How the StingRay HH should have been

[TheReceder]

I'm happy with my HH. Probably my number two bass.... It'll end out being something my kids get when I die.

 

[leonard]

Naah, Leo got it right the first time. One pickup! 2-band! No body contours! Heavy as heck =)

 

[Hand slap]

Anyone agree that the HH version of the StingRay would have been better if the neck pickup was moved closer towards the bridge?

This would instantly solve two of the main issues people have with the HH:
- pickup getting in the way of slapping/popping (especially now with the special having 22 frets)
- neck pickup sounding muddy

Get on it Sterling Ball

View attachment 4323764

The neck pickup doesn’t get in the way of slapping at all, The Bongo, on the other hand, there is less room.

 

[mouthmw]

I voted no because
1. That looks even uglier than the original HH
2. I don't care about HH Stingrays in general

 

[bonin in the boneyard]

4. AFAIC, "how the Stingray HH should have been" would be; available as a lefty a LONG time ago. I had to wait until 2020 for mine...

Better late than never, though, right?

 

[wmhill]

Or just get an MTD Super 4.

View attachment 4323813

Son, your preaching to the choir!

 

[anonymouse69]

Wow this thread got a lot more replies than I expected. Nice to read everyone's opinions

The issue with an HH Stingray is that the “bridge” pickup is not really at the bridge, it is in the Stingray sweet spot. That means a neck pickup cannot really be in the Precision position.

If you check the photoshopped picture in the first post, it can get pretty damn close to the Precision position

Or just get an MTD Super 4.
View attachment 4323813

I have a Warwick $$ and it sounds nothing like a stingray and somewhat sounds like a souped up jazz bass.

For both these basses, the bridge pickup isn't in the "sweet spot", it's much closer to the bridge than on the StingRay

Spot on. I don’t have an HH (I have an H), but any time I’ve played one mud was not in my description of tone. Other than the tighter slapping area, which is still manageable, this is all very apples to oranges. A Stingray doesn’t sound like a P or J, and that’s the way it should be. I’ve owned and played basses with humbuckers that close together and I didn’t care for them much.

To each their own. I've heard @LowEndLobster describe the neck pickup as sounding like a mudbucker

The neck pickup doesn’t get in the way of slapping at all, The Bongo, on the other hand, there is less room.

Maybe you have an older StingRay with 21 frets. The new ones have 22 frets and makes certain techniques like double thumping virtually impossible

 

[anonymouse69]

Johny Long did a stingray with pickups in that layout and it sounded fantastic. I too would be curious to try one.

Didn't know that he did, found the video. That's pretty much exactly what I had in mind Lol. Although I don't think he put any kind of switching/blending controls on it, just both pickups full blast. Sounds pretty damn good

 

[jmattbassplaya]

Hey, I’d be curious to try it out as I’ve never found the neck buck go quite work for my sound. However, I do think the HS basses are really nice as they are. Definitely worth a look if you haven’t tried one before.

 

[vivaknoxvegas]

Better late than never, though, right?

View attachment 4323925

Gross. What the heck are those even used for, home defense?

 

[JakobT]

If you want a two-pickup Musicman this is better, IMHO:

Too bad they discontinued it.

 

[cnltb]

Anyone agree that the HH version of the StingRay would have been better if the neck pickup was moved closer towards the bridge?

This would instantly solve two of the main issues people have with the HH:
- pickup getting in the way of slapping/popping (especially now with the special having 22 frets)
- neck pickup sounding muddy

Get on it Sterling Ball

View attachment 4323764

do you happen tpo have a picture like this , that includes the single coil P?

 

[anonymouse69]

do you happen tpo have a picture like this , that includes the single coil P?

sure, made one for you

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Neck pickup muddy? Not in my experience. Plus, you have a powerful 3 band eq literally at your fingertips if need to tighten things up.

+1. Not to mention the tonal controls on the amp can be useful as well.

 

[BOOG]

- neck pickup sounding muddy

View attachment 4323764

One person’s mud is another’s warmth.

 

[fauxtoe]

To each their own. I've heard @LowEndLobster describe the neck pickup as sounding like a mudbucker

But what’s your opinion? Reading about someone else’s opinion and forming your own through experience can have different results.

 

[IronLung1986]

I agree with OP. I don't like the neck pickup being so far up toward the neck. It's not adding anything I want when blending the two pickups, nor is it particularly viable on its own. This was one of my problems with my Bongo HH. The neck pickup was weak and flubby. I think Warwick got it right with their $$ models. I liked the position of the neck pickup on my Corvette $$ because it was much closer to a P bass sound on its own and much closer to a J bass when blended. Running them together as humbuckers was a very thick, massive sound, but still snappy, focused, and defined. It didn't have the flubbiness that I've gotten from EBMM's HH models. It does get crowded having two huge humbuckers right next to each other like that, but it sounds much better in my experience.

Of course, I've sold both basses at this point and just play a single H Stingray now, which I greatly prefer over either of them.

 

[IronLung1986]

To each their own. I've heard @LowEndLobster describe the neck pickup as sounding like a mudbucker

He's right. I always noticed this on my Bongo HH, that it's such a modern design but the thing it sounds most similar to is an SG bass. The preamp allows you to doctor it up but fundamentally it does sound surprisingly like a mudbucker. I'll say this, I didn't like that sound very much but it was the most useful sound in the bass for actual songs. The bridge pickup in a Bongo is closer to the bridge than a Stingray, so it's a little too thin on its own. I found that heavily favoring the neck pickup was what fit into the mix best, and it did sound very Gibsony which I thought was funny.

 

[anonymouse69]

But what’s your opinion? Reading about someone else’s opinion and forming your own through experience can have different results.

I personally enjoy bright tones. The neck pickup on the StingRay HH is definitely too muddy/dark for me. All depends on the genre you're playing I suppose. Probably doesn't sound muddy to you if you're into something like Motown, but it doesn't work for the type of stuff I like to play.

 

[cnltb]

sure, made one for you
View attachment 4324025

Thank you!
And all the lines correspond to specific nodes on teh string?