My experiences with the new (and old) Stingrays

[mouthmw]

I would agree with this, I own one special and have played another, both seem more resonant that my other stingrays, I believe this is due to the neck.

Might be due to lower weight too. I think lower weight basses tend to vibrate and resonate more.

 

[SteveCS]

Yeah the roasted neck isn't a big deal to me. I don't think it imparts any sonic difference, and I haven't had it long enough to remark on it's stability.

I identified with your observation in your OP of the notes really 'jumping off the neck', as I thought the same when I played some specials a few months ago. I felt that to also be the case unplugged, and could only attribute that to the roasted neck. They feel incredibly hard, light, stiff and non-resonant, all of which would reduce energy absorption from the string. I think it is a big sonic factor. But, as always, thats just IMHO, and YMMV.

 

[mojomike001]

I was never really a Stingray guy and never felt the need to have one...until the 2018 Specials came along. The lighter weight. The looks. The quality. That roasted maple neck. The powerful new preamp. I had to have one. For me, the beautiful new HH is just the ticket.

 

[Bevan777]

Might be due to lower weight too. I think lower weight basses tend to vibrate and resonate more.

Could be, although my 2017 stingray (non roasted maple neck) is actually slightly lighter in weight than my special, but still doesn’t have that resonance.

 

[Acoop]

I’ve owned pre EB rays and found the tone great and the necks too wide and flat, and I have big hands. I prefer a 90’s three band Ray with figured maple neck with any board. All over other MM models are just variations on the Stingray. Like putting fins on a Caddie.

 

[80jazz]

The special H seems to have a bit more low-end and grind to them. Any thoughts on that?

I am considering a chopper blue bass, hence the question.

 

[Stranger Danger]

Hey TB. So, I’ve spent the last week wearing out my new Stingray Special HH. I’ll give my thoughts below on the bass as well as a comparison to my other Ernie Ball basses. I currently own a 94 Stingray , a 95 Sterling, and I just recently sold a 2007 HH Ray. Through the years I’ve owned about 20 EB and pre-EB basses, probably played 300+ gigs on them. I absolutely love the signature Stingray tone, but I've never been completely satisfied with their flexibility. Kind of a love/like relationship. Anyways, I mostly wrote this for us TBers that are considering replacing their Stingrays with a Special.


Fit/finish and playability: This bass is a solid 9/10. The build quality is on par with my 90s Ray/Sterling (some think of this as a “golden era” for EB instruments), and is noticeably better than all of my USA Fenders. The new sculpted neck joint feels great. The tuners are an improvement and the SS frets were all perfectly seated and leveled. I was able to achieve action much lower than I actually prefer. Neck joint was super tight, balance was perfect, and it weighs only 8.5lbs! The neck is SUPER fast and feels great. It’s a bit slimmer than my other Ray but not by much. The double-eared pickups is a huge improvement to me over the old HH pickups. I used that space to anchor my thumb on my H models, glad to have it here. Overall it’s what you’d expect from a professional instrument costing over 2k. IMHO Ernie Balls have always been some of the best production basses ever made, so these slight improvements make an awesome bass even better.

Minor drawbacks: the new bridge, while being lighter, aesthetically bums me out. I really like the old look better. The 22 frets coupled with the neck humbucker make it very difficult for me to slap cleanly. I adjusted to this with my other HH but it’s even tighter now with the additional fret. Also the plastic control cavity on the back is just slapped on there, not recessed into the body. Come on EB, if a $500 Ibanez can do this I think a $2200 USA made bass should too.


Tone: This is totally subjective but I’ll give my thoughts compared to my other Rays. Let’s get this out of the way first, the new EQ is amazing. If you’re looking for only 1 reason to buy a new Stingray over the old this is it. On Stingrays the signature hi mid/lower treble “click” and those tight lows are a given, you either love it or hate it. The onboard EQ never did much to change the character of the bass, not that that’s necessarily a bad thing. For the new Specials the flat tone is much more neutral and organic. It’s definitely a Ray, but without the exaggerated frequencies of the original. This is where the new EQ comes in. Combined with the HH pickups you can get just about anything out of this bass. Want the old Stingray tone in position 1? Done. Need to dial in some mids to approximate a P bass in position 4? Done. How about a J bass in position 2? Well, not quite. This bass won’t make me sell my P, Js, or PJs but it sure comes closer than the old style HH ever did. I did some recording of the HH Special compared to the old HH, as well as the Special in 1st position (single H mode) compared to the old Ray and Sterling. IMO the Specials are more refined, neutral, responsive, and flexible than any previous version of a Stingray. One more thing, I’m not sure if it’s the SS frets but compared to my older Rays notes played on the Special seem to “jump off the fretboard”. Kind of like going from my Fender Rumble setup to my GK stack. This may or may not be a positive for you, it certainly is for me.

