EBMM StingRay or StingRay Special

[jmattbassplaya]

Any thoughts between the two models? I’ve been playing a 2010 4H Ray for years now. Great bass, but I definitely find it to be a bit of a one trick pony. The word on the street is that the new Special is quite a bit more versatile with its pre. I’d love to try one but no one ever has them in stock. What have your experiences been?

 

[mouthmw]

To me the new Specials are tamer and with less character. Many find them to be more organic, rounder, etc., to me they just lack that iconic character of either the 2 band or the former 3 banders. Do you want a more generic, less aggressive tone? You might prefer them then. I still haven't found an example where I really liked them in the mix. The old ones, IMO, absolutely destroy them tone wise.

 

[BigDrew]

I ran out and bought a special when they came out. They have definitely been tamed. I got ride of it pretty quickly. I ended up getting a 2 band Classic and it is great. Definitely not as neutered as the Special. On a side note, I picked up a 2015 H yesterday and it rocks! Very aggressive! I woul go passive Fender if you’re looking for that sound...or try a Classic.

 

[jmattbassplaya]

To me the new Specials are tamer and with less character. Many find them to be more organic, rounder, etc., to me they just lack that iconic character of either the 2 band or the former 3 banders. Do you want a more generic, less aggressive tone? You might prefer them then. I still haven't found an example where I really liked them in the mix. The old ones, IMO, absolutely destroy them tone wise.

To answer your question - I think so?

The perk of my Ray is that, no matter what, I can always hear myself in a mix. The downside to that is that it always sounds like a Ray. I wouldn’t mind the flexibility of remaining in a mix but sounding a bit tamer, rounder, and more “balanced.”

By comparison, my Jazz can sound too tame or will struggle to stand out in a mix. I guess I’m looking for the best of both worlds in an EBMM StingRay sized package.

 

[mouthmw]

To answer your question - I think so?

The perk of my Ray is that, no matter what, I can always hear myself in a mix. The downside to that is that it always sounds like a Ray. I wouldn’t mind the flexibility of remaining in a mix but sounding a bit tamer, rounder, and more “balanced.”

By comparison, my Jazz can sound too tame or will struggle to stand out in a mix. I guess I’m looking for the best of both worlds in an EBMM StingRay sized package.

Might wanna give em a shot then.
I tamed one of my old Stingrays once. It was a 2 bander. It had the original preamp, but I've put in Nordstrand MM4.2 pickup. I played it live twice and it was just too tame, it just got buried in the mix a lot of the times and I didn't find it supported the band well. I realized that's just not the character of the Stingray that I wanted. I put the original pickup back in - problem solved.

Now, Specials obviously aren't the same thing, but I'm getting a little bit of that vibe when I hear them in a band mix (I've checked pretty much all the Stingray youtube videos, ALL of them - yes, it's an obsession, along with P basses).

Check out pertybass youtube channel. He's got a 5 string HH Special, and a 90s 4H Stingray. He has a comparison video of both, and plenty of covers on both. In my opinion, his 90s Stingray slays his Special tone wise, but you might think otherwise. Check him out.

 

[jmattbassplaya]

Might wanna give em a shot then.
I tamed one of my old Stingrays once. It was a 2 bander. It had the original preamp, but I've put in Nordstrand MM4.2 pickup. I played it live twice and it was just too tame, it just got buried in the mix a lot of the times and I didn't find it supported the band well. I realized that's just not the character of the Stingray that I wanted. I put the original pickup back in - problem solved.

Now, Specials obviously aren't the same thing, but I'm getting a little bit of that vibe when I hear them in a band mix (I've checked pretty much all the Stingray youtube videos, ALL of them - yes, it's an obsession, along with P basses).

Check out pertybass youtube channel. He's got a 5 string HH Special, and a 90s 4H Stingray. He has a comparison video of both, and plenty of covers on both. In my opinion, his 90s Stingray slays his Special tone wise, but you might think otherwise. Check him out.

Okay, checked him out and I see what you’re saying.

The Special is VERY tamed by comparison. It’s almost hard to hear in the mix as it’s sitting way down in it. It’s not a bad tone, but it isn’t nearly as present. I wonder how much of that was him favoring other pickup positions rather than the traditional bridge H on his 5HH Special.

 

[mouthmw]

Okay, checked him out and I see what you’re saying.

The Special is VERY tamed by comparison. It’s almost hard to hear in the mix as it’s sitting way down in it. It’s not a bad tone, but it isn’t nearly as present. I wonder how much of that was him favoring other pickup positions rather than the traditional bridge H on his 5HH Special.

Yeah, HH is another story. I strongly dislike the neck pup and combination of that neck pup on Stingrays. It's lifeless, characterless, boomy and super scooped to me. HH Stingray to me is a huge no no. Best to find covers where he favored only the bridge pup, if you also don't like the HH.

 

[JakobT]

On a related note, I notice that only the StingRay Specials and signature models now appear on the EBMM website. Have the old-style StingRays been discontinued?

 

[mouthmw]

On a related note, I notice that only the StingRay Specials and signature models now appear on the EBMM website. Have the old-style StingRays been discontinued?

