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EBMM StingRay Special Club

#581
Zack K said:
I posted in here a while back when I got my 4HH in Charging Green. I played it out for a month of gigs and then the GAS returned and I bought one of the new Fender Player P basses. I still want the Ray to be my #1 but I didn’t have a P in my collection. Now I can’t put the P down, and all of a sudden I’m noticing horrible fret buzz from the Ray. I’m inexperienced with setups but out of the box I needed to lower the action on the EBMM whereas the P bass felt perfect out of the box. I’ve watched a bunch of videos and got an action ruler and have tweaked the truss rod and bridge saddles to get it to match (as closely as I can) the settings of the P bass. Is there a chance I got a dud? Or is it my I experienced hands? I can’t seem to get the buzz out of the E string from about the 6th fret up.
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I really like the setup guide posted in the FAQs for bass setup on the EBMM site: FAQ | Ernie Ball Music Man

I would check the neck bow first (I like the business card 'rule of thumb'), seems like if there is buzz in the middle of your neck there might be too much relief and could stand to be tightened up a bit. Once that is set, I usually visit the saddle heights and get them just high enough to where i'm not getting any buzzing playing high up on the neck around the 14th-16th fret-ish. Lastly, I've learned not to (mis)underestimate the power of getting the saddle intonation just right. Getting that string to vibrate at the perfect wavelength is just about everything.

That's my experience so far fooling around with the 'Ray. These other folks on here know a whole bunch more than me, though.
 
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#585
maplenecked said:
How low is your E string?
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maplenecked said:
Yeah that seems high, are the other strings able to go lower than that buzz free?
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monkeyfinger said:
Are you measuring the distance between the top of the fret and the bottom of the string?
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The other strings are fine, and yes measuring from the bottom of the string. And I’m mildly aware that ~2.5 is considered high but any lower than that and it was buzzing.

My last couple modifications might have work but I’ve been obsessing over it so much it’s hard to hear whether or not it’s too much since I’ve tested it a million times today. The best solution might be to give you guys a little video clip and see how it sounds to you. It’s so different from my other basses (3 Fenders and a S.U.B. Chinese Stingray 5 copy) that I’m kind of in the woods here.
 
#586
Zack K said:
The other strings are fine, and yes measuring from the bottom of the string. And I’m mildly aware that ~2.5 is considered high but any lower than that and it was buzzing.

My last couple modifications might have work but I’ve been obsessing over it so much it’s hard to hear whether or not it’s too much since I’ve tested it a million times today. The best solution might be to give you guys a little video clip and see how it sounds to you. It’s so different from my other basses (3 Fenders and a S.U.B. Chinese Stingray 5 copy) that I’m kind of in the woods here.
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Dang. It sounds like some of the higher frets need some work. Mine isn’t too far off from yours, my E string buzzes below 2.25mm while the rest are fine. I know they don’t PLEK, so maybe they need to ramp down the frets higher on the neck a little bit (something Fender seems to do pretty aggressively). I’m not sure if a fret leveling from your local tech is the answer or, given the cost of the instrument, a call to customer service.
 
#587
Zack K said:
The other strings are fine, and yes measuring from the bottom of the string. And I’m mildly aware that ~2.5 is considered high but any lower than that and it was buzzing.

My last couple modifications might have work but I’ve been obsessing over it so much it’s hard to hear whether or not it’s too much since I’ve tested it a million times today. The best solution might be to give you guys a little video clip and see how it sounds to you. It’s so different from my other basses (3 Fenders and a S.U.B. Chinese Stingray 5 copy) that I’m kind of in the woods here.
Click to expand...

Your issue could be the result of a number of things. Give us a call at 866-823-2255. Ask for Billy Imperial. He can walk you through a set up.
 
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#589
Treeman said:
What sorts of strings are y'all lovin' on your new 'Ray Specials? I wasn't getting quite the tubby heft I aim for from the Super Slinkys she shipped out with, so upped 'em to the Regulars. I hadn't played in that 50 - 105 gauge before and really am digging the beefy D and G strings.

Traditionally I've been more of a P-with-flats kinda guy (La Bella set-and-forget), but am digging how the rounds on the 'Ray are like pulling a blanket off a totally enriching universe of all sorts of harmonic content.... I've tried to meet in the middle with the Cobalt Flats but just cannot get past the chalky texture giving me blisters. Since I'm stuck up in Ernie Ball world now I may give the Group II/III flats a go after these here Slinkys.

