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How Different is a StingRay to a P?

S

sebpayne

Oct 1, 2006
69
0
Durham, United Kingdom
www.sebpayne.com
#1
Hey Peeps

I was just wondering - how different is the sound of a StingRay bass (standard with the humbucker) to a P Bass? I played one last night quickly and it didn't seem too different, more powerful but that's expected. How much does the EQ let you chop and change?

Is the sterotypical sound more of a P than a J? I've never really played much so was just wondering. Did some searching but didn't get anywhere!

-seb
 
#3
Completely different. I'm really surprised they sounded the same to you.

A P has that chunky single coil-at-the-neck tone going for it, while the 'Ray has that aggressive-sounding humbucker at the bridge. The EQ can really transform the 'Ray's attitude as well.

IMO, having one of each in your arsenal covers any type of music out there.
 
#4
Seb - Get thee to a store, plug a few of each in and play.

I think you will find, at minimum, that the MM will have a bigger variety of sounds than the P; but the P sound is uniquely good for cutting through the mix. But you gotta hear it yourself!
 
#5
sebpayne said:
I was just wondering - how different is the sound of a StingRay bass (standard with the humbucker) to a P Bass?
Click to expand...
It's totally different, in my opinion. The academic differences are:

  • The 'Ray has a humbucker while the P has a split single coil pickup.
  • The 'Ray is active, typical P basses are passive. And, the Music Man preamp has a very identifiable sound.
  • The pickup on a 'Ray is placed closer to the bridge than the pickup on a P.
Subjectively, and IMO/IME, a Stingray has a bright, sizzly, midrange-forward characteristic. A P has a dark-ish, thumpy, bass-rich characteristic by comparison.

You might hear Stingrays described as "aggressive", "snappy", or "modern", compared to a P described as "vintage" or "motown".

Of course, as you suggest, there are lots of ways to shape the tone of any bass, and both of these have been recorded extensively in just about every style.
 
#6
Having played both regularly for several years I can say that a Stingray is definitely brighter and more aggressive sounding than a P bass. I could say that tonally they sound very different but they both sit in a full band mix unlike any other bass out there. They have a "sweet" spot between the frequencies of the guitars and drums that is just perfect. The P probably has a little more low-mid/bass presence than a Stingray.

Basically they sit in the same frequency range but have different characters to their tone.

In terms of playability, the P and Ray have very similar necks with the Ray neck maybe being slightly larger (just barely) and the Stingray I had was about a pound heavier than my MIA P.

Both great basses but each have their own unique character that makes them appropriate for certain musical situations.
 
#7
my first serious bass i ever owned (still own) was a stingray. its still one of the best out, i just used it on a 2 month tour i did over the fall. i switched back to it from a 75' reissue jazz i'd been playing for the last several years.

it was a lot like a vacation using the old stingray, it sounds so powerful and it cut through a very dense/keyboard and guitar heavy mix easily. but by the end of the tour i had rediscovered a lot of the things that got me to switch in the first place.

so now i'm home- and would you believe it?

fender's got one of those new american standard p's in the mail for me.

i haven't owned a p bass since my first bass (squire) but after rediscovering my stingray, but then growing to loathe it's electronics- i'm on my way back to fender.

last time i went jazz cos i wanted to try something totally new, now im trying to find the middle ground
 
#8
WJGreer said:
It's totally different, in my opinion. The academic differences are:

  • The 'Ray has a humbucker while the P has a split single coil pickup.
  • The 'Ray is active, typical P basses are passive. And, the Music Man preamp has a very identifiable sound.
  • The pickup on a 'Ray is placed closer to the bridge than the pickup on a P.
Subjectively, and IMO/IME, a Stingray has a bright, sizzly, midrange-forward characteristic. A P has a dark-ish, thumpy, bass-rich characteristic by comparison.

You might hear Stingrays described as "aggressive", "snappy", or "modern", compared to a P described as "vintage" or "motown".

Of course, as you suggest, there are lots of ways to shape the tone of any bass, and both of these have been recorded extensively in just about every style.
Click to expand...

Interstingly enough, the pre-EB Stingrays with 2 and EQ's are actually pretty fat sounding compared to the modern post EB 3 band versions. I would definitely say the pre-EB Rays are more closer to a P than the newer versions. I personally like the SUB basses so much because they are like modern day re-creations of the pre-EB Stingrays.
 
#12
sebpayne said:
it sounded quite the same
Click to expand...
These basses are as about as different sonically as one can imagine. They contrast in all areas. Hard to imagine that an amp could mask those differences to the point one would not be able to perceive a big difference. The stingray has so much snap and zing. P is warm and bloated in the lower midrange. It's like red vs blue. both colors... similarity ends there.
 
#13
kirkm24 said:
Interstingly enough, the pre-EB Stingrays with 2 and EQ's are actually pretty fat sounding compared to the modern post EB 3 band versions. I would definitely say the pre-EB Rays are more closer to a P than the newer versions. I personally like the SUB basses so much because they are like modern day re-creations of the pre-EB Stingrays.
Click to expand...

I found that to be true.

I have a '76 which is very fat, but punchy. I would liken it to a P bass. I had a second one for a couple years, newer (late 80s/early 90s) w/3 band EQ & it was much more like a J to me. They didn't sound anything alike.
 
#14
i really like the stingray tone sometimes. it's really good for a more modern rock sound. To me it sounds brighter, although you can EQ them the way you like. The P has got the low-mid bump in spades. I've recently discovered the joy of a p-bass with flats.

also hey we have the same last name! there aren't too many Paynes about where I'm at. [my TB username is an etymology joke on payne, which comes from middle french 'paien' which also split off into meaning pagan...but i digress...]
 
#15
Dbassmon said:
These basses are as about as different sonically as one can imagine. They contrast in all areas. Hard to imagine that an amp could mask those differences to the point one would not be able to perceive a big difference. The stingray has so much snap and zing. P is warm and bloated in the lower midrange. It's like red vs blue. both colors... similarity ends there.
Click to expand...

See, I don't know that I'd agree with that... I guess it depends on how you play the instruments. Getting a big grinding roar out of P-bass is possible but it seems you have to really lean into it, where the Stingray seems built to produce that tone; Similarly, you can get a nice warm tone out of a MM if you EQ it right and play it right...

I see a bigger difference between a Sterling and a P-bass. BIG difference. I loved my Sterling and kick myself for selling it... I could get a big stingray sound OR a decent funky J sound. Great bass, that
 

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