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MM Stingray vs Fender Jazz???

Stingray or Jazz

  • Total voters
    438
#21
Ive had both these basses for 10 years each ( amazingly I dont change my basses too often- is this unnatural );)

Both are great- but guess which one i have gone back to that I love!!

Marcus Miller Jazz 4- it took me a little while to get used to this but now I cant stop playing it.

The main fact is- see if you can try these out for a few hours each and A-B them- it is persoanl preference most of the time- What do YOU like- you are paying for it and will be playing it after all.
 
#22
Jobiebass said:
I think that has just sold it for me. Well im not recording anything serious because I have no asperations to be in a serious band. Ive got a Jazz, ok its fretless, but its a jazz all the same. I was wanting the Stingray anyways just for something a little diffrent then Fenders (altho its designed/created by leo fender im lead to believe) so I think thats the choice for me. :bassist:
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At least get a dual-pickup version.
 
#25
Hi everybody!

I have a black rosewood StingRay with matching headstock, 3EQ and piezo bridge:
Tone - 9
Looks - 10+
Ease of play - 9
Weight - 9
Build Quality - 10+

On the Jazz side I've three of them at the moment, all rosewood. Really love them all.
- CIJ -65 RI (Nordstrand NJ4SE's + Audere JZ3 + Gotoh 201)
- CIJ -75 RI (stock American Vintage PU's)
- American Deluxe QMT (stock SCN PU's):
Tone - 10+
Looks - 10
Ease of play - 10
Weight - 9
Build Quality - 9

I prefer to play Jazz basses, for the sheer fun of playing and their versatility. Usually I have to play trad jazz, funk and rock'n'roll during the same show. This is a no contest for me. Stingray is a one trick pony, but a damned good one.

But I definitely have to check out a Sterling HS some day...
 
#26
Gasman said:
In a nutshell, the jazz will sound "prettier", for lack of a better word, and the ray will always sound gritty. Players choice- they really are like apples and oranges in that you will not get a ray tone EVER from a jazz, nor will a ray give that smooth, warm tone of a jazz.
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Jobiebass said:
I think that has just sold it for me.
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I wouldn't take this as the gospel truth, he says its his opinion. Geddy Lee and Tim C get VERY gritty tones from their Jazz, and I can get very growly tones out of my AD Jazz with no effects, just my fingers. The Jazz isn't always about smooth and warm, in fact sometimes they aren't smooth or warm at all, depending on the player. I think the Jazz really responds to the player more than any other bass out there. (disclaimer: I am not saying that Stingrays don't do this as well, just that the Jazz does it moreso) I think that is why they have been so popular for so long, when you play a Jazz you sound like....you. I mean, there really isn't a quinessential "Jazz tone"....Marcus Miller, Geddy, Tim C, Jaco, John Paul Jones, and lately Flea all play(ed) a Jazz and all have very different styles and tones.

I guess what I'm saying is this, if you know you are going to want a gritty, aggressive tone all the time, you will be great with a Stingray. If you want a bass that responds to your attack, whether hard or soft, you will probably get on better with a Jazz. Either way, you are getting a great bass so you'll probably be happy no matter what. I would go with a Jazz bass, but I wouldn't turn my nose up at a 'Ray either.
 
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#27
JimS said:
I believe the HS and HH use a different bridge pup than the single M Stingray.

Correct me if I'm wrong. No sarcasm implied.


.
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I have heard that too. The plastic casing on the HH/HS pups is definitely different, but I have heard that they are ceramic, while the single H is alnico. Has anyone else heard this or know it to be true or false?
 
#30
JimS said:
I believe the HS and HH use a different bridge pup than the single M Stingray.

Correct me if I'm wrong. No sarcasm implied.


.
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Same pup, it may have been different with the 5 strings, but im not sure (just as they are switching from ceramic to being alnico like the 4 string rays)


Jobiebass said:
Price mainly, HH would be great because I could play like I do on a Jazz on the neck pup, but finding a 2nd hand one in england is proving VERY hard. even 2/3eq H are selling for £800 2nd hand over here where you can pick them up in the US for half that ($800) and im not spending £1300 ($2600) on a new one. By budget doesnt streach that far.
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Maybe you missed my location, im just north of the border from you. True, they have jumped up in price quite a bit on the used market. But you can still get good deals. My matching pair were £1,400 (IIRC), and in brand new condition (fretted and fretless HH/3 band).