Drawbacks: Tone-wise, I have none. If you absolutely have to have that signature Stingray tone 100% you may not be happy with the Specials. But if you’re ok with getting 90% of the way there then these will do nicely.


So, should you sell your beloved Stingray for a new Special? Well that depends on what you’re missing from you current Ray. If you dig the (as Bass Player magazine once put it) “10lbs of guts” and don’t need the extra flexibility then I say no. If you desire a more flexible tone and want a lighter bass then it’s definitely an upgrade.

I prefer the way they did the plates on these. The recessed plate is a design flaw for me. Every one I’ve had the plate always got stuck. It’s not like you have to take it off a lot but I definitely prefer it the way they did this one. The bridge doesn’t bother me either but I would’ve preferred a quick release for faster string changes

 

[birminghambass]

I identified with your observation in your OP of the notes really 'jumping off the neck', as I thought the same when I played some specials a few months ago. I felt that to also be the case unplugged, and could only attribute that to the roasted neck. They feel incredibly hard, light, stiff and non-resonant, all of which would reduce energy absorption from the string. I think it is a big sonic factor. But, as always, thats just IMHO, and YMMV.

I just assumed this was because of the SS frets, not the roasted neck. Either way it's a real quality that the Specials have over the past Stingrays.

 

[SteveCS]

I just assumed this was because of the SS frets, not the roasted neck. Either way it's a real quality that the Specials have over the past Stingrays.

Maybe the SS is a factor. My only other experience with SS frets is my Chapman Stick, and that has a similar vibrant quality...

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

I identified with your observation in your OP of the notes really 'jumping off the neck', as I thought the same when I played some specials a few months ago. I felt that to also be the case unplugged, and could only attribute that to the roasted neck. They feel incredibly hard, light, stiff and non-resonant, all of which would reduce energy absorption from the string. I think it is a big sonic factor. But, as always, thats just IMHO, and YMMV.

Hmmm, I noted this as well and thought it was due to the ebony fingerboard.

 

[SteveCS]

Hmmm, I noted this as well and thought it was due to the ebony fingerboard.

Interesting. The ones I played (3) were all maple.

 

[mellowgerman]

Love the look and feel, but I've never been a big Stingray guy as the tone is just not my cup of tea. I am always interested in reviews though and this is a very well-written, informative one. So thanks! Kind of makes me want to go play a Ray somewhere actually... Wish I had the option to test-drive one locally strung with flats. I did this once a long time ago. The bass belonged to a friend of a friend. Wasn't thrilled then, but my ears have evolved and look for a different things in the tone arena these days. Feel like I need to experience it again

 

[Stranger Danger]

Love the look and feel, but I've never been a big Stingray guy as the tone is just not my cup of tea. I am always interested in reviews though and this is a very well-written, informative one. So thanks! Kind of makes me want to go play a Ray somewhere actually... Wish I had the option to test-drive one locally strung with flats. I did this once a long time ago. The bass belonged to a friend of a friend. Wasn't thrilled then, but my ears have evolved and look for a different things in the tone arena these days. Feel like I need to experience it again

Do you like the Fender tone? These new basses, especially the HH version, are really EBMM/Fender hybrids in my opinion. The Stingray is still there but there are a lot more Fender tones on tap.

 

[jnerics]

I have a 87 stingray,a 93 sterling and cheap sub sterling with a second neck pu added. The sterling is original and is amazing though more of a light jazz sound. the 87 and sub are both switched out with seymore duncam bassline alnicos and preamp. This gives them unbelievable bottom and a high end that will just tear your face of. Really almost unbelievable high end. Also both are wired to a toggle switch to give the option to select series/parallel/single coil. I recommend this mod for MM players. The 87 has a roar which I have never experienced before in any other bass. I kind of think the pots in the duncan pre have been boosted (i got it used already modded) but the bass itself has a lot to do with this. The sub with the two pu mod with the duncan stuff also sounds incredible and has a great smooth jazz studio feel to it, very sophisticated. Each of the basses is TOTALLY different and unique. MM and jazz bass is all I own. Can't find anything better.

