
The EBMM preamp IMHO (and many others as well) feel the preamp is the icing on the cake of the “MM” tone. (Not that having the other pres are bad…this is just in reference to nailing the EBMM tone itself) and the preamps are proprietary.
In general EBMM preamps appear to have more an effect on the natural tone of the bass then say several other after marked preamps (Ex: Bartolini, Aguliar, ect)
Note: EBMM does not sell aftermarket parts (pickups and preamps) the do repair and if necessary replace original EBMM parts that where stock on instrument. Nor will they modify your original EBMM bass with anything additional (EX: The will not modify your original Stingray 4 H to a HH model).
Aftermarket parts:
Nordstrand makes a dual coil and a quad coil MM style pickups in both 4 and 5 string. These are my personal favorite since they use wire, magnets and DC resistance as the original Music Man pickups.
http://www.nordstrandpickups.com/bass-pickups/modern/
Seymour Duncan makes both alnico (Stingray) and ceramic (Sterling) replacements in both 4 and 5 http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/basslines/
John East makes some MM style preamps that where designed with the characteristics very similar to the original MM Stingray preamp (with and without the plates).
http://www.east-uk.com/
(There are others out there as well I just wanted to tip the iceberg of the most common post your experiences)
Additional information (various)
Some of this might be common knowledge to some players, so bare with me. This sticky is to address some of the common questions that do pop up.
Standard wiring and pickups are (with some exceptions with the wiring)
EBMM Stingrays: wired in parallel and use alnico pickup(s)
EBMM Sterlings: wired in series and use ceramic pickup(s)
H=Humbucking, HH=Dual Humbucking , HS=Humbucking&Single
Just to address some of the many posts as of recent regarding Music Man sound and pickups.
I feel there are 3 main attributes that contribute to the tone of a Music Man.
1. The larger humbucking (or dual coil) style pickup
2. The ‘sweet spot’ placing of that pickup
3. The EBMM preamp
You can get the majority of the tone IMHO with pickup and placing. Some manufactures do offer models like this the Modulus Funk Unlimited bass (previously known as the Flea bass) ,ect.
On EBMM preamp and parts:
The EBMM preamp IMHO (and many others as well) feel the preamp is the icing on the cake of the “MM” tone. (Not that having the other pres are bad…this is just in reference to nailing the EBMM tone itself) and the preamps are proprietary.
In general EBMM preamps appear to have more an effect on the natural tone of the bass then say several other after marked preamps (Ex: Bartolini, Aguliar, ect)
Note: EBMM does not sell aftermarket parts (pickups and preamps) the do repair and if necessary replace original EBMM parts that where stock on instrument. Nor will they modify your original EBMM bass with anything additional (EX: The will not modify your original Stingray 4 H to a HH model).
Aftermarket parts:
Nordstrand makes a dual coil and a quad coil MM style pickups in both 4 and 5 string. These are my personal favorite since they use wire, magnets and DC resistance as the original Music Man pickups.
http://www.nordstrandpickups.com/bass-pickups/modern/
Seymour Duncan makes both alnico (Stingray) and ceramic (Sterling) replacements in both 4 and 5 http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/basslines/
John East makes some MM style preamps that where designed with the characteristics very similar to the original MM Stingray preamp (with and without the plates).
http://www.east-uk.com/
(There are others out there as well I just wanted to tip the iceberg of the most common post your experiences)
Additional information (various)
Some of this might be common knowledge to some players, so bare with me. This sticky is to address some of the common questions that do pop up.
Standard wiring and pickups are (with some exceptions with the wiring)
EBMM Stingrays: wired in parallel and use alnico pickup(s)
EBMM Sterlings: wired in series and use ceramic pickup(s)
H=Humbucking, HH=Dual Humbucking , HS=Humbucking&Single