Also, you could look into getting one sent from the US.

Also, the price between a normal H ray, and an HH ray, the difference isnt much, no more than £100 at retail IIRC. And trust me, the 4 extra tones you get, on top of the standard ray sound. Are well worth it!
 
#31
Double Agent said:
I wouldn't take this as the gospel truth, he says its his opinion. Geddy Lee and Tim C get VERY gritty tones from their Jazz, and I can get very growly tones out of my AD Jazz with no effects, just my fingers. The Jazz isn't always about smooth and warm, in fact sometimes they aren't smooth or warm at all, depending on the player. I think the Jazz really responds to the player more than any other bass out there. (disclaimer: I am not saying that Stingrays don't do this as well, just that the Jazz does it moreso) I think that is why they have been so popular for so long, when you play a Jazz you sound like....you. I mean, there really isn't a quinessential "Jazz tone"....Marcus Miller, Geddy, Tim C, Jaco, John Paul Jones, and lately Flea all play(ed) a Jazz and all have very different styles and tones.

I guess what I'm saying is this, if you know you are going to want a gritty, aggressive tone all the time, you will be great with a Stingray. If you want a bass that responds to your attack, whether hard or soft, you will probably get on better with a Jazz. Either way, you are getting a great bass so you'll probably be happy no matter what. I would go with a Jazz bass, but I wouldn't turn my nose up at a 'Ray either.
Click to expand...

Very true. Tim C is a great example, in that he has played both, so you can get a taste of the differences. RATM's first album was recorded with a stingray, and then he switched to jazzes. Personally, I think his tone on Evil Empire is perfect- and recorded with a jazz. But he used a lot of overdrive and distortion to get it. In his later albums (both RATM and Audioslave), he toned the distortion down and plays a more "traditional" jazz bass tone.

I'd still go stingray, though.:)
 
#32
CapnSev said:
Same pickups; however, the HS ans HH models can't go parallel, which is the classic Stingray tone.
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Im pretty sure they can. Normal rays dont have a switch.

With the HH and HS, the first position is the bridge solo, which is exactly as the single H ray is. As far as im aware.

The problem i believe you are refering to is the series/parallel switch that Sterlings have, with the HH and HS models of Sterling, you dont have the standard series/parallel switch as part of the settings.
 
#33
Double Agent said:
I think the Jazz really responds to the player more than any other bass out there. (disclaimer: I am not saying that Stingrays don't do this as well, just that the Jazz does it moreso) I think that is why they have been so popular for so long, when you play a Jazz you sound like....you. I mean, there really isn't a quinessential "Jazz tone"....Marcus Miller, Geddy, Tim C, Jaco, John Paul Jones, and lately Flea all play(ed) a Jazz and all have very different styles and tones.
Click to expand...

+1

I voted Jazz. The deluxe Jazz has a great neck and ia very wide tone pallet. I've never found a tone that I like from a SR.

Jobiebass said:
I suppose the MM is more like a P-Bass regarding the pickups.
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IMHO a SR doesn't sound anything at all like a P bass. (YMMV)
 
#35
i_got_a_mohawk said:
Im pretty sure they can. Normal rays dont have a switch.

With the HH and HS, the first position is the bridge solo, which is exactly as the single H ray is. As far as im aware.

The problem i believe you are refering to is the series/parallel switch that Sterlings have, with the HH and HS models of Sterling, you dont have the standard series/parallel switch as part of the settings.
Click to expand...



I'm not sure about the 4 string version of the HH or HS, but if you get an SR5 (HH or HS) or a Sterling (HH or HS), the pickups are hard wired in series and you cannot get a parallel setting out of them.

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#37
CapnSev said:
I'm not sure about the 4 string version of the HH or HS, but if you get an SR5 (HH or HS) or a Sterling (HH or HS), the pickups are hard wired in series and you cannot get a parallel setting out of them.
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Dual pickup MMs:
Stingray 4...Alnico, Parallel
Sterling 4...Ceramic, Series
Sterling 5...Ceramic, Series
Bongo...neodymium, Parallel
Stingray 5...until 08, Ceramic, Series...the 08s will have Alnico, but I don't think there as been anything official as to whether they will be Series or Parallel.
 
#38
I voted for the 2Band Ray....

great tone, great build quality, look great, play even better, I've used Music Man basses on more than a half dozen sessions and they've always been welcomed with thankful ears :smug:
 

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