Paging owners of both 2 EQ and 3 EQ StingRays...

[ToddB1963]

I bought a 3‑band StingRay back in 2005. It was my main gigging bass for about five years, but I was never completely in love with the sound. I still own it and never plan to sell it for sentimental reasons, but it doesn’t see much playing time anymore because I have other basses that suit me better tonally.

I’ve always really loved the sound of the old 2‑band StingRays on records - the snarl in particular - and I’ve often been tempted to pick one up. That said, I could never quite justify buying one on a whim just to find out whether the tone really was that different.

Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of YouTube demos comparing the two, and honestly, they don’t seem that different. I’m asking because I’ve come across a beautiful 2017 StingRay Classic in natural, and I’m wondering whether there’s enough of a real, in‑the‑room sonic difference between the 2‑band and 3‑band to justify taking the plunge.

Thoughts?

 

[ToddB1963]

Ignore previous message - bass is no longer available.

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

Yes….. big difference. The Specials somewhere in the middle . But the 2 band Rays have more punch , sizzle , and warmth. The highs are not as brittle or metallic compared to the pre Special 3bands.

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

Ignore previous message - bass is no longer available.

Another will come along . Give it a try.

 

[Hillbilly Sam]

Yes….. big difference. The Specials somewhere in the middle . But the 2 band Rays have more punch , sizzle , and warmth. The highs are not as brittle or metallic compared to the pre Special 3bands.

Exactly my experience as well (specially about the warmth and a more organic tone), to the point where I feel uncomfortable and constantly fiddling with the knobs all the time I play a 3 band. 2 band feels right away at home for me.

If your 3 band have sentimental value and you're not planning to sell it, have you considered modding it into a 2 band? Much cheaper and totally reversible in case you don't like it. And in case you do, then you'd be enjoying your own SR.

 

[Geogio]

I bought a 3‑band StingRay back in 2005. It was my main gigging bass for about five years, but I was never completely in love with the sound. I still own it and never plan to sell it for sentimental reasons, but it doesn’t see much playing time anymore because I have other basses that suit me better tonally.

I’ve always really loved the sound of the old 2‑band StingRays on records - the snarl in particular - and I’ve often been tempted to pick one up. That said, I could never quite justify buying one on a whim just to find out whether the tone really was that different.

Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of YouTube demos comparing the two, and honestly, they don’t seem that different. I’m asking because I’ve come across a beautiful 2017 StingRay Classic in natural, and I’m wondering whether there’s enough of a real, in‑the‑room sonic difference between the 2‑band and 3‑band to justify taking the plunge.

Thoughts?

I went to a 7 band with a boost quite a while ago. I was not expecting the results. From dialing in to avoiding pickup replacement... the benefits are quite noticeable.

 

[murphy]

I have had both
I like both
The three band is more intuitive fore me ...and can't be beat with my SR5ver with S pickup..HS

The 2 band tends to be a one sound for me that I LOVE .but not as versatile...to me.. on the gig.
That's why I also always had a Jazz bass also

 

[greenrositti]

I find the mids on the 3 band sound narrow and pushed, whether boosted or not. The two band has nice chewy mids at any bass/treble setting, with warmer lows, and airy smooth highs. Better all around.

 

[jeff62]

I never found that the 3-band sounded exactly like what I wanted to hear. The 2-band was the magic, for me at least.

 

[NocoLaw]

Same - I thought I didn’t like StingRays when all I had played was the newer 3 band. The Classic (and vintage) are the bee’s knees; a Classic 5 is my #1!

 

[beholder011]

If you like your Stingray's feel but not the sound of 3eq, why not investing a couple of hundreds and try 2eq replacement preamp? There are several options (i.e. Bosko on Ebay), should be fairly simple and reversable operation... search option is your friend. Good luck!

 

[jmattbassplaya]

I own a SR4H and a SRS5H. Both are great! Would love to add a Classic 4H but I’ve yet to find a 2 band that I really jive with. I like the on hand flexibility of the 3 band StingRays.

 

[RGerhart]

Are you sure it was a 2017 Classic? I thought that EBMM stopped making them around 2011 or 2012.

 

[cyclealt]

I agree with the people saying you should consider modding your stingray with a 2 band preamp. The john east MMSR has been given a lot of praise on here.

 

[Slade N]

I had a classic, still have a 3 band fretless. For my tastes - fretless I think the 3 band is the better option and for fretted old school, 2 band is better.

Only had Cobalt flats on both so keep string choice in mind. Maybe try different more mellow top end strings for your 3 band?

 

[Thunderthumbs73]

I bought a 3‑band StingRay back in 2005. It was my main gigging bass for about five years, but I was never completely in love with the sound. I still own it and never plan to sell it for sentimental reasons, but it doesn’t see much playing time anymore because I have other basses that suit me better tonally.

I’ve always really loved the sound of the old 2‑band StingRays on records - the snarl in particular - and I’ve often been tempted to pick one up. That said, I could never quite justify buying one on a whim just to find out whether the tone really was that different.

Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of YouTube demos comparing the two, and honestly, they don’t seem that different. I’m asking because I’ve come across a beautiful 2017 StingRay Classic in natural, and I’m wondering whether there’s enough of a real, in‑the‑room sonic difference between the 2‑band and 3‑band to justify taking the plunge.

Thoughts?

Even if the bass isn't available, my input still stands because other Stingrays are out there and others will (could?) read this. Out of a three-band EQ setup, I'd say the MIDS are the most important in my experience.

When I get in the room and start to dial in a sound to the room, my bass and treble tend to stay where they are for the duration of the gig, which is flat, or if there is some minor adjustment of them in one way or another, that adjustment tends to stay. but MIDS?

Depending on song, I tend to either accentuate the mids for some throaty fingerstyle or pick use, OR I will cut ALL the mids for a slap sound. There are even times where I am adjusting the mids back and forth in the song depending on the moment to bring out harmonics or to go back to the slap part.

A two-band anything really isn't useful to me for the diverse kinds of music I play and the different ways I play it.

Whatever the difference in sound between any two-band EQ thing versus a three-band version of the thing, I'll take the three-band EQ version everytime, without hesitation. I also know that paradoxically as it may seem, I fiddle far LESS with a three-band EQ instrument with two parameters, treble and bass, I can basically "set it and forget it" than wanting a MID control and constantly fiddling with the treble, bass and volume knobs on a two-band instrument to try to approximate the balance of midrange where there is no knob specifically earmarked for that.

Good luck with it.

 

[metron]

It definitely makes a difference. Ive had several 3 bands. There’s nothing wrong with them, but each one left me feeling like it was missing something. Once I got my 2014 classic I immediately though that’s it. I can’t really articulate in terms of EQ or whatever but the the sound of the stingray to me is a 2 band.

 

[silky smoove]

For me the winning combination is the original Sadowsky setup. Two active EQ bands paired with a passive tone control. I've played a Stingray with this setup and it worked just as well as any other bass I've tried with it, which is to say, brilliantly. If I ever buy another Stingray, this is exactly what I'll be doing to it.

 

[PrimitiveMan]

I've had both a Special and a classic at the same time. I still prefer the Special. It's nice to have the mids as an option and you can get darn close the classic sound pretty easily on the special with some tweaking

There is something unique about the classic though, and I'll probably buy one again at some point in this life.

I am not as much a fan of the pre special 3 band though. Still great basses but always felt it was a bit harder to get the sound I wanted.

 

[TonH]

I have a 30th anniversary SR4 2006 with a 3EQ and I like it. It has a build in HPF and a resonance peak at 4kHz that the 2EQ doesn't have.
I find this video on Youtbue very usefull to learn about the differences: