Ernie Ball Music Man Caprice Bass - Heritage Tobacco Burst Reviews
The Ernie Ball Music Man Caprice Bass is ready for any gig or recording session. Combining two distinct pickup voicings, with dual volume controls such as a J-style electric bass, you can dial in everything from smooth and round R&B tones to bright, percussive rock tones. The slim neck profile plays fast and smooth, while the hardened steel bridge enhances sustain and note definition. Factor in the comfortable body contours and Music Man's legendary craftsmanship, and you've got a true workhorse bass with the Ernie Ball Music Man Caprice Bass.
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Highest Rated Reviews
Not exactly a PJ
I have owned a number of EBMM basses, and this belongs with the rest of them, albeit vastly different from the Stingrays and Bongos. It doesn't sound like all of the other PJ basses I've played. The split coil is like a more thumpy P pickup, but the single coil turns this into a different animal. The single coil gives it a scooped sound that's incredibly pleasant. Both pickups are balanced and sound great solo and have absolutely no noise. The phrase "sits well in the mix" is overused, so I'll say it nicely compliments the band. A minor gripe is that I can't slam the saddles down as far as it looks like it should go, but that's alright since the rest of the construction is top notch. You're not getting a PJ with this instrument. You're getting a unique hybrid of sorts. It really is a modern take on the PJ concept.
A quality bass
First, I have been a Fender guy for about 20 years; Jazz and Precision. I now own an EBMM Caprice and Cutlass so I barely play my Fender basses anymore. The feel, tone, and quality of the Caprice (Cutlass too) is superior to my Fenders, unless I'm willing to shell out $3,000 or more. The true test was playing it live. The response is fantastic - performing exactly as I hoped. Also, the neck is one of smoothest I've ever played. I highly recommend this bass.
Boutique Quality
This sits right up there next to my Mike Lull basses in quality, well above my American Fenders. The neck pocket is exquisite - I can't say anything more than that without it sounding like total hyperbole. The new pups are great - the V/V/T controls work just like the industry-standard Jazz bass. There's great clarity, depth, and various types of growl in these pickups, without sounding active. Definitely not sterile!
The Heritage burst finish is unlike typical two-tone or three-tone bursts on Fenders and instead has a wonderful finish at the level of craftsmanship of PRS or Gibson Custom Shop finishes. It's light, well-balanced, the neck feels perfect, and mine at 8lbs2oz is pretty dang light. Very resonant unplugged, punchy and wonderful plugged in. The sanded curves and beautiful finish makes it have a very "lickable" quality to it.
It's a testament to the Ball family that a newly-designed $1700 bass could compete in workmanship and tone with $3500-4000 boutique basses. Look, like many when I first saw the prices for the Caprice and Cutlass basses I wondered if they were priced too high for the market. Once I put it up against the Fender Pros and Elites in the store, I knew it was priced right because it's noticeably better crafted than either. Now that I've spent some time with it in my studio side-by-side with my other boutique and American factory basses, I think $1700 is actually a great value.
Old School Thump
OK, so I will say right away that if you're looking for something passive and a little different, but you love the tone of vintage P basses, this is a great instrument to evaluate. I spent 4-5 months playing all kinds of instruments, having decided to move on from my Fender active PJ deluxe--which I also love, but has too many noise issues stemming from the active PUPs/shielding issues. The tones you can get out of this baby are great, from sharp articulation when you roll on the tone and focus on the J to motown round when you highlight the P and roll off the tone. At just under 9lbs this baby is so light, you can play for hours without getting tired, and you're going to want to because it sounds great! Here's what I think is good and bad:
Pros:
-Light weight (~8lbs 8oz)
-Highly variable tones, sounds amazing! (infinite blend of P & J)
-Simple controls
-Great neck feel, super playable
-Gorgeous finish, can't say enough how nice it looks
-Hardshell case included
-Holds it's tuning very well (love the tuners)
-Easy to setup/adjust
-Unique shape
-Made in the USA
Cons:
-Because each PUP is has it's own volume, there's no master volume control or cutoff. This makes volume/tone adjustments a little tricky while playing as you have to proportionally raise both PUP volumes to avoid changing the tone you're playing with
-It didn't come with any tools to make adjustments to the bass nor did they include a cleaning kit (it did come with stickers and samples of EB instrument wipes), fender would have included them...
-The factory setup was poor for a bass of this price, I'd have expected minimal adjustments required, the action was really high. Expect to need a setup.
I think that's it...I took a star off for the lack of a master volume control/cutoff switch and the lousy factory setup. Other than that, it's an awesome bass that I look forward to playing for years to come.
