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"clanky" Stingray

#81
My first post was about my rattling Stingray. Some people could hear it and some couldn't. I was never able to get past it. I did experience great CS from MusicMan. I sent it to them (on my dollar) but they dressed the frets and set it up beautifully. It didnt fix the rattle so I sold it to a friend that does not hear it and still owns the bass.

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99981

This rattling thing is not a normal part of the Stingray sound. Sounds almost like microphonics. It was mechanical because I could hear it acoustically. It was also being amplified so it was a mystery. Now that I have rethought the issue, it may have been the pickup mount springs. I never looked at those...
 
#82
I find that Stingrays sound very trebly/clicky when practicing but sound great in the mix.

I would adjust your mids and any gain-type controls on your amps/effects until it starts to sound better. Also, I barely have my treble set above flat. When I practice at home the treble on my SR is always right off and the bass is right up.
 
#83
I used to this very problem with my stringray when I bought it (single humbucker with a maple neck) but now im a lot happier with the tone im getting from it.

I dont think you should put flats on the bass, I tried this to tame the clank and it worked, but to me it killed a lot of the stingray sound, so I took them back off after a few weeks.

I have started to use the eq on the bass very sparingly, its got very powerful electronics. I usually leave the bass totally flat and boost the treble by 1 notch and the mid by 2 or 3 max. This is more or less solved my problem with the clank, and the stringray still cuts through brilliantly live.

You should also check what the frequencies are for the eq on the stingray, as sometimes I found I was boosting mid on the stingray and then boosting the same mid frequency on my amp, and this produced a horrible sound when i was playing the bass alone.

Check out this guys stingray tone, I found it on youtube a few days ago, not a bit of clank in sight, so it can be done!

 
#85
I don't think anyone's mentioned them specifically yet - TI Flats. You'll lose the worst of the clank/fret noise etc, but they're not at all too dark, dull, etc. Still lots of top and upper mids, and altogether a very lively sound, but without the (to my mind) over-the-top clank, which in my opinion is not much to do with set-up or playing style, but is a characteristic of the pickup - it just seems to pick up every bit of that sort of noise because of its inherent response. TI Flats are the perfect compromise to my ear, and still leave the sound distinctively SR'ish
 
#86
BadB said:
bobalu,
The fret clank, (sort of Steve Harris clank?), isn't going to disappear with EQ unless you make very radical changes. The 'Ray, while a very durable and tough bass, tends to be rather sensitive to touch. I play way too hard to get a clean sound on my Sterling. I find that I have either play lightly (for me) off of the bridge p'up or I get too much fret clank. I ended up putting a little relief in the neck (1/8-1/4 turn) so that I can play a little harder and play off of the neck p'up, too. The concession was a little less playability in the upper registers, but well worth it for the tone. Give it a shot. That bass is way too nice to let go.
Click to expand...

Well said. I remember seeing a band open for Kiss in 1980. It one of the first times I saw someone onstage with a MM bass. There was such a pronounced "click clack clank" sound through the PA that I immediately decided I'd NEVER buy one of those basses. Fortunately, I saw guys like David Hull, Felix Robinson, Boz Burrell, John Deacon and Tom Hamilton onstage with them over the next few years and realized it was not always an issue. The pickup design and placement is where the Stingray's core tone happens, but the active preamp sterilizes it to an extent. With a great tube amp you can probably offset it. My solution was to buy an OLP MM2, which is passive, and gives me 90% of what I need in StingRay tone - it's not a sound I use everyday.
 
#87
I also agree that EB/MMs are clanky no matter what (unless you use flats, or kill all the treble if using rounds).

Interestingly, I have an MTD K5 with an MM-style pickup, all passive, and while it does retain the MM-pickup flavor (naturally) it does not clank, even with bright rounds.

Makes me think the clanking on EB/MMs comes from the preamp.
 
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#89
Anyone listen to/watch the videos that Ed Friedland made when he was reviewing the 20th Anniversary Stingray 5? The Bongo 6?

I mean, it might be inherent in the design of the bass, it might be the pickup, it might be the preamp, it might be the frets, or it might be all of those things together that make it such a clank machine...and yet Ed F picks up two distinct Music Man basses, and not a clank in sight.

And, while I am no Ed Friedland (I do have a hat, though), all these Stingrays and Bongos and - nary a clank.

I just can't figure it out.

Jack
 
#91
bovinehost said:
Anyone listen to/watch the videos that Ed Friedland made when he was reviewing the 20th Anniversary Stingray 5? The Bongo 6?

Jack
Click to expand...

Jack, you mean this one?

I must agree with you; ain't not hardly no clank on this bass.

But man does it sound good! Oh, so good! :cool:

Mike
P.S. Maybe I'll take some photos of my Stingray 4 later and post them here.
 
#94
I've never had any MM basses, EB or pre-EB, and I had GAS for one, so I bought a pre-owned black 2004 EB MM StingRay 4 H (with a maple fretboard and black pg) a few weeks ago online from Guitar Center. I like the bass itself, and I do get a little "clankiness", which is not very appealing, but my concern is more about the weak G string and trebly tone. I've adjusted the treble, mid and bass settings several times, experimenting with tone I like and dislike. I even adjusted my technique (I play with my fingers) by not digging in so hard, which has helped some, but not enough.

