I think it was intentional to make the Special smoother. That was a big selling point for me, as I always found previous Rays overly harsh, but I can see where fans of the older ones might question it.Congrats on the new bass!
Spend some time really getting to know the preamp and I think you’ll be surprised at how interactive the thing is— much more than that of the L2K, or any previous Stingray. You may find that traditional Ray tone in there as I did. Nothing at all against the G&L— I love my L2K— this new Ray is a much different animal sonically.
Personally, I like that the default on the Special is a bit smoother than the previous Ray; maybe I’m just weird LOL![]()

