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It's official. Fender out, MM in.

#41
JoshuaTSP said:
I keep hearing that they're bright? True?

Can you elaborate on "doesn't sit well in certain mixes?"
Any mods on the G String issue?

I'm wondering how different mine will sound with the aftermarket Duncan pickup and preamp?
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i could see where someone would say they're "bright". i have also heard "harsh" used, which i don't totally agree with. the preamp gives the bass much of it's sound, i believe. it is a very "active" sounding bass, if that makes sense.

rays are perfect for rock, metal, funk, and i've even seen them in country before. however, i play in my church's praise and worship band and while it worked well in my Christian rock band, it was terrible in the church band. you can't really tone down a stingray. church/worship music (w/o loud/distorted guitars), acoustic and jazz just don't work well with a ray. IME

the g string issue is no big deal really. it's kinda weird at first, you get used to it.

as far as the pu and pre, i'm not sure. depending on what year the ray was made it may have a ceramic pickup or a alnico. i'm not sure which the duncan is either. alnico is usually warmer and preferred by traditionalist.
 
#42
Thanks for the help.
...and sorry for the 20 questions....;)

madbassplaya said:
i could see where someone would say they're "bright". i have also heard "harsh" used, which i don't totally agree with. the preamp gives the bass much of it's sound, i believe. it is a very "active" sounding bass, if that makes sense.
Click to expand...

bright as in upper mids forward, or bright as in twangy?

Can it be tweaked out with the preamp?

Can you explain "very active sounding"?
I was pretty much PASSIVE ONLY for a while, now I only play 5 string actives. :confused: Not sure how that works.

I dug passive for recording, but for rehearsal active just sounded better to me.

rays are perfect for rock, metal, funk, and i've even seen them in country before. however, i play in my church's praise and worship band and while it worked well in my Christian rock band, it was terrible in the church band. you can't really tone down a stingray. church/worship music (w/o loud/distorted guitars), acoustic and jazz just don't work well with a ray. IME
Click to expand...

I keep hearing about "growl" and "grind", which is what I'm looking for. Punchy, tight, and massive!

I stopped digging the jazz because it sounded neutered. It had a sweet clean tone, but got really clanky dirty.

the g string issue is no big deal really. it's kinda weird at first, you get used to it.
Click to expand...

Good to hear.:)

as far as the pu and pre, i'm not sure. depending on what year the ray was made it may have a ceramic pickup or a alnico. i'm not sure which the duncan is either. alnico is usually warmer and preferred by traditionalist.
Click to expand...

It's a 2000 model.

It's got the Duncan STC-3M4 preamp, but I won't be able to find out which pickup until it gets here. I'm hoping for the Alnico.
 
#43
JoshuaTSP said:
Thanks for the help.
...and sorry for the 20 questions....;)

bright as in upper mids forward, or bright as in twangy?

Can it be tweaked out with the preamp?

Can you explain "very active sounding"?
I was pretty much PASSIVE ONLY for a while, now I only play 5 string actives. :confused: Not sure how that works.

I dug passive for recording, but for rehearsal active just sounded better to me.

I keep hearing about "growl" and "grind", which is what I'm looking for. Punchy, tight, and massive!

I stopped digging the jazz because it sounded neutered. It had a sweet clean tone, but got really clanky dirty.

Good to hear.:)
It's a 2000 model.

It's got the Duncan STC-3M4 preamp, but I won't be able to find out which pickup until it gets here. I'm hoping for the Alnico.
Click to expand...

No problem.

The bass is not twangy.

No matter what setting you use on the preamp, you still get that same stingray tone. That was my experience at least.

When I say active, what I mean is this: it's not "organic" sounding. I'm not sure how else to describe it.

If you want a jazz that gets nasty, get a Hamer Cruise Bass with a 2tek bridge.
 
#44
I love all of Leo's creations for different reasons. What each of them do, they do very well.
The ray is a "hot" bass and can easily overdrive your preamp, so start flat on your
amp and do all your EQing with the bass.
IMO it's a great rock,funk bass,and will cut through the mix just fine.
 
#46
JoshuaTSP said:
Actually, I installed a series/parallel push pull pot. :o

Quite a change in tone, but just didn't compare to my other basses?
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The basic physical reality is that a single coil is still just a single coil, no matter how you wire it. Too many people buy Jazz basses and are unhappy because they don't sound like humbuckers, when they simply CAN'T sound that way.
 
#47
I'm starting to think the 'Ray could be perfect for me. :)

Good point, Norty!
Out of the 3 basses I have, 2 are HBs, and the other are fully active soapbars.
I've ditched all of the singles I once had. Must be headed in the right direction.

I wish I could find a clip of a Stingray through a dirty tube amp or fuzz pedal.

All of the youtube clips are really twangy, but can't really use youtube as a tone consideration most of the time.
 
