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EBMM StingRay Special Club

#14,642
Geri O said:
The great thing about ALL Stingrays from ALL generations is their consistency across all of them. I can’t recall hearing of a bad batch of several basses with the same problems.

Make sure you are okay with the narrow string spacing. Yes, the G string is kinda close to the edge of the fingerboard. It’s easily gotten used to. It’s a design choice by MM, not a design flaw, as the detractors would have you believe.
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This will actually be my first five string. Spent a good few hours in the store trying a whole range of them and the Stingray was by far the most natural feeling, both from a neck and string spacing point of view. Had no clue people had issues with the G string until I started reading about Stingrays in general after I left the shop.

I've been going back and forth on just getting a cheap 5 string to see if I like it, but as others have said resale of them should be pretty consistent, so if I don't end up liking it long term I can always move it on with minimal loss. I'm a bedroom bassist so it will live a pretty easy life.
 
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#14,643
humbuckaroo said:
I just got a 4H a few weeks ago, the smokey smell is a thing for sure. It has dulled since then, but if you put your sniffer right up to the neck, it's still there.

That ivory white looks like it was a limited run color, some say GC exclusive, but it was also on Sweetwater. Looks like a fantastic bass for people who don't like EB's wilder flan- or LSD-inspired colors. :P

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...hh-ivory-white-with-roasted-maple-fingerboard

For 1200 I would snatch that bass up, no hesitation.
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Yea that's the exact colorway. I'm quite partial to off whites which is a big plus.

Probably should've clarified that it's 2200 USD compared to 3400 USD for a brand new one here (which is where the $1200 came from)
 
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#14,644
CerealBassist said:
Hi all,

New to talkbass, and have recently picked up playing again after a 15 year break.

I walked into my local bass shop to look at some 5 string spectors, which ended up not being my thing.
We started talking about stingrays and he handed me a 2018 5h which they had just gotten in. Was pretty blown away by how amazing it felt, and equally surprised by the price he quoted, ended up being $1200 usd less than a brand new model.

Haven’t committed to anything but haven’t stopped thinking about it, and am seriously considering going back and grabbing it when they open on Monday.

Just wanted to check if there’s anything to look out for with that specific model year? From what I understand it’s not too dissimilar to the current model, and uses the new hardware and electronics?
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My Special is a 2018, though it's an HH model (I know purists might not agree, but I *love* the versatility of the HH!), and it's absolutely wonderful. But, as others have said, you're really not going to find a bad year. I used it for all four sets last night and was enjoying every second of it.

For a used model that you can't tell from new, that price is worth it. And the color isn't a common one, so you'll have something pretty unique. But, if you want the Grape Crush then it's up to you to decide if the search and the wait to find one is worth the price difference. I can't help you there other than to say I'm usually pretty picky about colors/finishes and I HAVE waited and searched to find what I wanted, and often for a long time because I've typically bought used. But that's just me.

Best of luck! :bassist:
 
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#14,646
CerealBassist said:
Little to no surprise, went and looked at it again today, and walked out with it 20 minutes lates.

They originally said it came with a new soft shell style case, but it actually ended up being the hard shell one. Made for an interesting 3km walk back to the station.

Will post a photo later this week.
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Congratulations!! I hope you enjoy it.
Which one did you choose?
 
#14,647
CerealBassist said:
Little to no surprise, went and looked at it again today, and walked out with it 20 minutes lates.

They originally said it came with a new soft shell style case, but it actually ended up being the hard shell one. Made for an interesting 3km walk back to the station.

Will post a photo later this week.
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Congrats! Looking forward to seeing it - and hearing your impressions after having it for a while.
 
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#14,648
Picked up this Frost Green HH last week. I have tried so many of these Specials and while I love the tone, the way they play has been my struggle. The common denominator has been my string choice. I’m usually a stainless-steel player, but I feel like these like nickel strings. So, I’ve been using DR Pure Blues. With this bass I’ve gone with Dunlop Standard Nickel strings and it makes a big difference to me. Rich tone, nice string tension and a bit more flexible than the DR’s. Tone sits just right in the mix. I mostly prefer the pick up selector at position 4 and 5 favoring the front pick up?
Also website said it was 8.7 lbs, but it’s actually 9.2 and I A/B’ed to an 8.4 lb HH in Ocean Sparkle and this just had more character. This was the consensus of my wife and 2 Bass Central dude’s, plus got a bit of a discount as it is a discontinued color. Matches my Florida vibe! Looking forward to this weekends gigs..
IMG_3340.jpeg
 
