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Choosing my forever bass: Stingray vs Precision
- Thread starter neo 7
- Start date
Agreed. I've had a few (and will have another one before long).
There's nothing P-bass-like about a Stingray or SR5.
I've owned P-basses, too, and I have a P-bass-style Mike Lull.
Psst....you really do need both, IMNSHO......
Psst Psst...Oh, yeah, and a Jazz bass, too!..
Try one of the new Stingray Special HH in the 4th selector position and you can get damn close to the p sound.
I really, really want to get somewhere that has the new Stingrays in stock and check them out. Nowhere around my locale, though....
Roadtrip!!...
Its clear that Precisions and Stingrays are amazing instruments that will both have a place in Music History. Both examples of Leo Fender & his various associates finest design work. They are both awesome, and you cant go wrong with either choice.
Ernie Ball does amazing work in San Louis Obispo, CA, it is a great company and they have come up with some solid innovations over the years in Basses for sure. The Bongo Bass is a great design. Its not for me personally, but I really appreciate the design innovation and creativity behind it. Their guitar innovations are even more impressive. True craftmanship and innovation from these folks.
For bolt on necks, the spoke wheel adjustment is the best design ever. And now you see new Fender basses with 4+1 headstocks (5 strings), and spoke wheel truss adjust. The new Flea Bass is a Stringray with a Fender Logo on an it. hmmmm.
To my ears the original Stingray with the 2 band eq is still the best. I have spent a lot of time with Headphone comparison and adjusting pickups, pre-amps and circuits to get my SR5 to sound more like a 79 preEB Stingray. The EB SRs sound amazing, but to my ears the originals got that thang that lead me there in the first place. Maybe listening to Bernard Edwards, Louis Johnson, Paul S Denmen, and others a lot (too much), playing pre EB Rays has me hearing things this way? I havent tried the EB Classic Stingrays with the 2 band, but I am certain they play and sound incredible.
I have a couple of MIA precisions. Love them. They have Jazz pickups at the bridge, which I thought I would use more than I actually do. The musicians that I play with, and the songs that I support live and recorded are never underserved when I use a P with flats, using just the precision pickup. It works.
The key is to find the Bass that allows you to most fully focus on what you are playing (song), and not what you a playing (instrument).
I suspect that the simplicity, combined with the amazing tone of the Precision, is why so many pros end up with these in their hands.
IMHO - The P enables bass musicians to get to the root core (zone) faster and easier, and allows engineers and sound producers to get to the essence of engineering and producing (dialing things in) faster and easier.
You cant go wrong with a Precision or a Stingray. I am lucky to use both.
If i had to pick between the two my forever bass, it would have to be the Precision Bass. This is based on the fact that my role musically has been to support artists and songs, and with a P Bass in my hands I get to that focus faster, and don't feel that there is compromise or sacrifice.
The larger neck also leads me to make more deliberate note choices, play fewer notes, and be more musical.
Just my perspective, but hope it is helpful.
Ernie Ball does amazing work in San Louis Obispo, CA, it is a great company and they have come up with some solid innovations over the years in Basses for sure. The Bongo Bass is a great design. Its not for me personally, but I really appreciate the design innovation and creativity behind it. Their guitar innovations are even more impressive. True craftmanship and innovation from these folks.
For bolt on necks, the spoke wheel adjustment is the best design ever. And now you see new Fender basses with 4+1 headstocks (5 strings), and spoke wheel truss adjust. The new Flea Bass is a Stringray with a Fender Logo on an it. hmmmm.
To my ears the original Stingray with the 2 band eq is still the best. I have spent a lot of time with Headphone comparison and adjusting pickups, pre-amps and circuits to get my SR5 to sound more like a 79 preEB Stingray. The EB SRs sound amazing, but to my ears the originals got that thang that lead me there in the first place. Maybe listening to Bernard Edwards, Louis Johnson, Paul S Denmen, and others a lot (too much), playing pre EB Rays has me hearing things this way? I havent tried the EB Classic Stingrays with the 2 band, but I am certain they play and sound incredible.
I have a couple of MIA precisions. Love them. They have Jazz pickups at the bridge, which I thought I would use more than I actually do. The musicians that I play with, and the songs that I support live and recorded are never underserved when I use a P with flats, using just the precision pickup. It works.
The key is to find the Bass that allows you to most fully focus on what you are playing (song), and not what you a playing (instrument).
I suspect that the simplicity, combined with the amazing tone of the Precision, is why so many pros end up with these in their hands.
IMHO - The P enables bass musicians to get to the root core (zone) faster and easier, and allows engineers and sound producers to get to the essence of engineering and producing (dialing things in) faster and easier.
You cant go wrong with a Precision or a Stingray. I am lucky to use both.
If i had to pick between the two my forever bass, it would have to be the Precision Bass. This is based on the fact that my role musically has been to support artists and songs, and with a P Bass in my hands I get to that focus faster, and don't feel that there is compromise or sacrifice.
The larger neck also leads me to make more deliberate note choices, play fewer notes, and be more musical.
Just my perspective, but hope it is helpful.
2020: I love my Custom Jazz, Hollow body short scale and my Double Bass. Other basses I have loved over the years, Marcus Miller Sig, Tony Franklin Sig, Fretless, Laklands, MTD, Ibanez, Ricks... and recently a Vintage '58 Fender P.
The P bass sits so well in the mix.
It seems like a one trick pony but it's very versatile, depending on strings and approach.
If I had to pick just one bass?
The Fender P Bass gets my vote.
The P bass sits so well in the mix.
It seems like a one trick pony but it's very versatile, depending on strings and approach.
If I had to pick just one bass?
The Fender P Bass gets my vote.
DiabolusInMusic
Functionless Art is Merely Tolerated Vandalism
You can never go wrong with a P bass in my opinion. I own 4 precisions and 1 fretless stingray from 1998. The stingray is also awesome but doesn't cover all the bases like the P does. It either way you won't make a bad choice
Woah there's a lot of posts already!
I just want to say that now that you've tried a Ray and really liked it you're going to always want one. I've been there, it's the kind of GAS that even after years sneaks up on you. If you don't buy that Ray you will buy another.
(Was a P bass guy, still will always have my Squier P5 but the others are as good as gone and my Ray5 and JS3V are my new favorites.)
I just want to say that now that you've tried a Ray and really liked it you're going to always want one. I've been there, it's the kind of GAS that even after years sneaks up on you. If you don't buy that Ray you will buy another.
(Was a P bass guy, still will always have my Squier P5 but the others are as good as gone and my Ray5 and JS3V are my new favorites.)
The Stingray has a distinct sound, but it's versatile. I have an old one with the 2-band EQ and ok had a preamp bypass installed. With stainless strings and the preamp cranked it's super for slap and metal/hard rock. With less "clanky" strings it can be mellow (a la Sade). Bypass the preamp and it can sound remarkably like a J-bass with the bridge pickup dominant. That big humbucker sounds great in passive mode. I like mine a lot but it's the older one without the body contours so it's pretty heavy for my back but it's a great sounding bass.
