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EBMM StingRay Special Club

#4,041
Kevin Wolfe said:
You know, now that you mentioned it, being "fire roasted" may hinder the dent raising technique.
I feel for ya" though. Many years ago I had a Ric 4001 laying in an open case and someone knocked over a cymbal stand and it hit the edge of the fretboard, right on the binding. I almost cried.
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I'd think I would have cried too! I feel your pain... I'm pretty proud of the fact that I take good care of all my equipment. "Used not abused" is what I like to say... although, in this case it kind of felt abusive. I think my ego hurts more than my SRS. Plus, it's such a nice instrument. Such is life...
 
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#4,044
Kevin Wolfe said:
Since it's an oil based finish, that dent can be steamed out like one would steam a gun stock.
Just lay a damp towel on it and iron it with a clothes iron. Just a little at a time.
You should be able to find info on YouTube if you search "raising a dent".

No charge.
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Tru Oil is a varnish, and can build up a hard finish (I've put 8 coats on my Stingrays). The good news however, is that EBMM factory only puts 1 coat on the neck and then immediately wipes it off. I'd still sand that part of the neck a bit, just to remove any residue of the Tru Oil and Gunstock Wax, as little of finish as there is. Then I'd try to raise the grain with steam. I had a similar thing happen to my Stingray neck, and I managed to raise the grain by steaming it, it helped. Then I just covered the rest of the dent with Tru Oil finish, to smooth it out. Now it's unnoticeable and level with the rest of the neck.


basschips said:
Yes, I did try that technique several times but maybe I should try some more. I've played three gigs since the incident and honestly I cannot feel it at all while I'm playing... thankfully! Being it's on the underside of the fretboard, unless you know, you can't see it. But, if I get inspired I may work on it some more. Thanks for the tip with no charge. :bassist:
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You could sand the neck down, and redo the Tru Oil/Gunstock Wax finish. There shouldn't really be a lot of sanding necessary, if any at all. That way you could build up as many coats as you like, even if only a coat or two. You could fill up any dent that's left after steaming with Tru Oil and have it perfectly level with the rest of the neck.
 
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#4,045
mouthmw said:
Tru Oil is a varnish, and can build up a hard finish (I've put 8 coats on my Stingrays). The good news however, is that EBMM factory only puts 1 coat on the neck and then immediately wipes it off. I'd still sand that part of the neck a bit, just to remove any residue of the Tru Oil and Gunstock Wax, as little of finish as there is. Then I'd try to raise the grain with steam. I had a similar thing happen to my Stingray neck, and I managed to raise the grain by steaming it, it helped. Then I just covered the rest of the dent with Tru Oil finish, to smooth it out. Now it's unnoticeable and level with the rest of the neck.

Actually Tru-Oil is not a "varnish", by definition, but a synthetic blend marketed by the company Birchwood Casey. Also raising the grain and raising a dent are two different things entirely. Being a gunsmith, I've done both many times.
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#4,046
Tru Oil is polymerized linseed oil with other natural oils added. It will harden, I've read the definition in several places as "Yes, Tru Gun Oil is actually a varnish". Warmoth accepts Tru Oil as hard finish and will accept it for warranty. I don't really care about the semantics though lol. Yeah I meant raising the dent, I meant raising the wood fibers if they've been squashed and not broken.
 
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#4,047
mouthmw said:
Tru Oil is polymerized linseed oil with other natural oils added. It will harden, I've read the definition in several places as "Yes, Tru Gun Oil is actually a varnish". Warmoth accepts Tru Oil as hard finish and will accept it for warranty. I don't really care about the semantics though lol. Yeah I meant raising the dent, I meant raising the wood fibers if they've been squashed and not broken.
Click to expand...


I'm with ya' @mouthmw.
 
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#4,048
Kevin Wolfe said:
Many years ago I had a Ric 4001 laying in an open case and someone knocked over a cymbal stand and it hit the edge of the fretboard, right on the binding. I almost cried.
Click to expand...


Similar thing happened to me mid-gig : song was at fever pitch, with only a strobe light going off.

I don't know if it was the energy of the performance, or the fact that with the strobe going like that, we couldn't see what we were doing - but the drummer managed to hit his crash cymbal over.

I just saw this tableaux of freeze frames, as his expression changed, and the edge of the cymbal came flying towards me, and swung down on the binding along the top of the basses body...

The next freeze frame I saw, was the entire binding shattering into a million pieces, showering brittle plastic everywhere.

Fortunately, that freeze frame only happened in my minds eye.

When the cymbal finally hit, it just left a neat dent in the edge of the binding.

Maybe because I was so relieved that it didn't shatter, I surprised myself by how calmly I shrugged it off - the drummer was really worried, as he had the same series of visions I had, but from the top of the hill looking down at the runaway train.
 
