EBMM StingRay Special Club

[drTSTingray]

My new 5HH. I’ve had it for around 2 months and find myself playing mostly in positions 5 and 2 when live. 4 gives a good jazz bass sound but I prefer the single H and a good P bass sounds out of 2. Position 3 is my least used position because, IMO, it sucks all the mids out. It is a good slap sound though. I’ll also say that the preamp is killer in these. Neck is the best out there and the aluminum tuners are a game changer. View attachment 3299147

I've always boosted the mids a little and kept the bass, particularly, flat when using the middle setting on my HH Musicman basses.

With the Specials, I have found the bridge H to be extremely good with the revoiced preamp - it's far closer with the EQ flat to a 2 band sound than the previous 3 band Stingray was.

 

[mouthmw]

Guys, me me want one Special. Give, give. I think I'll have to be patient though and wait until I'm ready to save up for one (I've got a wedding coming up and other life expenses). But yeah, I gotta grab one. It would be silly not to. Right?

 

[JaseOfBase]

Guys, me me want one Special. Give, give. I think I'll have to be patient though and wait until I'm ready to save up for one (I've got a wedding coming up and other life expenses). But yeah, I gotta grab one. It would be silly not to. Right?

Buy the bass, lose the girl UNLESS she plans on buying you an engagement bass.

 

[HD007]

Fellow Stingray Specialsters- (Specialmeisters? Specialists? SpeshHeads? whatever)

Boring questions here. This is my first stringed instrument ever with batteries:

A) How often do you change batteries in your Special?
B) How do you know if batteries are low? Does it behave differently? Can you hear the difference?
C) When batteries get low, do they fade away slowly or is it sudden death that could hit you mid-set?
D) For those of you with pre-Special Rays, does the 2-battery configuration seem to make any difference with battery life?

Thanks for any input. I haven't changed batteries on mine yet but was wondering if I should do it on a schedule, as with a smoke detector, for peace of mind.

And @mouthmw : Yeah, just get one. You can always return it, right?

 

[eyeballkid]

I doubt anyone knows definitively yet. My batteries in my regular stingray usually last a year or more so itll be a while til I know how they last in the special. In the regular stingray I usually experience a little distortion in the sound on lower notes first. I always do the tongue test before gigs. But worst case it takes 20 seconds tops to swap out batteries mid gig. I keep batteries in my bass case. I once switched batteries mid song during a two measure pause in the bassline.

 

[Stevorebob]

Fellow Stingray Specialsters- (Specialmeisters? Specialists? SpeshHeads? whatever)

Boring questions here. This is my first stringed instrument ever with batteries:

A) How often do you change batteries in your Special?
B) How do you know if batteries are low? Does it behave differently? Can you hear the difference?
C) When batteries get low, do they fade away slowly or is it sudden death that could hit you mid-set?
D) For those of you with pre-Special Rays, does the 2-battery configuration seem to make any difference with battery life?

Thanks for any input. I haven't changed batteries on mine yet but was wondering if I should do it on a schedule, as with a smoke detector, for peace of mind.

And @mouthmw : Yeah, just get one. You can always return it, right?

I change batteries about every quarter. Much more than necessary. I check them with a meter and switch them when they get below 8.5v.

Get a Bat-o-Meter. When the batteries go, the bass will distort badly.

They fade slow, but die quickly.

I notice no difference between 9v and 18v systems’ battery life, probably because I change them well before needed.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I change batteries about every quarter. Much more than necessary. I check them with a meter and switch them when they get below 8.5v.

Get a Bat-o-Meter. When the batteries go, the bass will distort badly.

They fade slow, but die quickly.

I notice no difference between 9v and 18v systems’ battery life, probably because I change them well before needed.

I wish the Batt-o-Meter had an 18v capability.

 

[HD007]

I wish the Batt-o-Meter had an 18v capability.

Thanks for head's up on Batt-O-Meter. So what happens when you plug it into the 18v preamp Special? Does it only go to 9-something?

 

[Stranger Danger]

Thanks for head's up on Batt-O-Meter. So what happens when you plug it into the 18v preamp Special? Does it only go to 9-something?

