Ernie Ball Sterling HS FL Reviews 
4 / 5 based on 1 reviewsIt looks like most any MM, ash wood grain, classic MM headstock, etc etc but the combination of FL neck with the recently into'd option of adding a neck PU really sets this ax apart.
I play it in a duo or trio, no drums, small to medium size venues. We might be lounge lizzids ... or not.
Hard to figger what I paid since it's the result of some neck swapping in my MM flock. It was a 4-way swap-fest and trhe basses and necks came from many sources. There is still one neck left over .... so what did it cost and where was it bought ? Huh ?
The neck PU really adds a lot to a MM. The pau ferro FL FB is a great compromise tone between rosewood and ebony. Sometimes I'd prefer ebony, but I think the pau ferro holds up even better, especially with roundwounds.
Especially for an FL bass I dig the rear SC mode, which is too crazy brite on the fretted version, and the classic MM truss rod wheel is so easy to use you can alter the FL mwah voice. The SC modes, both bridge and neck modes, are noiseless.
Sometimes I wish it had a PU fader instead of the knife switch.
The E-string tuning peg is way too close to the nut.
It's similar to a StingRay, fairly similar overall to almost any Leo-derived bass, and built really solid. It's a MusicMan. Like a rock, but sounds better.
It's a great general purpose FL bass, with a very comfortable 'presence' to it. Altho it has a few improvements over the classic StingRay, it remains a blunt tool compared to so many more modern designs. However, a blunt tool makes a cool ax ... for bass. It also feels just as heavy as a StingRay, altho it's a really bit smaller in most dimensions, so thaz kinda unexpected.
It's loveable but not perfection, so I rate it a '4'. OTOH they don't cost an arm and a leg. So if it were rated seperately for value, that catagory would be a '5'.
Golem rated this unit
on
2010-02-23.