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#4,050
Chiliwailer said:
Well that's it... my Special is now my only bass :) (I couldn't count my Steinberger Spirit as it's for work related hotel use only, at home it doesn't ever get played...never!).

So, no P bass, no more J's, no more Old Smoothie.... just a stunning HH Special. Life issues have forced this, but how can I justify another bass in the future when these HH's can do so much?

Point is - in 27 years of playing I've never owned a single bass that I'd be satisfied to have as my sole Bass, until now ;)
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I love having only one bass. The HH Special is all I need.
 
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#4,051
All, Looking for string suggestions.
I have a mid 90's Stingray 4-string 3-band(Basslines) that i bought new way back than, but it doesn't get much playing time these days. I have an on/off again relationship with the 3-band tone, much preferring passive Fenders these days. Im looking to try something new string wise that will help waken up my interest, etc.
Ive tried flats, they really tame the aggression well and can sound very "Chic" like, but they often don't cut it live for a rock tone. Ive also tried pressurewounds, which are a great string, but got a bit too dark and i dont like the stiff hexcore. General Suggestions?....maybe Sunbeams?
 
#4,052
FirewalZ said:
All, Looking for string suggestions.
I have a mid 90's Stingray 4-string 3-band(Basslines) that i bought new way back than, but it doesn't get much playing time these days. I have an on/off again relationship with the 3-band tone, much preferring passive Fenders these days. Im looking to try something new string wise that will help waken up my interest, etc.
Ive tried flats, they really tame the aggression well and can sound very "Chic" like, but they often don't cut it live for a rock tone. Ive also tried pressurewounds, which are a great string, but got a bit too dark and i dont like the stiff hexcore. General Suggestions?....maybe Sunbeams?
Click to expand...

This group is for the new Stingray Specials which are going to sound way different from your mid 90s Stingray FWIW.
 
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#4,056
Stranger Danger said:
What does a 5H do for you that a 5HH doesn't do? Just curious.
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Well, there's no doubt that the 5HH is the most versatile of the two. But, I like the different flavors of the single H pickup that the selector switch offers - parallel, series with filter, and series. Though, I primarily use the parallel setting on the H that the HH has. There are some that say the H and HH sound different in the same settings, I'm not one of those people - they sound the exact same to me.

Beyond that, in this particular case, if the 5HH would have been lighter than my 5H and/or been the one without a 7th fret dead spot (they both have it), I might've decided to keep it and sell the 5H. If I were in a situation where I could just keep both, I'd like to do that, but I'm not. So, it comes down to picking one, and I'd just prefer to keep my 5H Special. They're both great basses though.

With all that said, there may be trouble in my EBMM paradise. In addition to the good ol' StingRay tone in position 1, I was digging the tone of the 5HH in position 3 - so thick and meaty. But live, a little too thick with it requiring quite a bit of mid boost to get back into where I was wanting my tone (and our FOH guy also commented on how much mids he had to dial back in when I used that bass in position 3). So, I pulled out my Lakland DJ5 that hasn't seen much playing time in several years and took it to a gig...loved it! I forgot how much I like that good ol' jazz bass growl. The DJ5 is VVT, and was so easy to go from snarly to thick to warm, but still cut no matter what I did. Then, I found a NOS Roscoe with jazz pickups in 60s configuration for a great price and scooped it up. I might be selling a few of my SR5s.
 
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#4,059
KaseOfBass said:
Well, there's no doubt that the 5HH is the most versatile of the two. But, I like the different flavors of the single H pickup that the selector switch offers - parallel, series with filter, and series. Though, I primarily use the parallel setting on the H that the HH has. There are some that say the H and HH sound different in the same settings, I'm not one of those people - they sound the exact same to me.

Beyond that, in this particular case, if the 5HH would have been lighter than my 5H and/or been the one without a 7th fret dead spot (they both have it), I might've decided to keep it and sell the 5H. If I were in a situation where I could just keep both, I'd like to do that, but I'm not. So, it comes down to picking one, and I'd just prefer to keep my 5H Special. They're both great basses though.

With all that said, there may be trouble in my EBMM paradise. In addition to the good ol' StingRay tone in position 1, I was digging the tone of the 5HH in position 3 - so thick and meaty. But live, a little too thick with it requiring quite a bit of mid boost to get back into where I was wanting my tone (and our FOH guy also commented on how much mids he had to dial back in when I used that bass in position 3). So, I pulled out my Lakland DJ5 that hasn't seen much playing time in several years and took it to a gig...loved it! I forgot how much I like that good ol' jazz bass growl. The DJ5 is VVT, and was so easy to go from snarly to thick to warm, but still cut no matter what I did. Then, I found a NOS Roscoe with jazz pickups in 60s configuration for a great price and scooped it up. I might be selling a few of my SR5s.
Click to expand...
Series with filter? They got rid of the single coil option? How does it sound? Thanks
 

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