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EBMM StingRay Special Club

#9,501
LadyLoveStingRay5 said:
What is your favorite amp paired with your StingRay Specials? Anyone have a preference?

I started out with Fender Rumble. It was ok , but nothing spectacular . Went to GK. Liked it a more but it was missing some of the warmth I like to hear. Went back to Fender . Nice and warm but just wasn’t open enough. Finally had an aha moment and went to Markbass.

I can hear the bears on the back of the headstocks saying “Just Right”!!! A perfect fit. :headphone:
Click to expand...
I too use a Markbass rig.
 
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#9,502
I love playing my Specials through an Orange Terror Bass 500 with two OBC115's followed by an Orange 4 Stroke 300 with the same two cabs. I also like playing them through a TC Electronic RH750, Genz Benz Streamliner 600 and Mesa TT800. They all sound excellent, but there is something about the Orange amps that just go perfectly with the Specials. Extra thick notes with pronounced D and G strings and a drive that just sings with these basses. :drool: :bassist:
 
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#9,504
I loved the way my Rays (and Sandbergs and G&L) sound through Ampeg but after 2 failures I just can't chance it any more. So if you aren't planning on gigging or don't mind taking the chance, then Ampeg PF500/800 would be a great choice.
 
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#9,505
You have to be very careful about the warranty on these amps made overseas. For example I had a Hartke combo amp (China) and it blew up from static build up when I turned it on one day with a loud pop and puff of smoke. I called Hartke about getting warranty service and there were only a few places in my area (all about 70 miles away) they approved service to be performed. These places all had poor customer service ratings. Yes they will fix it to the point it will power up again fulfilling their warranty obligation, but it will never sound the same. These small shops don't use original parts, just anything that they have lying around to stick in there to get it to run. This really turned me off to Hartke and anything similar made elsewhere ( ie. Ampeg). After this experience, it's now Mesa and Aguilar for me, made in USA. They both take my Rays to another level and if they should ever need servicing ( highly doubtful), I know they'll be using all original parts.
 
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#9,506
I actually played my Special 5H through Mark Bass amps only.
Odd enough, I always hated those little combos, especially with the Precision. But, BUT.
During those last weeks, I came out with a tremendous (in a positive way) tone.
Don't know how, but everybody in the class/band (particularly my classmate) dug it. That tone was so good that made me GASing for a Mark bass CMD 121P amp.

Otherwise, my rig is formed by GK RB700-II + Orange OBC 410 + Orange OBC 115 cabs.
 
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#9,507
Just received this stunning Special 4H yesterday. Weighs in at a light 8.2 lbs. The Aqua Sparkle finish is mesmerizing and looks much richer in person. Plugged it in and dropped some Bernard Edwards lines and there were those classic tones right off the bat. I love the neck, but it's definitely more of a workout as I'm used to short and medium scale basses. Whether it ends up being a keeper because of the comfort factor remains to be seen, but I'm motivated to make it work since this bass just sounds so damn good! And now the trilogy is complete for me: I've got a P, J (Maruszczyk), and a Ray. Now it's time to GAS over amps and cabs . . .

SR1.jpg
SR2.jpg
 
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#9,513
Sunil Sharma said:
Just received this stunning Special 4H yesterday. Weighs in at a light 8.2 lbs. The Aqua Sparkle finish is mesmerizing and looks much richer in person. Plugged it in and dropped some Bernard Edwards lines and there were those classic tones right off the bat. I love the neck, but it's definitely more of a workout as I'm used to short and medium scale basses. Whether it ends up being a keeper because of the comfort factor remains to be seen, but I'm motivated to make it work since this bass just sounds so damn good! And now the trilogy is complete for me: I've got a P, J (Maruszczyk), and a Ray. Now it's time to GAS over amps and cabs . . .

View attachment 5042982 View attachment 5042983
Click to expand...

Love it! My Aqua Sparkle won me over too
 
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#9,515
Sunil Sharma said:
Just received this stunning Special 4H yesterday. Weighs in at a light 8.2 lbs. The Aqua Sparkle finish is mesmerizing and looks much richer in person. Plugged it in and dropped some Bernard Edwards lines and there were those classic tones right off the bat. I love the neck, but it's definitely more of a workout as I'm used to short and medium scale basses. Whether it ends up being a keeper because of the comfort factor remains to be seen, but I'm motivated to make it work since this bass just sounds so damn good! And now the trilogy is complete for me: I've got a P, J (Maruszczyk), and a Ray. Now it's time to GAS over amps and cabs . . .

View attachment 5042982 View attachment 5042983
Click to expand...
Beautiful!

And that Maruszczyk looks pretty sweet, too. :drool:
 
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#9,517
LadyLoveStingRay5 said:
What is your favorite amp paired with your StingRay Specials? Anyone have a preference?

I started out with Fender Rumble. It was ok , but nothing spectacular . Went to GK. Liked it a more but it was missing some of the warmth I like to hear. Went back to Fender . Nice and warm but just wasn’t open enough. Finally had an aha moment and went to Markbass.

I can hear the bears on the back of the headstocks saying “Just Right”!!! A perfect fit. :headphone:
Click to expand...

dave64o said:
I’ve gigged a few different amps through one or two Barefaced Big Baby 2 cabinets with my Special.

Typically I’ll use my Mesa D-800+. It’s pretty transparent but leans slightly toward a warmer tone, has outstanding EQ, and a variable HPF. Fantastic amp. I sometimes use my Gallien-Krueger MB-800, which also has a great EQ and has its own flavor that I like when I want a change of pace. I also occasionally use my Gallien-Krueger 1001-RBII, which is mostly my backup amp or is what I use for outdoor gigs. But I do sometimes use it in places where we can get loud because it’s a fire breathing dragon of an amp. :D

I haven’t gigged it, but I also have a Genzler Magellan 350, which is the textbook definition of a transparent amp. But I mostly use that at home and sometimes at rehearsal. For gigs, I use the higher power amps.

They all have their own flavors but the one thing they all have in common is a very flexible and effective EQ. I don’t use large adjustments, but I use the to get the sound of my basses the way I like them and then use the EQ on my basses for song-to-song adjustments.
Click to expand...

... and I totally forgot that I usually play my Special through our LS/BL's house amp, a Markbass CMD102P combo during rehearsals (very rarely bring my own rig, just when we need to test something out before a gig). Decent sound overall, also has a good 4-band EQ, and I really like having the knob for the DI output level on the front of the amp.

I never use the VPF (mid scoop) knob, but I do like the VLE (Variable Loudspeaker Emulator, filters the high end for a more vintage tone) turned up to around 10:00-12:00. I don't think the tone of this combo is that deep and full sounding set flat but the VLE filter helps get me a tone more like what I use with my own rigs. I've never tried it with an expansion cabinet, but I suspect that it would have some more girth, and would probalby need less VLE to warm up the tone.
 
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