It doesn’t read. You have to remove the batteries and check manually

 

[Stranger Danger]

Fellow Stingray Specialsters- (Specialmeisters? Specialists? SpeshHeads? whatever)

Boring questions here. This is my first stringed instrument ever with batteries:

A) How often do you change batteries in your Special?
B) How do you know if batteries are low? Does it behave differently? Can you hear the difference?
C) When batteries get low, do they fade away slowly or is it sudden death that could hit you mid-set?
D) For those of you with pre-Special Rays, does the 2-battery configuration seem to make any difference with battery life?

Thanks for any input. I haven't changed batteries on mine yet but was wondering if I should do it on a schedule, as with a smoke detector, for peace of mind.

And @mouthmw : Yeah, just get one. You can always return it, right?

Set a reminder on your phone and change them every six months. No worries.

 

[HD007]

Set a reminder on your phone and change them every six months. No worries.

You're using rechargeable batteries? Wasn't sure if they worked well in this scenario. Thx

 

[Stranger Danger]

You're using rechargeable batteries? Wasn't sure if they worked well in this scenario. Thx

No. Change them every six months not charge them. Lol.

 

[Stranger Danger]

Rechargeable batteries are not a good idea

 

[Stranger Danger]

High quality Duracells

 

[HD007]

No. Change them every six months not charge them. Lol.

Doh! I need new glasses!!

 

[Stevorebob]

I wish the Batt-o-Meter had an 18v capability.

Me too, but even for 9v, it doesn’t work on all basses — Music Man is one. Since the batteries are easy enough to remove in Music Mans, I just pull them and test that way.

 

[Stranger Danger]

Me too, but even for 9v, it doesn’t work on all basses — Music Man is one. Since the batteries are easy enough to remove in Music Mans, I just pull them and test that way.

I have one and it is easy but it sure would be easier if it worked by just plugging it in. Haha

 

[Wood and Wire]

Fellow Stingray Specialsters- (Specialmeisters? Specialists? SpeshHeads? whatever)

Boring questions here. This is my first stringed instrument ever with batteries:

A) How often do you change batteries in your Special?
B) How do you know if batteries are low? Does it behave differently? Can you hear the difference?
C) When batteries get low, do they fade away slowly or is it sudden death that could hit you mid-set?
D) For those of you with pre-Special Rays, does the 2-battery configuration seem to make any difference with battery life?

Thanks for any input. I haven't changed batteries on mine yet but was wondering if I should do it on a schedule, as with a smoke detector, for peace of mind.

And @mouthmw : Yeah, just get one. You can always return it, right?

With the 18volt pre-amp, you'll have to change the batteries roughly half as often as you do with the 9volt pre-amp.


A single 9volt battery in my 80's Stingray usually lasts me at least 18 months (though I only plug the bass in for gigs / soundcheck / rehearsals / recording - I never practice plugged in), so I could expect close to 3 years life out of a Stingray Special.

I've only ever had a battery start to die on me once, that I remember, and that was in a recording session - there was some light distortion (I could have carried on with it, and it would have sounded fine in the final mix), but it took two minutes to unscrew the plate, put in a fresh battery, and crack on.

I usually test the battery with a multi-meter, every 6 months or so, and before any important gigs.

 

[Stranger Danger]

With the 18volt pre-amp, you'll have to change the batteries roughly half as often as you do with the 9volt pre-amp.


A single 9volt battery in my 80's Stingray usually lasts me at least 18 months (though I only plug the bass in for gigs / soundcheck / rehearsals / recording - I never practice plugged in), so I could expect close to 3 years life out of a Stingray Special.

I've only ever had a battery start to die on me once, that I remember, and that was in a recording session - there was some light distortion (I could have carried on with it, and it would have sounded fine in the final mix), but it took two minutes to unscrew the plate, put in a fresh battery, and crack on.

I usually test the battery with a multi-meter, every 6 months or so, and before any important gigs.

You're probably right about the 3 years. I changed mine recently but didn't really need to.

 

[Will S.]

This gets here tomorrow, I absolutely can’t wait! First 5er I’ve had in a few years.