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Bass Emporium Newsletter - July 2009

Ed Friedland's
The Bass Whisperer Reports: Ernie Ball Music Man 25th Anniversary HSS 4 string

by Ed Friedland

To celebrate 25 years of owning Music Man, the Ball family has released an anniversary model that remains true to their heritage yet virtually redefines what Music Man basses are about. Built on the body style of the Axis guitar, the 25 Anniversary bass is a new step both visually and technologically for Music Man.

Features

Like several previous EB special edition instruments, the 25th has a beautiful flamed maple top (quilted maple is an upgrade) over an ash body with a mahogany tone block (first introduced on the 20th Anniversary Stingray 5). The tone block adds density to the body, and gives the bass nice clarity of tone with noticeably improved sustain. Offered in a Venetian Redburst stain with matching headstock and cream-colored binding, the 25th is one sexy beast. The shorter top horn does make the bass neck dive more than a Stingray, but the use of lighter tuners and a smaller headstock help keep it from being a major issue. It's not nearly as bad in that respect as a T-Bird, an ASAT, or many Warwicks, so for me, it's not a deal breaker.

The gunstock oil finished maple neck has 22 wide, high profile frets that are well seated in the maple fingerboard, and the Mother Of Pearl dot inlays have an attractive dark binding. The clearance to the 22nd fret is not completely unrestricted, but you can get there if you want to. The neck is attached with a 5-bolt plate that along with the well-crafted neck joint makes for a solid coupling with the body. The 4-string model has a 1.5" width at the nut, and features the now standard compensated nut design that does in fact improve intonation. The 11" fingerboard radius is standard on all Music Man basses. You've seen this bridge before, it's the standard chrome plated hardened steel number that comes on all Music Mans, now let's get to the big story— the electronics!

In addition to the new body design, a big step forward for Ernie Ball is the introduction of a passive/active preamp. For years, people have wondered how a Music Man would sound in passive mode. Well, you can stop wondering— they sound great. Having this feature doubles the tonal options— topping out at a staggering 16 different configurations without even touching the eq. At one point in time, there was a misconception that Music Man basses were "one trick ponies". Over the last 25 years, that myth has been disproved many times— but never quite so thoroughly! Another new feature is the unique HSS setup, which couples two Neodymium single coil pickups with a ceramic bridge humbucker. The singles have phantom coils allowing for silent running when soloed, and the humbucker can run in either parallel or series mode.

The 18-volt, 4-band active eq has concentric knobs for bass/treble, and low mids/high mids with boost/cut, but when set flat, there is remarkable parity with the instrument's passive tone. For passive operation, there is a 250k tone pot with a .047µF capacitor. The eq is well voiced, and while I initially thought 4-bands was overkill, it really does allow you to get very specific with the tone of each pickup. The lows fill out the bottom without losing the focus, the low mids compliment the bottom with added punch. The high mids work great for bringing in detail with the front two coils, and are set at a good frequency for a slight mid cut for slap style. The highs add sizzle and sheen, and while the bass it certainly not dark sounding on it's own, when combining all three pickups, a little high boost will sharpen the articulation.



Tying the pickups and electronics all together is a new 4-button switching system that makes perfect sense, even though it looks confusing at first glance. The first three buttons control on/off for their corresponding pickups, and the button closest to the bridge is the active/passive switch. Push a button down— the pickup is on, pop it up and the pickup is off. When all three pickup switches are in the off position, you get the bridge humbucker (coils 1&2) in series mode. The 25th also comes in single H and HH models, and the switch functions vary with each one.



To fit three pickups comfortably on the bass, the humbucker was moved considerably closer to the bridge than on the H or HH models. This position definitely gives the pickup a more cutting tone, with less inherent bottom. You can dial it in with the preamp easily enough if you want to use it solo, but the thinner texture is actually a benefit when you start blending it with the mid and neck pickups. The mid position pickup sounds extremely close to a P Bass with a thick, chunky bark. In passive mode, it was earthy and punchy, but kicking in the preamp allows you to pump up the bass, or give it a razor sharp edge. The front pickup also has P Bass-like qualities, but with a more spread out low end. It's not quite "mud-bucker" territory, though it has the capability to drop the bomb. Neodymium magnets tend to give pickups a sweet, full spectrum response, and the mid and neck pickups on this bass are no exception. While their positioning makes them bottomy, they still have lots of detail.

