School me on Music Man Stingrays

[scubaduba]

Love the Specials. The neck, weight (lack of), pickups, preamp, EQ curves….. all are well, special. Every era is unique. No bad Ernie Ball eras. But I do really like the current Specials. Great basses. They play great and the HH config offers up a whole lot of tones.

 

[Up the dose]

I had the HH and while it was a versatile bass I prefer the single H. It gets the traditional Music Man tone and gives me more room to use thumb and slap technique. While the two band pre camp is more old school MM tone the three band gives you more precise EQ on a gig because of the mid control and the knobs having a center detent. Very useful on stage. I prefer the three band. I also prefer the maple neck and ceramic P/U to the alnico, or neo. I didn't dislike the rosewood or the alnico, both sound fine, but the brighter tone just seems to work better for me.

 

[AngelCrusher]

I think I'd rather have the new models due to the new voicing and lighter weights. I was never a fan of the aggressive high end and always rolled it off on mine. But when you roll the treble off, the bass sounds amazing. So they can sound super modern but also old school, which is quite rare for an active bass, since they don't have that compressed tone that so many have.

I prefer the H by a large margin. Simple is better for me, and I also don't like the pickup placement. It can get in the way for me.

 

[TeeSee]

My current electric is an '81 Ibanez Blazer. Anything has to be lighter than that,

You reckon? I think my Harley Benton JB-75 will give yours a good run for it's money at an eyewatering 6.1Kg (13.4 freedom kilo's to quote Gregor) when suspended from luggage scales

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

I have an opportunity to get a 2003 EBMM Stingray in mint condition. I've always wanted one but what are the major differences over the years? Are the HH basses better?

Best basses ever made in my opinion.
Personally, I fell for the 2 bands, and the pre Special 3bands are too harsh for my ears.

I prefer the Specials . So much so, that I own H, HH, Fretless, and Short Scale versions.

EBMM StingRays are known for excellent build quality but they can be heavy before the redesign Specials. Ceramic pickup models are more aggressive than alnico pickup versions.

Get that StingRay. If you find it to be too aggressive, try flats and roll off the trebles. EB Slinky Cobalt Flats are a good match.

 

[Jack]

If you buy it and don't like it then you can resell it easily. Not that it matters, you'll like it.

 

[DirtDog]

The only two things you need to know: you only need the H, and the 2-band is eminently more musical than the 3-band eq. Hold out until both criteria are met as *that* is the definition of the original Ray. (and yes I’ve owned all variations to prove it to myself )

On top of that, check to see if the neck is to your liking. My dream bass was as @jeff62 describes….ticked all my boxes. But the neck of the 2001 H 2-band Ray and

 

[Smooth_bass88]

It should be noted that the newer StingRays require not one, but TWO batteries

 

[BassNugget]

It's going to matter whether you like the classic, old school Stingray tone or prefer the more modern, more flexible tone.

For me, the specials are the best playing and sounding Stingrays. I prefer the H setup with a 3-band EQ. Playing live, that Mid control is super useful to me. The two batteries in the 18v system is not so great, but, the 18v system does sound better in my humble opinion.

If you want old school, Alnico pickup, H config, 2-band EQ

Although they are a bit more versatile tone-wise, I don't care for the H-H.

 

[FirewalZ]

It's going to matter whether you like the classic, old school Stingray tone or prefer the more modern, more flexible tone.

For me, the specials are the best playing and sounding Stingrays. I prefer the H setup with a 3-band EQ. Playing live, that Mid control is super useful to me. The two batteries in the 18v system is not so great, but, the 18v system does sound better in my humble opinion.

If you want old school, Alnico pickup, H config, 2-band EQ

Although they are a bit more versatile tone-wise, I don't care for the H-H.

While I love the Specials as well, I am not a fan of the high output of the 18v’s….and wondered if it’s really necessary? It creates a hassle when switching between other basses and having to adjust all the gains along the signal path. I’ve started to simply keep the volume turned down somewhat, but wondered what’s the real practical advantage over 9v?

 

[Michael Jewels]

I just realized that my Stingray is 24 years old today.

Seriously.

Serial # E24105 built on July 6, 2001, purchased by me, December, 2001.

At the now defunct, Sam Ash.

Here she is:

 

[Giffro]

I just realized that my Stingray is 24 years old today.

Seriously.

Serial # E24105 built on July 6, 2001, purchased by me, December, 2001.

At the now defunct, Sam Ash.

Here she is:

View attachment 7268596
View attachment 7268597

Mike if that's a recent pic of the bass I congratulate you for looking after it so well..looks like it came straight from the factory loll

 

[FirewalZ]

I just realized that my Stingray is 24 years old today.

