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Frustrated/Had Enough of My Stingray

RedWire75

RedWire75

May 4, 2017
385
696
St. Louis, Missourah
#1
It’s a 2EQ. I've been fighting it a while. Played through three different amps (well two really... TH350, TH500, Bassman 800). I LOVE the way it plays. I LOVE the sound of it. At home. The minute it’s with the band it’s gone and buried in the mix. I’ve tried running the bass and treble controls at every conceivable combination. All the way off. Only slight bass boost. Slight bass boost with slight treble boost. I’ve boosted high mids on the amp. Boosted low mids on the amp. Turned the bass down on the amp. Treble up, treble down.

It’s one of my favorite bass sounds ever but at some point you have to realize it’s not the RIGHT bass sound for you.

Where’d I put that precision?
 
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#2
Try some different strings. When all else fails, the strings.

Stingrays are famous for cutting through the mix 'cause they tend to have a strong mid range sound.

I think that for most of us, the problem with a 'Ray is the opposite of your experience. Sounds "so so" at home but sounds great in the band.

Have ya tried different plucking/picking positions? Up near the neck to back toward the bridge? Near the bridge and pretty much right over the pickup is the "cut through" spot. The bark. The growl.

I am very conservative with bass sound but I had a 2 band 'Ray and I liked the bass knob @ mid point and the treble just about turned off.

Be patient before you pass final judgment on your 'Ray.

(Check out youtube videos on Stingrays, especially the 2 band.)
 
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#3
RedWire75 said:
At home. The minute it’s with the band it’s gone and buried in the mix.
Click to expand...

That doesnt sound right, but at the same time...

RedWire75 said:
It’s one of my favorite bass sounds ever but at some point you have to realize it’s not the RIGHT bass sound for you.
Click to expand...

Yup, and nothing wrong with that. Our tone is the sum of all factors - amp, bass, strings, technique, you name it. If there are other instruments that fit your needs with less effort, don't hesitate.
 
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#6
That's weird. Sounds like you tried the correct solution already, which is to have the bass and treble knobs right around the middle rather than up too high. Then of course you can turn the volume up.

I have to say it's hard to imagine having the issue you described with a Stingray, assuming your amp rig is powerful enough and EQ'd appropriately. I have a 2 band myself and cutting through is pretty much a no brainer. Maybe post a picture of your amp and its EQ settings? Also, it could be the space you practice in. Some rooms eat bass frequencies and can cause this issue.
 
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#14
bassdude51 said:
Try some different strings. When all else fails, the strings.

Stingrays are famous for cutting through the mix 'cause they tend to have a strong mid range sound.

I think that for most of us, the problem with a 'Ray is the opposite of your experience. Sounds "so so" at home but sounds great in the band.

Have ya tried different plucking/picking positions? Up near the neck to back toward the bridge? Near the bridge and pretty much right over the pickup is the "cut through" spot. The bark. The growl.

I am very conservative with bass sound but I had a 2 band 'Ray and I liked the bass knob @ mid point and the treble just about turned off.

Be patient before you pass final judgment on your 'Ray.

(Check out youtube videos on Stingrays, especially the 2 band.)
Click to expand...

Sorry you’re having a rough trot with your live sound still.
I gig a 78 Ray in a loud corporate band weekly.
The posts I’ve quoted above give you all the tips you need. I even eq mine the same (bass half, treble barely on).
String choice is super important. My bass sounds terrible with Rotosounds, for example, but great with tapes, TI flats or boomers. Spend some money and try some different types.
Best wishes.
 
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#15
Well, if you have tried everything and still aren't satisfied with your live sound maybe a Stingray isn't the right bass sound for your band. I tend to have the same issue with J-basses. I love the sound of them when I play at home, but they don't work for me in a band setting. The opposite is true with the P-bass. I think they sound kinda boring on their own, but with a band they are just magic.

Lots of people in this thread seem to have the opposite experience than you with Stingrays. Well, that might be true for them, but if it doesn't work for you then it doesn't. Try something else.
 
#16
If you are having trouble cutting through the mix, I have a prescription that is guaranteed to remedy your problem:

L2000a.jpg
 
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#17
Some great advice here. I think the most missing piece of this puzzle is what sort of ensemble you're playing with. (The one that "buries" your sound)

One thing that worked for me: Add some OD effect to your sound. Any effect that you like of this type will probably do. There's tons. I don't know these particular amps but you can probably get OD right out of them as well.
 
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#18
I play my SR direct to the mixer and have no problem cutting tru the mix on a: 2 electric guitars, 2 acoustic guitars, drummer, keyboard, several singers and sequences.

As far as I remember we have a big cut on the 40-50 hz, that helped us to clean the tone. Have you try cutting bass rather than boosting? I would suggest to use a HPF.
 
#19
You can never tell exactly how good an instrument or amp sounds until you play it in a band situation. I also bought my dream Stingray 2eq a couple of years ago. It played so smooth and felt amazing. But I could never hear it with the band. No matter what I did. I think Stingrays need to be so loud because a lot of it is transparent and you need to feel the bass more than hear it. I gave up and sold it. Maybe in another 10 years I'll be mature enough to understand a stingray.
 

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