EBMM StingRay Special Club

[mouthmw]

Won’t be able to give a definitive answer for a year or two, through a couple winter / summer cycles, but others with roasted maple necks have mentioned improved stability with other instruments.

I have a roasted maple / ebony Stingray BFR and it's super stable, but it's also poly finished.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I have a roasted maple / ebony Stingray BFR and it's super stable, but it's also poly finished.

As an aside, Warmoth doesn't require a finish on their roasted necks to still qualify for their warranty.

 

[maplenecked]

I read someone post a while back about roasting necks allows them to be less picky about their wood choices? I found that interesting. May be a factor in comparing to a non-roasted neck. However, I don't anticipate there being any problems with the Special's necks

 

[DiabolusInMusic]

How's the neck stability on Specials? I've never had an oil/wax finished bass necks, so this would be something new. I did try a Stingray with that neck finish in the store once, and liked the feel. Feel wise, I don't have a preference, only stability wise. Does the roasted maple add more stability from standard maple? I'm gassing for a full roasted maple Stingray.

I prefer oil and waxed necks but, admittedly, they require more frequent adjustments. For me, the feel is well worth the added minute or two of effort here and there. On a Stingray, you don't even need a special wrench to give the truss a little tweak.

 

[maplenecked]

I prefer oil and waxed necks but, admittedly, they require more frequent adjustments. For me, the feel is well worth the added minute or two of effort here and there. On a Stingray, you don't even need a special wrench to give the truss a little tweak.

And if you do, these new ones come with a special tool

 

[IronLung1986]

I'm a huge fan of classic 2 band Stingray tone and pretty much everything Classic Stingray offers. But now, I definitely want the new one xD I admit, most of the reasoning is due to the lighter weight, but that's not the entire reason. They also sound to me like they can get the classic tones, the eq seems more usable. The pole pieces align with the strings better, and they're not staggered (massive difference in playing comfort). All other upgrades are the icing on the cake.

Yea I have a standard 2 band non-Classic one. I prefer it over the Classic because of the non-figured neck and better bridge saddles. What I'd love is a Stingray Special 5. I think the changes they made with the Special, while slightly alarming on the 4, are very in-character on the 5. With the 5 I don't care so much about getting THE classic Stingray sound, it's more just here's a great bass. I'm kind of interested about the revoiced preamp too because I wasn't a big fan of the pre-2018 3 band pre. It always seemed like the mids were either too pronounced and harsh or not present enough, and generally did too much of the heavy lifting in the sound. The 2 band is more of a subtle tone shaping thing, plus no detents so you use your ears more. Anyway, I'm sure the Specials are excellent. Just wish they'd drop the Special name since what people want is the REAL Stingray, the icon, period. An alternate line is less appealing with such a classic model.

 

[mouthmw]

Yea I have a standard 2 band non-Classic one. I prefer it over the Classic because of the non-figured neck and better bridge saddles. What I'd love is a Stingray Special 5. I think the changes they made with the Special, while slightly alarming on the 4, are very in-character on the 5. With the 5 I don't care so much about getting THE classic Stingray sound, it's more just here's a great bass. I'm kind of interested about the revoiced preamp too because I wasn't a big fan of the pre-2018 3 band pre. It always seemed like the mids were either too pronounced and harsh or not present enough, and generally did too much of the heavy lifting in the sound. The 2 band is more of a subtle tone shaping thing, plus no detents so you use your ears more. Anyway, I'm sure the Specials are excellent. Just wish they'd drop the Special name since what people want is the REAL Stingray, the icon, period. An alternate line is less appealing with such a classic model.

I turned my BFR 4H into a classic sounding ray by swapping the preamp for the John East vintage Ray preamp replica. I had a 2 band USA SUB and I just prefer the classic tone of those to the 3 banders (prior to 2018). It's absolutely perfect now, except it almost 10 lbs.

 

[Scott Ball]

I hope I can clear up a few things here. Special was added on at the last minute for SEO reasons. We originally wanted them to be called "Stingrays", but after listening to our retailers we found that would be not wise.

