How the StingRay HH should have been

[Cantstandsya]

My favorite settings on the HH are bridge pickup soloed, both outside coils and both pickups fully on. I wouldn’t change it because I’d lose two of those sounds. That being said, the neck pickup soloed is my least favorite tone on the HH. What I’d like to hear is the is the bridge coil of the neck pickup soloed instead of both coils on. Not saying it would sound better, but I’d like to hear what it sounds like.

 

[red_rhino]

1. Don’t care about slapping
2. Neck pickup is not muddy
3. If I wanted a bass with a pickup in the P position, I would get a P. If I wanted a bass with pickups in the J position, I would get a J.

Soulution looking for a problem…too much time on your hands.

Yeah, I get this. But I do slap, and that HH configuration is just a wee bit too tight to be comfortable. Ended up selling mine (long ago) partly because of that. It's a great bass, but not the best one suited for how I play. As mentioned in #3, if you're looking to slap or have a pickup in the P position, there are other options.

 

[jimmydean]

Your the man !....It makes perfect sense for pickup placement , I've built 3 basses for people with that setup .

 

[FirewalZ]

How does the EBMM HH compare to say G&L’s version?

 

[Knavery]

I had a Stingray Special HH and sold it shortly after. It was a stunner and sounded beautiful, but I couldn't get used to how much space both of those pickups took up. If I were to get another one, it'd be the classic H configuration for sure.

 

[dedpool1052]

How does the EBMM HH compare to say G&L’s version?

The L-2000?
Totally different.
Completely different voices.
To me, the G&L has a more raw quality, while the HH is more polite and refined.

 

[groooooove]

man, i really wanted to disagree with the op but..

i'd be more likely to buy that concept than a HH.

in reality... the only 'ray i want is a single humbucker, thankyaverymuch.

great graphic/chart, and a great idea. i'd love to see something like this.

 

[Rib 13]

I own an HH...It is the fourth Stingray Ive owned and the first time I ever bought a Stingray without slap bass as a deciding factor (or any bass!). I agree that the bass isnt slap friendly but, considering its wasnt a criteria for purchase, Im OK with it.......The pickup locations, and combinations thereof, give some very unique tonal colors on the pallette. The idea of moving the pickup forward would be great for various slap tone colors but not so great in making the extreme tonal pallette now available with fingers or pick in their current positions. It rivals the G&L L2K/ASAT in its wide selection as it is now but getting all different colors that my G&L ASAT doesnt get.

I like it the way it is

 

[logdrum]

If it were me - I would put a single coil and giving some room for slapping but leaning more towards keeping it as is.

 

[sikamikanico]

It’s simple: I don’t think what the OP is proposing looks right. It out of proportion, both pickups need to be moved back, like on the MTD. If you center the inner coils on the MM sweetspot, you should be able to get that classic sound if you wanted.

HH actually works well, IMO, but particularly settings 2 and 4 (inner and outer coils). I agree, neck pickup is lacking by itself, tho it might work fine in practice (disclosure: I only tried it at a store a couple times). HS is probably another good solution, but I never got to try it.

 

[Hand slap]

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


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



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


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


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

Nope I have the Stingray Special, 22 frets, for me the neck pickup position really isn’t an issue, the Bongo it is, IMHO, FWIW.

 

[anonymouse69]

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

The red lines were used to line up the pictures of the basses, the other lines are where the pickup pole pieces are of each bass (e.g. green = jazz bridge pickup. there are 2 lines for 60s/70s position)

 

[BrotherRay]

I'm holding out for the 4H! Would be totally Spinal Tap. 4 MM pickups and a single volume knob for each pickup!

 

[80jazz]

The L-2000?
Totally different.
Completely different voices.
To me, the G&L has a more raw quality, while the HH is more polite and refined.

As someone who has both, I will agree with this.

The L-2000 can pack more snarl, especially if you run it in series.

 

[Hounddog409]

I had a Stingray Special HH and sold it shortly after. It was a stunner and sounded beautiful, but I couldn't get used to how much space both of those pickups took up. If I were to get another one, it'd be the classic H configuration for sure.

How much space? Not sure what you mean by this.

I mean you don't touch the pu's when you play. Well, maybe as a thumb rest.

 

[dave64o]

Disagree.

1) The material I play has no need for slap
2) I do not find the neck pickup muddy.

The HH suits some people. A lot of basses do. It's not meant to suit everybody. No bass is.

FWIW, my SR5HH is my undisputed favorite of my five basses, and Position 4 (inner coils) is my undisputed pickup switch position on that bass. I chose the HH because because of that tone and I wouldn't have that if the neck pickup was in a different place.

If the HH doesn't satisfy you, well, then I guess it's not the bass for you.

 

[two fingers]

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

I actually agree with you 100%. I think it would he more useful that way. If they made a five with that configuration I would be all over it.

I have seriously considered the ultimate sin... getting a Ray 5 and installing a P pickup literally touching the Ray pickup. That would he a tone monster in my view.

I have a Hammersmith like this.

I'm lucky in that my Mesa TT800 has two channels. I can get pretty extreme with tue EQ on the Subway channel and solo tue bridge pickup and it gets me in Ray territory. But a real Ray with a sweet spot pickup and a P right up against it would be fantastic in my view.

 

[wmhill]

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

Although that bass sounds truly great in the video, I get the feeling that dude could run some barbed with across a milk carton and still sound utterly amazing while playing it.

 

[Ellery]

Yeah, well I think the '77 Chevy Nova should have come stock with a big block V8 and a supercharger. But rather than lament with a poll I would sooner get an old Nova and hot rod it. So why don't you do like the car guys, get a Stingray H and route it for a neck pup in your preferred spot? Then post audio samples and poll TB for opinions on the tone.

 

[Dave TB Killer]

View attachment 4324483

OH HELL YES!!