 

[Hand slap]

Hey TB. So, I’ve spent the last week wearing out my new Stingray Special HH. I’ll give my thoughts below on the bass as well as a comparison to my other Ernie Ball basses. I currently own a 94 Stingray , a 95 Sterling, and I just recently sold a 2007 HH Ray. Through the years I’ve owned about 20 EB and pre-EB basses, probably played 300+ gigs on them. I absolutely love the signature Stingray tone, but I've never been completely satisfied with their flexibility. Kind of a love/like relationship. Anyways, I mostly wrote this for us TBers that are considering replacing their Stingrays with a Special.


Fit/finish and playability: This bass is a solid 9/10. The build quality is on par with my 90s Ray/Sterling (some think of this as a “golden era” for EB instruments), and is noticeably better than all of my USA Fenders. The new sculpted neck joint feels great. The tuners are an improvement and the SS frets were all perfectly seated and leveled. I was able to achieve action much lower than I actually prefer. Neck joint was super tight, balance was perfect, and it weighs only 8.5lbs! The neck is SUPER fast and feels great. It’s a bit slimmer than my other Ray but not by much. The double-eared pickups is a huge improvement to me over the old HH pickups. I used that space to anchor my thumb on my H models, glad to have it here. Overall it’s what you’d expect from a professional instrument costing over 2k. IMHO Ernie Balls have always been some of the best production basses ever made, so these slight improvements make an awesome bass even better.

Minor drawbacks: the new bridge, while being lighter, aesthetically bums me out. I really like the old look better. The 22 frets coupled with the neck humbucker make it very difficult for me to slap cleanly. I adjusted to this with my other HH but it’s even tighter now with the additional fret. Also the plastic control cavity on the back is just slapped on there, not recessed into the body. Come on EB, if a $500 Ibanez can do this I think a $2200 USA made bass should too.


Tone: This is totally subjective but I’ll give my thoughts compared to my other Rays. Let’s get this out of the way first, the new EQ is amazing. If you’re looking for only 1 reason to buy a new Stingray over the old this is it. On Stingrays the signature hi mid/lower treble “click” and those tight lows are a given, you either love it or hate it. The onboard EQ never did much to change the character of the bass, not that that’s necessarily a bad thing. For the new Specials the flat tone is much more neutral and organic. It’s definitely a Ray, but without the exaggerated frequencies of the original. This is where the new EQ comes in. Combined with the HH pickups you can get just about anything out of this bass. Want the old Stingray tone in position 1? Done. Need to dial in some mids to approximate a P bass in position 4? Done. How about a J bass in position 2? Well, not quite. This bass won’t make me sell my P, Js, or PJs but it sure comes closer than the old style HH ever did. I did some recording of the HH Special compared to the old HH, as well as the Special in 1st position (single H mode) compared to the old Ray and Sterling. IMO the Specials are more refined, neutral, responsive, and flexible than any previous version of a Stingray. One more thing, I’m not sure if it’s the SS frets but compared to my older Rays notes played on the Special seem to “jump off the fretboard”. Kind of like going from my Fender Rumble setup to my GK stack. This may or may not be a positive for you, it certainly is for me.

Drawbacks: Tone-wise, I have none. If you absolutely have to have that signature Stingray tone 100% you may not be happy with the Specials. But if you’re ok with getting 90% of the way there then these will do nicely.


So, should you sell your beloved Stingray for a new Special? Well that depends on what you’re missing from you current Ray. If you dig the (as Bass Player magazine once put it) “10lbs of guts” and don’t need the extra flexibility then I say no. If you desire a more flexible tone and want a lighter bass then it’s definitely an upgrade.

I own both an “2015” and a new 20

Hey TB. So, I’ve spent the last week wearing out my new Stingray Special HH. I’ll give my thoughts below on the bass as well as a comparison to my other Ernie Ball basses. I currently own a 94 Stingray , a 95 Sterling, and I just recently sold a 2007 HH Ray. Through the years I’ve owned about 20 EB and pre-EB basses, probably played 300+ gigs on them. I absolutely love the signature Stingray tone, but I've never been completely satisfied with their flexibility. Kind of a love/like relationship. Anyways, I mostly wrote this for us TBers that are considering replacing their Stingrays with a Special.