We've been using roasted wood since 2010 and we think that the two main factors are looks and tone. It smells pretty good too. The roasted necks are just as good if not a little bit better than non roasted stability wise (in our experience).

 

[IronLung1986]

I hope I can clear up a few things here. Special was added on at the last minute for SEO reasons. We originally wanted them to be called "Stingrays", but after listening to our retailers we found that would be not wise.

Yea, I had assumed it was something like that. Hopefully after a few years you can go back to having them be called Stingrays as originally intended. Anyway good stuff man.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Searching for a Sterling bass really messes with SEO

 

[monkeyfinger]

Searching for a Sterling bass really messes with SEO

Lesson learned?

 

[KaseOfBass]

No bonus points, but I’m in with my new SR5 in aqua sparkle! This makes Stingray number four. I already have a 30th SR5, a newer SR5 HH, and an ‘88 SR5. All great playing basses, but this one is particularly sweet. It’s 8 pounds, 5 ounces and the neck seems a bit faster than even the 30th SR5. The ebony board has light streaks down the G-side, but I’ve always liked ebony that has streaking to it. The sparkle finish looks fantastic in person and I’m sure will really dance under the lights.

 

[monkeyfinger]

That is the color that I am most interested in. It's hard to tell exactly what shade of blue this is from the pics online. How would you describe the color?

 

[monkeyfinger]

Also, sometimes the charcoal gray seems to be a neutral gray and other times its has a blue/purple hue. Has anyone seen this color in person who can comment?

 

[Stranger Danger]

I feel like using the word "Special" for these is a bit of a marketing misstep. This should be THE Stingray now. All the other PR they're doing for this makes it look like this is the new standard, here it is, period. Having "Special" in there makes it sound like they were afraid the updates wouldn't fly and wanted to leave room to backpedal if need be. Ironically I think if they dropped the Special moniker people would have an easier time accepting the changes. I haven't played one yet but I'm sure they're absolutely worthy of being the standard Stingray from now on.

I’d agree there. The Special nomenclature is probably unnecessary and will likely be dropped after the first year.

 

[Quadzilla]

 

[KaseOfBass]

That is the color that I am most interested in. It's hard to tell exactly what shade of blue this is from the pics online. How would you describe the color?

My pics make it look like it has more gray tint to it, but it doesn’t. Even my brother asked if it was more of a blue/gray mix. I think aqua fits the color well, kind of a blue/green mix but the flake might make it look a bit different under different lighting. I took a couple of pics where you can compare it to the silver on the 5HH beside it and the blue burst ‘88.

Edit: I say blue/green mix, but there's not any green that I see in the sparkle finish. I mean more if you mixed the colors together, the end result. It's tough to describe the exact color.

 

[ChrisHooker]

I agree that "Special" makes it sound like a special edition / limited time offering, but I DO like how there is a name differentiation from previous years. I think that if the name was just "Stingray", it would be quite confusing in the future (or now for anyone not following MM news) to know/try to remember the exact year or serial break when they started the new features. But if you know what a "Special's" specs are (or the name rouses your curiosity), you automatically know (or can easily search) what you are buying... so I'm not a proponent of keeping/reverting the name to just "Stingray".

Ex: I used to know what years of SR5s have alnico vs ceramic pickups, but it escapes me at the moment.

 

[Scott Ball]

Also, sometimes the charcoal gray seems to be a neutral gray and other times its has a blue/purple hue. Has anyone seen this color in person who can comment?

In my opinion is def grey / black. I think in some pics when the light hits it can give off different hues.

 

[Scott Ball]

My pics make it look like it has more gray tint to it, but it doesn’t. Even my brother asked if it was more of a blue/gray mix. I think aqua fits the color well, kind of a blue/green mix but the flake might make it look a bit different under different lighting. I took a couple of pics where you can compare it to the silver on the 5HH beside it and the blue burst ‘88.

Edit: I say blue/green mix, but there's not any green that I see in the sparkle finish. I mean more if you mixed the colors together, the end result. It's tough to describe the exact color.

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I really like your collection my friend! Thanks for the support!