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EBMM StingRay Special Club

#2,081
What do y’all think of these pickguard patterns for Dropped Copper? Hot or Nah?
 

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#2,082
megaboogie said:
So I went to GC and played some SR specials yesterday.
I've played specials before and been GASing hard for one but this time they had a NOS '16 stingray 4H maple fb so I was able to A/B it along with 2 specials: a 4HH maple fb and 5HH ebony fb.

They all sounded like a stingray but NOS SR 4H had noticeably more grunt and bite to it, perfect for rock and funk music. I was quite surprised how aggressive it sounded next to the specials.
4HH special maple sounded more mellow in general but not in a negative way.
The neck pu certainly had useable tones mixed with bridge or by itself while still unsure I would use the neck pu as much. Lack of space for slapping concerned me a bit but I think I will adapt.
5HH special ebony was surprisingly more aggressive and modern sounding than the 4HH maple fb.
I feel like these new stingrays are quite different one to the other. Last month I've played a 5H maple which I thought was way too mellow sounding, and a 4H ebony which sounded uninspiring. The ones I played yesterday were all great though.

The NOS SR 4H was for $1099 clearance. GC wouldn't go any lower but they were able to offer me some freebies so I bought it. It's in mint condition IIRC it's a vintage mint green GC special run for '16.
I played it for hours yesterday and very happy with it, weighted at 8.9lbs not too bad for a pre-special SR.

And today I just ordered a 5HH in dropped copper maple fb from MF....
I know I went too crazy but I just sold 5 guitars last month and had some money to burn.(guitar downsizing gone wrong...)
MF don't list the weight on most of their instruments but I asked the sales rep and he said he would be able to notify the warehouse to pick the lightest out of them(they had 3) and it would take extra 1 day to ship out.
Not sure if I can 100% believe they will follow it, but hope I get a light one.
Click to expand...
I still love my older StingRays. You’re right: More aggressive than the Specials.
 
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#2,084
Stranger Danger said:
How did you do it?
Click to expand...
Very painfully. ;)
I had bought some decals off Amazon awhile back. I took the guard off, taped the stripe down in position, and then followed the application instructions. For trimming, I used an exacto knife to cut to shape as close as possible. The hardest part is the pickup rounded areas. I then put it back on and VERY CAREFULLY trimmed a little further as needed. I had some tiny areas that I had to trim more than I wanted in order for it to stick properly, so I did use the tiny black sharpie to fill it in on the guard. Hope that helps?
 
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#2,087
maverick49 said:
Very painfully. ;)
I had bought some decals off Amazon awhile back. I took the guard off, taped the stripe down in position, and then followed the application instructions. For trimming, I used an exacto knife to cut to shape as close as possible. The hardest part is the pickup rounded areas. I then put it back on and VERY CAREFULLY trimmed a little further as needed. I had some tiny areas that I had to trim more than I wanted in order for it to stick properly, so I did use the tiny black sharpie to fill it in on the guard. Hope that helps?
Click to expand...
I’m not crafty so it helps telling me I won’t be able to do it! Haha!
 
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#2,090
Corevalay said:
Wow... that's insanely light. I'd dare to say it's too light! I have to believe it's gonna effect the tone at least a tiny bit, no?
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A lot of us have 8 pounders. That's only 3 ounces lighter. The second pickup on mine probably weighs more than that so I'd say no. But I am not a believer in the heavier bass better tone theory at all. Someone else might have a different opinion.
 
#2,091
hypercarrots said:
any change in weight or density will affect tone
Click to expand...

I don't want to get in a big debate about this but "affect tone" is a very broad phrase that doesn't really say anything. Each instrument has to be judged on its own merits. There are many things that "affect tone" way more than a few ounces. There are heavy basses that sound good and heavy basses that sound bad. There are light basses that sound good and light basses that sound bad. And each one of those might sound good or bad to me or bad or good to you. Blanket statements regarding weight and tone are not really provable or even helpful. If anything, this new series from EBMM shows that lighter is lighter. It doesn't mean that they don't sound as good as heavier Stingrays. They actually sound better to me. But that's simply my subjective opinion. Using objective data (weight) to draw subjective conclusions (tone) is not something that I think makes much sense.
 
#2,094
Stranger Danger said:
IN other news:

Put some Super Slinky flatwounds on my bass today and I think we have a winner. A warning though: clean them very well before putting them on. Lots of gunk from the factory.
Click to expand...
How did you clean them? I had lots of trouble with them. Even after steel wool and alcohol. My issue was more of a chalky/dry-ice kind of friction that didn’t seem like gunk though. So maybe it’s just a skin type and Houston humidity thing.

I’m all ears for any tricks of the trade. Really want them to work out.
 
#2,095
Treeman said:
How did you clean them? I had lots of trouble with them. Even after steel wool and alcohol. My issue was more of a chalky/dry-ice kind of friction that didn’t seem like gunk though. So maybe it’s just a skin type and Houston humidity thing.

I’m all ears for any tricks of the trade. Really want them to work out.
Click to expand...
Usually I use Ernie Ball string wipes but I ran out of those and didn't have any rubbing alcohol either so I improvised. I took a wet paper towel and wiped them down thoroughly then dried them with a microfiber towel then dried them again with a thin t-shirt then put them on. I don't know if they will stay feeling good or get gunky. If they get gunky and end up needing a lot of maintenance to stay feeling right then I will get rid of them. Right now they are just right. If you want some strings that don't need all that maintenance and feel really good straight out then I'd recommend La Bella tapewounds.
 
#2,096
gkella said:
I am interested in the dropped copper model.
Haven’t had the chance to see one in person.
The pictures I see on line, it looks more red than
I would like.
Are the pics misleading or a good representation?
Thanks Glen
Click to expand...

It's a dark coppery red color. It's not candy apple red but it's not orange either. I don't know how else to describe it other than to say it's a dark coppery red.

TzsGtNSjQDqXRxgZwLGjXA.jpg
 
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