Performance

The 25th Anniversary HSS offers so many options, it's kind of overwhelming at first. Many players that fall into the "two knobs max" category may glaze over at the array of buttons and controls on this bass, but it's actually very intuitive to operate, and quite elegant compared to mini-toggles.

The coils are ordered from the bridge to the neck, 1, 2, 3 and 4. The bridge humbucker is coils 1 & 2, the mid pickup is 3 and the neck is 4. Preamp settings are described with flat being "5". Now get ready for a 25th Anniversary HSS tone tour. I suggest you hit the bathroom now, and pack a lunch. With 16 different settings recorded in finger, slap and pickstyle, you have a whopping 48 samples to check out!

The samples were recorded direct into Protools with a Radial Engineering passive ProDI and Analysis Plus Bass Oval cable. I swapped the factory strings (Ernie Ball Slinkys) for a lighter gauged set of EB Extra Slinkys (both nickel roundwound sets) for the testing, as I prefer a slightly looser feel. In passive mode, the bass was recorded flat with the tone control wide open. The active samples used the onboard eq in various amounts to dial in a tone I felt represented the ideal. No compression or additional eq was used, and no laboratory animals (or drummers) were harmed in the recording of these examples.

The fingerstyle examples start with plucking over the neck pickup, then switch halfway through to playing over the bridge pickup.

Sample 1) Coils 1&2 soloed is a super tight tone, and in passive/series mode has a distinct upper mid presence. It's very detailed, nowhere to hide! It may be a bit nasal, but it will cut for sure.

Listen to: Coils 1&2 in Passive/Series Mode - Finger Style

Sample 2) Coils 1&2 in active/series mode— lows and low mids at 7, high mids at 6, highs at 6. The preamp takes the honk right out of this setting, beefing it up and adding a touch of icing.

Listen to: Coils 1&2 in Active/Series mode - Finger Style

Sample 3) Parallel mode with coils 1&2 has more mid scoop, and even in passive mode retains the familiar Music Man signature.

Listen to:Coils 1 & 2 in Parallel/Passive Mode - Finger Style

Sample 4) Coils 1&2 in parallel/active mode: Lows and low mids at 7, high mids and highs at 6. Here's the setting that gets closest to the classic Stingray tone. The pickup placement is not the same, but you can tweak the eq to bring out the bottom— the tone is undeniably Music Man.

Listen to: Coils 1&2 in Parallel/Active Mode - Finger Style

Sample 5) Coils 1, 2, and 3 in passive mode has a nice articulate blend. Adding the mid pickup adds weight to the bridge's tight response.

Listen to:Coils 1, 2, and 3 in Passive Mode - Finger Style

Sample 6) Coils 1, 2, and 3 in active mode sound very similar to the passive tone, even with slight boosts on the four frequency ranges. Just a hint more high-end shine, a touch more bottom.

Listen to: Coils 1, 2, and 3 in Active Mode - Finger Style

Sample 7) Coils 1, 2, 3, and 4 in passive mode: Here's a real complex tone, there is so much information, it almost sounds active. Yet even with all those magnets running, the tone is clear and distinct, and very punchy.

Listen to: Coils 1, 2, 3, and 4 in Passive Mode - Finger Style

Sample 8) All four coils in active mode with a slight boost on all frequencies pumps up the bottom and top end, making a little scoop in the midrange.

Listen to: All Four Coils in Active Mode - Finger Style

Sample 9) Coil 3 all by itself is a contender for the P Bass crown. It has more bite than a typical P, but rolling off the passive tone pot would take care of that. And, like all Music Man basses, that edge will push it's way to the front of a crowded mix.

Listen to: Coil 3 in Passive Mode - Finger Style

Sample 10) Coil 3 in active mode gets deep. I added a touch of bass and low mid boost, keeping the upper mids and treble flat. This setting will rock the boat, no doubt.

