Fender Jazz or Stingray 5 HH?

[Kazz3lrath]

I play jazz, rock, and metal.

[Febs]

Play both. Buy the one that speaks to you. They're both great basses.

[Ric5]

How about a Stingray HS 5???

[Tunaman]

Stingray HH5

Actually a Sterling 5HH, its got BOTH parallel & series. Series is where its at for aggression

[Quall of DUTY4]

Make a Warmoth J5 with MM pickups. Compromise solves all problems.

[zortation]

Get a rick.

[jet_king]

Originally Posted by zortation

Get a rick.

yeah do this.

[Doner Designs]

The HH will give you a J tone, so IMO its more versatile compared to the J. I do prefer the J body shape though.

[P. Aaron]

The Ray has lots of knobs, it requires batteries as does the Bongo. Having spent time with both on loan for a month, I found myself befuddled by so many knobs that seemed to make tone go away rather than just plugging the damn thing in and it having a tone.

No some folks seem to make them work...for_their_type_of_music.

But, coming from the simplified world of the Precision Bass, these basses even though they both have the same inventor couldn't be more different.

Play both and go with what feels right. I still run the racks at GC, etc. just to make sure an MM doesn't slide by that I will like.

[msact]

I have both and prefer the stingray 5 HH. Both are terrific and very versatile, but I would pick my stingray every time.

[nozkcb]

Jazz

[msact]

To me they have such fundamentally different sounds. You really need to hear them both for yourself and judge. I didn't like the MM sound when I first heard it, but it grew on me.

All this being said, I would take my SB-2 over either one.

[Digital Man]

Stingray is a bit more versatile and for me it sounds much better than jazz. Anyway jazz bass body shape and neck are more comfortable.
I would get Sandberg California TM5 and you can customise it for your preference.

[ME16510]

They're both great. Just try both of them out and choose which ever suits you. Personally though I like the single Humbucker with a stingray, but that's just me.

[Stilettoprefer]

I've seen/ heard jazz played with both. The MM does kinda lend itself to aggressive funk, though. The best bass for metal is obviously a Beatle bass, so you should just buy a Carl Thomson and have a bass that'll look so cool and out of context in most situations that nobody will notice how well/bad the sound fits in with the band.

[tomd999]

Hiya,

It was the 4 vs 5 that forced me to choose the Jazz.

For me, nothing feels as natural as the 1-1/2" nut width Jazz 4 profile. I can play other configurations but I have to think where my fingers are going, with the Jazz, I don't even think of the physical aspect of fretting notes, they just happen as my mind creates them.

If the poll had been for a US Sterling 4 HH with similar neck as the Jazz, I would have chosen the Sterling for the versatility of the electronics as it can emulate a Jazz and go places a Jazz can't. But in all honesty, I would still take my SB-2 with Lane Poor pups over either..

Tom

[Doner Designs]

Make sure that the folks you listen to on this question have played an HH rather than a regular single pickup Stingray.

The HH has exactly the normal Stingray sound when you solo the bridge humbucker. But, when you use the 5 position switch to select the outer coils (my favorite position) it is very J like in tone.

With all coils selected it mellows out considerably more, almost, but not quite, to a P like thump.

All that is with the EQ flat. If its still too aggressive all you have to do is roll back the mids a touch.

Another option would be to go with an L2500 or M2500 with K wiring. That one gets J-like tones as well if you split both humbuckers (to use outer coils).

In both the Stingray and G&L I think you get better build quality than with a Fender also.

[Dellers]

The Stingray 5 HH is IMO one of the best and most versatile basses you can buy with money. I really love mine, and don't play my jazz too much anymore since it simply can't do as much. Having 5 strings is also a good thing unless you just play old stuff, and can be quite cool in metal. Personally I have no problem utilizing the extra string in for instance funk either since not every song is written in E.
The HH 'Ray can even get pretty close to a jazz sound (and even a P). With all its different tones I really think it's a better bass considering all the genres you wanna play.

[bassgod0dmw]

Yes

[JCheung]

I voted for the stingray, while I believe the Sterling HH would be an even better fit. Get the sounds like a Jazz, while getting even more versatility.