#48
You went from a passive bass to an active bass, which will give you a hotter signal that may help you cut through the mix a bit more but I think what you really needed to do was replace your amp or cab.

I did the opposite - started off on MM and went to Fender. I just couldn't get that warm wooly tone out of MM rigs - there was always too much nasal tone for my taste and when I dialed it out the tone sounded hollow, not deep and rich. Plus the weight was killing my back and maybe I got a couple of bum rigs, but there seemed to be a huge variation in volume between strings.

I've heard lots of people sound good on MM rigs, but I personally was never able to achieve tone I liked on their gear.
 
#51
i think mad,norty and basspro are driving home the best high and low lights of the ray. ray was always just too hot for my taste. it always seemed to really lack enough "bass" from my A and G strings. my G always seemed to have a pretty low output id have to hit my strings at different velocities to maintain even volume. even after i had readjusted the PUPS it always seemed to be this way.

i wanted to love my ray. it was my dream bass ever since i became interested in bass. physically the bass (aside from the tightrope walking "g") was absolute perfection. string spacing, neck profile plus my black/maple/tort combo was dead sexy. now that i have a better understanding of things like mutes and such i am really considering giving the ray another shot. maybe try a bartolini in it to cool out that punch a bit.

no matter what anyone else thinks i hope you enjoy it
 
#52
debassr said:
I did the opposite - started off on MM and went to Fender. I just couldn't get that warm wooly tone out of MM rigs - there was always too much nasal tone for my taste and when I dialed it out the tone sounded hollow, not deep and rich. Plus the weight was killing my back and maybe I got a couple of bum rigs, but there seemed to be a huge variation in volume between strings.
Click to expand...

this is word for word my same issues with my ray
 
#53
JoshuaTSP said:
"Took me a bit to get used to the neck on my SR4 but now it's cake! Especially compared to my G&L.
Switching from my G&L Trib L2500 to my 'Ray is like going from a baseball bat to a broomstick. Then going from my 'Ray to my Jazz is like a broomstick to a drumstick!
I'm not as comfy on my Jazz anymore because I've gotten used to the G&L and 'Ray! Plus I have big hands.
I don't have any trouble with the SR5's that I've played either. Those feel fine to me."

Interesting.

EDIT: How useful is the series/parallel/split switch on the single H models?
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Ha! I just saw this! Someone actually quoted me after 3 years around this place! LOL!

Anyhow, yes, I started out on MIM Jazz, MIM P Special (P\J with a jazz neck), bought an SR4H here, bought an L2500 on Fleabay and recently bought an SBMM Ray35 (Indonesian Stingray 5).

The L2500 has the thickest neck I've ever owned (see my profile for other basses I've owned). My SR4 or now my Ray35 or any SR5's I've played at GC have a considerably thinner neck than it. Obviously, not Jazz thin, but I can definitely see and feel a difference.

That said, I've learned to play both my L2500 and my SR4H and now they feel 'normal' to me. As stated in that quote, my Jazz feels like a drumstick now! That's not bad. It's just different. :)

Both my SR4H and my new SBMM Ray35 feel better and are easier\more comfortable to play than my L2500. My Jazz is on the verge of being sold based on being kicked out of the rotation by it's fat necked brothers! But I still enjoy the passive Jazz tone so it's still hanging around for now! :)
 
#55
dude the sr5 neck is MONEY. its pefrect for me. i have huge hands but im all palm and short fingers. when i play fender i play jazz bass necks because i hate the fatness of the p bass....so i dont see the ray as a huge piece of lumber. warwick,g&l those are fat and i have never found a comfy one. i think the stingrays scale spacing and radius are a dream.
 
#56
Aspidites said:
I also prefer thicker necks, huge hands, but I simply don't like the shape and feel of MM necks but I also know that I am in the minority there. I also am not at all a fan of standard jazz necks but the Jazz V neck is a vast improvement in feel to me.
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+1 to all points. I'm with you on the point about not being a fan of MM necks, although I can't be sure of which model I played...:hiding:
 
#57
It arrived today.

Not sure what the deal is with the neck?

It's not as fat as you guys made it seem, and it's VERY comfy?

Haven't had a chance to plug it in yet....but unplugged it plays and sounds great.

The headstock is a little beat up, any tips to fixing it up a little?
 
#59
Take the bass to a good repair person; I've had my SR5 HH touched up a couple of times, and looks almost perfect. Yes that neck IS really nice; if G & L would copy that with a slightly wider fingerboard you'd have perfection...well to many anyway! And again, agreed with most of the pros' and cons; that G string thing IS funny though; if I haven't played it much during the week or between gigs, I too have the tendancy to roll the G off the board. At gigs I very consciously try my best to I guess really control and G activity, or else. It's like there is no grey area with it like other basses, so "wild gig technique" really has to be watched.
 

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