EBMM StingRay Special Club

[mouthmw]

I think it would be smart to use the P w/flats for "classic" scenarios and the Ray for all the rest. One passive bass with flats and one active bass with rounds would be ideal for my needs, I guess.

That's exactly what I do. My P with flats for my vintage rock bands and my Stingray for everything else, more modern stuff, RHCP etc. I don't have the new Special, but the older 2 band version (which was always my favorite, the classic ray tone). I never got along with jazz basses much, I love the thicker necks of Ps and Rays, and the tonal rampage they both do in their own way. So thumbs up man, I approve for sure!

 

[Stranger Danger]

I do. So what? I like Rays too.

JK, I like them too. I was able to sell mine after getting the Special 4HH though. It does everything I want.

 

[basschips]

Can you identify exactly where it buzzes? Which fret(s)? Does it happen when you pluck the open G string or when playing fretted notes?

Try loosening the string, slide a very small piece of standard copier paper into the nut slot under the string, retune and see what happens.

I've done the paper trick on one of my basses and that's how I initially figured out my nut slot was cut to low on that string.

 

[Hypercaffium]

JK, I like them too. I was able to sell mine after getting the Special 4HH though. It does everything I want.

I'm not sure I'd get along with an HH Ray, to be honest. I'm sure it's a more versatile beast compared to the H version, but the neck pickup positioning COULD be a little bit problematic for some people, especially when slapping (which I don't do very often btw).
I'm gonna try both H and HH models, but I'm more interested in the H at the moment.

 

[Treeman]

I think I'm about to join the club and I hope to get a couple of useful suggestions from you guys.

I'm a P bass kind of guy. I like the simplistic two knobs approach, I like the fat neck, I like the fat sound, I like pretty much anything about my P. I sometimes alternate between rounds and flats, depending on the tones I need, but personally I prefer the feel and sound of flats for most of the music genres I play. At least with my P, of course. Rounds on a P are unbeatable (imho) if you want to sound more aggressive, more trebly, or you just want that classic P bass punk growl using a pick. Slap isn't something I do very often but I like it. Unfortunately, it doesn't sound as defined and "surgical" as I want with my P, especially when using flats.
I think I want something different for different scenarios, especially slap and more aggressive tones. I'm thinking about a 4 string Sting Ray Special with 3 band EQ, I'm not sure about neck through option. I'd go for the classic single humbucker version.
I think it would be smart to use the P w/flats for "classic" scenarios and the Ray for all the rest. One passive bass with flats and one active bass with rounds would be ideal for my needs, I guess.

I identify with a whole bunch of what you've stated. I've got my P with 5-year-old La Bella flats that thumps somethin' fierce, which I would occasionally throw stainless rounds on when in a KC John Wetton kind of mood. Grabbed the 'Ray Special and have mostly kept rounds on it, with the strategy being akin to yours in using the P for mellower thump and the 'Ray for brighter growl. But that P has really been hangin' all lonely in the corner since the 'Ray came home. I've fallen in love with the Special's preamp. Even with my single 4H and Regular Slinkies, it just hits every spot I need, and shows me a few more I didn't know I needed. With that preamp and intentional (and immediately intuitive) placement of right-hand attack, the entire universe is in that bass.

 

[Hypercaffium]

I identify with a whole bunch of what you've stated. I've got my P with 5-year-old La Bella flats that thumps somethin' fierce, which I would occasionally throw stainless rounds on when in a KC John Wetton kind of mood. Grabbed the 'Ray Special and have mostly kept rounds on it, with the strategy being akin to yours in using the P for mellower thump and the 'Ray for brighter growl. But that P has really been hangin' all lonely in the corner since the 'Ray came home. I've fallen in love with the Special's preamp. Even with my single 4H and Regular Slinkies, it just hits every spot I need, and shows me a few more I didn't know I needed. With that preamp and intentional (and immediately intuitive) placement of right-hand attack, the entire universe is in that bass.

I'm happy to hear that you're loving your Ray, but I suggest you to keep the P. Buy a new set of good flats and show him some love sometimes, I'm sure you'll play it more often.
Do you play 50-105 Slinkies? I just switched from 45-100 Slinkies to 50-105 but I didn't change the strings yet.

 

[bdplaid]

Can you identify exactly where it buzzes? Which fret(s)? Does it happen when you pluck the open G string or when playing fretted notes?

Try loosening the string, slide a very small piece of standard copier paper into the nut slot under the string, retune and see what happens.

I think it's one of the upper frets, very hard to tell, but it buzzes when fretting every note all the way up the neck.
Yes I have shimmed the neck.
I'll try the paper, never done that for troubleshooting before. I was about to check the distance between string and every fret using a feeler gauge, will report when I do.
I was hopeful for the pickup distance thing, since no matter what I did, the buzz never changed. The pickup is now more than 8/32" (1/4"!) away from the string.
Hoping it's not a high fret(s), but kinda looking like it.

 

[bdplaid]

Try loosening the string, slide a very small piece of standard copier paper into the nut slot under the string, retune and see what happens.

Oh, I missed that you were suggesting to slide the paper under the nut/string. No, it's not the nut. Open string OK, it's the fretted notes, all the way up.

 

[Treeman]

I'm happy to hear that you're loving your Ray, but I suggest you to keep the P. Buy a new set of good flats and show him some love sometimes, I'm sure you'll play it more often.
Do you play 50-105 Slinkies? I just switched from 45-100 Slinkies to 50-105 but I didn't change the strings yet.

Yep, I moved to the 50-105. It helped bring out the heft.
Had always been a 45-105 guy but that extra weight on the G and D really works on the 'Ray.

 

[bdplaid]

And just another comment on the string buzz: it doesn't stop me from playing it. I still like it a lot and will just keep working to fix it.

 

[HD007]

I'm thinking about a 4 string Sting Ray Special with 3 band EQ, I'm not sure about neck through option. I'd go for the classic single humbucker version.
I think it would be smart to use the P w/flats for "classic" scenarios and the Ray for all the rest. One passive bass with flats and one active bass with rounds would be ideal for my needs, I guess.

Definitely check out a Special. They have been killer basses for many of us.

As far as I know there is no neck-through option for the Special though.

 

[Wood and Wire]

I think it's one of the upper frets, very hard to tell, but it buzzes when fretting every note all the way up the neck.
Yes I have shimmed the neck.
I'll try the paper, never done that for troubleshooting before. I was about to check the distance between string and every fret using a feeler gauge, will report when I do.
I was hopeful for the pickup distance thing, since no matter what I did, the buzz never changed. The pickup is now more than 8/32" (1/4"!) away from the string.
Hoping it's not a high fret(s), but kinda looking like it.

Surely the shim would exacerbate the problem.

Sounds like you need a little more relief in the neck (or possibly a plek job).

 

[keto]

Surely the shim would exacerbate the problem.

Sounds like you need a little more relief in the neck (or possibly a plek job).

Mine was a small ramp - already? - at the body end, the tech had to mostly re-level the last 2 frets down....and it's still very noisy, though not as bad as it was. I put flats on it and it's still noisy lol.

 

[Groovegestapo]

Surely the shim would exacerbate the problem.

Sounds like you need a little more relief in the neck (or possibly a plek job).

That’s the next option for me, Glaser Guitars in Nashville is probably going to do mine as a last resort. I’ll know in a couple of weeks. The bottom line is this should not have to be done to correct a manufacturing or QC issue. EB has always had the best customer service over the years.

 

[maplenecked]

That’s the next option for me, Glaser Guitars in Nashville is probably going to do mine as a last resort. I’ll know in a couple of weeks. The bottom line is this should not have to be done to correct a manufacturing or QC issue. EB has always had the best customer service over the years.

I think they need to do a better job with their fretwork

 

[Wood and Wire]

That’s the next option for me, Glaser Guitars in Nashville is probably going to do mine as a last resort. I’ll know in a couple of weeks. The bottom line is this should not have to be done to correct a manufacturing or QC issue. EB has always had the best customer service over the years.

