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EBMM StingRay Special Club

#4,301
Chicken Wing said:
It's a special bass. I sold my precision and jazz and have ONE bass now.
Click to expand...
It's amazing to me how Special these Specials really are. I only have one bass currently and it's the SR4H Special in Aqua Sparkle at 7lbs 13oz.

I often need a 5 string bass and I'm normally a 5 string bassist. I had a Special 5H earlier this year but I had to send it back (great bass and nothing wrong with it but a long story). So I'm on the hunt for a SR5 Special. I'm debating on a couple of finishes and the whole H vs HH thing. I could see myself wanting both configurations but I'm only getting one.
 
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#4,302
I've also got an aqua sparkle SR4HH - this is my 5 string - I've had it just a year now and use it regularly - it is really good (as is the 4). It's wearing the black pg currently - looks really neat with the black hardware IMHO.

image.jpeg
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image.jpeg
 
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#4,305
My oh my, how things can change in just a year!

in Oct 2018 I took delivery of a Stingray Special 4HH (natural w/ rosewood fingerboard) from an online retailer, and while I really liked it there were a few things that bugged me: primarily a loose neck pocket, and I struggled with getting the tone I was looking for out of the neck pickup. Minor gripes, but it was bugging me.

During the 45-day trial period I learned I could secure a pair of Rickenbacker 4003 basses for just a little more than I spent on the Stingray-- so I jumped at the chance to own a version of the instrument which inspired me to take up music in the first place (seeing Geddy Lee on tour with a Ricky).

As time went on I grew tired of dealing with all the Rickenbacker quirks and was really missing having a Stingray in the stable, so I started to consider what it would take to return to Music Man. Then I saw this in our local mom-&-pop's guitar shop-- That's what it took :D

SR2.jpeg


The Rickenbacker is a great bass, it just wasn't a good match to be my primary instrument. Thankfully the Ricks have a crazy used market and I was able to trade them in just shy of what I paid for them a year ago. AND the Aqua Sparkle finish was the one I wanted-- but couldn't find-- when this whole adventure began. Happy day, happy day!

On this new one the neck pocket is tight, and the neck pickup has all the tone I was hoping for. It's also light weight, perfectly balanced and sounds fantastic! Then there's that very dark ebony fretboard, which is becoming harder to find these days.

The only downside was my wife's reaction: "Two for one?!!" Yes, well-- when it's right you know it. Then she learned how much it would cost to get a new bridge and shielding (new pickups maybe?) on the Rick, and double that as there were two instruments, she agreed it was a good move. However, she never again wants to hear me utter the word, "Rickenbacker." Thanks to this new Stingray, she won't have to worry about that :D
 
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#4,308
Wolfhound32 said:
Nope-- this new one the neck pocket is tight, and the neck pickup has all the tone I was hoping for. Perhaps the ebony board brightened up the neck pickup on this once compared to the rosewood on the other.
Click to expand...
Had the neck pocket issue. Luthier from N'Stuff Music, Tom, and EBMM resolved it. No issues since. :woot:
FWIW… IMHO, I've never been a fan of rosewood fingerboards on basses… sucks too many of the mids. Maple, ebony and pau ferro sound really good… IMHO.
Just sayin'. :cool:
 
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#4,310
Wolfhound32 said:
Nope-- this new one the neck pocket is tight, and the neck pickup has all the tone I was hoping for. Perhaps the ebony board brightened up the neck pickup on this once compared to the rosewood on the other.
Click to expand...
I still love my Stingray Special 4H. Sometimes I wish I had gotten the 4HH and sometimes I don't. I'm looking to add a 5 back to the fold and the SR 5H and SR 5HH are on the short list. I can't slap on the Special HH worth anything (I'm a bad slapper to start with it). I usually don't slap on the 5 so it might be a moot point.

What I'm getting at is with the HH models I've tried I didn't care for the neck pickup tone. It was too woofy or something. But every HH I tried had rosewood. I wonder if the ebony fretboard would make a difference.
 
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#4,311
Cyborg said:
What I'm getting at is with the HH models I've tried I didn't care for the neck pickup tone. It was too woofy or something. But every HH I tried had rosewood. I wonder if the ebony fretboard would make a difference.
Click to expand...

I had Stingrays with maple, rosewood and ebony boards. Identical setup (I'm a stickler for that particular part) and strings didn't really change the tone. A Stingray was always a Stingray (be it 3 band or 2 band). Now, I'm not a wood tone fanatic either, and I believe no piece of wood is identical anyways, be it from the same genus or not. I would therefore wager that fingerboard wood change is not gonna change your opinion on a particular pickup/position combo. I too, don't like the neck H pup on Stingrays, and that thought was solidified by me trying one and hearing countless of soundclips/videos of HH models. Never liked any combo of HH pups, it's always either too scooped sounding to me, or just characterless. And I know that different fingerboard wood is not gonna change my mind about that. Thinking otherwise is either a placebo honeymoon effect, different setup or different strings.
 