Yes, the previous standard rays are discontinued. Even the Classic series is off the site now, also possibly discontinued, but I’m not 100% sure on that.

 

[jmattbassplaya]

Yes, the previous standard rays are discontinued. Even the Classic series is off the site now, also possibly discontinued, but I’m not 100% sure on that.

That would be a loss. Although I’ve never favored the Classics I know a lot of people do.

 

[JakobT]

Yes, the previous standard rays are discontinued. Even the Classic series is off the site now, also possibly discontinued, but I’m not 100% sure on that.

That’s a shame. I guess the best route for traditional-type StingRays now are either to buy used or go SBMM. Let’s hope this won’t be a «New Coke» moment for EBMM.

 

[IronLung1986]

Yes, the previous standard rays are discontinued. Even the Classic series is off the site now, also possibly discontinued, but I’m not 100% sure on that.

That's kinda shocking. It would seem EBMM no longer makes the Stingray bass then. Not the true one anyway.

 

[brushfirewolf]

Special. For overall feel and playability.

 

[packhowitzer]

Yeah, HH is another story. I strongly dislike the neck pup and combination of that neck pup on Stingrays. It's lifeless, characterless, boomy and super scooped to me. HH Stingray to me is a huge no no. Best to find covers where he favored only the bridge pup, if you also don't like the HH.

I bought a 98 Stingray new and it was my main player for about 10 years. Then I bought an HH stingray in the first year of production - I *think* it was 2007. I agree completely about your take on the neck pickup. I never could get a usable sound out of it. That said, I did sometime use the setting that utilized the inside coil from each pickup- it was not too far from a P bass tone to my ears (and with my setup). but 95% of the time, I just used the bridge pickup and the neck pickup just got in the way.

I sold the HH and still have the 98. I've never regretted the decision. However, that HH was absolutely gorgeous in looks and fit and finish. and I'm a big EB fan. The HH just didn't work for me.

 

[Dilver]

I find the new Stingray Specials to be more “modern” sounding than my 2000 Stingray 4H. I think the 18V preamp imparts what I’d describe as a thick and fat sound - it’s very smooth. Whereas the regular Stingray is more mid-focused, and growlier. The roasted maple necks on the new Specials sure do feel nice, though. Both are great; just a matter of taste and applications.

 

[Odinbass]

I've had both and prefer the original Stingray, although the Specials are very attractive looking with the roasted necks.

I felt the original's 3-band EQ was more effective. I spent a year playing with the knobs on the Special and could never seem to get it right. The high-EQ frequency point is set pretty low and it always felt like i wanted to reach higher.

 

[IronLung1986]

You would think the HH would be really valuable since the normal H is so far back toward the bridge, but in my experience it doesn't really add much that you would want. Just turning up the bass on a normal H accomplishes the goal better. On a 2 band that is. I'm not sure about the 3 band since it's almost a completely different instrument and I've never liked them much.

My take on the Specials is that I love the ergonomic updates and lighter weight, and I think they sound better than the old 3 band Stingrays. They look a little less badass to me, with the neck having an extra fret and the upper horn being different. The real problem is that the old 2 band Stingray crushes them both in terms of sound. It crushes the Bongo too. And now they apparently don't even make a USA bass with that configuration? It's sad and weird to me. That was their ultimate creation. That's Bernard's sound. People are going to want that sound down the road. They're going to listen to Paul Denman and Chic and Sister Sledge and want that sound only to find that the bass they need is scarce and archaic. Maybe EBMM will bring it back at some point, maybe they already have plans to do something with it. I hope so. Luckily I have my 2 band Ray which I love and will never part with, I just want everyone else to be able to have one too!

 

[NikkiWonka]

As an owner of a special HH I can truly say this thing is a beast, it's very versatile and the 18v pre amp sounds amazing. I was also very surprised how lightweight it was compared to other basses I owned previously.
At the end of the day this question of which one is "better" is very subjective and it really depends on what feels better for your playstyle.

 

[_Obra_]

I had a few old StingRays and one Classic. Classic was too heavy, and with the ''regular'' old ones, I always had some issues. All the necks had a need to be adjusted very often and on some I had an unsolvable problem with a weak G string (I do not want to enter into this issue again). Despite all that, I'm still in love with them.
So, my answer is Special!
They solve all of the previous issues and added a few extra cool features with the Special.
Now, You might like those new features or not, but they modernised the instrument and make it better. However, the sound is a little different, but not in a bad way, just a little different.
You will not make a mistake with the Special, but you may run into a ''not brilliant'' piece with the old one

 

[SgtHulka]

Yeah, HH is another story. I strongly dislike the neck pup and combination of that neck pup on Stingrays. It's lifeless, characterless, boomy and super scooped to me. HH Stingray to me is a huge no no. Best to find covers where he favored only the bridge pup, if you also don't like the HH.

I've had both and although for some the neck pickup "gets in the way" I could never tell a difference between using the bridge only pickup on both. What I did find was that 2 pickups on full made a killer rock tone, while I could still get the Stingray character only the bridge solo. There were a few good tones between the 2 but I wouldn't describe the "getting in the way" a reason to get rid of the second pup.