Music man sound , no active electronic?

[SunByrne]

The battery thing is really not that big a deal. Seriously. @Killing Floor has the right of it.

However, if you’re still adamant, check out the SBMM short scale StingRay. Passive, but don’t tell your amp that—incredibly hot pickup.

 

[Hounddog409]

I wired my Ray4 with a passive/active switch and it sounds great. Output volume is a little lower but aside from that the tone is very good.

Oh, you're not getting away with a quick schematic on how you did this.

 

[Gustopher]

Oh, you're not getting away with a quick schematic on how you did this.

Got it! Just realize that this bypasses everything including the volume pot. It would be pretty easy to change it up and wire the volume through it, but for my needs I wanted a straight to output jack connection. Pure and simple.

 

[BobKos]

Batteries are cheap and easy to change. Coping the Stingray tone without one isn't.

 

[Joe Nerve]

The short scale Stingrays are passive. Both the Musicman and SBMM. They both have the Stingray sound - and both sound pretty much identical to each other, despite the difference in price.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

I honestly wish EBMM made a simple, StingRay bass with just a volume and tone control with an alder body, rosewood board, and an alnico V MM style pickup. Something that isn't a BFR special model.

 

[Element Zero]

Just curious why you’ve got beef with batteries.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

Ernie Ball USA SUB (some of them).
There is a Indonesian made Sterling SUB that is passive.
MTD Kingston had a passive version.
Fernandez Atlas.

Also there is a recent Ernie Ball BFR that is all passive and very light weight.
And a few that were made a while ago for GC that had both passive and active option.

Currently there is a short scale Sterling by MusicMan Stingray that is all passive. Also the USA Ernie Ball MusicMan Stingray short scale is passive.

That is a great list of options!

 

[dkelley]

I've tried this with no success.

The musicman sound comes partly from the pickup and placement, and partly from the unique and very not-flat preamp eq curve.

edit: well, ok. not "no" success. Just not the sound that I got from my active ernie balls. That was the sound I wanted, and I have yet to manage to get it without the preamp. I bypassed the preamp on a 2 band single pickup stingray to try that out... it was only a weak copy of the tone with the preamp. the part of the stringray sound that is most unique, the treble tone, which is truly the fingerprint of a stingray, was gone. the low bass was weak. the midrange was a little more prominent, which was the only bonus, but of course being a two band ray that is to be expected since the bass control is boost only on a 2 band ray.

 

[Dan_reeves]

Many of the old OLPs are passive. I have one, wanted more output, and installed a MM pickup from Warman in the UK.

 

[ComeHomeShane]

Others will disagree, but I think the Music Man preamp is integral to its sound. To me, it’s the baked-in tone, the loss of passive dynamics and the compression the pre adds that makes a StingRay a StingRay. Preamp-free sounds good, but not like a StingRay. YMMV, of course it does.

for sure. Ultimately, if you want it to sound like a stingray, play a stingray.

 

[Clank Plank]

Just curious why you’ve got beef with batteries.

As a child he came home early one day and caught is mum in flagrante with a battery. He's had a phobia about them ever since.

 

[Riff Ranger]

A battery dying in the middle of a song is a legitimate concern literally happened to me yesterday. Good thing I was at home.

 

[john_g]

If it were me and I was concerned about price...I would get a Kiloton. Maybe not "exactly" like my Stingray but close enough. Heck, my G&L 2000 Tribute gets me in the same zipcode. Especially when alot of those little nuances get lost as soon as you play with others.

 

[Jefenator]

YMMV.
All the passive basses I've kept have a neck pickup and all the active/passive basses I have stay in active mode all the time.
But passive bridge-MM basses are becoming more of a thing, so what the heck do I know. (I'm just a guy who's sold every Music Man he's ever tried. I'd still like to try the right 2-band. Alas, I waited too long long - they're all up around $2K now...)

 

[Wood and Wire]

A battery dying in the middle of a song is a legitimate concern literally happened to me yesterday. Good thing I was at home.

I just don't understand how anyone can find themselves in that predicament, during a gig, or recording session.

It's like blaming the car for running out of gas, whilst crossing a desert.

 

[spatters]

@daveyo

The OLP StingRays from the 90s and early 00s were all passive, wired volume/volume/tone.

They were officially licensed from Ernie Ball, so the body and headstock shapes are exactly correct (and heavy like a StingRay). I owned one for years. They're solid basses, and you can find them all day on Reverb for very little money.

As mentioned, the tone difference between them and a "real" StingRay is marginal.

 

[lomo]

Forgive me, but what will the onboard pre provide that a quality, versatile, front end of a modern amp won't?

 

[Riff Ranger]

I just don't understand how anyone can find themselves in that predicament, during a gig, or recording session.

It's like blaming the car for running out of gas, whilst crossing a desert.

Car has a fuel gauge, battery doesn’t. And your car battery can die on that drive, too. You can take reasonable precautions to minimize the likelihood, but it can and does still happen occasionally. Hopefully you’ve got a backup bass right there and you’re not down more than a minute. Backup cars are a trickier proposition

This hasn’t stopped me from using active-only basses with battery-powered preamps, and fortunately I’ve never had one go out on me at a show. But seemingly happy cars have stranded me more than once. I still use those, too I don’t even “blame the car”—but I do recognize that it can happen even if I’m reasonably attentive.

… so it remains a legitimate concern.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

I think the Fernandes Atlas serves up passive Stingray tone on a budget. I bought mine for $80 at my favorite pawnshop. Here are videos using flats, rounds, finger style and slap.