Short scale Stingray!

[Thegrandwazoo]

Can't tell if trolling...
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Oh, I should've clicked the link. No, I'm not talking about the import Sterling by Music Man version of the short-scale Stingray. I'm talking about a short-scale version of the US Ernie Ball Music Man Sterling bass, I play US Sterlings and I'm just not very into Stingrays aesthetically (or tonally/ergonomically, in the case of the 34" scale basses). It's confusing, I know, I can't imagine why they've chosen that naming/branding system, I think it's they who are trolling, haha!

 

[Protagonist]

Oh, I should've clicked the link. No, I'm not talking about the import Sterling by Music Man version of the short-scale Stingray. I'm talking about a short-scale version of the US Ernie Ball Music Man Sterling bass, I play US Sterlings and I'm just not very into Stingrays aesthetically (or tonally/ergonomically, in the case of the 34" scale basses). It's confusing, I know, I can't imagine why they've chosen that naming/branding system, I think it's they who are trolling, haha!

Happy to be corrected. I kind of forget that the body is different on the US Sterling.

 

[Thegrandwazoo]

Happy to be corrected. I kind of forget that the body is different on the US Sterling.

Yessir, as is the neck and electronics. The full-size Stingray/Sterling are at least as different as a P is from a J.

 

[Alistair R]

Think I'm going to have to get one of these Sterling short scale stingrays. Daphne blue will go nicely along side my powder blue and diego blue 4 & 5!

 

[Joe Nerve]

FWIW, regarding the HS Sterlings....

The volume difference between pickup settings that was written about yesterday got me to bust out my Sterling HS. I had to investigate, because I never noticed a problem.

I do NOT share the same experience. I believe the Sterling spoken about was defective. My Sterling is pretty balanced in all 5 settings. I made a quick video and if I can upload it from my phone, I will.

EDIT: Just tried. File too large, and I dont want to upload it to YouTube. Trust me . I'm telling the truth.

 

[drTSTingray]

FWIW, regarding the HS Sterlings....

The volume difference between pickup settings that was written about yesterday got me to bust out my Sterling HS. I had to investigate, because I never noticed a problem.

I do NOT share the same experience. I believe the Sterling spoken about was defective. My Sterling is pretty balanced in all 5 settings. I made a quick video and if I can upload it from my phone, I will.

EDIT: Just tried. File too large, and I dont want to upload it to YouTube. Trust me . I'm telling the truth.

I don't have this issue with any of my HH Stingrays (4HH, 4HHs and 5HHs and Classic Sabre). However, in some settings they have more naturally scooped mids especially for instance if you boost the bass a lot with both humbuckers on. I simply adjust the mid range to suit, but never much.

But that's what the tone controls are for and is pretty typical of a multi pick up bass.

 

[Akami]

FWIW, regarding the HS Sterlings....

The volume difference between pickup settings that was written about yesterday got me to bust out my Sterling HS. I had to investigate, because I never noticed a problem.

I do NOT share the same experience. I believe the Sterling spoken about was defective. My Sterling is pretty balanced in all 5 settings.

I'm glad you posted this because after reading the other post I decided that I was no longer interested in getting an HS Sterling. Back on the interest list because of your post correcting the impression that there was a huge imbalance between the H and S pickups.

I don't have this issue with any of my HH Stingrays (4HH, 4HHs and 5HHs and Classic Sabre). However, in some settings they have more naturally scooped mids especially for instance if you boost the bass a lot with both humbuckers on. I simply adjust the mid range to suit, but never much.

But that's what the tone controls are for and is pretty typical of a multi pick up bass.

Just to note that what he was addressing was a concern from another poster verifying that there was no problem with the HH, but saying there was definitely an output balance problem with the HS Sterlings.

 

[Joe Nerve]

I'm glad you posted this because after reading the other post I decided that I was no longer interested in getting an HS Sterling. Back on the interest list because of your post correcting the impression that there was a huge imbalance between the H and S pickups.

Just to note that what he was addressing was a concern from another poster verifying that there was no problem with the HH, but saying there was definitely an output balance problem with the HS Sterlings.

I guess I should add that I also have an HS Bongo and had an HS Stingray, both of which were my #1 players for a long time. Neither of them have/had the output issue the other poster spoke of. Had 2 H/H Bongos also (a 4 and 5), and neither of them had imbalance issues either.

 

[muggsy]

I guess I should add that I also have an HS Bongo and had an HS Stingray, both of which were my #1 players for a long time. Neither of them have/had the output issue the other poster spoke of. Had 2 H/H Bongos also (a 4 and 5), and neither of them had imbalance issues either.

FWIW, I also have a Bongo HSp that does not suffer from any pickup imbalance. Sounds like @Thegrandwazoo has other plans for that HS Sterling, but it may be worth an email to EBMM Customer Service.

 

[Joe Nerve]

FWIW, I also have a Bongo HSp that does not suffer from any pickup imbalance. Sounds like @Thegrandwazoo has other plans for that HS Sterling, but it may be worth an email to EBMM Customer Service.

I had a Bongo HH with a piezo. I believed the piezo to be useless, until I had the sad realization that it nothing to do with the piezo. It had to do with the fact that I was losing my hearing :/ . Same with the tweeter on my GK cabinet. I used to believe, "These things do nothing."

PSA: Wear earplugs kiddies.

 

[muggsy]

I had a Bongo HH with a piezo. I believed the piezo to be useless, until I had the sad realization that it nothing to do with the piezo. It had to do with the fact that I was losing my hearing :/ . Same with the tweeter on my GK cabinet. I used to believe, "These things do nothing."

PSA: Wear earplugs kiddies.