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#4,313
spike42 said:
I loved everything about my Jet Black, save for the B/W/B pickguard. I had Chandler make me a single-ply
matte black which I thought better fits with the "stealth" look....thought I'd share:

View attachment 3620740
Click to expand...
I have been thinking of doing the same with the same type/colored bass. Does that pickguard pick up scratches easily?
The way I rest my thumb on the pickup on that particular bass seems to scratch it more than the norm.
Very nice looking by the way!

-ScottM
 
#4,314
Cyborg said:
I still love my Stingray Special 4H. Sometimes I wish I had gotten the 4HH and sometimes I don't. I'm looking to add a 5 back to the fold and the SR 5H and SR 5HH are on the short list. I can't slap on the Special HH worth anything (I'm a bad slapper to start with it). I usually don't slap on the 5 so it might be a moot point.

What I'm getting at is with the HH models I've tried I didn't care for the neck pickup tone. It was too woofy or something. But every HH I tried had rosewood. I wonder if the ebony fretboard would make a difference.
Click to expand...
I have maple and rosewood, both as Special and non-Special Stingrays, and while I notice a difference in timbre between maple and rosewood necks, the woofiness of the neck pickup is present in all my HH StingRays. I rarely use the neck-pickup-only selection, opting for position 4 when I’m looking for that P-like tone.
 
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#4,315
scottm said:
I have been thinking of doing the same with the same type/colored bass. Does that pickguard pick up scratches easily?
The way I rest my thumb on the pickup on that particular bass seems to scratch it more than the norm.
Very nice looking by the way!

-ScottM
Click to expand...

Hi, that's actually the other reason I went to the matte.....I'm sure it's my (crappy) technique, but I'm
hell on pickguards in general. Anything I play will shortly exhibit wear in the exact same places, so I
tend to prefer something less shiny. To me, the Chandler guard was $45 well-spent.
 
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#4,318
And just to close this out in case it's helpful, their website is:

Home | Pickguard Planet

Using the dropdowns, just select your particular bass and desired materials.....note that there
is a separate category for the Stingray Special, since it's different than older Rays. You then
contact them via the webpage and will shortly receive a Paypal invoice:

Invoice 0378: Pickguard Planet Order pattern 35032 material 36 to
<my zip code>

My specific order was for

Ernie Ball Musicman
35032
36 Matte Black Single Layer .090"
Modified?: No

Excellent quality and fast turnaround, quite pleased with their products and service (I
have no affiliation, etc).


 
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#4,319
mouthmw said:
I had Stingrays with maple, rosewood and ebony boards. Identical setup (I'm a stickler for that particular part) and strings didn't really change the tone. A Stingray was always a Stingray (be it 3 band or 2 band). Now, I'm not a wood tone fanatic either, and I believe no piece of wood is identical anyways, be it from the same genus or not. I would therefore wager that fingerboard wood change is not gonna change your opinion on a particular pickup/position combo. I too, don't like the neck H pup on Stingrays, and that thought was solidified by me trying one and hearing countless of soundclips/videos of HH models. Never liked any combo of HH pups, it's always either too scooped sounding to me, or just characterless. And I know that different fingerboard wood is not gonna change my mind about that. Thinking otherwise is either a placebo honeymoon effect, different setup or different strings.
Click to expand...
All very good points. Being a woodworker myself, I know how two pieces of the same type (two chunks of maple for instance) can be VERY different from each other-- frustratingly so(!) As it concerns the neck pickups, I'm just guessing the ebony fingerboard is what improved the sound of the neck pickup as that (and the finish) are the obvious differences, though it could have been a number of things together that account for the change. Either way, I really like the sound of this one.

The first one I had with the rosewood board did sound... muffled, but that's not the case with this new one for whatever the reason. If there were sound clips of side-by-side instruments with different fingerboards I would not be able to tell you which instrument had which board. However, I would be able to tell you which one sounds brighter than the other, in what ways they sound different, and be able to identify which elements I like best of the two. All the rest is voodoo which I won't discount, but it is beyond my grasp.

As for the H vs HH, my view is that both have the key element-- that bridge humbucker. Adding the second pickup simply give you more options, AND somewhere else to anchor the thumb ;) There is something to say for the simplicity of the single pickup however-- that is one of my favorite aspects of a P-bass-- just plug and play!
 
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#4,320
spike42 said:
And just to close this out in case it's helpful, their website is:

Home | Pickguard Planet

Using the dropdowns, just select your particular bass and desired materials.....note that there
is a separate category for the Stingray Special, since it's different than older Rays. You then
contact them via the webpage and will shortly receive a Paypal invoice:

Invoice 0378: Pickguard Planet Order pattern 35032 material 36 to
<my zip code>

My specific order was for

Ernie Ball Musicman
35032
36 Matte Black Single Layer .090"
Modified?: No

Excellent quality and fast turnaround, quite pleased with their products and service (I
have no affiliation, etc).

Click to expand...
Awesome, thank you!

-ScottM
 
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