Music Man Stingray 5 G String hitting the edge.

[Bassist96]

Hey!

I just got myself a stunning 2011 Musicman Stingray 5. It sounds stunning but I I've come across an issue now with the bass. The g string rides extremely close to the edge of the neck to the point where if I'm not clean with my playing my fingers go over the edge hahaha.

Would changing out the nut and moving the groove inwards a couple mm help?
Are there any mods that can be made to fix this?

 

[cfortner]

The neck is not inline with the corpus.

Move the the headstock carefully to the left, until the B and G strings are in line, after this tighten the neck screws carefully.

It seems to be a typically shipping accident, my MM Stingray 5 had the same issue at arriving from Thomann.

 

[Naigewron]

I've had the same issue with every Stingray I've tested (which admittedly is only about 3-4 different ones).

Maybe they were all set up badly, and/or maybe my hands are just clumsy, but they definitely seem to be more susceptible to the G string slipping off the fretboard than most other basses. Never had it happen with any other bass.

 

[cfortner]

My MM Sting 5 at arrival:

Look at the G string.

And after moving the neck a little bit to the left and tightening the screws. Look at the magnets of the pickup - perfectly in line.

 

[Geri O]

Definitely loosen the necks screws (lower the string tension first, just a reminder) and see if the neck will shift a little to the bass side.

But also, keep in mind that Stingray 5-strings are 17mm string spacing, so it's a pretty narrow neck. And the G string does sit fairly close to the edge of the neck. Some players may experience a lot of pulling the G string off of the edge of the neck. Many years ago, I found that bringing my arm and hand around a bit (thumb near the edge of the neck on the treble side) helps the pulling-off problem. Plus I seem to play cleaner overall

It can be difficult to get used to. It took a little practice for me to not pull the G string off of the neck, but it wasn't bad and I adjusted since I really like that tone and that's the bass I have to play to have that tone (no other single-hum bucker does it for me. Not even close. Yes, I've tried many).

See if the neck does move over a bit. Then see if you can adjust to the spacing.

It's certainly not for everyone. Good luck.

 

[Zooberwerx]

My MM Sting 5 at arrival:

View attachment 5264637

Look at the G string.

View attachment 5264638

And after moving the neck a little bit to the left and tightening the screws. Look at the magnets of the pickup - perfectly in line.

...and no room to spare! They're not generous with the real estate, are they?

Per my OCD inner-self: Once the strings are aligned to spec, I measure the gap on the B/E side with feeler gauges, remove the neck, apply a non-slip abrasive (aluminum mesh) between the pocket floor and heel, and re-assemble with the feeler gauges in their original positions. That sonofagun is not going anywhere.

Riis

 

[202dy]

Just for the sake of clarity, it's not a Stingray issue nor a Musicman issue.

It is a bolt-on neck issue.