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EBMM no longer makes "The StingRay"?
- Thread starter IronLung1986
- Start date
Viva la stingray
In early 2005, after having played a '78 jazz for 20 years - and being thoroughly sick of the sight of it - I decided it was time to buy a new bass, so I went to the best music store in my capital city and traded it in on a 'natural' 3 band H stingray with black pickguard, a la Bernard Edwards { one of my bona fide bass heroes }.
The 'ray was infinitely superior to the jazz in all aspects, and despite being ignorant of the difference between the three and two band at the time, I bought it and was king of the hill from then on { or so I thought }.
However, as time went by, I began to wonder why I could NEVER get mine to sound quite like the stingrays I'd heard on recordings - i.e. not as much low end; a more brittle-sounding and clanky top end, and so on. Then I found out. LOL.
Well, nearly twenty years later and I still think my 'ray is a great instrument, so much so that I'll never sell it { mostly for sentimental reasons } but it doesn't get much playing time these days as I've acquired much better basses since, and those get the gigs{ '82 BB2000, '84 BB3000 & CS '59 Precision }.
However, on the odd occasion that I do pull her out of the case to get my 'Bernard Edwards' on, I fall in love all over again - only to be quickly reminded why I don't play it much any more - and back in the case it goes.
In early 2005, after having played a '78 jazz for 20 years - and being thoroughly sick of the sight of it - I decided it was time to buy a new bass, so I went to the best music store in my capital city and traded it in on a 'natural' 3 band H stingray with black pickguard, a la Bernard Edwards { one of my bona fide bass heroes }.
The 'ray was infinitely superior to the jazz in all aspects, and despite being ignorant of the difference between the three and two band at the time, I bought it and was king of the hill from then on { or so I thought }.
However, as time went by, I began to wonder why I could NEVER get mine to sound quite like the stingrays I'd heard on recordings - i.e. not as much low end; a more brittle-sounding and clanky top end, and so on. Then I found out. LOL.
Well, nearly twenty years later and I still think my 'ray is a great instrument, so much so that I'll never sell it { mostly for sentimental reasons } but it doesn't get much playing time these days as I've acquired much better basses since, and those get the gigs{ '82 BB2000, '84 BB3000 & CS '59 Precision }.
However, on the odd occasion that I do pull her out of the case to get my 'Bernard Edwards' on, I fall in love all over again - only to be quickly reminded why I don't play it much any more - and back in the case it goes.
I don't split hairs too much with Rays......do old Rays sound different than newer Specials?.....well, yeah.......do they all sound like Stingrays? .....well, yeah.........
It's really not that hard, or asking a friend who is handy with a grinder/sander, we all know a carpenter, yes?
The price for a pro to do a forearm cut is cheap in the world of what people regularly dish out for USA made StingRays.
No need to refinish, the raw wood is fine, or a rattle can of clear coat paint is also very cheap and very easy.
Rather than have a bass you love but won't use, fixing one so you can makes good sense.
No need to be sorry, believing it can be easily done is key.
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I’ve said this here many times. Especially when they introduced the Joe Dart and Cliff Williams.
I think Louis Johnson , Bernard Edwards , Paul S Denman, Pino ( fret less ) and Flea should have all had signature models.
These players along with Tony Levin influenced many others to play MusicMan basses.
I have a love hate relationship with Stingrays. I especially love the way the 2 band Rays with flats sound when other people play them. Same thing for the Specials. I’ve owned both . I just stand them when I play them. That annoying metallic ping when slapped just bothers my ear. The Specials were more comfortable to play but still not quite warm enough for my ear. If it had the bridge mutes I might like it better.
I like the Sabre a little more. But The Caprice is where I finally found a MusicMan that I really like.
I like the Sabre a little more. But The Caprice is where I finally found a MusicMan that I really like.
Things change. Look at a Ford Mustang from '77 and today you can get an electric Mustang. Neo magnets and a roasted neck are kinda minor changes. Besides, the used market serves the die hards well.
Producing something that looks great in concept but doesn’t sell is completely different that purposely making something that will fail. I’m sure you understand that but hey, thanks for the jab - I hope it made you feel better.
If you had said then what you just said, my response would have been different.
I love Ray's of all years. I like the Specials pretty well. Without a doubt they are a little different sounding. At some point I will get around to having the John East pre that I bought for mine installed. Im feeling like that could be the best of all possible worlds.
And just to be clear I have no interest in vintage purism. I like modern stuff and I like progress. The 2-band/alnico configuration was still being produced up until a year or so ago and that's all you need to get the Bernard sound. That and flats possibly. Nothing else really matters. You don't need pre-Ernie Ball or any other vintage feature. You could put a 2 band pre and alnico pickup in a Stingray Special and you'd have the Bernard sound. So it's not some vintage mysticism I'm peddling here, it's something very recent and clear cut.
So you buy a $2000 bass, Heck, even a $1000 bass. You're going to start hacking it up if you discover you don't like the lack of body contours, and you know they make a version that has the body contours you want?
No, you sell it.
Agreed. Bernard was in a lot of ways the pinnacle of the craft of electric bass playing. Perfect elegance, perfect use of space, perfect blend between pitch and rhythm, an absolute fulfillment of the role of a bass player in a way that could only be done on electric bass. And he had style. He was a paragon of awesomeness and should be held up as such.
It is regrettable that there's never been a signature model for him. I don't immediately blame EBMM for it though. It's not their fault that Bernard is not the kind of household name that's going to drive sales. And we don't know if they've tried to do a sig model and weren't able to work it out with his estate or something like that. The main thing is that we can hear that sound on his records and get it for ourselves. That's the real tribute. I don't always go for his sound when I'm playing. My basic style is very different from his, but there are parts in our songs where I do play something that's inspired by him and I have to use his plucking technique. Having a 2 band Ray which responds so perfectly to that type of playing is so fun, with the preamp almost sort of overdriving from being hit hard. It's a playing experience that I don't think you get from any other bass. And it's nice to carry that little subtle tribute to one of the true masters too.
When the standard classic returns to production, they can call it the BE signature and double the price
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
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- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
OK ... I went to the musicians friend web site and they have over 50 different types of sting ray basses for sale ... that is about 49 more than I need
