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EBMM StingRay Special Club

#3,941
A9754151-B241-4ED8-B3F1-1AF29780125A.jpeg

Sorry, not the best pic, but is anyone else playing their 5 string Special strung E to C?
I've really enjoyed mine strung this way. Since I have multiple 5 stringers it makes this bass feel even more different.

I wanted to add that the C string really favors the Rosewood fret board.

-ScottM
 
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#3,942
scottm said:
View attachment 3457111
Sorry, not the best pic, but is anyone else playing their 5 string Special strung E to C?
I've really enjoyed mine strung this way. Since I have multiple 5 stringers it makes this bass feel even more different.

I wanted to add that the C string really favors the Rosewood fret board.

-ScottM
Click to expand...

Yes, I am. Most of the time it is more useful for me than a B-G tuning.
 
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#3,943
scottm said:
View attachment 3457111
Sorry, not the best pic, but is anyone else playing their 5 string Special strung E to C?
I've really enjoyed mine strung this way. Since I have multiple 5 stringers it makes this bass feel even more different.

I wanted to add that the C string really favors the Rosewood fret board.

-ScottM
Click to expand...
I did restring my 2015 Stealth Pearl Bongo 5HH from E-C. I love the way it sounds on the Ebony fretboard. I just don't play it all that much mostly because of the needs of the band I'm in (which has been 14 years now). The Stingray Special... now that fits my needs perfectly for my current situation.
picture.jpg
 
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#3,948
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#3,949
libanass said:
My StingRay Special Charcoal 4 strings H is about 9,15 lbs

Should I be concerned that I have a slightly heavier one than normal if it sounds so good without any dead notes?
It is still a bit lighter than my Modulus basses (9,7 / 10 lbs), and slightly heavier than my Fodera (8,8 lbs)
Click to expand...
I have a 5HH Special at 8.9 lbs with some dead notes and I've played others at 9.9- and 10 and they seem much more resonate and consistent.
 
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#3,950
libanass said:
My StingRay Special Charcoal 4 strings H is about 9,15 lbs

Should I be concerned that I have a slightly heavier one than normal if it sounds so good without any dead notes?
It is still a bit lighter than my Modulus basses (9,7 / 10 lbs), and slightly heavier than my Fodera (8,8 lbs)
Click to expand...
That is one of the heavier examples out there, but weight is a personal issue. The first 4H Special I had bought weighed about 9.6 lbs, but was perfect in every other way. Even thought I bought it at an incredibly low price used from GC, back it went. Eventually I bought a 4HH Special right here on Talkbass which is a pound lighter. But that's me. To each their own.
 
#3,951
mojomike001 said:
That is one of the heavier examples out there, but weight is a personal issue. The first 4H Special I had bought weighed about 9.6 lbs, but was perfect in every other way. Even thought I bought it at an incredibly low price used from GC, back it went. Eventually I bought a 4HH Special right here on Talkbass which is a pound lighter. But that's me. To each their own.
Click to expand...


Hmm, thanks for your input, any noticed tonal differences between the lighter and the heavier Special?
I don't personally know, I never tried a lighter Special, but I am hearing a lot of people with dead notes, mine seems quite awesome, but only had it for a day now

I got mine brand new, but nearly at a used price, so I did not really check or care about the weight.. It was a random bid on eBay Germany that surprisingly got accepted very fast. Tonally, I am really not disappointed, but also playability, I have lowered the saddles until it can no longer be lowered that it now offers me a close and comparable feel to my other higher end basses, the neck was straight out of the box too (my idea behind getting one with an ebony fretboard, was to get a higher chance of the most reinforced neck, since ebony is known to be a really strong wood, and tonally, it's nice too), and frankly, it's not that heavy. My Modulus Flea is noticeably heavier.
But it's certainly not one of those StingRay Specials you would pick and say: Wow, that's so light!
 
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#3,953
Ok, I just double checked, I do have one single dead note, G string 8th fret in normal EADG tuning..
It's just a note with considerably shorter sustain, maybe different strings or gauge would fix that?
I think after playing nothing but high end instruments for years now, dead notes seemed very new to me, I now see what the fuzz was about...
 
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#3,957
KaseOfBass said:
I have two Specials currently, a 5H weighing 8.3 lbs and a 5HH weighing 9.375 lbs. Both have ebony fretboards and both have a dead spot on the G string at the seventh fret.
Click to expand...

Nice! (or not lol)

Pretty sure mine is on the 8th fret though, unless I tune the string half a step higher, then it moves to the 7th..

I am now curious to check and compare my overly expensive Fodera Monarch the same way I did with the StingRay and see.. My other basses have carbon necks, I really don't think they have that issue but I have to check them one by one just to make sure.

Edit: Ok, I just did, funny thing, all of my basses have slightly less sustain on the G string at the 8th fret than on the 7th or 9th, with the StingRay having the least sustain. I am starting to think it comes from the amp too..Because, what are the odds? I will have to check again either on my soundcard, either unplugged by ears. The only one that showed nothing is the Modulus Flea, very constant everywhere, however, the Modulus Quantum and Fodera Monarch suffered a tiny bit again on the 8th fret (but you really have to dig in to hear it), the StingRay was by far the most noticeable, still nothing serious, fortunately, the note is not completely dead, it just dies much faster if you hold it long.

Honestly, it is not bothering me, nobody will notice it, it's a wonderful instrument of its kind, I am glad I have a StingRay back!
 
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#3,958
libanass said:
Hmm, thanks for your input, any noticed tonal differences between the lighter and the heavier Special?
I don't personally know, I never tried a lighter Special, but I am hearing a lot of people with dead notes, mine seems quite awesome, but only had it for a day now

I got mine brand new, but nearly at a used price, so I did not really check or care about the weight.. It was a random bid on eBay Germany that surprisingly got accepted very fast. Tonally, I am really not disappointed, but also playability, I have lowered the saddles until it can no longer be lowered that it now offers me a close and comparable feel to my other higher end basses, the neck was straight out of the box too (my idea behind getting one with an ebony fretboard, was to get a higher chance of the most reinforced neck, since ebony is known to be a really strong wood, and tonally, it's nice too), and frankly, it's not that heavy. My Modulus Flea is noticeably heavier.
But it's certainly not one of those StingRay Specials you would pick and say: Wow, that's so light!
Click to expand...
I haven't noticed any dead spots on mine, but mine is distinctly a middleweight for a Special. The real lightweights are down in the 7's. A few pages ago, Scott Ball posted up some stats showing the ranges ranges compiled from several hundred Specials.
 
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#3,960
mojomike001 said:
I haven't noticed any dead spots on mine, but mine is distinctly a middleweight for a Special. The real lightweights are down in the 7's. A few pages ago, Scott Ball posted up some stats showing the ranges ranges compiled from several hundred Specials.
Click to expand...

Does your bass have an ebony fretboard? Just based on what I've read, those seem to have the most issues with dead spots. Could just be there's more of those that folks are talking about, but I don't recall any complaints from those with maple or rosewood fretboards. Maybe some folks will chime in and debunk that. I know it can and does happen, just seems like a lot of folks with ebony fretboard Specials have a dead spot around the 7th fret (ish) area.
 

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