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Music Man StingRay Club | PART FIVE

#2,801
dave64o said:
Beautiful finish!

I had Chromes on my 5HH for a few years and only recently replaced them with a set of GHS Pressurewounds. The Pressurewounds do sound really nice but I'm not sold on them yet. Still might go back to the Chromes (or my true favorites, nickel Lo Riders).

FWIW my band plays 60s and 70s classic rock plus a variety of blues and blues rock. I also played in basement jams playing southern rock, British Invasion, and generic classic rock. My Stingray sounded fantastic in all those situations with the Chromes. The PWs sound great too, but I'm going to let them age a little longer before deciding what to do longer term.
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Pet Sounds said:
My Burnt Apple Special 4H was a GC return, and the previous owner had it strung with, I believe, Ernie Ball cobalt flats. These are advertised as brighter than most flats, but I'm a flatwound player, too, and I really like the sound and feel on this bass. Mine have purple cloth wraps.
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Thanks to you both! While I generally don't use D"Addario strings of any kind (long, itchy story), I do have an old, salvaged set of Chromes on my G&L Tom Hamilton ASAT Bass. I'm surprised at how good they sound on that bass - and I also play pretty much the same kind of music as you. So, Chromes are on my list (I think I have a new set in my Box-O-Strings, in fact...)
Purple silk at both ends? Yeah, those are Cobalt Flats. They were actually the first strings I thought of for replacements, and I have a couple sets of them (different gauges) in my Box-O-Strings, too. Been thinking about what to put them on... I"m kind of a string junkie; I buy them like some women buy shoes... Now, I'm waiting for the "TI Jazz Flats!" guy to come along... And, yes, I use those, too...:cool:
 
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#2,803
Craig4003 said:
TI Jazz Flats!

Actually, while I love TIJF's, I've never tried them on my StingRay. The stock EB strings sound so good that I just keep putting those on. But I really should try TI's to see how they do on a Ray...
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Epic 1.JPG I have TIs on this Alembic Epic, and they sound marvelous on it. So, they certainly work on an active bass. But, I'm just not "hearing" them on an HH... Not leaning towards Old School thump, either. The stock Slinky rounds are OK, and I do use nickel Hybrid Slinkys on a bass or two, but I'm just not a rounds guy. Cobalt Flats, or maybe Fender 9050s, are what I'm hearing in my head... Well, it's not that I don't have them to try, that's for sure...:cool:
 
#2,804
GIBrat51 said:
Thanks to you both! While I generally don't use D"Addario strings of any kind (long, itchy story), I do have an old, salvaged set of Chromes on my G&L Tom Hamilton ASAT Bass. I'm surprised at how good they sound on that bass - and I also play pretty much the same kind of music as you. So, Chromes are on my list (I think I have a new set in my Box-O-Strings, in fact...)
...
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FWIW, I've had a set of Chromes on my L-2500, which I think has the same electronics as the ASAT, for about three years and my L sounds fantastic.

I think that bass sounds best when the treble is up pretty high, otherwise it can sound kind of muffled. But then with the treble close to full on, I get more string noise than I want. I found that Chromes tame that bite just enough that there's no distracting string noise but there's still plenty of high end to let the tone on the bass come through. I think they're a great match for those beefy MFD pickups.
 
#2,806
Hypercaffium said:
Despite my true love for flatwounds, I don't think they suit a Stingray very well. I tried myself and wasn't 100% satisfied with the results. My Stingray felt like a dog with a muzzle.
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I think it depends on what sound you're going for. I agree that flats aren't as well suited for the traditional SR sound, but I'm always trying to tame the harshness, so they help to achieve that end.
 
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#2,811
So my Stingray Special, which I bought not even a year ago, has developed an... interesting problem, where 3 times in the last 2 weeks, I found one of the screws on the A or D string saddles collapsed and had to redo the height adjustment. This is the first time I've ever had that happen on any instrument ever, let alone one of that price.

Is that something that's been known to happen on Stingray Specials? As soon as lockdown ends, I'm either gonna take it to Long & McQuade or contact EBMM directly for a warranty repair.
 
#2,812
Wild_Cat said:
So my Stingray Special, which I bought not even a year ago, has developed an... interesting problem, where 3 times in the last 2 weeks, I found one of the screws on the A or D string saddles collapsed and had to redo the height adjustment. This is the first time I've ever had that happen on any instrument ever, let alone one of that price.

Is that something that's been known to happen on Stingray Specials? As soon as lockdown ends, I'm either gonna take it to Long & McQuade or contact EBMM directly for a warranty repair.
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Never heard of that happening. I would write to EBMM, explain the problem, and see what they say.
 
#2,813
Dave W said:
Cobalt flats sound fantastic on my SR5. I've never liked flats, but I played those for 6 months straight.
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How do the Cobalt Flats feel? I like the idea of a brighter sounding flat so they sound interesting to me, but only if they're pretty stiff feeling.

Just for reference, I love nickel Lo Riders, Chromes, LaBella Deep Talkin' Flats, etc. - all pretty stiff feeling strings. If the Cobalt Flats feel close to them, then I'll give them a shot. But if they're closer to TI Jazz Flats, then I won't both bother.
 
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#2,815
Pet Sounds said:
To each his own. I really like the Cobalts on my SRS 4H.
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Cobalts are quite different from typical flatwounds. They're definitely way brighter and rougher under the fingers. I'm not surprised you like them, they are quite balanced in terms of frequencies and sound very good with Rays and Bongos. I don't like them very much but the sound is good. But again, if I'm looking for a flats tone I wouldn't use them.
 
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#2,817
dave64o said:
How do the Cobalt Flats feel? I like the idea of a brighter sounding flat so they sound interesting to me, but only if they're pretty stiff feeling.

Just for reference, I love nickel Lo Riders, Chromes, LaBella Deep Talkin' Flats, etc. - all pretty stiff feeling strings. If the Cobalt Flats feel close to them, then I'll give them a shot. But if they're closer to TI Jazz Flats, then I won't both bother.
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They are indeed stiff. Similar to Lo Riders and Chromes to me.
 
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#2,818
Craig4003 said:
Never heard of that happening. I would write to EBMM, explain the problem, and see what they say.
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Figures. I just sent them an e-mail. I'm not expecting them to reply very quickly because confinement sucks for everyone, but we'll see where that goes.

I just hope it doesn't end up with me having to replace the bridge with an aftermarket Gotoh/Hipshot/other. Modding an EBMM just feels *wrong* to me.
 
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#2,819
If anyone here has a Sterling and decided that they are only loyal to the Stingray, feel free to PM me. Looking for an EBMM Sterling 4H with a rosewood board. Obviously they are inferior to EBMM Stingrays. So there's no reason to hang on to them...;)
 
#2,820
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