I see what you mean by capitalism, but I think it's a different thing - lack of education as to what makes a good song.
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EBMM StingRay Special Club
- Thread starter MultiScaleMale
- Start date
You’d be amazed at what kind of education some of these people have…
I think that’s another problem too though haha. Music school can’t teach soul.
True Dat.
EDIT: I meant the education of the listener, not of the creator. A more educated listener demands a better musical product. Mostly music schools are turning out technicians.
EDIT: I meant the education of the listener, not of the creator. A more educated listener demands a better musical product. Mostly music schools are turning out technicians.
IMO: It either sounds good, plays great, well made or not...the bass is simply a tool to help you get the sound you hear in your head out. Active or not, is almost irrelevant from that perspective. Also "Cheating" by who or what standard or rule?, you either like the Stingrays or you don't.
I really, REALLY like the StingRay I got last week. It’s my first—after years of Ps and Js—and it keeps blowing me away how a minor turn on any of the three EQ knobs can dramatically change the tone.
I even stopped by my local GC on the way home from work and played a few Jazzes… it’s just not the same, and I ended up missing my new Ray. Ps and Js are fantastic, but gimme an R.
Hello,
I am in the market for my first Stingray. I've played a couple of the special 5H and 5HH and they're sweet.
I have recently come across a few threads that talk about unstable necks on Stingrays. Has anyone had this experience with the Specials?
I apologize if this has been covered all ready.
Thanks in advance!
I am in the market for my first Stingray. I've played a couple of the special 5H and 5HH and they're sweet.
I have recently come across a few threads that talk about unstable necks on Stingrays. Has anyone had this experience with the Specials?
I apologize if this has been covered all ready.
Thanks in advance!
This response wins the thread for me, thanks!
And it’s funny that you mention it, because when I was going through various passive options as possible alternatives to my new Ray, I thought, Oh, and I’ll also get a preamp/dirt box pedal!
And then I thought, but I have a pre in my bass already!
My Special 5H has a rock solid, dead straight neck.
My 2010 Classic has a straight neck, too. I own it since 2018 and I almost never touched the TR.
It's a matter of luck, I suppose, as you can end up with a very unstable neck or a stable one on two virtually identical instruments - for example, two player Precisions or two 2015 Stingrays.
Well put. I guess it’s up to the wood. Just didn’t know if these were known to have necks that moved a lot.
Thanks!
I know exactly what you mean. I have not desired to play my Jazz since getting my Ray. It’s an excellent Jazz too. Once of the best I’ve ever encountered . I pulled it out today but I did not play it long. Seems kind of thin sounding to me now.I really, REALLY like the StingRay I got last week. It’s my first—after years of Ps and Js—and it keeps blowing me away how a minor turn on any of the three EQ knobs can dramatically change the tone.
I even stopped by my local GC on the way home from work and played a few Jazzes… it’s just not the same, and I ended up missing my new Ray. Ps and Js are fantastic, but gimme an R.
The Ray just sounds huge in comparison . It feels better too.
The body shape, the neck, everything. Not to mention my Ray is a 5 sting and the B string is just what my Jazz is missing.
I do however still enjoy playing my PBass .
I’ll see how long this last with my Jazz Bass. If it doesn’t get played it goes.
If things don't work out with the jazz, sell it and grab a cutlass or caprice.
Already in the plans .
Either Caprice , short scale Ray, or P5.
I have two P’s and two J’s, all “have it” are great instruments and paired at different ends of the tonal spectrum (60’s styles Jazz vs my 77 for example). They are great basses that I’ll never part with. However my Stingrays (96 3 band and 2018 Special), are definitely different in a good way. Punchier, bigger and a lot more tonal options available with the turn of a knob. That said for certain tunes and gigs(classic rock, blues, etc), a P bass may be a better fit….However “my” sound for original work is all Stingray.
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It depends on the climate you live in.
I'm in the U.K. which means the weather at the front of my house is doing something completely independent of the weather at the back of the house. And it changes every 10 minutes.
The neck on my StingRay has been set, and forget.
I've adjusted for different gauge strings, and refined it to taste, and then not touched it for the last 25 years.
But we don't get extreme heat, or extreme cold. The humidity is pretty stable, and we don't rely on air conditioning.
The Americas, on the other hand, can have all 4 seasons with extremes of temperature, and huge swings in humidity - and wood reacts accordingly.
The idea behind roasted maple, is that it behaves more like really old maple necks, where the residual moisture is very low, and the resins have hardened - making the neck very stable, and more resistant to climate.
It looks pretty, too.
Prior to my StingRay Special 4H (first run), I had a StingRay that was built in 2014. It was a maple neck, rosewood board. That neck was very unstable - I felt I could fart in the vicinity of that neck and it would move. I eventually put a Status Graphite neck on that bass, and while it was great, my tastes changed and I sold the bass. Note: I went to a '63 reissue precision with flats, so a huge tonal departure, but regardless, the neck on that particular bass was like a wet noodle.
My StingRay Special neck has been rock solid, as others have reported. Since I set it up, I have only had to adjust the truss rod maybe 1/8th turn in either direction based on seasonal changes - and I keep my relief at 0.008-0.010, which is fairly straight; I also have what most would describe as medium to low action. If you are in the market for a StingRay Special, neck stability should not be an area of concern. Honestly, the only thing that should be a decision factor is your tonal preference. These basses are top quality and a gigantic bang for your buck, even at the 2021 prices.
There are too many variables - excluding the "I feel it a lot better in my hands".
I wouldn't sell a good Jazz. Have you tried different strings?
The Stingray Special is hard to beat! Uber flexible eq, tons of headroom, supreme comfort, and the sound is FULL.
I tried taking Ps and Js to gigs alongside the ray but every time I switched the bands sound downsized considerably… It’s not realistic to switch from an 18v active bass to a passive one.
However, I still have bands that I work with where a P or J works great, live it’s almost always the ray but for studio work sometimes the J is the simple plug and play solution the song is calling for, other times it’s the p thump I’m hearing.
Obviously the ray can comp those sounds fairly well but there’s something more natural about my playing when the sound is just there effortlessly.
100% agree…there are still situations that call for a trusty P or J, but my Special has become “my sound”. I have a 3 band 96 and a Special…not only is the Special easier on the shoulder for long nights, the eq is a lot more flexible, also very responsive to right hand placement. I can go from deep rounder tone to the Stingray bite and sizzle.
My 96 (disclaimer, it has Basslines alnico pup and pre) on the other hand does not have the tight lows of the Special, the mids are more upper mids and it’s a lot more treble forward. I can adjust the eq, but that twangy sizzle of the old 3 bands it always there.
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Wow, let me know if the Jazz goes. That would be quite the notch in the belt for the Ray! I actually sold my Am Pro II Jazz to help finance the Ray. And that Jazz was buttr'y smooth in so many ways. I just wasn't getting the bite that I desire these days.