Listen to: Coil 3 in Active Mode - Finger Style

Sample 11) Coil 4 solo in passive mode is huge, with lots of mid punch and organic high end.

Listen to: Coil 4 Solo in Passive Mode - Finger Style

Sample 12) Coil 4 in active mode gets big and hollow with nice detail when played over the neck pickup. Plucking down by the bridge, the string itself adds some mid punch and the pickup just reads it and spits it right back at you.

Listen to: Coil 4 in Active Mode - Finger Style

Sample 13) The two front pickups (coils 3 and 4) in passive mode have an interesting blend— there's depth and punch, with a slight whine on top.

Listen to: Coils 3 and 4 in Passive Mode - Finger Style

Sample 14) Adding the preamp with bass and low mids on 7, upper mids and highs at 6 to coils 3 and 4 makes this puppy bark. The low-end jumps out at you, and the midrange mellows out a bit. It reminds me a bit of an early Alembic tone when plucked up by the neck pickup.

Listen to: Coils 3 and 4 in Active Mode - Finger Style

Sample 15) Coils 1&2 with the neck pickup (coil 4) in passive mode: The bridge pickup seems to dominate this combo, but the influence of the neck pickup certainly chills out the tightness of the humbucker.

Listen to: Coils 1&2 with Coil 4 in Passive Mode - Finger Style

Sample 16) Coils 1&2, and 4 in active mode is both full and articulate. The preamp is boosting all four frequencies just a touch, and the resulting bottom boost overshadows the mid focus of the passive setting.

Listen to: Coils 1&2, and 4 in Active Mode - Finger Style

Whew! I'm one third of the way done. This would be a good time to hit the restroom (wash your hands), raid the fridge, and get settled down for some slap samples. Overall, my impression is the passive settings have more of a natural midrange bump than the active ones. There is an earthy quality to the passive tone that makes me wonder why it took so long for Music Man to let us have it?

The Slap samples follow the same order of pickup selections, using a relatively simple groove to show off the tone and not my unmarketable slap technique.

Sample 17) Back to the bridge pickup, we have coils 1&2 in series mode, passive. It's a fairly midrangey tone for this style, I probably wouldn't use it myself, but there it is.

Listen to: Coils 1&2 in Series/Passive Mode - Slap Style

Sample 18) Add the preamp to the previous combo and you approach a more pleasing slap tone. The lows and low mids are at 7 while I dialed in an upper mid cut— down to 3 and a slight high boost at 6. This gets rid of the offensive frequencies and leaves you with a stinging slap sound reminiscent of a Sterling bass in series mode.

Listen to: Coils 1&2 in Series/Active Mode - Slap Style

Sample 19) Coils 1&2 in passive/parallel mode are pretty edgy when slapped. You can hear the beginnings of Stingray tone showing up, but with way more upper mid bite.

Listen to: Coils 1&2 in Passive/Parallel Mode - Slap Style

Sample 20) Coils 1&2 in active/parallel mode gets real close to the Ray's signature tone. Lows and low mids boosted to 7, upper mids set flat and highs boosted to 6. The pickup position gives it more edge, but there's plenty of tweaking room left on the eq to tailor it in several directions.

Listen to: Coils 1&2 in Active/Parallel Mode - Slap Style

Sample 21) Slapping with coils 1, 2, and 3 in passive mode reminds me of the tight, hi-fi funk tone of an early Steinberger, like Jamaladeen Tacuma in the 80's. Hard to believe it's passive.

Listen to: Coils 1, 2, and 3 in Passive Mode - Slap Style

Sample 22) Adding the preamp with lows and low-mids at 7, upper-mids at 6 and highs on 8 gives the Steinberger vibe extra clout. This is a very cool and unique slap tone— it stands alone in a forest of Marcus wannabes.

Listen to: Coils 1, 2, and 3 in Active Mode - Slap Style

Sample 23) Coils 1, 2, 3 and 4 together in passive mode are yet another interesting variant on the modern slap tone. Similar to the previous two examples, but the neck pickup adds a little more scoop to the high mids.

