Yeah,
Glad to hear you found an instrument that suits you. That's a beautiful bass and it's hard to beat that natural stingrays look.
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EBMM StingRay Special Club
- Thread starter MultiScaleMale
- Start date
Yeah,
Glad to hear you found an instrument that suits you. That's a beautiful bass and it's hard to beat that natural stingrays look.
I've had some of the same issues with Rays in the past. The Special solved all of them.
Oh, and congrats on the bass!
Looks like a nice way to join! Congratulations and welcome, I joined and never looked back! Now we just need this damdemic to be history so we can make some noise!
For years, it’s been some sort of P or J bass. I’m still completely happy with those, too. Just always wanted a Stingray that I bonded with. If I were to order one, it would be natural/rosewood, just like this one. I feel lucky.
Definitely! I haven’t done a gig since March.
Hey guys, I need some help here.
I ordered a 4HH Stingray Special and ended up getting one that was a display model, the burnt apple one. I like it, but I figured if I'm paying this much for a brand new EBMM, I want one that hasnt been banged around at a music shop and has little cosmetic things, so I ended up getting a different one, but had to go to another store because they were out of stock.
I ended up getting another 4HH, but the only color they had that I liked was the firemist silver.
The good thing about all this is that I get to have both for a minute before I end up returning the burnt apple one.
Here's the dilemma: I actually like the sound of the burnt apple one better. Shouldnt they sound the same? I even changed the strings from the burnt apple one and put it on the silver one and I still like the sound of the burnt apple one better. It's really weird.
The burnt apple one has a smoother sound, I can actually tame the mids and highs a bit more on it. The silver one is, to my ears, more aggressive.
I feel like they shouldnt sound this different, especially when you consider the strings I'm using to test are the same set. I also set them up the same. Same pickup height and everything.
Is there anything im missing that could be contributing to the sound? Does the sound ever chill out naturally over time? Like maybe since the burnt apple one has had more use it's been tamed a bit?
I ordered a 4HH Stingray Special and ended up getting one that was a display model, the burnt apple one. I like it, but I figured if I'm paying this much for a brand new EBMM, I want one that hasnt been banged around at a music shop and has little cosmetic things, so I ended up getting a different one, but had to go to another store because they were out of stock.
I ended up getting another 4HH, but the only color they had that I liked was the firemist silver.
The good thing about all this is that I get to have both for a minute before I end up returning the burnt apple one.
Here's the dilemma: I actually like the sound of the burnt apple one better. Shouldnt they sound the same? I even changed the strings from the burnt apple one and put it on the silver one and I still like the sound of the burnt apple one better. It's really weird.
The burnt apple one has a smoother sound, I can actually tame the mids and highs a bit more on it. The silver one is, to my ears, more aggressive.
I feel like they shouldnt sound this different, especially when you consider the strings I'm using to test are the same set. I also set them up the same. Same pickup height and everything.
Is there anything im missing that could be contributing to the sound? Does the sound ever chill out naturally over time? Like maybe since the burnt apple one has had more use it's been tamed a bit?
I was going to suggest checking the pickup height but it seems you already did that. The silver one has a maple neck, correct? What type of fb is on the burnt apple?
When you’re dealing with organic materials like wood, there will always be differences. Even when two different basses have the same body and neck woods. For a long time, Stingrays had ash bodies. These days, some are ash, poplar (maybe), or basswood. Natural and translucent colors I believe are still all ash bodies. Solid colors can be basswood or poplar. That doesn’t mean that you won’t find any solid colors that are ash. Just your chances of them not being ash will increase. All these different types of wood have different tonal characteristics. Ash is the tried and true Stingray body wood. Doesn’t mean it’s better, just different. If it were me, I’d stick with the one you like better. A few small blemishes is nothing. Ultimately, it’s the sound that’s most important, IMO.
Yup, changed the strings and put the same ones on both. definitely have a different sound even with the same strings. No idea how long it sat on the wall
Im pretty sure they both use the same woods, though it just says "select hardwoods" on the website.
That being said, I know that tone can vary even from one body to another, so I guess it's just the way it is. Im gonna keep them both for 30 days and then make a decision after I sit with them for a while. Man sometimes I really hate how much some things vary from instrument to instrument even with all things being the same.
Swap the necks
Interesting idea... I have to return one though so I dont think theyd like getting one back with a different neck.
I'd keep the one that sounds better, and ask the original store for a discount, especially if it's "shop worn." In the big picture, that bass will see it's share of boo-boos and in a couple of years you won't notice.
But I'd absolutely make a case that the bass is a demo, not new, and should be discounted.
But I'd absolutely make a case that the bass is a demo, not new, and should be discounted.
I doubt most shops would even notice, especially since the serial is not on the neck so they should look nearly the same aside from the grain.
But the difference you are hearing could be in the body, not the neck. I'd not even mess with it, plus that is not really a proper thing to do. I would keep the one that sounds the best to you after you have both set up the way you like and the same kind FRESH strings. A live situation would be the better test because the more agressive sounding one that you don't like as well may actually be the one you prefer live because it may cut through better. If after all of that you still can't decide which to keep, go by the color you can live with the longest with out growing tired of it too quickly. I had a similar dilema choosing between the 4H that I have or swapping for a same color 4HH before my 45 day return period. Decided on keeping the 4H because everything is perfect on the one I have and it's the StingRay sound I am looking for. I have other basses to cover different sounds.
An interesting turn of events just happened. I asked my wife to help me "blind" test them, Anderton's style and the results were very interesting. Though I thought I liked the way the burnt apple sounded better, it was actually the silver one that I ended up picking when I was blindfolded. I tried it on a few settings and was convinced that I knew which one was which by the sound and I was dead wrong on every try and when I was picking the sound I liked better it was the blue one. Apparently I have some sort of hidden aversion to this silver one...
Well there ya go, stick with the silver. Did you happen to see one of the ghostwood rays? I really like that colour but haven't seen one in person.