Right now I have the treble and mid off, and the bass a few notches above the middle setting. The tone is still somewhat trebly, even with the treble off.

My Ray has been professionally set up by a tech whose been in the business for 35 years, plus he changed out the strings (GHS Bass Boomers, medium gauge rounds). FWIW, I have two Fender MIA P-Basses: one strung with rounds (2005 P), the other with flats (2006 P).

I read several of the posts in this thread and I'm seeing a lot of my same problems/concerns. Yes, the Ray does have powerful punch, and I haven't had a chance yet to jam with my band (we play classic rock, modern rock and some country). I'm anxious to hear what it sounds like in that mix.

I didn't expect my Ray to sound just like my P's, and at this point I'm on the fence whether or not I should keep it. I do like the "organic" tone of my P's, something the Ray does not have. I'm really trying to like this bass as much as my P's, but the occasional "clankiness", weak G String, and trebly tone, is keeping me from totally enjoying it.
 
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#95
FJ, I owned a Stingray V for about 10 years before I eventually moved on to my own recipe bass. I played it for 10 years because I think they have some of the best sound on the market. The MM definitely doesn't get lost in a mix, but it doesn't do subtlety too well. I needed something that would do the MM thing as well as whatever else I needed.

With MMs, a big piece of that sound is the centered magnet poles, which really adds a ton of attack and highs. Actually MM just issued a non centered pole re-issue of one of their prototypes called "old smoothie". Just moving those poles off center really rounds-off that sharp attack.

The other thing is that MM pickups have surprisingly low resistance value, and rely on the preamp to fill it out. These were designed in the 70's when slap and pop ruled, so they made a big splash.

Another major aspect is pickup placement. The MM pickup is located right at the nodal point on the 34 inch scale, so you are getting pretty much only the acoustic fundamentals of the instrument. The P bass pickup location adds a lot more color and mids because it's north of that first node.

But what MMs do, they do really well. They just didn't have the versatility that I need.
 
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#96
Stonetown Lows said:
FJ, I owned a Stingray V for about 10 years before I eventually moved on to my own recipe bass. I played it for 10 years because I think they have some of the best sound on the market. The MM definitely doesn't get lost in a mix, but it doesn't do subtlety too well. I needed something that would do the MM thing as well as whatever else I needed.

With MMs, a big piece of that sound is the centered magnet poles, which really adds a ton of attack and highs. Actually MM just issued a non centered pole re-issue of one of their prototypes called "old smoothie". Just moving those poles off center really rounds-off that sharp attack.

The other thing is that MM pickups have surprisingly low resistance value, and rely on the preamp to fill it out. These were designed in the 70's when slap and pop ruled, so they made a big splash.

Another major aspect is pickup placement. The MM pickup is located right at the nodal point on the 34 inch scale, so you are getting pretty much only the acoustic fundamentals of the instrument. The P bass pickup location adds a lot more color and mids because it's north of that first node.

But what MMs do, they do really well. They just didn't have the versatility that I need.
Click to expand...

FJ, just try a set of half rounds on it. That will thicken up the G quite a bit.
 
#97
This "clanky" thread is nine years old! Just saying.

grKnG0p.png
 
#98
Flaked Beans said:
This "clanky" thread is nine years old! Just saying.

grKnG0p.png
Click to expand...

On the other hand i think that this is a very interesting thread indeed! The clanky old stingray bass! Ah, what a terrible bass guitars! I have a '00 EBMM stingray bass and it sounds very clanky. extremely clanky, to be more precise! Really, it is complete garbage! I wish I never bought it. But no doubt, It looks very nice on the hercules stand right there in my living room..:smug: cheers!

'00 2 band vintage sunburst EBMM Stingray bass:
sr.jpg


sr2.jpg


sr1.jpg
 
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#99
A very interesting thread for sure. Glad that I resurrected it! And being a newbie to EBMM basses, I was looking for information on these to get to know them better, as well as what causes the clanking and weak G string and trebly tone, when the treble is off.

I will say that my StingRay is a very well-built bass and good looking. I don't hate it or even dislike it, I just don't like it as much as my two Fender MIA Precision Basses. I've been a Fender bass player for the past sixteen years, both Jazz and Precision, so that's all I'm pretty much used to. Passive pickups on those vs. the active pup on the StingRay.

I still have my Ray; it's not for sale. I played it yesterday and will play it again today. Actually I was looking forward to playing it yesterday, since I hadn't played it in a week or so, and it felt and sounded pretty good. I enjoyed playing it. Only clanked one time, and that was because I hit the strings a little too hard over the pickup. Still bothered by the weak G string and the somewhat trebly tone (which only affects the G and D strings) but I'll see how it goes.

Taking it to band practice tonight for the first time and anxious to hear how it sounds in the mix (with two guitarists in the band).
 
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#100
FJBass82 said:
Passive pickups on those vs. the active pup on the StingRay.

Still bothered by the weak G string and the somewhat trebly tone (which only affects the G and D strings) but I'll see how it goes.
Click to expand...

The StingRay pickup IS passive... the preamp is what makes it active.

I've never had the G issue with the countless Rays I've worked woth over the years, but if your Ray is the Ernie Ball (not preEB) you can adjust the magnet poles under the G string to sit up closer to the string.
You need remove the pickup and push the pole from the underside.
 
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