Fit/finish and playability: This bass is a solid 9/10. The build quality is on par with my 90s Ray/Sterling (some think of this as a “golden era” for EB instruments), and is noticeably better than all of my USA Fenders. The new sculpted neck joint feels great. The tuners are an improvement and the SS frets were all perfectly seated and leveled. I was able to achieve action much lower than I actually prefer. Neck joint was super tight, balance was perfect, and it weighs only 8.5lbs! The neck is SUPER fast and feels great. It’s a bit slimmer than my other Ray but not by much. The double-eared pickups is a huge improvement to me over the old HH pickups. I used that space to anchor my thumb on my H models, glad to have it here. Overall it’s what you’d expect from a professional instrument costing over 2k. IMHO Ernie Balls have always been some of the best production basses ever made, so these slight improvements make an awesome bass even better.

Minor drawbacks: the new bridge, while being lighter, aesthetically bums me out. I really like the old look better. The 22 frets coupled with the neck humbucker make it very difficult for me to slap cleanly. I adjusted to this with my other HH but it’s even tighter now with the additional fret. Also the plastic control cavity on the back is just slapped on there, not recessed into the body. Come on EB, if a $500 Ibanez can do this I think a $2200 USA made bass should too.


Tone: This is totally subjective but I’ll give my thoughts compared to my other Rays. Let’s get this out of the way first, the new EQ is amazing. If you’re looking for only 1 reason to buy a new Stingray over the old this is it. On Stingrays the signature hi mid/lower treble “click” and those tight lows are a given, you either love it or hate it. The onboard EQ never did much to change the character of the bass, not that that’s necessarily a bad thing. For the new Specials the flat tone is much more neutral and organic. It’s definitely a Ray, but without the exaggerated frequencies of the original. This is where the new EQ comes in. Combined with the HH pickups you can get just about anything out of this bass. Want the old Stingray tone in position 1? Done. Need to dial in some mids to approximate a P bass in position 4? Done. How about a J bass in position 2? Well, not quite. This bass won’t make me sell my P, Js, or PJs but it sure comes closer than the old style HH ever did. I did some recording of the HH Special compared to the old HH, as well as the Special in 1st position (single H mode) compared to the old Ray and Sterling. IMO the Specials are more refined, neutral, responsive, and flexible than any previous version of a Stingray. One more thing, I’m not sure if it’s the SS frets but compared to my older Rays notes played on the Special seem to “jump off the fretboard”. Kind of like going from my Fender Rumble setup to my GK stack. This may or may not be a positive for you, it certainly is for me.

Drawbacks: Tone-wise, I have none. If you absolutely have to have that signature Stingray tone 100% you may not be happy with the Specials. But if you’re ok with getting 90% of the way there then these will do nicely.


So, should you sell your beloved Stingray for a new Special? Well that depends on what you’re missing from you current Ray. If you dig the (as Bass Player magazine once put it) “10lbs of guts” and don’t need the extra flexibility then I say no. If you desire a more flexible tone and want a lighter bass then it’s definitely an upgrade.

Had both, like both for different reasons. IMO, the playability is good on both, that I have, but quite different. I think the fret work, on my 2015 is better than the 2018, BUT maybe that’s the difference between nickel, and steel frets, the ends of the steel frets seem sharp, maybe it’s just me? Overall it’s kind of like some of the videos from MM state, settle little tweaks, between the 2, the end result is a noticeable difference. Both are excellent.

 

[mellowgerman]

Do you like the Fender tone? These new basses, especially the HH version, are really EBMM/Fender hybrids in my opinion. The Stingray is still there but there are a lot more Fender tones on tap.

My favorite Fender tone is the 51 P bass, but I've come to terms with the fact that I'm mostly a hollowbody/flatwounds guy. My go-to's are my 1970 Guild Starfire and late 70's Polish-made Defil hollowbody bass. Still I did absolutely loved my G&L L2500 back in college, when I found myself in the appropriate context of a poppy groovy folk rock party band. Starfire would have worked then too, but the solid-body G&L had a more aggressive kind of tone and I could see an HH Stingray doing very well in that kind of context.

 

[Stranger Danger]

The special H seems to have a bit more low-end and grind to them. Any thoughts on that?

I am considering a chopper blue bass, hence the question.

More than what?

 

[maxschrek]

Pre EBs for sure. That's how I voted, however, I'm not a big fan of the classics. Every one of them I've owned or played sounded anemic and played stiff no matter how much I fiddled with the setup. Probably just me but meh.
Practically every EBMM I've ever owned needed their nut slots deepened to suit my playability tastes.

 

[Burwabit]

Wish I had the option to test-drive one locally strung with flats

I’m breaking in a new set of EB Cobalt flats on mine. Loving them so far.

 

[80jazz]

More than what?

Ugh. Sorry I was so specific.

I meant previous Stingray H models. Perhaps the 18v preamp has something to do with it?