Ray of colours

EBMM added more colours to their line up of short scale Sting Ray basses. As you can see, both rosewood & maple fretboard versions are offered. I'm always a fan of short scale basses, regardless of the brand name. I feel these resonate better with  guitar players as they feel more like a baritone guitar rather than shorter basses. With EBMM, even their short scale basses are listed for a premium & we know it's all about uncompromising quality.

Pic: EBMM

Super Sub

Re-string Monday, folks. The EBMM SUB1 got some playing time today. I keep this guitar in a hard case & the strings just rusted like I dipped them into sea water or something. Its a serious case of metal against hard case fur. The old strings felt sticky & it could only mean that there's some reaction between the strings & the adhesive that seeped through the fur lining. I wiped those strings before keeping it so the rust could not have been caused by organic hand fluid. 

Whatever the case, GHS to the rescue. I would have preferred D'Addarios but Davis GMC ran out of 9s in the mean time. 

My DiMarzio Super 3 humbucker rests here in the mean time. I features black pole pieces so these blend in nicely with the overall black demeanour of the instrument as seen in the first pic. I did not intend for this one to be an all black, stealth mode type but it happened. I still feel sore that EBMM had chosen to discontinue the SUB series of instruments as they are definitely vale-for-money instruments. The SUB label is now a Sterling affair & if that was an attempt to cascade the vibe into the Sterling range, it sorely missed the point.

The Super 3 is a high output, midrange heavy pickup. Its brand of chugging features some gristle that metal dudes will embrace. The pickup was set lower into the body to prevent wolf tones from manifesting as I always put my distortion on overdose. If there's an equivalent to this in the Seymour Duncan camp then it has to be the Full Shred. 

EQ pic: DiMarzio

Myung Bongo

This is official - EBMM did a signature for John Myung & it's based on a Bongo. It's a 6-string bass but  spec'd like a 5. That's right folks, the neck width was compressed to feel like a 5, meaning, it's narrower but still accommodates 6 strings. It's definitely aimed at those rapid fire moments for his Dream Theater needs. That fretboard there isn't an anomaly, they call it the split board, combining both rosewood & roasted maple. There are currently no details as to why John prefers EBMM to Yamaha as the latter brand name saw him through the greater part of his music career as he's mainly seen strapping on a Yamaha through DT's rising years.

PIC: EBMM

Short Sting

This is new for 2019- EBMM offers the Stingray bass in a short scale version (30"). That's good news for people with a smaller body frame like yours truly. We also know how commanding a name like EBMM is, so something of this iteration would definitely retain its quality & appeal. This is unfortunately a limited run & only available in September 2019. We know how it is when it comes to EBMM distribution here- no confirmed availability compounded by disinterest.That's a double whammy for sure. 

It's February! 😎

Petrucci '16

John Petrucci gets a refreshed model this year, the JP16 (so next year it'll be JP17, yes?). Refreshed because the guitar retains what works with 'new' bridge- the Floyd Rose (Pro). The bridge in the JPMs had been the manufacturer's proprietary model all this while so having a third party implement there has its implications. Something to ponder over coffee. 

EBMM: Stingray guitar

Before 2015 ended, the folks at EBMM had this to share for 2016- the Stingray guitar. That Stingray monicker is often associated with the manufacturer's bass but there was a Stingray guitar in the midst of all that.

If you have to know, the Stingray back then looked like this. The current Stingray pretty much retained the crucial aspects but the headstock outline remains to be contemporary.

St Vincent

Is this a genuine attempt at a re-design or simply a reject embrace? Lest we forget, Gibson did it with the RD & it is somewhat on the road to revival. We see some interesting angular stuff for Bo Diddley as well so this St Vincent model by EBMM is arguably a hit/miss affair. Let's not judge a guitar by its outline but the outline per se determines if it's gonna sell loads. In this case, EBMM isn't a ready proponent for such an adventure unlike BC Rich with its thorny offerings but this one is indeed an interesting take. Regardless of its outline, we know EBMM makes fine instruments & by virtue of this reputation alone, the St. Vincent would be deemed a good guitar. Really hope that it is.

EBMM: JP 11

Here's the new EBMM John Petrucci 11 guitar. I'm not into signature models but this guitar features an intriguingly flat fretboard radius- 20"...