EBMM StingRay Special Club

[Stranger Danger]

One thing I notice is that when I look at other basses people are buying and how they immediately want to rip out the pickups, tuners, preamp, etc, I cant even imagine doing any of that with this bass. I put on strap locks and I futz around with strings and pickguards but the guts and hardware are perfect. Nobody makes anything that will make my bass sound better.

 

[Stranger Danger]

Just passed 3000 posts in this thread dedicated to the Bass of the Year. Not too bad folks! I need to stay off talkbass though apparently.

 

[mojomike001]

Those numbers are insane!

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

Just passed 3000 posts in this thread dedicated to the Bass of the Year. Not too bad folks! I need to stay off talkbass though apparently.

View attachment 3374724

Wow!! I had no idea. Well this is what happens when a bass this good get into the hands of players that recognize how great they are and appreciate them .

 

[HD007]

One thing I notice is that when I look at other basses people are buying and how they immediately want to rip out the pickups, tuners, preamp, etc, I cant even imagine doing any of that with this bass. I put on strap locks and I futz around with strings and pickguards but the guts and hardware are perfect. Nobody makes anything that will make my bass sound better.

Me too for all of the above.

 

[maplenecked]

One thing I notice is that when I look at other basses people are buying and how they immediately want to rip out the pickups, tuners, preamp, etc, I cant even imagine doing any of that with this bass. I put on strap locks and I futz around with strings and pickguards but the guts and hardware are perfect. Nobody makes anything that will make my bass sound better.

Yeah man and the pickguards are easy on the stingrays 4s at least. I’m thinking about a grabber blue and picking up a mint and tort to experiment with.

 

[bdplaid]

I think the effect is more on the E string. Much more metal mass to be attracted.

But the G string is easier to pull. I dunno, pick yer poison...

 

[bdplaid]

And I'll say this about the magnets - I changed strings to the EB cobalt flats and when I was putting them on, the pickups latched onto them like a 'gator. Never seen anything like it on another bass.

 

[mojomike001]

And I'll say this about the magnets - I changed strings to the EB cobalt flats and when I was putting them on, the pickups latched onto them like a 'gator. Never seen anything like it on another bass.

I'm using the cobalt flats. Are you saying that the cobalts are magnetically attracted even more than other strings?

 

[Stevorebob]

I'm using the cobalt flats. Are you saying that the cobalts are magnetically attracted even more than other strings?

Well, that’s what Ernie Ball claims: “Cobalt provides a stronger magnetic relationship between pickups and strings than any other alloy previously available.”

 

[mojomike001]

Interesting.

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

I’m no scientist so I don’t know about this magnetic attraction theory. However, I can attest to the fact that Cobalt Flats are a perfect match for my Special 5HH .

 

[bdplaid]

I was saying that the magnets are very powerful, just as Ebmm says. I'm sure the cobalt flats have more mass than rounds, too, making them inherently more magnetically attractive. As for the cobalt properties, I don't know.

 

[basschips]

One thing I notice is that when I look at other basses people are buying and how they immediately want to rip out the pickups, tuners, preamp, etc, I cant even imagine doing any of that with this bass. I put on strap locks and I futz around with strings and pickguards but the guts and hardware are perfect. Nobody makes anything that will make my bass sound better.

I have done my fair share of mods and upgrades on basses but I don't feel like there is anything to do to my SRS 4H other than like stated maybe a pickguard and mess around with some strings. I'm totally happy with what's under the hood of this bass. It's very balanced, light, sustains seems like forever, sounds fantastic and the playability is superior or minimally the same as some very expensive basses I've owned in the past. I personally think the price point on these basses may seem to some expensive but all the goods are there and I believe it's a very good value for the overall package.

 

[Kilgore777]

It will be worth it either way.

I routinely take a new (or used) instrument to my guy for setup. The retailers should do this before they ship them out but most don’t, I’ve found. Wooden instruments by nature change over time and in different environments and weather and during shipping.

Hopefully it will be back soon with a nice setup. That’s a really pretty bass!!

Thanks! I hope to get it back soon.

Mine was better when done (same thing, tons of string noise up and down the E) but still unacceptably noisy when played medium hard picking, which is my style. My Yamaha, my Jaguar, my G&L, none of them have anywhere near the level of string noise this one does, I even changed it to Chromes as an experiment and, sure, it's quieter, but still wierdly noisy. Due to my style, I EXPECT string noise, zero is not my goal.

Do not underestimate the effect of the neo magnet pickups on the strings! They are very powerful and they definitely increase the fret buzz if they are too close. Make sure the pickups, especially the neck pickup, are far from the strings. For the neck pickup, we're talking about 1/4" from the strings when you depress the strings on the 22nd fret. A little less so with the bridge pickup. Basically, the strings should be about twice as far from the poles as it would be with a conventional magnet. Of course it will lower your output somewhat, but so what?

I even went and readjusted the pickup heights on my Big Al which also has neos.

mojomike001: I don't think that the PUs being too close is a problem. I think it just needed some adjustments. But I will check it out when I get the bass back.


So , another update, MM won't pay to have the bass fixed, they want it shipped back to them.... which would cost them more to ship back to me than the repairs. Go figure. So, I will be paying for it... not a big deal.

As far as the buzz goes, yeah, I know that the basses have a good amount of innate string noise going on, but mine was buzzing terribly. The shop got it to the point where there was much less buzz (while I was there), so I think it can be fixed to my liking.

The fact that the magnets are so powerful in the bass is interesting.... it was crazy to hear about the cobalt flats that some OP talked about and they way they reacted to the magnets!

Cheers!

 

[bdplaid]

The fact that the magnets are so powerful in the bass is interesting.... it was crazy to hear about the cobalt flats that some OP talked about and they way they reacted to the magnets!

Try it yourself - take any ferrous metal and touch it to the magnet. For reference, do that to a Fender. quite a diff.

 

[scottm]

To add to everyone’s post touching on the subject of not feeling the need to change anything on these basses/model, I wanted to add a note about the electronics.
I own a few basses with really good electronics, but I notice I find myself adjusting my Special’s electronics more.
The range is much more vast and it seems like I can really tweak out that exact tone that I’m looking for. Especially on my HH.
I hope that makes sense.

-ScottM

 

[mojomike001]

To add to everyone’s post touching on the subject of not feeling the need to change anything on these basses/model, I wanted to add a note about the electronics.
I own a few basses with really good electronics, but I notice I find myself adjusting my Special’s electronics more.
The range is much more vast and it seems like I can really tweak out that exact tone that I’m looking for. Especially on my HH.
I hope that makes sense.

-ScottM

I agree. I'm primarily into passive Fenders and typically don't care for the sound of active basses, but I do like the preamp in the Special. I like it even more than the four band unit on Big Al.

 

[scottm]

I agree. I'm primarily into passive Fenders and typically don't care for the sound of active basses, but I do like the preamp in the Special. I like it even more than the four band unit on Big Al.

I seem to find that the bass control is the one EQ that is really different! On my other active basses that control doesn’t move much, but on the Special I really like the difference from it being cut, set in the middle, or slightly boosted.
It really gives my HH and H a completely different tone that I have not gotten on my other basses before.

-ScottM

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

One thing I notice is that when I look at other basses people are buying and how they immediately want to rip out the pickups, tuners, preamp, etc, I cant even imagine doing any of that with this bass. I put on strap locks and I futz around with strings and pickguards but the guts and hardware are perfect. Nobody makes anything that will make my bass sound better.

About as perfect as perfect can be.