Selling the Stingray, Keeping the Jazz - thoughts?

[oysterphish]

Man, I know you said keeping both is not an option, but both killer basses. I have both. But, every bass is different. My stingray is set very low, but I also accept a great degree of fret buzz which one can't hear or notice when amplified anyway.
But ya, if your Ray doesn't set up well, doesn't sound great, and doesn't bring you joy, then pitch it. Someone here said a JB+pedals can do anything. I partially agree. A good preamp will help a passive J get some beefier tones that are lacking.

 

[Corigan]

If it was a p bass i would say keep the p. Me & jazz basses just don’t jive. Keep the music man!

OP said he was keeping his P. I will never let my P go either, magical. I won't let my ray or J go either. I'm keeping the Leo trinity. I could sell all my other basses and be perfectly happy with the P, J, and ray 5.

That puppy is adorable. $3500 makes me weep though. I got my newest pup for free as the credit card machine at the pound was down that day. More power to the OP though, no judgement, and the eyes of that Puppy scream take me home.

 

[Paul New]

Sell the Ray, sell the puppy, adopt one from a shelter, then buy a better Ray.

 

[bobalu]

For you, a no-brainer to keep the Jazz. Love that Stingray though.

 

[Rnr..........4]

Beautiful puppy. Good choice keeping the jazz. They are great. Wish I had kept my Classic 60s road worn.

 

[Outbush]

Beautiful little hound! Congrats!!

(Oh, there was a question about basses?..)

 

[Jeff K]

It's kind of funny. I've always been (and probably always will be) a Fender guy. I had 3 really nice StingRays in the past. A standard '90s era 'Ray; a Classic; and a limited edition HH. I like them all, but the key word was "liked". I didn't LOVE them like I did a lot of my Fenders.

Just recently, I snagged a StingRay SLO Special, figuring I'll give it one more try. Voila! I DO love this one. (Love the Jazz width neck!) But that said, it seems a better fit for certain songs, while my Fenders sound better to me for others.

Oddly enough, I was thinking about this earlier tonight. I went to see "The Long Run", an Eagles tribute band/production. They were very good.

But their bass player was playing a gorgeous blueburst StingRay. He also did a lot of the lead vocals. The bass was not very prominent in the mix. I figured that's probably because he's singing so many leads. But when I could actually hear the bass, I thought that the StingRay sound didn't fit with the Eagles songs as well as a Fender or Ric would.

But other times I'll hear a band with a StingRay and think, "Whoa!! That thing sounds killer!!" So they both shine at certain times. All that said, IF I could only have one or the other, I'd probably choose the Fender.

 

[Blues Bass 2]

Good on you for keeping the Jazz . They just sound great to me too .
I have four basses and three are Jazz type and one is a P/J . The P/J is a great bass but the P tone is just not for me . It sounds great with a band for what it's tone is but it just doesn't sound as elegant as the Jazz for what I want to hear . It plays really well too but not enough for me to keep it around .I guess I am a J bass guy too .
The dog is great too , good on you !

 

[Tommy Sparks]

If it works it just works.
Enjoy the J bass and don’t look back.

 

[2thAche]

Crazy not to keep two basses, which are flat and take up minimal space, but sane to spend $3500 on a puppy who will do.the same things as a rescue puppy. Sounds reasonable.

 

[Bluzeman90]

I'd keep the ray, but I'm a weirdo, lol. The jazz bass is certainly more versatile if you're playing multiple genres, etc. Hope you get a good price for your ray and continue to enjoy your jazz!

 

[ErikP.Bass]

Name the doodle StingRay, Ray for short, and you’re golden.

 

[fauxtoe]

I'm currently in the market for a Stingray or Sabre Classic, but truth be told I traded my last Stingray Special SLO for a USA Geddy Lee Jazz. I can understand wanting to keep the Jazz since I'd also have a bit of a hard time ever getting rid of the Geddy. Even with the roasted neck on the Ray I fought with it a little more than I'd like. Mine definitely had a sweet spot for its setup and the neck was not as stable as I would have preferred.

And as much as I do love Rays, if you have a bass that ticks all the boxes DO NOT get rid of it. Others can come and go as you might want a change in tonal options, but always keep THAT one.

 

[darwin-bass]

I did the opposite. Had a J. Played great but I just wasn't loving the sound. Replaced it with a 'ray and it had the sound I had been searching for for years. These are Warmoth basses so the necks are the same size so that doesn't factor in.

 

[Les Fret]

Ditch the P keep the Ray?
I think you made your choice already.
Beautiful doggy!

 

[deepestend]

The doodle was a good choice. Ours is 5 now and I can’t imagine life without him.

 

[CletusMarley]

I agree with keeping the Jazz. I can't imagine being without mine. I did recently think about selling my Stingray. I pulled it out and ended up playing it for a week strait and fell in love with it all over again. It's been in regular rotation for a month now. Kinda weird how that happens. Lol

 

[Real Soon]

I'm assuming at this point the decision has been made? Lol 'rays are cool basses. But Jazzes don't need batteries (this from a guy with three battery-powered basses, every one of which he quite loves) and you can do a lot with a couple of pedals to make a J bass shockingly big and aggressive.

Also for me, an instrument that feels good & easy to play trumps one that happens to naturally have a certain sound. I'm willing to make a given sound work with an amazingly playable bass, and no bass is truly unable to cop more than one or two tones, with hand position and technique and choice pedal selection.

 

[logdrum]

My sister in law paid 500 for mini Aussie 5 years ago. I guess everything went up

 

[Relsom]

You could have gotten a Kubicki for $3.5K., forgot about the Ray and the Jazz, and not have to clean up behind a puppy.
jk
... I think your Jazz is your all around workhorse. I don't think I'd ever be happy with a Stingray as my one and only.