Musicman Stingray HH or H

[Graham Lindsley]

Hi All,

Buying a stingray very soon. Seeing a few HH double pup going for good prices. Tried to read up online the difference between single pup and the HH 2 pup? Anybody tried both on here and know is there much difference?
Ta very much

 

[brushfirewolf]

I’ve owned both and there is absolutely no reason [for me] to not go HH. Just more tonal options.

Only downside I can possibly imagine is it does feel in the way sometimes when slapping. I learned to work around it pretty quick though.

 

[Samatza]

If you're looking for a greater range of tones HH is the way to go. I have two H StingRays but I have other basses to cover a tonal palette outside the single pickup range. When I use the StingRay it's because I want 'that' sound.

For me both are great and if I was using only one bass then the HH does more sonically. Try them out for yourself though and see which one speaks to you.

 

[Graham Lindsley]

Hi All,

Buying a stingray very soon. Seeing a few HH double pup going for good prices. Tried to read up online the difference between single pup and the HH 2 pup? Anybody tried both on here and know is there much difference?
Ta very much

And to add to my post...... any comparisons to the MMH or HH I.e. Sandberg....... any good? Cheers all

 

[brocco]

I had a 5H and 5HH love the HH many more sound options ended up selling the H

 

[Low profile]

Good to know. I had the same doubt.

 

[mouthmw]

If you want more tonal variety (and the neck H position doesn't bother you for slapping/popping), go for HH.

I personally don't care for the neck pup on Stingrays, and every setting that includes it sounds scooped, muddy and/or characterless to me. Single H for me does what it needs to do - the Stingray tone.

Check out some demos and videos of people using the H and HH and decide for yourself.

 

[sears]

If you like Neapolitan ice cream better than plain chocolate or vanilla then get the HH.

 

[jdaunt]

As stated by many, definitely HH. And the key to it is to adjust the neck pup height to your taste while using both.

 

[Geri O]

Since I’m kinda sad about having to sell my H5 (or SR5) for financial reasons, I’m not in a good place to advise, since I really do love a Stingray.

I owned (and will own again in the future) an H5 for that one famous Stingray tone. Yeah, it’s a one-trick pony, but like a Precision, it’s one hell of a trick...

 

[endy_y_p]

H only gives you that sound, but its THE sound, the Stingray sound...

 

[Killing Floor]

If you can swing the extra cash there are a couple EBMM things I am in love with. One is the second pickup option. There is enhanced depth that will round out the tone profile, I use the neck and mix a lot. You can get a mellow J-like tone from there that is different from the single Ray. Next is the 3EQ. Rays have a lot up top so having the 3rd band to dial back some of the minds is a nice option.
But either way I want to thank you in advance for your sage wisdom. Any time a Ray is born an angel gets its wings.

 

[Joe Nerve]

Neither.

HS.

I currently own a single H, its a short scale though. And I recently got rid of an HS. I also have an HS Sterling 5, and an HS Bongo. I have owned 2 HH Bongos (a 4 and 5 string).

HH, to me, was less versatile than the HSs, and to a certain degree, overkill. The bass is aggressive a $%*, and for me doesn't need any more. If anything it could use taming, and the single coil pickup did that for me (and still does on my other HSs). Musicmans don't typically have many Fender characteristics, but I feel I can get them to do that with the HS when I start turning the EQs down as opposed to up. On all my MMs I now consider about 1/3 of the way up (like #3 if they were numbered 1-10), flat. When I start EQing from there and using my volume to adjust, I get a billion awesome sounds. Sounds I never thought possible before I got comfortable doing that.

Anyhow... yeah. HS is my preference. It gives that extra slapping space at the neck too, not that I really missed it with the HH.

Just saw @Killing Floor 's post and realized I forgot the mention that I'd definitely go with a double pickup, no matter what. On my HS I don't even know if I ever soloed the bridge pickup. There is a LOT more depth as well as some super funky and syrupy sounds with both pickups kicked in. It doesn't ever lose the Stingray tone, just kinda adds to it.

 

[FugaziBomb]

I've got an HH, but the majority of the time I just play the back humbucker. Gets a pretty convincing Jazz Bass sound in position 2, though. Nice to have for session work

 

[RickyRocknRoll]

Based on my experience, HH/HS over H anyday. Makes for a more versatile instrument in my humble opinion.

 

[sawzalot]

H is all I've needed for 25 years. But the real answer to your question is "Both!!".

Seriously, one of the things you'll need to be aware of is the more coils/magnets you put under your strings, the more the pull from those magnets affects the tone. I didn't think that was a thing until a couple years ago when it really affected one of my basses.

 

[TheReceder]

I'm biased. No more Hs, one HH that I love. Only issue I have now is I've recently purchased an L2000 that really is mind bendingly gorgeous. I think I prefer the neck, and setup I've done on the Ray. So in the end... when I gig... I usually take one of my peaveys

 

[Mastermold]

Single H was all I wanted/needed when I bought mine but you should try the HH in case it suits your needs better. If your local music stores are still closed for Covid try online videos to get some idea. Plenty of those on YouTube.

 

[bassdude51]

I highly recommend the Musicman Sterling (USA) 4HH. Because it's pickup options are wired in series and that gives better sounds.

The Stingray 4HH is wired in parallel and the pickup options just don't sound as good in my opinion and........it is only my opinion.

Yes, I owned both and I like the Sterling 4HH the best.

 

[mdogs]

I have owned multiple Stingray HH's, a Stingray H, a Sterling H, a Sabre, a Reflex HSS, etc. For me, the best was the Reflex with the 2 single coils and the H. Ed Freidland called the single coil in the middle position the "P bass killer'" and he was exactly right. What a great bass, but the body shape did not see eye to eye with my body shape, so off she went. If EB was to put that configuration on a Stingray body, wow! Anyway, I am a fan of all MM multi-pickup basses, I love the Stingray H too, but I don't slap so why wouldn't I want the extra flexibility of the HH?