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Totally get what you mean about the playing surface. I've put ramps on almost all my basses. My favorite pickup surface was my Peavey Cirrus 5, perfectly curved and so nice to play over
I'm going to have to test some new strings. I've been into the DR Legend flatwounds on my Jazz recently, in general I'm a DR guy for rounds (Sunbeams), and LaBella for flats, but the DR Legend are a nice in between that I'm really enjoying.
I've been playing a 32" 5 string and I have to go easy on the B.
There are several reasons why I own 4 of them . The B string is reason number one.
The way I go through basses you may have a PM from me in a few months
The idea of a Stingray HH or even a H being a one trick pony…Do you NEED it? Well, even as a huge Stingray fan (I currently own two, previously owned a third), I have to say no, you don’t need it. But is it a bass worth considering, definitely, yes. Especially if you owned one before and liked it.
I see criticism of Stingrays as being too clanky and biting and I agree that they can do that, especially five string models from the era from about the mid-1990’s through 2007, when five string Stingrays had the preamp and the ceramic pickups from the five string Sterling. I own a 2007 5HH and it can definitely get aggressive. But I also find that technique, strings, and especially the bass’s powerful EQ can go a long way. I’ve used my 2007 playing blues and British Invasion and I don’t need to do excessive tweaking to get the bass to work very well in those bands. It sounds great.
The current model Stingray Special has a different design pickups (using neodymium magnets) as well as a preamp designed to work specifically with those pickups to provide a less aggressive, more vintage Stingray tone than the ceramic models. I can get adjust my Special and my ceramic to overlap each other quite a bit, but the Special does have a less aggressive overall character, though I use my Stingrays interchangeably. And, as you found, the Specials do tend to be noticeably lighter than previous Stingrays. My Special is a 5HH and weighs only 8.3 pounds. I mentioned above the 2006 ceramic 5HH that I sold. I only sold that one because it weighed 11.5 pounds and the 2007 that replaced it was only 9.5.
This is my opinion, but I do not find my Stingrays to be one trick ponies that clank and bite extremely well but can’t do anything else. I find them to be extremely versatile, especially if you try different strings that can reduce those characteristics. I tend to use nickel rounds and let them age past the point where a lot of players might replace them and I LOVE how that sounds (FWIW, I love old, well broken in nickel Lo Riders!) . But I’ve also put flats on my ceramic Stingray multiple times and have had a few bassists in other bands at open mics and blues jams ask me how I got my Stingray to sound so deep and rich. Flats!
Based on you having owned a Stingray in the past and liked the sound, my experience with both the ceramic model and the Special makes me say that a Special is absolutely worth checking out in your case. However, deciding whether or not to buy one will be up to you. But you can guess my recommendation.
