First stingray I bought cost $465. Bought several others for under 800. Bought a used sterling for 650 once. USA subs, several under $200 and others for $450. All of these were found on cl. I have owned many SBMM, they are nice and sound like a ray but a real one always feels and sound better. IMHO
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Sell me on a US-made Stingray
- Thread starter Pings Bass
- Start date
I also have a sub Ray 4. I also had a ray34 but didn't like the wider neck, something to keep in mind. us Ray's have a wider neck more like a precision. the sub has a jazz like neck (38mm nut) otherwise you could look at the Sterling by ebmm. my sub is one of the older made in Indonesia, I traded for it (used) and I think the preamp was replaced. it was trash so I removed it. the stock pickup would be ok if it weren't hardwired in series which makes it muddy. I replaced with a good one and replaced the pots with two switches for parallel/series north coil South coil. there's actually a big difference between the coils soloed. it sounds killer now. you should keep it and upgrade the electronics imo. I also plan on getting a better looking bridge like the real deal and refinishing it in oil
If you truly love the tone and feel of your SUB, no reason to get a classic or newer model. I think they do sound different, and I can just feel the quality difference in my hands, but you said you got the tone you were looking for... so might as well save the cash! If you want an in-between upgrade, the Sterling 34 is an excellent bass. I loved mine, was just too heavy for me. Personally, I'm saving for a Stingray Special– that's my long-term goal.
I would LOVE to. I have zero available time. Overly taxing job, lots of business travel, three kids ages 7 and under, large home and property to care for, the list goes on.
Might be a function of the camera angle, or else the wall hanger is pressing on the strings.
Or maybe the fret wrap was on there when I took the photo, not sure.
But yeah, that fretboard is 2 die 4!
Here it is in action:
My friend, when you say 80 basses, do you mean there is a place in your residence with 80 basses hanging out right now? Do you have a storage unit somewhere? What are the logistics of owning 80 instruments? Have you posted a picture of the whole stable?
To be fair, that’s awesome as hell (other than the marital-argument aspect). Sorry for getting off topic.
Back on topic... that Ball Family Reserve looks great. I’ve played some absolutely fantastic ones. They’re the real deal.
I'm not going to help you here: go find a used one in a color you like and just do it. (And factor in the cost to go get the frets touched up by a pro, if they're worn.) Save the box, and you can sell it if you're underwhelmed after a month.
I have basses at every levels of build from beater to coffee-table. All have had the electronics tweaked until they're suitable for any occasion; each plays well enough that I could sell all the rest and be just fine, if a bit bored. And as I talk I find myself intellectually convincing myself that there's really not much difference. But when I'm holding one and playing, the nicer basses..are simply nicer. Sure, there's a bit of a "diminishing returns" effect past the $1500 range, and there's plenty of snake oil if you're not careful, but nicer basses are nicer. There, I've said it.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go apologize to my OLP.
I have basses at every levels of build from beater to coffee-table. All have had the electronics tweaked until they're suitable for any occasion; each plays well enough that I could sell all the rest and be just fine, if a bit bored. And as I talk I find myself intellectually convincing myself that there's really not much difference. But when I'm holding one and playing, the nicer basses..are simply nicer. Sure, there's a bit of a "diminishing returns" effect past the $1500 range, and there's plenty of snake oil if you're not careful, but nicer basses are nicer. There, I've said it.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go apologize to my OLP.
The main logistics are:
a) My kids don't have a playroom, which is unfortunate.
b) It was totally worth it to invest $3,000 in climate control equipment so that I never have to touch a truss rod or even tune anything.
c) I play so little that I barely ever have to change any strings, but I have 75 sets of new strings in a box for when/if I do need to change any strings.
d) I hardly get any sleep because on the rare occasions (always late night) when I don't have to be either working or spending time with the family or doing home maintenance jobs, I stay up all night playing along with a Beat Buddy and making up bass grooves. The lack of sleep impairs my judgment, and in those weak and impaired moments, I click on the TalkBass Classifieds and buy more basses.
It's not practical to fit them all in a single photo. I don't have time to move them all to do that.
Here are some of them.
Attachments
I own a 30th Anniversary EBMM Stingray 5, but this little girl on a SUB in the link below made me vote carrots.
Putting Me to Shame
Putting Me to Shame
Thank you for posting this...it's proof for my wife that I'm not crazy lol.
Enjoy your Sub, maybe upgrade electronics if you hear something you like on YouTube.
Try fret leveling and dressing to keep your playability in the zone you like.
Maybe you are an HH, HS, etc guy. Cut those into your Sub. You decide you are a Classic guy, then cut in a 5string pickup. Live with it for a while to see if it's a lifelong thing, or a fling.
Once you've used that Sub in like a pair of broken in work boots go compare the Special for it's different construction methodology. Roasted neck, lighter body, etc is different. Your Sub is built along the lines of the various Stingray iterations up to the Special.
Decide what works best for you and buy the 2nd MM. Worst comes to worst you built out some custom config and you'll Custom Shop a Stingray for yourself to spec.
Try fret leveling and dressing to keep your playability in the zone you like.
Maybe you are an HH, HS, etc guy. Cut those into your Sub. You decide you are a Classic guy, then cut in a 5string pickup. Live with it for a while to see if it's a lifelong thing, or a fling.
Once you've used that Sub in like a pair of broken in work boots go compare the Special for it's different construction methodology. Roasted neck, lighter body, etc is different. Your Sub is built along the lines of the various Stingray iterations up to the Special.
Decide what works best for you and buy the 2nd MM. Worst comes to worst you built out some custom config and you'll Custom Shop a Stingray for yourself to spec.
I bought my 77 P in the 80s. It hangs on the wall and only gets played on the rare occasion when I need a weak signal, dull, thumpy tone, mediocre action and pedestrian appearance.Buy a P... used or new.
Yeah man, how many guys have I seen that figured out HH was their thing after years of regular Ray's or Sterling's blows my mind.
Just pull one down and play it for a while.
I bought my 77 P in the 80s. It hangs on the wall and only gets played on the rare occasion when I need a weak signal, dull, thumpy tone, mediocre action and pedestrian appearance.
You nailed it, the traditional P guys think they're swinging Thor's hammer or something.
They've missed out on anything modern MM or dual coil humbucker equipped somehow.
Want an answer to why there aren't many 5string Ps, well it's bc SR5, $$5, SR5 HH, etc.
Thanks for taking the time to reply.
Sorry, I’ll try to stay on topic! The other thing that EBMM USA offers is those delicious looking roasted maple necks. Dear lord do they look great. However silly it may be, basses that look better are more fun to play, aren’t they?
I mean, I get that if you're playing oldies rock, you want that "P bass with flats" tone, maybe even with string mutes. And I think TB def skews toward boomers playing oldies rock (not that there's anything wrong with that). But I spent years on that thing trying to coax a modern tone out of it (bright strings, bi-amped rig, etc). Got closer with a Jazz Bass Special with active P/Js, but realized some time in the 90s I needed humbuckers and a pre-amp to really nail the tone I was chasing.
Anyway, if somebody wants me to record a dull and indistinct thumping sound behind their rock guitars, I've got just the thing hanging on my wall. The dead Rotosound 66s on it sound about like flats. Or I could just knock on the side of an old cardboard box full of jello.
I fully appreciate that the 2nd gen P-Bass is a classic design, I really do, or I wouldn't have kept mine. But come on, St. Leo had several significant iterations and improvements on the bass guitar after 1957.