Have you tried removing the shim, and adding a small amount of relief?

 

[Kilgore777]

View attachment 3368253 View attachment 3368253

I have an HH on the way that has that finish. Thanks for posting, you get a really nice idea of what it really looks like from your pics!

 

[bdplaid]

Surely the shim would exacerbate the problem.

Sounds like you need a little more relief in the neck (or possibly a plek job).

It would only be exacerbated depending on where the shim was placed. Mine is at the farthest point from the neck end, at the open end of the neck pocket, to tilt it forward. It makes a slight difference. if the shim was placed inward toward the body at the end of the neck, that would tilt the neck backward and would indeed make the buzz worse.

Relief doesn't matter, unless there is so much it then becomes almost unplayable.

Mine was a small ramp - already? - at the body end, the tech had to mostly re-level the last 2 frets down....and it's still very noisy, though not as bad as it was. I put flats on it and it's still noisy lol.

A ramp is a possibility. It feels like it needs some fallaway. And FYI I am using EB cobalt flats - bright, but it's much worse with rounds.

Have you tried removing the shim, and adding a small amount of relief?

Again, yes yes and yes. Many times. Have had the shim in and out, and honestly the shim and/or the amount of relief makes very little difference in the amount of buzz. Again, this whole thing feels like high frets at the neck end, possibly meaning a ramp up at the neck end.

I need to do an in-depth measurement, meaning feeler gauges to measure the fret/string clearance at every fret when each note is fretted.

And about PLEK - I have a G&L with a factory PLEK and it ain't all that, nothing like a good luthier with his files.

 

[Groovegestapo]

It would only be exacerbated depending on where the shim was placed. Mine is at the farthest point from the neck end, at the open end of the neck pocket, to tilt it forward. It makes a slight difference. if the shim was placed inward toward the body at the end of the neck, that would tilt the neck backward and would indeed make the buzz worse.

Relief doesn't matter, unless there is so much it then becomes almost unplayable.



A ramp is a possibility. It feels like it needs some fallaway. And FYI I am using EB cobalt flats - bright, but it's much worse with rounds.



Again, yes yes and yes. Many times. Have had the shim in and out, and honestly the shim and/or the amount of relief makes very little difference in the amount of buzz. Again, this whole thing feels like high frets at the neck end, possibly meaning a ramp up at the neck end.

I need to do an in-depth measurement, meaning feeler gauges to measure the fret/string clearance at every fret when each note is fretted.

And about PLEK - I have a G&L with a factory PLEK and it ain't all that, nothing like a good luthier with his files.

High frets all the way across the FB seem to be contributing to my problem.
A shim is not necessary to install.
A Plek can certainly grind them down to an acceptable height. I’ll find out when I drive to Nashville.

 

[keto]

It would only be exacerbated depending on where the shim was placed. Mine is at the farthest point from the neck end, at the open end of the neck pocket, to tilt it forward. It makes a slight difference. if the shim was placed inward toward the body at the end of the neck, that would tilt the neck backward and would indeed make the buzz worse.

Relief doesn't matter, unless there is so much it then becomes almost unplayable.



A ramp is a possibility. It feels like it needs some fallaway. And FYI I am using EB cobalt flats - bright, but it's much worse with rounds.



Again, yes yes and yes. Many times. Have had the shim in and out, and honestly the shim and/or the amount of relief makes very little difference in the amount of buzz. Again, this whole thing feels like high frets at the neck end, possibly meaning a ramp up at the neck end.

I need to do an in-depth measurement, meaning feeler gauges to measure the fret/string clearance at every fret when each note is fretted.

And about PLEK - I have a G&L with a factory PLEK and it ain't all that, nothing like a good luthier with his files.

High frets all the way across the FB seem to be contributing to my problem.
A shim is not necessary to install.
A Plek can certainly grind them down to an acceptable height. I’ll find out when I drive to Nashville.

I’m sure you’ve both said previously, but are they ebony. Mine was. If yes, maybe the wood? Or if either, just fretwork?