Any thoughts on the Group Flats on a 'Ray? (Or what to do about the feel of the Cobalt Flats?)

GHS Pressurewounds are another thought bouncin' around the noggin'... Have never touched those before either.
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The answer to your prayers might be Ken Smith Slick Rounds.
 
#590
Scott Ball said:
Your issue could be the result of a number of things. Give us a call at 866-823-2255. Ask for Billy Imperial. He can walk you through a set up.
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So I called him up, he said that the dual humbuckers on this bass are actually so strong that when you lower the action to a certain point, the magnets are going to pull on the strings. I had not considered that. He told me to lower my pickups and try going from there. Gonna make a few adjustments after doing that and I’ll report back.
 
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#591
Zack K said:
So I called him up, he said that the dual humbuckers on this bass are actually so strong that when you lower the action to a certain point, the magnets are going to pull on the strings. I had not considered that. He told me to lower my pickups and try going from there. Gonna make a few adjustments after doing that and I’ll report back.
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Cool I’ll try that too!
 
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#592
Zack K said:
So I called him up, he said that the dual humbuckers on this bass are actually so strong that when you lower the action to a certain point, the magnets are going to pull on the strings. I had not considered that. He told me to lower my pickups and try going from there. Gonna make a few adjustments after doing that and I’ll report back.
Click to expand...
My tech did the same thing for my 5HH, it helped some but the nut was also cut a little high on the B, A, and D. Filed it a little,
Lowered the action and adjusted neck relief and now it’s great.
 
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#593
Treeman said:
What sorts of strings are y'all lovin' on your new 'Ray Specials? I wasn't getting quite the tubby heft I aim for from the Super Slinkys she shipped out with, so upped 'em to the Regulars. I hadn't played in that 50 - 105 gauge before and really am digging the beefy D and G strings.

Traditionally I've been more of a P-with-flats kinda guy (La Bella set-and-forget), but am digging how the rounds on the 'Ray are like pulling a blanket off a totally enriching universe of all sorts of harmonic content.... I've tried to meet in the middle with the Cobalt Flats but just cannot get past the chalky texture giving me blisters. Since I'm stuck up in Ernie Ball world now I may give the Group II/III flats a go after these here Slinkys.

Any thoughts on the Group Flats on a 'Ray? (Or what to do about the feel of the Cobalt Flats?)

GHS Pressurewounds are another thought bouncin' around the noggin'... Have never touched those before either.
Click to expand...

I had Chromes on my Special for a short time (I use them on other basses), they are similar to the EB Group. Oddly enough, the Special is the only Ray I’ve had that didn’t get on with the flats, which is cool anyway because I like rounds on it and have flats on my Old Smoothie which is now getting kept and not sold (as I stupidly had planned!). My Special has a maple board and a natural ‘honky’ mid range which made the flats sound really harsh. I now get more use out of the mid control with rounds back on.

I used to use Cobalts and considered trying them out again, I found the feel usually got easier as they got played in.
 
#596
Chiliwailer said:
I had Chromes on my Special for a short time (I use them on other basses), they are similar to the EB Group. Oddly enough, the Special is the only Ray I’ve had that didn’t get on with the flats, which is cool anyway because I like rounds on it and have flats on my Old Smoothie which is now getting kept and not sold (as I stupidly had planned!). My Special has a maple board and a natural ‘honky’ mid range which made the flats sound really harsh. I now get more use out of the mid control with rounds back on.

I used to use Cobalts and considered trying them out again, I found the feel usually got easier as they got played in.
Click to expand...

That is interesting. I've only had the Cobalt Flats on briefly. Found the tone pretty pleasing but the feel made me pull 'em back off before I really spent much time. Will have to experiment with some brighter flats or half-rounds..and just may end up hanging on to nickel rounds. I played one gig with an older set of Slinkys and kinda dug the thump of the "dead" nickel rounds.
 
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#597
Treeman said:
That is interesting. I've only had the Cobalt Flats on briefly. Found the tone pretty pleasing but the feel made me pull 'em back off before I really spent much time. Will have to experiment with some brighter flats or half-rounds..and just may end up hanging on to nickel rounds. I played one gig with an older set of Slinkys and kinda dug the thump of the "dead" nickel rounds.
Click to expand...


I'm enjoying TI flats on my 4HH, try em out!
 
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