Stingray sound like a pbass?

IvanHardy · #1 05-10-2011, 09:58 AM

Hey guys is there a way to eq my stingray bass to sound like a vintage precision bass? I've been really dying for that tone but I can't afford at the moment to buy one so I have to make do. Nag suggestions?

Kwesi · #2 05-10-2011, 10:00 AM

king_biscuit · #3 05-10-2011, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kwesi

No.

+1 But a Ray can sound really good doing its own thing!

mongo2 · #4 05-10-2011, 10:03 AM

Not really, but if you lose the Stingray sizzle and bump the lows and lower mids it may help.

RFord04 · #5 05-10-2011, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kwesi

No.

+1

The tone of a P comes from the passive pickup in the position it is in on a P, which is much closer to the neck than a Stingray's active pickup, which is very close to the bridge. If it's an HH, you have a better chance, but if it's a single humbucker ray, it's gonna be tough. Maybe try a set of flats on it...

pedroims · #6 05-10-2011, 10:06 AM

No

P sounds like a P and Stingray like a Stingray, these two babies each have their own voice. Best reason to own both basses

johnk_10 · #7 05-10-2011, 10:11 AM

if you split the coil and use just the coil closest to the neck, it'll get a little bit closer to a p bass, but still won't really sound just like one. that's how i usually run my ray (using a nordstrand MM4.4 pickup) and find it to have a great tone that way.

stflbn · #8 05-10-2011, 10:13 AM

Problem solved.
In passive mode with the center pickup selected it does a fine P-bass impersonation. Add in the neck pickup and it's P-bass with a bit of Mudbucker meatiness to it.

Very very very versatile.

Kwesi · #9 05-10-2011, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stflbn

Problem solved.
In passive mode with the center pickup selected it does a fine P-bass impersonation. Add in the neck pickup and it's P-bass with a bit of Mudbucker meatiness to it.

Very very very versatile.

Last I checked, that wasn't a Stingray. Jus' sayin'.

Will Kelly · #10 05-10-2011, 10:16 AM

Wire the pickup in series, hopefully you have a two band 'ray, and put some flats on it. It will get close.

Kwesi · #11 05-10-2011, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Will Kelly

Wire the pickup in series, hopefully you have a two band 'ray, and put some flats on it. It will get close.

I could see if the pickup were closer to the neck but assuming that could be done (I believe that the SingRay pickups are hardwire parallel) you'd still have a VERY different sound.

MikeBass · #12 05-10-2011, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IvanHardy

Hey guys is there a way to eq my stingray bass to sound like a vintage precision bass? I've been really dying for that tone but I can't afford at the moment to buy one so I have to make do. Nag suggestions?

Not a shot in hell.
Start savin' for a P-Bass!

But I guess a better question is, does that hot chick dancing on the dance floor really care????

Dr. Cheese · #13 05-10-2011, 10:36 AM

Mikebass has point. We can get awfully hung up on getting a sound instead of simply getting the best out of the instrument we are using. As others said, you can turn down the highs and pump the lows and mids on Stingray. It will work just fine for music that usually has a more traditional P-bass tone.

If the crowd is cheering and the ladies are dancing, then your mission is accomplished.

johnk_10 · #14 05-10-2011, 11:00 AM

IME, a stingray pickup in series still sounds like a stingray. it just has a little more mid bass and less high end, but it still has the 'phasiness' of a dual coil. IMO, splitting it opens it up more, and makes it sound more like a fender.

Will Kelly · #15 05-10-2011, 11:46 AM

YouTube - Drew Smith's Lonely Choir- Silver Pictures

This sounds close to a P-bass, IMO, and I have a real '60 to compare it to. Same? No. Close enough? Yes. I think a lot of it has to do with right hand position when you play.

IvanHardy · #16 05-10-2011, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeBass

Not a shot in hell.
Start savin' for a P-Bass!

But I guess a better question is, does that hot chick dancing on the dance floor really care????

That's a good one lol. I guess I will start having to save for one and to everyone else my stingray is a single H 3 band well both my stingrays are.

Melvin7822 · #17 05-10-2011, 12:02 PM

I'm always surprised by this question. You wouldn't see anyone asking about getting a StingRay tone on a P-bass. Unless the P-bass tone is what you're dying to have and you just can't see yourself without it, I would invest more time on getting more familiar with your EQ and hand placement.

bassie12 · #18 05-10-2011, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Melvin7822

Unless the P-bass tone is what you're dying to have and you just can't see yourself without it, I would invest more time on getting more familiar with your EQ and hand placement.

This!

fourstringdrums · #19 05-10-2011, 12:18 PM

Take it from someone who went through at least a dozen basses while denying my love for the P Bass tone. Some may do a decent imitation but nothing will replace the real thing. If you want a P-Bass, get a P-Bass.

duke12 · #20 05-10-2011, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeBass

But I guess a better question is, does that hot chick dancing on the dance floor really care????

Hell, the rest of the BAND doesn't even care. And if they do, if you get near the right tone, they won't be able to tell once the guitars, drums and everything else gets pumping.

I went many years thinking that a Ray got one sound and that was all it could do. I've spent the last 18 months using a Ray almost exclusively for one particular project, and I've found it to be an extremely versatile instrument, especially if you really twist the EQ and vary your right hand attack. For thumpy P sounds, I turn the bass EQ all the way up, and leave the mids and treble at 1/2 depending on the room, and play up near the fingerboard with the meat of my fingers. A set of year-old strings helps deaden it nicely.