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Ashtray on Stringray

#26
There is so much to be happy about in this thread.

Seriously though, if you do it, try it with some double sided tape or something to make sure you like it. Holes in your bass when you decide you don't would suck!

But it's yours. Do whatever makes you smile with it (unless that means hitting me over the head with it). :thumbsup:
 
#27
The ash tray bridge cover does have a purpose ... as a primitive muting system by putting some kind of foam or weather stripping between the bridge cover and the bridge pieces. The original Music Man StringRays before Ernie Ball came into the picture had a good muting system that was individually adjustable for each string ... maybe you can get one of those somewhere.
 
#28
Hey, why not throw a horseshoe over the strings too, and some bridge-mounted string dampers?

Meh... I love Jazz basses and I'd really like a vintage one like that. But I don't see the point for a MusicMan, except as a rest for bridge pickin'. And not everybody owns a MusicMan just to play like Flea, so you can do whatever you like with it. Not a fan myself.
 
#32
20db pad said:
Many years ago, I saw Will Lee play a Stingray with a bell cover on it on Letterman a few times. He prefers to have them on most of his basses.
Click to expand...
Awesome! I did a google image search but couldn't find any photos of it, sadly.

I'd love to see someone fabricate one. Mod away! I reckon maybe you could do one that follows the contours of the old-style bridge and bolts down with the existing bolts either side of the bridge.
 
#35
Since I'm primarily a drummer, I really try hard to fit into the group at Talkbass.

In this spirit I decided to be the one to put an ashtray on my Stingray just to help settle this once and for all...












AshtrayonaMusicman_zps0f27207c.gif



Now what?
 
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#39
drTSTingray said:
I've seen worse - such as a Fender style thumb rest above the E string right next to the neck - just in the place to prevent the best position for thumb slapping (maybe it was to reduce the temptation - the Stingray is one of the best basses for slapping known to man of course!!)

The main reason you shouldn't do this is a cover over the pick up will prevent you playing right over the pick up (where you get one of the Stingray's signature sounds).
Click to expand...

What are you taking about? First up, not everyone plays slap. And you can get a great tone out of a stingray by playing up near the neck. Very different to playing over the pickup. If someone wants to put a thumb rest in a position that's common on other basses, what's wrong with that?

As for your second point, he's asked about an ash tray, which goes over the bridge. It's not going to effect where he plays at all.
 
#40
Down_Low said:
What are you taking about? First up, not everyone plays slap. And you can get a great tone out of a stingray by playing up near the neck. Very different to playing over the pickup. If someone wants to put a thumb rest in a position that's common on other basses, what's wrong with that?

As for your second point, he's asked about an ash tray, which goes over the bridge. It's not going to effect where he plays at all.
Click to expand...

You are right that plucking near the neck produces a nice tone - many people play slap - also many people like the ability to vary their plucking intensity as well to vary tone. The thumb rest, as indeed the tug bar, are generally items applied to Fender basses in the mistaken belief that everyone plays the bass in the same style - there are lots of reasons why the thumb rest shouldn't be there but the main one is restricting playing style. Possibly a design fault, incorporated for the best of reasons. That said, if I had a vintage Fender I would want all the proper bits on it, whether they're ill conceived nonsense or not.

I'm not sure anyone has made it clear that it needs to be a bridge ashtray - why should it be - it is intended purely as an aesthetic addition which will limit plucking area and at the bridge, prevent access to the mute system on many Stingrays. There are also dual pick up Stingrays, but as this ash tray will serve no useful purpose why not put a neck pick up one a la Marcus Miller on a bass with no neck pick up - it would make an aesthetic difference, but as with a Fender, create little practical benefit. Before people start drilling their Stingrays (notwithstanding the mojo mentioned earlier) a photoshop mock up would be a better idea as it may look awful as well as the other disadvantages mentioned.
 

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