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#14,649
RSmith said:
Picked up this Frost Green HH last week. I have tried so many of these Specials and while I love the tone, the way they play has been my struggle. The common denominator has been my string choice. I’m usually a stainless-steel player, but I feel like these like nickel strings. So, I’ve been using DR Pure Blues. With this bass I’ve gone with Dunlop Standard Nickel strings and it makes a big difference to me. Rich tone, nice string tension and a bit more flexible than the DR’s. Tone sits just right in the mix. I mostly prefer the pick up selector at position 4 and 5 favoring the front pick up?
Also website said it was 8.7 lbs, but it’s actually 9.2 and I A/B’ed to an 8.4 lb HH in Ocean Sparkle and this just had more character. This was the consensus of my wife and 2 Bass Central dude’s, plus got a bit of a discount as it is a discontinued color. Matches my Florida vibe! Looking forward to this weekends gigs..View attachment 7224647
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Bass Central dudes are very helpful and knowledgeable. It’s great that you got that hands on experience and picked the one you liked the best. Winner!!🏆
 
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#14,650
LadyLoveStingRay5 said:
Bass Central dudes are very helpful and knowledgeable. It’s great that you got that hands on experience and picked the one you liked the best. Winner!!🏆
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Indeed, I tried a few and J.D. (a Bass Central dude) sighted the neck for relief, adjusted as needed and tuned each bass before I took it for a spin!
 
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#14,651
RSmith said:
Picked up this Frost Green HH last week. I have tried so many of these Specials and while I love the tone, the way they play has been my struggle. The common denominator has been my string choice. I’m usually a stainless-steel player, but I feel like these like nickel strings. So, I’ve been using DR Pure Blues. With this bass I’ve gone with Dunlop Standard Nickel strings and it makes a big difference to me. Rich tone, nice string tension and a bit more flexible than the DR’s. Tone sits just right in the mix. I mostly prefer the pick up selector at position 4 and 5 favoring the front pick up?
Also website said it was 8.7 lbs, but it’s actually 9.2 and I A/B’ed to an 8.4 lb HH in Ocean Sparkle and this just had more character. This was the consensus of my wife and 2 Bass Central dude’s, plus got a bit of a discount as it is a discontinued color. Matches my Florida vibe! Looking forward to this weekends gigs..View attachment 7224647
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That's such a cool finish, one of my fav maple board finishes

My favorite strings are SIT Foundations, both the nickel and stainless are so good on the Special.
 
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#14,655
LadyLoveStingRay5 said:
I decided to restring my BFR Crescendo 5HH and retune E-C. I’m loving it!! Should have done it sooner. Chords sound sweet, and angelic. What a beautiful sound!!! The LaBella low tension flats did not make the cut for me. No worries, I’ve got the low B with flats and rounds covered .

I still have my BFR Moonbeam 5HH B-G with Slinky Rounds, and my Amethyst Sparkle 5H B-G with Cobalt Slinky flats.
Oh, and my BFR Fretless 5 is still B-G with TI Flats.

Seems like I keep coming back to EBMM Slinky rounds and cobalt flats and TI Jazz flats and rounds. I’m sticking with what works.

TI rounds on my Sandberg and slinky shorts on the StingRay Shorty Tim Cummerford active. I have shorty set of cobalt flats if the urge hits me.

This switch to the E-C tuning has saved me from buying a Bongo 6.
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This feels like I’ve purchased a new bass. Position 2 is my favorite right now.
 
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#14,657
I've actually been using my Special 5HH at even more more than usual lately (for gigs, anyway). IIRC, I've gigged my ceramic SR5HH only once so far this year and my Big Al 5SSS ... yikes ... not at all yet. :jawdrop:

But I have noticed I've been using different pickup switch combinations more often. I still love 2 and 4, but I've really started to like Position #5 with some treble boost for typical classic rock songs and Position #1 with some bass boost when I want an even more aggressive rock tone.

However, I still use all 5 pickup switch positions on every gig, which is the reason I love my HH's. There's so much versatility - and it's easy enough to take advantage of it with a minimal amount of tweaking between songs.


EDIT: I'll have to correct/rebalance things at this weekend's gig and play my Big Al for a change. Without diminishing my love of Stingrays, Big Al's really are AMAZING basses.
 
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#14,658
dave64o said:
I've actually been using my Special 5HH an even more more than usual lately (for gigs, anyway). IIRC, I've gigged my ceramic SR5HH only once so far this year and my Big Al 5SSS ... yikes ... not at all yet. :jawdrop:

But I have noticed I've been using different pickup switch combinations more often. I still love 2 and 4, but I've really started to like Position #5 with some treble boost for typical classic rock songs and Position #1 with some bass boost when I want an even more aggressive rock tone.

However, I still use all 5 pickup switch positions on every gig, which is the reason I love my HH's. There's so much versatility - and it's easy enough to take advantage of it with a minimal amount of tweaking between songs.
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remind me, is position 1 toward the bridge?
 
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