Are stingrays really one trick ponies?

[redhed]

I love all 3 of my STINGRAYS! Nothing compares to that muscular sound, I think they are great for everything!

 

[drTSTingray]

I love all 3 of my STINGRAYS! Nothing compares to that muscular sound, I think they are great for everything!

They also make lefty Stingray 5s! Nice collection of lefties there, Redhed

 

[Dr. Cheese]

OP, trust your own ears the opinions of those who give you work.

 

[RickenBoogie]

The ONLY thing that makes ANY bass a "one trick pony" is the player. Truth.

 

[SirMjac28]

Rays and Ricks have distinct sounds that's why people buy them if they wanted a Fender sound they would buy a Fender? I see people of all genres playing both.

 

[InternetAlias]

A bad player will make any bass a zero trick pony, so I don't think SR would be bad even if it truly was a one trick pony to begin with (no bass is). Also, I don't get where this one trick pony problem arises from. Even if stingray had only one pickup with no taps and no volume and tone control, it'd still be a very usable instrument. After all, you got EQs on your amp, you can give the instrument different tonal qualities by changing the way you pluck strings. If you are not in time with drummer, it doesn't matter if you're playing a stingray or a P or a cheap chinese jazz knockoff. Is a double bass also an one trick pony? I mean, that thing doesn't even have a pickup and especially no volume and tone controls (by default, got a bit into the apples vs oranges territory here )!

 

[maturanesa]

My bass is a custom made with one musicman passive pickup and it works for everything... Im the one trick pony

 

[Ric5]

Are stingrays really one trick ponies?

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Ya ... but one hell of a trick

 

[InternetAlias]

The only real one trick pony I ever played was a shortscale SG copy. The sound was so muddy (it had two terrible pickups, one completely at the bridge, one completely at the neck) that no matter how and where you picked the sound would always be the same. Now, if it was a good sound, it'd be amazing consistency wise, but that thing was just useless.

 

[redhed]

They also make lefty Stingray 5s! Nice collection of lefties there, Redhed

Thank you!

 

[bgavin]

I have an SR5HH, and it has multiple tricks.
Duplicating the single pickup standard Stingray, is not one of those tricks.

That aside, mine is very versatile.
It is fretted, so it doesn't do fretless (duh), nor does it wear flats.
I'm building a Warmoth P/J 5-fretless to do what the SR5 cannot do.

 

[Nighthawk551]

A single pickup SR is a bit limited compared to an HH or HS, but it is by no means a one trick pony. If you get bored with the sound, try flats. I have one of my Stingrays strung with flats and I enjoy the smoother growl it gives.

 

[eyeballkid]

It is, and the amazing thing is that "the trick" is it has been the only bass that has sounded good in EVERY band Ive played in! (post-punk, indie/folk, stoner rock/doom, ambient, electronica, and some heavy blues)

 

[dorknowitzki]

“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” - bruce lee. does that make sense? i would love to have a real MM because of it being the "best" at being a "one trick pony."

 

[synaesthesia]

As is a trumpet or a violin, it makes 'one sound'. How you use it though, does vary quite a lot, as does do the musical situations you can use that sound it makes.

 

[cnltb]

I recently purchased a brand spankin' new Stingray 5, my first really nice bass, and I've been loving the death out of it. The neck profile is comfortable, it's thick enough to get a meaty tone but thin enough that you can manoeuvre it comfortably. The pickup has an amazing response, I always rued single pickup basses, but after playing this one in the music store for a while, I fell in love with it. However, I still see a lot of people denouncing it as a "one trick pony", and to that I respectfully disagree. The 3 band EQ is very balanced, with smooth and subtle bass, punchy and powerful mids and (of course) the gut ripplingly fierce treble. While it's no secret that the Stingray flourishes as a mix cutting punch machine, I think the dynamics in the tonal options leave the door open for a lot of alternatives. If a situation calls for a smoother tone, you can boost the bass, change the coil to parallel and cut the treble. While it may not be the optimal bass for this scenario, it fills the role quite amicably in a pinch. So, thoughts? Opinons? I'm curious to get a more in depth look at people opinions in this subject

Is the stingrays a one trick ponys?
Yes, if the bassist using it is.

 

[SBsoundguy]

Listen to Sade, then listen to old RHCP, then listen to old Blink 182.

The answer is no.

 

[Musicman20]

No, and I think personally they have more to them than a P bass, (and I like P basses).

A Stingray to me is the ultimate bass guitar design. High quality, beautiful tone, brilliant build, and the best on board stock electronics going IMO.

I've tried similar cost and more expensive instruments, and I come back to the Ray, (or any EBMM).

OP - Try a Bongo...

 

[Doner Designs]

The HH can produce just about any tone you could want depending on how it's strung.

 

[Megazap63]

Pretty much, yes.

Agree.

On the other hand, I found my MM Sterling 4 (now departed) to be much more varied - good for rock, funk, soul, rnb reggae etc, and passable for straight ahead jazz.

One thing I particularly didn't like about my (also departed) Stingray 5HH was the loose, flabby sounding B string, which I put down to the 34" scale. My current fretted 5 (MTD, 35" scale) has a super-tight and punchy low B. Sure, I know this isn't everyone's experience with 34" scale 5s....

I still find one of my first basses, '72 Jazz with a couple of mods, to be the most versatile of the five basses I currently own.