Seriously.

Serial # E24105 built on July 6, 2001, purchased by me, December, 2001.

At the now defunct, Sam Ash.

Here she is:

View attachment 7268596
View attachment 7268597

Cool…..I just checked my #1. My first real new bass that I bought new from a MF catalog after listening to RHCP

Manufactured

July 3rd, 1995

Model

BASS STING BLACK MAPLE 3EQ

 

[Michael Jewels]

Mike if that's a recent pic of the bass I congratulate you for looking after it so well..looks like it came straight from the factory loll

The picture is about 5 years old.

Right now the bass looks about 80% as good as the picture.

That picture was taken just after I had it set up.

I try to take care of my instruments as best I can.

That means:

1) Cleaning them about twice a year.
2) Washing my hands every time before I practice.
3) And letting very few people play my instruments. If they do, they must wash their hands before playing, and no one drunk touches anything of mine.

Call me a Fuddy-duddy, but that’s how you keep an instrument in top condition.

Thanks for the kind words.

Mike

 

[Giffro]

The picture is about 5 years old.

Right now the bass looks about 80% as good as the picture.

That picture was taken just after I had it set up.

I try to take care of my instruments as best I can.

That means:

1) Cleaning them about twice a year.
2) Washing my hands every time before I practice.
3) And letting very few people play my instruments. If they do, they must wash their hands before playing, and no one drunk touches anything of mine.

Call me a Fuddy-duddy, but that’s how you keep an instrument in top condition.

Thanks for the kind words.

Mike

Thank for the reply fuddy Mike loll..i'm no different. Wash hands before a gig...wipe down the strings and body quickly after each set...then a proper clean after the gig before packing into the case...and nobody plays my basses but me...its good to be a fuddy lolll
ps. I need a beautiful black Stingray H like yours to go with my white HH

 

[Norman Hunter]

Regarding the sound issues of having a Stingray H or HH, I have both a Stingray Special H and a Stingray Special HH and find that although the HH does have more tonal variety than the H the single pickup Stingray has a sound that easier to manage and in fact goes lower in the deep bass. I just can't find a tone using the coil combinations of the HH that sounds as good as the tone of the single pickup at the bridge model. The single pickup Stingray is not necessarily more aggressive. In fact using the EQ on the single pickup Stingray can tame the treble easier on the single pickup Stingray making it a bass that will work in all playing situations. This sounds counterintuitive I know but this has been my experience. The Stingray Specials got a makeover in 2018 and have a more polite top end. This has been my experience.

 

[mikeswals]

Single pickup IS the StingRay sound.

I've tried and owned alot of HH's over the years, to me they sound too scooped and uncharacteristic (unless you're only using the rear pickup, but then why get it?). To me that front pickup is too far forward, and it will never sound like a Sabre either, which was the HH done correctly IMO.

 

[Michael Jewels]

Ah, yes!

I love all this Stingray tone talk!

And I've always been fascinated at this, "One Pony" characterization of Stingrays.

I have always loved the tone of, Paul Denman, bassist for the singer, Sade.

I've found that to get close to his tone, you should set your 3 band Stingray tone at:

Bass - 7
Mids - 7
Treble - 2 or 3

Play with your amp, and play with your fingers just in front of the pickup.

Tone is subjective, but that's what I like.

You might like a different setting.

Mike

 

[wavemaker]

Lots of talk about tone, little of feel. I‘ll add to the latter.

While I loved everything else about my Stingray Special (weight, ergonomics, tone), I came to realize that I absolutely, no doubt about it, prefer vintage frets over the larger ones of the Specials. So I sold my Special and ended up with two Classics - (US) Sterlings, actually - from 2010/2011.

There’s also the matter that vintage Stingrays will have gloss necks while Ernie Ball introduced their famous oil/wax blend, if that matters to you. The Classics of course are gloss, too.
I really enjoy both types of finishes for different reasons and for me personally, one isn’t inherently "better" than the other.

All that said, if there’s ever a "Classic" Stingray Special aside from the very limited drops of Tim Commerford Signatures, I imagine I‘d be in trouble.

 

[SoCalExile]

I would be more into your Blazer. That era of Ibanez is my Jam.
With that said, and knowing that you dont have an anti Ibanez tilt, I would consider a 90s Ibanez ATK 300.
They are sometimes called the 'poor man's Stingray'
If being a "poor man" means not having an ego regarding the writing on the headstock, then call me poor. I like the ATK more.

I had an orange sparkle TR300 Expressionist that had an awesome growl in drop-D, but the intonation wasn't great on it, and that came out in recording.

If I found a 300 or 500 in that color, I'd still scoop it up again.