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My Stingray's D & G String's Output is Very Week/Thin!!!

#21
Modern Growl said:
This has bothered me for a long time now... I'm supprised I'm just posting about this now.

I've adjusted the pickup height even up to 3/64th-4/32nds closer to the G then the E string!
The output on the D and G just seems very very thin/low.

I guess there's not much that can be done?
I guess its just due to the pickup location?

Anyone?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I had the same problem on the Stingray I once owned (a '94 model). I was never able to solve it to my satisfaction. Maybe they intentionally do this because they figure most of their owners will be popping the G?

Incidentally, I just ordered a Stingray HH from Musiciansfriend -- I'll be returning it if it exhibits the same problem.
 
#22
Modern Growl said:
This has bothered me for a long time now... I'm supprised I'm just posting about this now.

I've adjusted the pickup height even up to 3/64th-4/32nds closer to the G then the E string!
The output on the D and G just seems very very thin/low.

I guess there's not much that can be done?
I guess its just due to the pickup location?

Anyone?
Click to expand...

By the way, if you want to pick up a cool, ballsy bass that decidely doesn't have this issue, pick up the Jack Cassady that someone's selling in the Gear for Sale section. You'll certainly hear the G string on that!
 
#24
santacruzom said:
Incidentally, I just ordered a Stingray HH from Musiciansfriend -- I'll be returning it if it exhibits the same problem.
Click to expand...

see, I doubt you will have a problem w/ a HH Stringray. The neck will give you enough body on the higher strings. I believe it just has to do w/ the single H pickup position.
that along with boosting of the lows...

but, post back once you recieve it... be interesting what you find.
 
#25
Modern Growl said:
see, I doubt you will have a problem w/ a HH Stringray. The neck will give you enough body on the higher strings. I believe it just has to do w/ the single H pickup position.
that along with boosting of the lows...

but, post back once you recieve it... be interesting what you find.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's my thought on the matter too -- I really think the neck pickup and all the switching options will eliminate the problem.

Of course, I'll let you know once it actually arrives.

By the way, what's the main difference between a Sterling and a Stingray? Is it mostly just the smaller size of the Sterling?
 
#29
pickles said:
Bingo, IMO. You're boosting the fundamantals of the low strings buy not the high ones. IIRC an octave is 2x the frequency. So E at fret 7 on the A string is 80 hz. E at the 9th fret on the G is 160. If you boost between 100 and 200 your upper strings will show more meat.
Click to expand...

To put it another way: cranking bass and treble on the 'Ray preamp is the same as scooping the mids. Doing this can make the EA strings sound great, but the DG strings can get lost in the mix (for fingerstyle, anyway).

Well, a lot depends on the rest of the gear in your signal chain, and how it's set. But generally speaking, the fundamentals of the DG strings disappear when scooping.

FWIW, I just saw a friend of mine gig with his 'Ray. I was amazed at how tonally balanced it was across the 'board... up and down the board, too. :p This was true for both slap and fingerstyle. I give him credit for being a monster player, but I checked his Trace Elliott rig: preamp, power amp, and 4x10 cab. The graphic EQ was set with a mild bump in the low mids.
 
#30
Yea, +1 fuzz.

But if you want a scooped sound with even fundamantals, boost at 200 while cutting at 500 (or cut the mid control on your ray while boosting 200 at your amp).

All my experience is with sterlings, ray 5s, and a ray5HH ... so maybe a ray 4 is different, but I've never had ANY problems with underpowered D and G strings, and I've got the boosted 200hz on all my amps to prove it. :D You do NOT need a neck pickup or a replacement pickup or anything else, you just need to work with the EQ.

One other note: if your amp's EQ is perfect with your J-bass, it probably won't be right with your stingray ... sometimes you have to adjust to a new bass.
 
#31
My only problem with 'rays is pulling the flippin G string off the fingerboard. Come to think of it, I had that issue with my Bongo as well. Oh well, the tone wins in the end. I'll receive my new SR5 H/H next week :)

I'll report if I have this issue, cuz if I do it'll drive me nuts! I spent alot of time getting the pickups setup right on my MTD :D
 
#33
Before I started building and playing my own basses I owned several production instruments, my favorite was my '95 Stingray. It was black with a kick ass Birdseye neck and fingerboard (they use the plainest neck wood these days, makes them look budget), the grain was so well matched that you could hardly tell it wasn't one piece. It was also before they started using the cheesy battery boxes. I miss that bass. OK onto what this thread is about, the E and A sounded sweet, but the D and G sounded super thin. Also the neck had a wicked dead spot on the G. I sent it back, they were nice but basically told me it was normal and wouldn't give me a new neck. It had it's own flaws and personality, but it was still a nice bass.:bassist:
 
#34
Modern Growl said:
see, I doubt you will have a problem w/ a HH Stringray. The neck will give you enough body on the higher strings. I believe it just has to do w/ the single H pickup position.
that along with boosting of the lows...

but, post back once you recieve it... be interesting what you find.
Click to expand...

Well, I've had my HH for a few days now and all I can say is that it certainly does NOT suffer from this malady. Oh, and that it's simply a bad-ass bass that's tough to put down. Tried it out with my band in rehearsal for the first time last night and they loved it, particularly the drummer who can now hear me play subtle flourishes that he once couldn't. It just cuts right through, but I can easily keep it from being overbearing. The D and G strings are both easily audible, and I don't even slap or pop... ever.

It has a 5-position switch and ALL the positions are usable. I had thought that I would probably just leave the switch in the middle position (both coils on both pickups on) most of the time, but in fact that's the position I use the *least*.
 

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