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acrylic/plastic control plate for U.S stingray?

C

cyclealt

May 22, 2023
112
300
#1
tldr: I'm looking for an acrylic control plate for a U.S Stingray. The only one I could find is on Etsy and does not deliver to America. If anyone knows a shop that offers something similar or a kind person in Europe wants to have it mailed to them then forward to me I'm more than happy to send cash plus an extra 25 for your time.


Hey so context: my first U.S instrument was a 1991 stingray. I saved up for it, got it in high school, great memory, love it.

Well I'm not in high school anymore and I'm getting up there in age and the weight's been heavy from day one but as of recently it's starting to set in. I'd ideally not want to buy another bass or sell this one. While never weighing it it's got to be between 11 to 12 pounds.

I'm thinking of replacing/getting the following parts; light weight tuners, getting rid of the metal anodized pickguard (came with it and never bothered to replace it with an original one), aluminum silver knobs, and even replacing the bridge with a light weight one.

As a side note I got the bass for even cheaper used because the previous owner frankenstein-ed it with weird 3rd party parts all over the bass. So "retaining the value" was never going to be a thing, but I do plan on keeping the "original" parts in a box in a work bench.

If anyone knows where I can get an acrylic control plate, or wants to help with shipping the etsy one, please let me know. I'll even take any other helpful tips for this dilemma. Yes, I know, I'm probably coping hard and will have to buy a lighter bass, I'm stubborn and just want to try to make this one work out. It's been my number 1 for decades now.

​

 
#3
Jeff Scott said:
Try Pickguardian.
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#4
Jeff Scott said:
Try Pickguardian. Tony should be able to make one if you send him a template of the control plate (he may already have one, I don't know). Tony is a great guy do deal with.

Home | Pickguardian

Handmade custom pickguards from Pickguardian.
www.pickguardian.com www.pickguardian.com
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Thanks! Sent them an email asking if they could do one and offered to send the control plate offer as a reference. Hope to hear back soon. Appreciate it!
 
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#6
Jeff Scott said:
I was going to suggest this but didn't know if you could live without the bass for a short time.
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Haha yeah it should be fine for a short time. I just prefer to have my stingray for any gigs. I'm actually very happy and complete with my collection which is why the idea of buying another lighter stingray stung. I'm done collecting. The bass g.a.s is complete. Pedals and amps on the other hand though...
 
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#11
birminghambass said:
I have an extra factory EB control plate, it weighs almost nothing. Are you replacing one of those?
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I was gonna say, the metal plate on there is gonna be lighter than an acrylic one. Or at worst, damn near identical. Plus it acts as shielding already. So... I wouldn't bother, unless the aesthetics are your hangup.

Worth noting as well, even if you swap all of this stuff, you'd be lucky to cut off somewhere near 1 lb at most. Still gonna be a hefty bass.
Granted, the neck may feel less divey with the tuners, but that area is the majority of those weight savings and that only tends to make 5 oz of difference (done it many times with many basses).

Heavy wood is heavy wood. There's no getting around it. And the metal you're talking about changing isn't nearly as noticed. So I'd basically say, your best bet may be to keep it as-is and seek out something like it which is light to begin with.
Or get a wide strap and see how that treats you.
 
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#12
rojo412 said:
I was gonna say, the metal plate on there is gonna be lighter than an acrylic one. Or at worst, damn near identical. Plus it acts as shielding already. So... I wouldn't bother, unless the aesthetics are your hangup.

Worth noting as well, even if you swap all of this stuff, you'd be lucky to cut off somewhere near 1 lb at most. Still gonna be a hefty bass.
Granted, the neck may feel less divey with the tuners, but that area is the majority of those weight savings and that only tends to make 5 oz of difference (done it many times with many basses).

Heavy wood is heavy wood. There's no getting around it. And the metal you're talking about changing isn't nearly as noticed. So I'd basically say, your best bet may be to keep it as-is and seek out something like it which is light to begin with.
Or get a wide strap and see how that treats you.
Click to expand...


Yeah I figured I was coping. I'm still going to go ahead and do it. See how it ends up feeling/sounding and if I don't like it I could always put it back the way I found it. I found an ash control plate I'm intrigued by that.

I have the levi 4.5 wide strap and it helps but I could start feeling the weight during the last 30ish minutes of a 2 hour set. I might start keeping an eye out for a lighter used ray34 in a similar style in the future.
 

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