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Both are proven winners and it’s merely a matter of personal choice. Try both and pick the one you like more. (I voted Stingray)
I haven't read the whole thread, sorry if this has been brought up already.
I find a huge rift between what sounds good to me when i'm noodling around and when i'm playing with the band. for example, the "tone in my head" or my "bedroom tone" is best achieved with a crazy modern bass like the cirrus i have gravitated towards, but the sound i find sounds right in a band setting is a passive P tone.
everyone's journey is different, of course, but i've bought/sold/traded for years and it took me what seemed like forever to come to these conclusions for myself.
a funny note, i once traded for a fender p with a 1979 EMG P pickup in it, and that kept me transfixed for a couple years.
I find a huge rift between what sounds good to me when i'm noodling around and when i'm playing with the band. for example, the "tone in my head" or my "bedroom tone" is best achieved with a crazy modern bass like the cirrus i have gravitated towards, but the sound i find sounds right in a band setting is a passive P tone.
everyone's journey is different, of course, but i've bought/sold/traded for years and it took me what seemed like forever to come to these conclusions for myself.
a funny note, i once traded for a fender p with a 1979 EMG P pickup in it, and that kept me transfixed for a couple years.
i put an EMG P bass pickup in my Sub 4 sterling i bought on a whim, because it sounded so good.
try to find the youtube clip of the sub 4, verses the ray 34 verses the USA made verses the 70`s original. the sub4 sounds the closest to the vintage Ray.
with a p bass pick up the stingray sounds darker, great attack. after the mod the bass lost some high freq, the harmonics are softer. good punch and super cheap.
try to find the youtube clip of the sub 4, verses the ray 34 verses the USA made verses the 70`s original. the sub4 sounds the closest to the vintage Ray.
with a p bass pick up the stingray sounds darker, great attack. after the mod the bass lost some high freq, the harmonics are softer. good punch and super cheap.
I love Stingrays, I love Jazzes, I don't see a genre where you couldn't use either bass. Get whatever bass speaks best to you.
First, a Stingray is versatile. It responds a lot at how you play it. Then, like you, I like JB a lot but never felt at home with them. So go Stingray but maybe not before you tried an EBMM Sterling maybe an HH one.
To echo a bunch of other people, get what you like!
I'd say the same thing even if you were asking about a less iconic or more controversial bass, but the Stingray is one of the most popular models of all time, and is used in all genres of music. Every Stingray I've ever played has felt and sounded great, and many top players use them.
I started off playing a Jazz, then a Rickenbacker, then a Precision. Then I picked up an old Mustang at a guitar store, and I realized I loved the sound and feel of a short-scale bass. For a while, I worried that I wasn't playing the "right" instrument. But at some point, I figured out that the "right" bass is the one you most enjoy playing, since practice is infinitely more important than the model of bass you're using.
And a Stingray is certainly more versatile and less controversial than a Mustang. I wouldn't recommend a short-scale bass with flats to someone who is playing sessions or wedding gigs, since it's a very specific tone, but you see people using Stingrays in those settings all the time. (I almost don't want to try the short-scale Stingray, since I bet they sound and feel amazing, but cost a couple grand.)
I'd say the same thing even if you were asking about a less iconic or more controversial bass, but the Stingray is one of the most popular models of all time, and is used in all genres of music. Every Stingray I've ever played has felt and sounded great, and many top players use them.
I started off playing a Jazz, then a Rickenbacker, then a Precision. Then I picked up an old Mustang at a guitar store, and I realized I loved the sound and feel of a short-scale bass. For a while, I worried that I wasn't playing the "right" instrument. But at some point, I figured out that the "right" bass is the one you most enjoy playing, since practice is infinitely more important than the model of bass you're using.
And a Stingray is certainly more versatile and less controversial than a Mustang. I wouldn't recommend a short-scale bass with flats to someone who is playing sessions or wedding gigs, since it's a very specific tone, but you see people using Stingrays in those settings all the time. (I almost don't want to try the short-scale Stingray, since I bet they sound and feel amazing, but cost a couple grand.)
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Is there a box for “both”. I switch back and forth between American std J5 and an SR5H. I like them both. But they are different. It would be tough for me to pick just one. Give the single H a good listen next to an HH if you can. To me an H gives you that ray sound. Punchy and pup in the right spot. If you want something different. Get a J. An HH isn’t necessarily best of both worlds. I’d say pick the one that best suites ur sound. I honestly prefer playing the J. For just bass in a thin mix … I prefer J sound. But in a heavy mix with electric and acoustic and keys. The SR5 H cuts through and I can hear it in the mix better. And I don’t really know why.
Now I may be biased, I only just took delivery of a Stingray 5 yesterday... But I'd say the MM any day of the week.
A good Jazz will get you far, but the character of the Stingray is just unbelievable. I wouldn't discount them for only having the 1 pickup either, they have a wide range of tones on tap and the switch on the SR5 is VERY handy for a quick switch up.
A good Jazz will get you far, but the character of the Stingray is just unbelievable. I wouldn't discount them for only having the 1 pickup either, they have a wide range of tones on tap and the switch on the SR5 is VERY handy for a quick switch up.
Stingray, you won't need to buy another Bass, EVER!!!!
Now, go on run and get yo 'Ray
Now, go on run and get yo 'Ray
well sort of anyway. So is G&L.
Sounds like you want the MM.
If versatility is a worry, try the Stingray HH. Or somebody mentioned already an L2K...that'll serve you very, very well.
Honestly any of them will do, it's whatever you like best! If you already know you like the feel of the Ray but have concerns about one pickup, the HH seems like a safe bet. If you can try an L2K, by all means, you may like it more than the Ray, or you may eliminate it from contention entirely.
Ernie Ball Music Man Stingray 4HH 2020 black with chrome hardware | Mark's Gear Garage | Reverb
Not my listing...but nice color, nice price.
For me, I kind of like the regular Ray. It's just what *I* like though. If I wanted 2 pickups I'd go for the L2K...or a Bongo HS!
If versatility is a worry, try the Stingray HH. Or somebody mentioned already an L2K...that'll serve you very, very well.
Honestly any of them will do, it's whatever you like best! If you already know you like the feel of the Ray but have concerns about one pickup, the HH seems like a safe bet. If you can try an L2K, by all means, you may like it more than the Ray, or you may eliminate it from contention entirely.
Ernie Ball Music Man Stingray 4HH 2020 black with chrome hardware | Mark's Gear Garage | Reverb
Not my listing...but nice color, nice price.
For me, I kind of like the regular Ray. It's just what *I* like though. If I wanted 2 pickups I'd go for the L2K...or a Bongo HS!
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Doesn’t matter matter what other people like/don’t like…if the Sting Ray feels “at home” then problem solved.
I am a total Stingray convert. Mind you, I prefer the 2 band eq, but I always get the tones in my head out of a Ray. Of course, as others noted, this is ALL personal preference. It is just to me that a Stingray sounds, feels and looks amazing. I have both 2 humbucker and 1 humbucker, and they all have their uses. The bottom line is find what you like to play and go with it. Like me, you will probably go down several avenues. At one point I had a P, a J, and a Ray in the rotation. Ray is only one left.
A Fender Precision is a bass somebody might insist you bring...if you're a hired gun for a recording.
Otherwise, I would bet you can show up with a Stingray, Jazz type bass, or a P type bass and everybody is happy.
