Cheap sounding Stingrays

[improvpwnd]

Depends on the amp and what your definition of "StingRay sound" is.

OK, maybe "StingRay sound" should be replaced with "(Subjectively) Good bass tone" ..haha. anyway, sorry to hijack the thread, i'm done now.

 

[Dr Stankface]

I find this picture very disturbing...

You should....





Nah. People were demanding pics of my new acquisition and that was my immediate pose.

 

[Winston TK]

I was running all the basses I played that day out of a GK 700RB-II (same head I run out of) and the GK (i think its BSX?) series cabs...

I'm pretty sure the sound I'm thinking of is GK. Roger Manganelli (Less Than Jake), Matt Wong (Reel Big Fish), Jon Gallant (Billy Talent) all play Stingrays... Maybe it's just the way they set up the EQ... But all three of those guys have a very clear and defined high-end with a punch to their sound.

Next time I venture down there... How should I set up the EQ on the basses to get a better sound? I'm mostly a precision bass player, so I'm not used to so many choices .

One Musicman I was impressed with was the Bongo... It was rather bulky, but so was its sound!

I agree with one of the points that has already been mentioned here, namely that you might have to clarify in your own mind what the classic "Stingray Sound" really is. One of the major problems with citing certain players and their specific tones as benchmarks to strive for, is the fact that the true origin of those players' tones is not always defined. If you're going by their recorded tone, for example, so much goes into the equation. Maybe they're playing through a room full of GK gear. Or, maybe they're playing through a computer. Who knows? If you're going by their live tones, this is even more of a mystery, unless you happen to be standing within 10 feet of their actual cab(s).

In my experience with Stingrays (which is quite a bit), the classic tone can be achieved simply by setting the controls on the bass flat and ensuring that the controls on the amp are also set to flat. You can't get much more "Ray" than this, in my opinion. Of course, a good battery and newer strings can only help this situation.

Maybe the battery/strings/setup may have been factors in you not achieving the "Stingray Sound" you imagined, this is certainly true. But, maybe you have actually outlined all the possible other tone-shaping elements that go into defining those particular artists' sound.

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

I feel like an odd one out, i love the tone flat

(ok its not flat on the amp, but not far from it)

 

[JLW]

Maybe you just don't like the Stingray sound.

I own a stingray and like it very much. But I'm buying a P bass because it just can't get that low thumpy sound. It wasn't meant to, either.

 

[Nedmundo]

I had a similar experience testing a StingRay 5 HH at a GC a couple of weeks ago -- it played wonderfully but I couldn't get it to sound right. The setup was perfect, and it was fresh off the truck, so the battery shouldn't have been a problem.

I don't think it had anything to do with the bass, but with the amps getting an insufficient power supply. (I tried a few amps, and none worked properly.) I've noticed this problem in other shops too, and it's yet another aggravating impediment to a worthwhile testing experience. (This happened to me at a venue once too; when I plugged into another outlet on a different wall, all was good.)

I've since tested other 'Rays with properly powered amps, including another HH fiver, and they've all sounded great. An HS fiver is at the top of my GAS list.

 

[lovemybasses]

1you didnt do any EQ, and those might had been tweaked pretty weird!
2strings could be dead, battery could be dead ( which i doubt )
3what amp and how long had you played it?
4you might had wrong picture of what stingray should sounds like

having said that... i sold my sr5 as it never satisfied me,both in sounding and playability and feel. SR4 sounds far too better and more "Stingray-like".
and, lastly, this guy with 5 stingrays... no offense, but, if you need 5 basses ( which i doubt you do ) why not have different 5 basses? five SR5ers? what a NONSENSE!

 

[Fretless1!]

I feel like an odd one out, i love the tone flat

(ok its not flat on the amp, but not far from it)

No, dude, I'm right there with you. But my amp is set flat. The eq on the bass is just barely off center. Just enough to take the high end sizzle off. Just a little tweak. We're probably getting a similar sound just going about it differently.

I agree with JLW. Stingray sound great but it's very distinctive as is the Precision. Two different animals.

If I want a Precision sound, I play the Precision.

 

[tplyons]

Try this:
GK: EQ knobs all at 12:00, contour down all the way, presence at 12:00, volume, boost and gain to taste.
SR: All knobs at center detent, volume all the way up.

Fiddle a LITTLE bit at a time. Both preamps are very powerful and react to small changes.