Jazz Bass Vs Stingray

[Thegrandwazoo]

"As far as I'm concerned, everyone should have a Precision, Jazz, and Stingray Rickenbacker...and then whatever else you want to mess around with."

Fixed it.

I agree with the cool factor of Rickenbackers, but it seems like a whole lot of people (myself included) just can't do anything with them. Ergonomically speaking, everything about them is really, really wrong for a lot of people comfortable with Fender-style basses. I wish I could like them, they look and sound amazing, but I'd rather play a gutbucket than a Ric. Seems a lot of others have similar issues.

 

[Joe Kyle]

I owned both a 2015 Music Man Stingray Classic 4 & a 2008 Fender American Standard jazz bass.

I bought the Ray first & then secondly the Jazz.

The Ray was $1200 used & the Jazz was $750 used.

Aesthetically, I feel the Jazz is gorgeous & the Ray is " primitive " looking.

They both felt & played very well to me. I especially loved the Ray's trussrod adjustment wheel.

The Jazz is a hair over 9# & I'd guess the Ray was 10.5 - 11#.

Both necks felt great, but, the Ray neck felt particularly " rubbery " or soft to me with quite a bit of give to it.

The Ray is probably technically more gorgeous with it's bird's-eye maple neck & natural ash body, but, my Blizzard Pearl Jazz is no slouch.

Sound wise, I love my Jazz bass & it's versatility. The Ray I felt was lacking in the tone department. Yes, it's a single pickup bass, but, so is my Blizzard Pearl Precision bass with flats & between hand placement & the tone knob, my Precision is plenty versatile.

I ultimately got rid of the Stingray, though I may consider buying another someday.

Good luck with your bass search!

**** Another thing is I never could achieve withthe Ray was ultra low action. The strings wouldn't adjust as low to the frets as I wanted with the bridge saddles. I've never had a bass I couldn't adjust to 4/64" - 3/64" @ the 12th fret, or lower if wanted, besides this one.

Funny, MY Ray has the best setup out of all my basses and yes, i must agree, that trussrod wheel is so well designed.


I also got my ray for the price you got your jazz (+ a little) and those kinda deals are around.

Ultimately: Do you want active, how many pickups, and a narrow or more p-bass neck?

GO PLAY ONE GO PLAY BOTH GO PLAY SOMETHING ENTIRELY DIFFERENT THAT YOU DIDNT EXPECT YOUD LIKE AND THEN CHUNK DOWN YOUR MONEY$$$DOLLAR$

Or just buy both outright and then create some type of hybrid freakshow that you'll cherish forever.

 

[Mike Sorr]

Get Musicman sound and quality, with the feel of a Jazz neck and a more P bass like body by getting an EBMM Sterling! I swear by them.

I forgot to mention that the EBMM Sterlings tend to be a lot lighter weight than most Jazz Basses and Stingrays. I've owned 6 of them. None were heavier than 9.5 and most were between 8.0 and 9.0 pounds. My current main players are 8.5, 8.7 and 9.4 with the SUB I'm selling right on at 9.0.

Check out the Sterling Club here on TB: Musicman Sterling Bass Club, Part 2

 

[SF_Bassist]

Love the Black Tapewounds on this

Just curious: What tapewounds are you using?

 

[fakeneckplate'65]

Funny, MY Ray has the best setup out of all my basses and yes, i must agree, that trussrod wheel is so well designed.


I also got my ray for the price you got your jazz (+ a little) and those kinda deals are around.

Ultimately: Do you want active, how many pickups, and a narrow or more p-bass neck?

GO PLAY ONE GO PLAY BOTH GO PLAY SOMETHING ENTIRELY DIFFERENT THAT YOU DIDNT EXPECT YOUD LIKE AND THEN CHUNK DOWN YOUR MONEY$$$DOLLAR$

Or just buy both outright and then create some type of hybrid freakshow that you'll cherish forever.

I may try a 3 band Stingray someday. They can be had for much less than the two band classic. Plus, I would probably like the flatter fretboard radius of the modern Ray & that you can run the strings the strings through the bridge rather than the body.

 

[Wesley R]

I believe that currently they La Bella's
From around 1968 I used La Bella's as that is what the local bass guitar hero used. Sometime around 1978-1980 I switched to GHS Pro Formula tapewounds which are longer available. I tried for several years to love round wounds but no success, so it was back to tapes for me.