Listen to: Coils 1, 2, 3 and 4 in Passive Mode - Slap Style

Sample 24) Now that's what I'm talkin' about! Throw in some lows, low mids, leave the upper mids flat, boost the treble to 8... this is a new signature slap tone. You can hear echoes of the Stingray, but much tighter. This one gets the prize.

Listen to: Coils 1, 2, 3 and 4 in Active Mode - Slap Style

Sample 25) Coil 3 passive on its lonesome dishes out some nasty funk. The bark is there, but it's real edgy, like a 70's Ash P Bass with a maple fingerboard and fresh strings through a Peavey Musician Bass head and 2x15 cab!

Listen to: Coil 3 in Passive Mode - Slap Style

Sample 26) Adding some lows and low mids (6), upper mids flat, and highs set to 7 creates a neat "studio" version of the previous tone. The accentuated spectrum is more open, like the same 70s P played through an 80's SWR rig.

Listen to: Coil 3 in Active Mode - Slap Style

Sample 27) Coil 4 in passive mode has its P-like quality, but more like a single-coil P or Tele bass. Calling it throaty is an understatement, this thing sounds like Barry White after a coughing fit.

Listen to: Coil 4 in Passive Mode - Slap Style

Sample 28) With the help of a slight low boost, a tiny tweak of low mids, and some highs— now you've got Barry White and Maurice White (EW&F) singing a duet.

Listen to: Coil 4 in Active Mode - Slap Style

Sample 29) This one is cool, kind of hollowed out. Coils 3 and 4 in passive mode sounds almost tubular, you can hear the space inside the tone.

Listen to: Coils 3 and 4 in Passive Mode - Slap Style

Sample 30) Coils 3 and 4 active gets a little phasey gloss on top and little more booty down below. It's an interesting character tone, possibly for everyday use.

Listen to: Coils 3 and 4 in Active Mode - Slap Style

Sample 31) The wide split between coils 4 and the bridge HB creates a different vibe in passive mode. The HB is on top, but the neck coil adds some bottom and spreads it out a little thicker.

Listen to: Coils 1, 2, and 4 in Passive Mode - Slap Style

Sample 32) Bass boosted to 7, low mids to 6, high mids flat, highs on 7— coils 4, 1, and 2 sounds sort of like a souped up 60s Jazz with more teeth.

Listen to: Coils 1, 2, and 4 in Active Mode - Slap Style

Man! I'm two-thirds of the way done— only 16 more samples to go! It's a good thing I love doing this stuff. Seriously, as much fun as it is to play these great basses, it's just as much fun to listen back days later and closely examine the results. When I'm in the midst of recording this many examples, I go into "crank it out" mode and don't really get to hear the bass. I just want to get a clean track and move on. Hey, at least I didn't have to change strings 7 times!

Finally: the pickstyle examples. As per my usual method, I play the first half of the example picking up by the neck pickup with the strings open— then I move down to the bridge and palm mute. With apologies to Sir Paul.

Sample 33) Coils 1&2 in series, passive mode is a very grindy tone, even when left open. Mute with the palm, and the low end busts out, and a nice tight click takes over.

Listen to: Coils 1&2 in Series,/Passive Mode - Pick Style

Sample 34) Add the preamp to the bridge HB— still in series mode, lows and low-mids to 7, high-mids and highs boosted to 6. The tone is very cutting, just a little wider focus than the passive version.

Listen to: Coils 1&2 in Series, Active Mode - Pick Style

Sample 35) The bridge HB in parallel/passive mode is a sharp, but narrow texture when played open, but the muting brings in some depth and the click becomes very pronounced.

Listen to: Coils 1&2 in Parallel, Passive Mode - Pick Style

Sample 36) Now active, the previous setting cuts a much wider path. Everything is boosted to about 7, giving the open tone enough low-end to support a track with lots of presence. The muted click starts to warm up.

