Music Man Stingray w/ weak G string

[oaklandbassist]

Hello everyone.
I have posted a short video on youtube explaining how to fix this problem.
it involves pushing the center pole pieces down so they are level, then angling the pick up towards the g string.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6qbVHvX29Q

Well it looks like I posted without reading every single reply on this thread. There are a lot of them.

This guy's approach is the one I took, and it worked for me.

 

[drTSTingray]

I acquired a used Stingray a few days ago. It has a Status Graphite neck

Ah ha - is this a factory limited edition or an aftermarket mod - I'm presuming the latter? Anyway I'm glad you've solved your problem.

I've never played a Stingray other than a stock one, and in spite of some people referring to the issue, I've never had this problem. If anyone cares to look, there's currently a post on the Musicman bass forum by a guy called Pertyman - it contains a video of him playing Paul Simon's Graceland on a 1992 Stingray fretless - there is no hint of a weak G string, and all the harmonics and high notes ring out as you would expect.

A serious mistake, IMO, some bassists make when using Stingrays is to put the bass EQ on full (you can't use it like a Fender tone control) - yes it sounds nice on the low strings but it also overpowers your mids by making too scooped a sound - and your higher notes can 'appear' to be less present - however you probably will find the bass is still cutting through the mix out in the room, even if you can't hear it properly, and if recorded, will probably not be a problem.

I have never modified a Stingray or its pole pieces in 35 yrs of playing these basses. The latest ones are no exception - simply the best mass produced bass you can get - you could take off the pickguard if you wish, and the woodwork and finish is perfectly presentable under there ;-)

I do agree on string choice and I think it depends on the bass - the standard EB Slinkies work best for me on my SR4HH; Cobalt Slinkies on my 2 band Classic (although I've re-strung it recently with TI Jazz flats); DR Marcus Miller Fatbeams on my SR5 and Ernie Ball Grp 3 flats on my SR4 fretless. Rotosounds also work well (certainly for a while), as do GHS Flea Boomers. I find 100 to 45 guage work the best (interestingly this is what EBMM ship Stingrays with). I have some Rotosound 95 to 35s on my SR4HH at the moment - they make it sound far more 80s, especially the slap sound, but I'm finding a 35 guage G string FEELS most peculiar - almost like a guitar string.

 

[oaklandbassist]

Ah ha - is this a factory limited edition or an aftermarket mod - I'm presuming the latter?

Yes, it's an aftermarket neck for sure. I did a serial# inquiry on the Ernie Ball site SR forum, and the bass was originally shipped with a maple neck/fingerboard. Ash body, made in '02

there's currently a post on the Musicman bass forum by a guy called Pertyman - it contains a video of him playing Paul Simon's Graceland on a 1992 Stingray fretless - there is no hint of a weak G string, and all the harmonics and high notes ring out as you would expect.

I recently saw this video. Great sound!

you could take off the pickguard if you wish, and the woodwork and finish is perfectly presentable under there ;-)

Good to know, thanks for the info...This is my first Musicman bass (and quite unexpectedly, may just become my #1 gigging bass).

 

[Snailbass]

I just bought a Classic SR5. It definitely doesn't have a G string volume problem as far as I can tell. I am running the bass without much bass or treble boost to avoid losing midrange character. If anything the open G string is a little extra loud. It does have the "G string way too close to the edge of the neck" issue, so I wouldn't say they've solved all the problems I've heard of, but I sure don't have G string output issues the way I am setting the controls. Maybe this is already well known, this is first SR5 so I was happy to notice a G string volume issue

 

[Snailbass]

Happy to not have a G string volume issue, that is

 

[Jaycephas]

Just picked up a factory fresh SR5 and there is nothing wrong with the G string volume. EQ BT slightly boosted, mid flat. Running this bass through my Aguilar Tone Hammer is magical. String spacing will take some getting used to verses my Sadowsky RV5 but, man, I'm loving that MM tone.

 

[zortation]

Rays generally sound better through an SS rig in my experience.

 

[tiglon]

I had the same problem... to fix it i only use a compressor.

 

[villis]

i have not this problem with my sr 5 1989! and i have the pup in the g string in the same height with b when i measure the distance between pup and string holding the string in 12 fret down!

 

[mongo2]

As to the EB forums, sorry but i find them to be a joke. Its full of people praising the basses but ask for help and if you even mention another brand you get told off.
I remember a thread where someone asked about EB flats on a SR. Lots of answers about the EB flats but as soon as someone mentioned how they compared with Chromes and TI's they we told by a mod (i think) that its a EB forum and you arent supposed to talk about anything other than EB products.

Move ahead 4 years...

LOL...That happened to me, I was just about to post about it.

 

[Jaycephas]

Recently picked up a like-new 2004 Stingray. Cleaned, sanded and waxed the neck, set it up to my specs, new strings and it sounded good! But I noticed the weaker-sounding G string right off the bat. Tried to compensate with the EQ, raised/ lowered the pickup, not much change. So I lowered the A&D magnets as suggested. Problem solved!

 

[Thundamental]

that has not been the case for me at all.

on all of my pickups, the magnets that are closer to the strings are the louder strings. that's why you'll see some pickups with radiused magnets to match the radius of the fingerboard. the famous vintage p bass pickup with the 'raised A' or staggered strat pickups also come to mind. Leo Fender actually gave me some magnet shims way back in '78 for my '76 stingray, to in effect, raise the weaker string's magnets, thus raising their volume.

What is a magnet shim?

No it has nothing to do with pickup layout, it is a design decision, the G magnets are weaker resulting in less output from the G string (by about 20%).

Is this really true? Can't we just replace that magnet then?

 

[IronLung1986]

Also, for anyone that has ever questioned whether or not graphite necks are prone to dead spots, the answer is yes, in my first hand experience. It seems to be all about the resonant frequencies of the neck regardless of material --in combination with all other sound producing factors of the bass.

I can corroborate this. I put a Status graphite neck on my Stingray for the express purpose of helping with a dead spot on the G string. However it seemed only to move the dead spots closer to the nut. A better and vastly cheaper solution was to simply stick a 5 gram self-adhesive tire balancing weight to the clover leaf part of the D string tuning machine. D, not G. This slightly altered the resonant frequency of the bass, which made the dead spot just a bit better. The best you can do is "tune" the dead spot out to a point you can live with. If you go too heavy handed with the weights you'll move the dead spot entirely, which is still annoying, and/or you'll dampen the resonance of the bass too much. You'll find that the instrument just feels lifeless and doesn't respond to dynamics as well. It's weird.

 

[delta7fred]

Is this really true? Can't we just replace that magnet then?

It was certainly true of my SR5. It would appear that no one else has checked the magnet strength or if they have they are keeping quiet about it.

I wouldn't want to start hacking about with a genuine MM pickup but I have fitted new magnets in MM clone pickups (and others) very successfully. If the magnets are surrounded by a plastic sleeve or former that the wire is wound around then swapping the magnets is quite easy. If the wire is wound directly onto the magnets then you run a the risk of breaking the wire and needing a rewind. Not worth the risk IMO.

I believe that some of the guys who wind their own pickups buy un-magnetised Alnico rods and magnetise them after winding the pickup. I am pretty sure that you could increase the strength of the G magnet with the right equipment. You will probably get a better answer and how to do it over on the Pickups & Electronics [BG] forum.