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my EBMM stingray begins its diet today

#42
Jim C said:
Must just be the few of us that dislike heavy SR basses
Would be great if the aftermarket made this very same body
Click to expand...

Guitar Mill makes Stingray style bodies and will make one of their Featherweight Series out of Paulownia. I've used Featherweight P, J and Mustang bodies from them. All 3 were very light (3.5 lbs or under) and very well done.
 
#43
Just thought I'd put it out there that these are a lot cheaper and better for you than buying or making new stingray bodies to knock a pound or 2 off your bass.

p90x-chin-up-bar.jpg


Just sayin.
 
#44
Joe Nerve said:
Just thought I'd put it out there that these are a lot cheaper and better for you than buying or making new stingray bodies to knock a pound or 2 off your bass.

p90x-chin-up-bar.jpg


Just sayin.
Click to expand...

maybe better for you, but those don't make a heavy (clicky-clacky) bass sound any better.

(what a bunch of BS) :rollno:
 
#47
JK, I started to post about this but thought better of it.
I've never played a featherweight SR and was thinking it would have been cool to have done a before and after recording.
Then realized that many here and on the MM board (whom opinions I trust) have had great sounding basses in all weight ranges, thus eliminating the theory that heavy = good tone.

Am anxiously awaiting more build pics and text!
 
#48
Hi Jim,
yeah, a before and after recording might have been cool, but i don't really need a reference to know that my back is not only going to like the weight difference for live gigs, but IME building bodies, i think it'll have a little bit more resonant and smoother/warmer tone, which is also what i'm looking for. and even if the tone doesn't improve much or change at all (very unlikely), having a ray that's much more comfortable to play is worth the effort to me.
 
#49
johnk_10 said:
what a silly statement.

have you ever heard an 8lb one? i didn't think so.
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yup, i dont like like light ash. ive played mid 8lb, low 9lb rays. i dont like the air in the tone the same way i dont like a light ash late 70 jazz or a light 70's style jazz made by the boutique guys. all the splat and attack is gone if favor of bloom. i want that same attack in a ray.

you dont like the sound of heavy ash. guess thats silly right:smug:
 
#50
narud said:
yup, i dont like like light ash. ive played mid 8lb, low 9lb rays. i dont like the air in the tone the same way i dont like a light ash late 70 jazz or a light 70's style jazz made by the boutique guys. all the splat and attack is gone if favor of bloom. i want that same attack in a ray.
Click to expand...
There was a thread at the EBMM forums where guys with multiple rays were saying how the heaveir ones sounded a little better than the lighter ones, and i recall Marcus Miller saying that he prefers heavy 70's jazzes to lighter ones.

The thing is not everyone can stand the weight for 3 sets a night :smug:
 
#53
When I was young, I thought nothing of carrying SVT's up and down flights of stairs at 4:00 in the morning. I'm 5'10" and weigh 175 lbs. If need be, I can still hold my own in a street fight. It's not a matter of being in shape but being financialy able to buy or build whatever I want at age 52. Three 50 minute sets with a heavy instrument has never been fun for me.

Interesting comment about the sound of heavy ash.
I do have a natural finish 73 Pbass I bought new and it weighs a ton; also have another blonde 73 P as well as a CAR 74P. For me, the heavy Fenders don't sound as good as the lighweights whether it be guitar or bass.
Clearly, we all have our own opinions on this.

The tech question I'm interested in:
* Does a heavy vs light body, have more affect on a passive vs active bass?
I think it makes a bigger difference with passive instruments.
 
#54
Jim C said:
When I was young, I thought nothing of carrying SVT's up and down flights of stairs at 4:00 in the morning. I'm 5'10" and weigh 175 lbs. If need be, I can still hold my own in a street fight. It's not a matter of being in shape but being financialy able to buy or build whatever I want at age 52. Three 50 minute sets with a heavy instrument has never been fun for me.

Interesting comment about the sound of heavy ash.
I do have a natural finish 73 Pbass I bought new and it weighs a ton; also have another blonde 73 P as well as a CAR 74P. For me, the heavy Fenders don't sound as good as the lighweights whether it be guitar or bass.
Clearly, we all have our own opinions on this.

The tech question I'm interested in:
* Does a heavy vs light body, have more affect on a passive vs active bass?
I think it makes a bigger difference with passive instruments.
Click to expand...

ive done the light vs heavy thing quite a bit with 70's style jazzes and whether active or not, the airyness and bloom of swamp ash kills the immediate attack which makes that tone. no pre was able to mimic the density of a heavy body. if thats a sound you value, you gotta bite the bullet and go heavy.

i dig rays for the same reason (im currently using a heavy ash atk305 for that tone right now). think louis johnson beating that ray up. there are stingray players who say the tone is all the electronics and the weight doesnt matter. i dont agree. a buddy of mine was buying a late 70's ray. the shop had two of them. an 11 pounder and a 9 pound bass. the heavy one sounded better (better to the both of us at least) and that was the one he picked up.
 
#59
joeyl said:
BTW thanks for turning it into another tone thread.
The thing is that nobody cares once you are playing onstage, nobody will come to you and say, bass was sounding good man, but if it was heavier/lighter, it would sound even better.
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well hell, if none of the people in the audience are going to notice i might as well sell all my **** now. thats who i was buying all this stuff for anyway.











;)
 
#60
timbledum said:
Crap sorry i completely forgot about this thread till now! Ill scamper off and get those scans.
Click to expand...

PLEASE, PLEASE,PLEASE DO! scamper away!
i routed the neck pocket and control cavity today. i'm going to route the pickups and rear control cavity & battery mount next.

i would've had all of the routing and body's edges roundover finished by now, but when i went to turn on my old rockwell 1.75HP router today that i've had since 1976, it was dead. i checked the switch, the AC cable and the motor's brushes but to not avail, so i had to go out and buy a new one. went to homedepot to get a new porter cable one (which is exactly like my rockwell) but the local HD couldn't locate the three that their computer said that they in stock. so i had to drive to another one to get it. nothing like repairing/replacing your tools when you're in the middle of a job (sheesh).
...............man, when i think of how many guitars that i built using that old rockwell, it's kinda sad to retire it.

i'll post some pics of today's progress in a little bit. i kinda hate to stop and take pics and would rather just keep working, but i guess it'll be nice to kinda document the build.
 

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