Very nice!!! You seem to have a light touch , as do I. I’m more into sparkles and vibrant colors , but that Burst is everything!!!
Thank you for sharing that clip. I enjoy your videos. Keep them coming !!!
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
EBMM StingRay Special Club
- Thread starter MultiScaleMale
- Start date
Very nice!!! You seem to have a light touch , as do I. I’m more into sparkles and vibrant colors , but that Burst is everything!!!
Thank you for sharing that clip. I enjoy your videos. Keep them coming !!!
If you ever have the opportunity to play a non roasted maple Special , you’re really going to hear epic vintage StingRay discoI think I've come to the conclusion that I'll keep them all.
The maple was the one I thought I'd send back but it actually sounds the most StingRay and when playing some disco last night it sounded epic.
The ebony looks cool as hell which inspires me to pick it up and it has a unique tone to it, similar to the others in tone but at the same time different. The whole instrument feels solid and expensive, just feels great to hold.
The purple rosewood also looks cool as hell, is lighter than the other two and is great for some slightly more chilled playing.
Love them all, I think the G&L I have is the one that will have to make way.
Call me weird but they smell nice as well
tone. I’m telling you …. The notes really 
dance 
and sing . The slap tone is jaw dropping. You will lose some of the neck stability but I combat that by keeping mine in its hard shell case. I can’t leave it on the stand.
I used to own a pre-special Ray which sounded great but it was too heavy for me so I sold it. That thing sounded incredible. I didn't even know they did non roasted maple specials, I assume they must be special editions or the BFR models. I'll keep an eye out.If you ever have the opportunity to play a non roasted maple Special , you’re really going to hear epic vintage StingRay disco
You will lose some of the neck stability but I combat that by keeping mine in its hard shell case. I can’t leave it on the stand.
Thanks, that would be great to hear, for me personally, and I'm sure very useful for the community.
Thanks!
I have two StingRay Specials, one with an Ebony fretboard and the other with a Maple. They do sound different. The Ebony one is way more snappy and resonant. It feels alive. The Maple feels dead in comparison. This is more evident when they aren't plugged in.
However, CORRELATION IS NOT CAUSATION. The Ebony weighs 7.7lbs while the Maple weighs 9lbs. I suspect the difference in the slab of body and neck woods that happened to end up on these basses contribute far more to the tonal differences than the surface of the fretboard. Pick up another maple and another ebony and I suspect you'll see something very different.
They also of course feel different. Ebony feels a tad more satin and luxurious, despite being a hard-ish wood. But on my shoulders it's again the weight difference that dominates how I feel when I play. The 7.7 bass feels like it's an extension of my body.
However, CORRELATION IS NOT CAUSATION. The Ebony weighs 7.7lbs while the Maple weighs 9lbs. I suspect the difference in the slab of body and neck woods that happened to end up on these basses contribute far more to the tonal differences than the surface of the fretboard. Pick up another maple and another ebony and I suspect you'll see something very different.
They also of course feel different. Ebony feels a tad more satin and luxurious, despite being a hard-ish wood. But on my shoulders it's again the weight difference that dominates how I feel when I play. The 7.7 bass feels like it's an extension of my body.
That's pretty much my experience with having an ebony and a maple Special as well. But the weight difference is the opposite, the 5H Ebony is 8.9 lbs and the 4H Maple was 7.6 lbs
I just sold the maple one, it sounded great but the ebony sounded much better to me, more alive and resonant as you said
My Stingray Special is a 4-string version and weighs 7.9 lbs.
My ebony bass definitely sounds more alive and snappy, it wasn't exactly what I was after tone wise but I actually love it. You're right about the overall sum of the parts making the guitar have its own tone and feel. I'm going to see how the ebony snap and attack works with some rock later, part of the fun is finding which instrument suits which piece of music.
In the end I have 3 different StingRays which all offer me something different and depending on what I am playing I can choose between my StingRays or my other instruments. Very fortunate to be able to own 6 amazing bass guitars (and a Schecter electric guitar which I can't play yet).
Brandon Shea
Commercial User
I used a medium quality bathroom scale and came up with 8.6lb for my StingRay Special 5HH, but that number is definitely rounded to some extent. Technically I think it's heavier than the shop said in the original listing, but it's so comfortable that I've never cared. It feels like it weighs almost exactly the same as my Sire V7 (also 8.6lb on the bathroom scale), but balances much better with or without a strap.
Nice!
I bet that sounds great in a mix : it has all the characteristic StingRay timbre, but with the top end sizzle smoothed out, and a firm - rather than booming - bottom end, with quite a broad mid-range (no doubt the on-board EQ, the Mesa preamp, and the room & phone mic are significant factors, beyond attributing all that solely to the strings).
I'm sure it would work really well in my context, as I suspect it would overdrive very nicely, adding back some upper harmonics, in a useful way - rather than turning mushy from too much low frequencies, or harsh and overbearing from too much upper frequency content.
Thanks again for taking the time to share this
For me it was a case of that being the lightest and nicest the store had by a large margin.Very nice!!! You seem to have a light touch , as do I. I’m more into sparkles and vibrant colors , but that Burst is everything!!!
Thank you for sharing that clip. I enjoy your videos. Keep them coming !!!
Those of you with StingRay 5’s, both special and non-special models, do you have a visible gap in the neck pocket by the upper bout? I remember my old non-special SR5 having this same gap years ago and it kind of bugged me. The SR5 Special I picked up here in the classifieds a little while back has this same gap. See photo. You can see that the pickguard is cut tight to the neck, but the neck pocket gap is pretty visible. Is this normal on SR5’s? I really like this bass but this small “imperfection” bugs me a little.
Nope!!! That would be a deal breaker for me, if I couldn’t adjust it and get a proper fit. Might have shifted in shipping .
Ah nuts. I don’t think it shifted as you can see the pickguard is cut tight to the neck. I don’t think it could be adjusted.
Here is the full image to show that it really isn’t too noticeable once you step away from the bass a little. Honestly I know I should just ignore it. It’s a great bass that I got for a great price from a great guy.
Last edited:
If everything else is good and I love the bass I wouldn't let it bother me.
That being said my 5H has a tight neck pocket
Brandon Shea
Commercial User
The neck pocket looks super tight on mine. Up to you if this is a dealbreaker... I'd consider letting it slide since it sounds like a good player otherwise. If this was a guitar, I'd suggest storing a pick in there!