Listen to: Coils 1&2 in Parallel,/Active Mode - Pick Style

Sample 37) Adding the mid pickup to the HB in passive mode almost sounds like the bridge pickup solo in active mode. The lows are deeper, but the mids are punchier and the highs more organic.

Listen to: Coils 1, 2, and 3 in Passive Mode - Pick Style

Sample 38) Coils 1, 2, and 3 in active mode gets a little more grind from a slight high-mid boost supported by lows and low mids.

Listen to: Coils 1, 2, and 3 in Active Mode - Pick Style

Sample 39) An interesting trend develops: Adding the neck coil to the other three in passive mode seems to come close to the active tone of coils 1, 2, and 3.

Listen to: Coils 1, 2, 3 & 4 in Passive Mode - Pick Style

Sample 40) All four coils in active mode with lows and low mids set at 7, high mids and highs at 6. Here's a very full range pick tone with tangy top-end frosting over a dark chocolate lava cake.

Listen to: Coils 1, 2, 3 & 4 in Active Mode - Pick Style

Sample 41) Whoa! The middle pickup in passive mode is in yo face! I jumped when I heard this through the headphones. Very up front, but thick. I like!

Listen to: Coil 3 in Passive Mode - Pick Style

Sample 42) Coil 3 in active mode with bass and low mids boosted to 7, high mids flat, highs at 6 gets smoother response. It's like a well processed P bass.

Listen to: Coil 3 in Active Mode - Pick Style

Sample 43) Coil 4 in passive mode gets back to that SCPB thing. It's not as bright as a single coil Tele bass, but just as wooly.

Listen to: Coil 4 in Passive Mode - Pick Style

Sample 44) Coil 4 in active mode gets very wide across the bottom, with a nice slice of citrus across the top end. Bass, low mids boosted to 7, high mids flat, highs to 6.

Listen to: Coil 4 in Active Mode - Pick Style

Sample 45) Coils 3 and 4 in passive mode delivers a big, open tone with more definition. The muted click hides nicely within the thicket.

Listen to: Coils 3 and 4 in Passive Mode - Pick Style

Sample 46) Coils 3 and 4 with bass boost and low mids at 7, upper mids and highs at 6: This pick tone is huge— it has a blend of low end hump with a strong middle and enough glass to shine a bit.

Listen to: Coils 3 and 4 in Active Mode - Pick Style

Sample 47) The tone of coils 4, 1, and 2 in passive mode could almost pass itself off as a Danelectro, but with greater note integrity and good intonation. This screams for flatwounds.

Listen to: Coils 4, 1, and 2 in Passive Mode - Pick Style

Sample 48) Adding the preamp to coils 4, 1, and 2 reminds me of my Lakland Jerry Scheff, essentially a Dano with a preamp. It's full range with a nice mid scoop, and an aggressive bite that will definitely leave a mark.

Listen to: Coils 4, 1, and 2 in Active Mode - Pick Style

Made it! I swear— this is the last time I get this detailed about a bass! From now on, it's best 2 out of 3. Ultimately it was worth it, there are so many great sounds from this bass, I really wanted to explore them all. Now... let's not forget that this bass (as well as the 5 string version) is also available in single H and HH models— but that's for another day!

Bottom Line

The 25th represents several major turning points for Music Man, and they should prove very successful. This bass has lots of new slap tones for the itchy thumb crowd, pure passive vintage sounds for the roots market, tons of great aggressive rock selections, and just about anything in between. The styling is another departure for Music Man basses, a bold step that is highly attractive. The new pickup configurations and switching system are further indications that EBMM is not ready to stop innovating. As with previous Anniversary and Special Edition instruments, there is a window for ordering, and when it's done— it's done.

Ed Friedland is a renowned Bassist, Educator and Author. He has authored over 15 books and DVDs and has played with the likes of Joe Beck, Larry Coryell, Robben Ford, Paul Horn, Clay Jenkins, Mike Metheny, Bud Shank, Lew Tabackin & Michal Urbaniak to name just a few. Ed is also currently teaching at Bass Emporium in Austin, Texas. Check out the Ed Friedland website for full information about him at http://www.edfriedland.com/.