Just curious: What tapewounds are you using?

 

[Felken]

I agree with the cool factor of Rickenbackers, but it seems like a whole lot of people (myself included) just can't do anything with them. Ergonomically speaking, everything about them is really, really wrong for a lot of people comfortable with Fender-style basses. I wish I could like them, they look and sound amazing, but I'd rather play a gutbucket than a Ric. Seems a lot of others have similar issues.

Hit and miss. Rics are a must-try before buying.

 

[Mastermold]

I agree with the cool factor of Rickenbackers, but it seems like a whole lot of people (myself included) just can't do anything with them. Ergonomically speaking, everything about them is really, really wrong for a lot of people comfortable with Fender-style basses. I wish I could like them, they look and sound amazing, but I'd rather play a gutbucket than a Ric. Seems a lot of others have similar issues.

True some people don't get along with them but I find them super comfy to play. Don't know if that is a result of playing style or body type or both. My 4003 is always in the top of my rotation both for how good it sounds and for how much I enjoy playing it.

 

[Thegrandwazoo]

Hit and miss. Rics are a must-try before buying.

Maybe that's it, I've played 3 I think (one old, two new), and they were just all wrong for me. I'm pretty sure it's just the way things are, though, because the quality was very good and they were all owned by guys who played them a lot and therefore set up well. It was neck profile/finish, neck taper (it didn't feel like there was any) and string spacing that made them feel super weird to me. Also, the strings on all 3 felt really 'rubbery' somehow, even though one had light gauge Rotosounds on it, one had heavier rounds, and one had big fat flats (La Bellas, I assume). They're just so different from the basses I've gotten used to over the last 17 or so years, like classical guitar vs. steel string. I have no doubt I could get used to one if I needed to for some reason, but I don't have the patience.

 

[Thegrandwazoo]

True some people don't get along with them but I find them super comfy to play. Don't know if that is a result of playing style or body type or both. My 4003 is always in the top of my rotation both for how good it sounds and for how much I enjoy playing it.

I didn't mean to imply they don't play well, a lot of very knowledgable folks play them, and you can tell from across the street that they're really well-made. They're just so very different from what a lot of people (like me) are used to that said people have trouble playing them.

 

[David Sutkin]

I just got my first Rick last week, a brand new Jetglo 4003 .... I can't believe I went so long without ever playing one or owning one before. It really is a very different beast then most mass produced, somewhat high end instruments .... I freaking LOVE IT, the neck is sooooooooo sweet.

 

[bigtone23]

I find the more current Rics more comfortable vs the older ones. The current versions have necks that are more similar to what I'm used to: Fenders. The older ones have a very unique profile that is odd for me. Love the sound of a 400x bass, however!

 

[Papersen]

Can´t go wrong with any of them. I personally prefer the Jazz since IMO is more versatile and less extreme than the Stingray.

 

[Bassmunnky]

Like choosing between

Marilyn Monroe

Cindy Crawford

Gal Gadot

Don't choose - embrace many

 

[J-Bassomatic]

Can´t go wrong with any of them. I personally prefer the Jazz since IMO is more versatile and less extreme than the Stingray.

And generally cheaper
I went with J but the MM basses do sound phenomenal.

 

[verstft]

I got a little time to go down to a shop today and monkey around. I tried a standard MIM Jazz and a 40th Anniversary Stingray "old smoothie" both plugged into an SVR 8x10. Not sure if that's a fair comparison, at least price wise. The Stingray is definitely more familiar coming from a Precision even though resting your thumb on the pickup puts you a littler further back toward the bridge. I was trying to avoid guitar center, but I'm going to give it another go with more models to try out.

 

[strost]

I'm a Jazz guy but really love my Stingray HH too. If it's Jazz or Stingray H, I'd say Jazz but if you can do an HH, go for that. So much versatility.

 

[verstft]

Any thoughts on a CIJ 62 re-issue Jazz? Right now, budget-wise it's looking like:

MM Stingray classic tobacco burst with the 2band EQ
2016 Am Std Jazz
CIJ 62 reissue Jazz.

I only ask, because there are 3 CIJ 62 Re-issue basses local I could go and play. Two from the mid 90's and a 2008.

 

[David Sutkin]

The MM tobacco burst is a stunning machine!!! I know that doesn't help but .... just saying

 

[4StringDave]

What about a Sterling....?