+1000 on the earplugs. My hearing in my right ear is all screwed up, at least in part from too many concerts before I discovered earplugs. I remember a handful of shows where my ears were ringing for days afterwards (Van Halen and Living Colour likely did the most damage). Once that hearing goes, it's not coming back.

The piezo effect is subtle, even with my hearing limitations, but I still notice a difference when it's dialed in. And since EBMM isn't making them any more, it's a keeper.

 

[philthygeezer]

Anyone got a picture of the raspberry pearl with a black pickguard?

 

[Thegrandwazoo]

FWIW, I also have a Bongo HSp that does not suffer from any pickup imbalance. Sounds like @Thegrandwazoo has other plans for that HS Sterling, but it may be worth an email to EBMM Customer Service.

It might be, but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't really be for me even if volume imbalance wasn't a problem. It's crazy not to have a 'bridge humbucker in parallel mode' switch position on a switchable Music Man. I'll keep my factory electronics in case I ever get hard up enough to sell it or for some reason want to take it back to stock for my use, but I don't see that happening.

 

[Thegrandwazoo]

I had a Bongo HH with a piezo. I believed the piezo to be useless, until I had the sad realization that it nothing to do with the piezo. It had to do with the fact that I was losing my hearing :/ . Same with the tweeter on my GK cabinet. I used to believe, "These things do nothing."

PSA: Wear earplugs kiddies.

Damn right! I've been wearing electronic earplugs for loud stuff (playing music, going to shows, running chainsaws, working on/riding/driving loud motorcycles or other vehicles, etc.) since I noticed my hearing was starting to suck in my early 20s. I always wore regular earplugs at work and while shooting guns, but it never really occurred to me that sound levels can be damaging without being unpleasant.

I can still hear all the frequencies I want to, and have oddly amazing hearing like in the quiet woods, but I have some tinnitus and usually need to do at least some lip-reading to make out what people are saying in an environment with much background noise.

You never get what you lost back, so it's never too early to start protecting it. And don't play so damn loud while practicing!

 

[Christcr]

Just a heads-up on the starry night short scale Stingray. By luck, I happened to ask the right question at the right time at Sweetwater this morning. I was told that they were able to secure some (they didn't say how many, other than a "limited number") starry night SS Stingrays. The bad news is that they won't be getting them until sometime mid or late summer. The good news is that my name is on the list this time around.

So... if you wanted one and missed the boat, there may be a chance. The rep said they hadn't sold out yet (as of this morning), but we all know how fast these babies go out the door when folks--like you!--find out about them.

 

[philthygeezer]

I'm bummed that I didn't wait it out (my wife actually, as she got it for me)...

I REALLY want a starry night. And I'm not a big fan of my current color. Was seriously considering painting it. It's a beautiful color for sure (the blue), but I'm a fan of black, white and grays these days. Sparkle is an added bonus.

Would this finish work for you?

 

[Christcr]

Would this finish work for you?

Don't know if it would work for Joe, but it definitely would work for me. I'm a sucker for flashy sparkle paint jobs. I envision a Warmoth tele bass neck, 1.5 nut, maple board, reverse (upside down) headstock mounted on a 54 P-bass body with that holo flake paint. Yummy.

As for the short scale SBMM Stingray, mine will FINALLY arrive today after sitting in the same FedEx shipping hub along the way for three days! Good lord, I don't know what those guys do with the packages. It's not the first time it has happened in that exact same hub (only about 50 miles from me)--scanned daily, morning and night for THREE days at same location. I felt like driving up their and demanding my package. I can see it happening randomly once in a blue moon. But it has happened three times in the last year at that SAME location. Blue slips, FedEx. Blue slips!!! Heads must roll! Okay, I've gotten that out and feel better now.

When I get the Stingray, HOPEFULLY today... I'll give it some playing time and report back (probably in the other SBMM Short Scale Stingray thread) when I've become familiar with its "personality" and sound.

 

[alpho]

I've owned the EBMM SS Stingray with the maple neck for a few months now After two months of playing blues, rock, and country at various rehearsals and jams, and playing a few gigs, I'm finding this bass to be the only bass I want to use.

Here are a few, sometimes disconnected, thoughts:

I've settled on always playing it with the volume knob pushed in. I might use the "boosted" bass position when I play quietly and alone, but otherwise I leave the knob pushed in.

I mostly use the pickup switch in the series setting, and I change to the humbucker position when the band gets loud. I still haven't found a use for the middle, phantom-coil, setting.

The tone control is amazing. A small movement makes enough of a change that I can always get the exact tone I want.

The lowest F on this SS Stingray has all the apparent depth and growl that I hear on my 34" Fender Precision and EBMM Stingray & Sterling basses.

Bofore I got the SS Stingray, I'd been using a Lakland HB-30. It always gave me a great tone after I found the right combination of its pickup volumes. But its neck width that starts at 1.5" at the the nut widens considerably. It doesn't stay narrow like the SS Stingray (or the Sterling).

Before buying the Lakland, I was using a Jaguar VM SS. The Jag tone was never a match for the Lakland or the Stingray, but now, compared to the SS Stingray, the Jag neck feels too narrow in the upper frets and the Lakland feels too wide.

Like the 34" Stingray and Sterling when compared to other 34" basses, the SS Stingray feels shorter than other 30" basses because the bridge is placed at the edge of the body. I'm short, and I like that these MusicMan basses feel more within my reach.

I put TI Jazz Flats on my SS Stingray. I use these strings on all of the basses I mentioned above, in fact.

This SS Stingray is my first short-scale bass that has no shortcomings that leave me looking for something better.

 

[Iofflight]

I had the TI flats on mine and liked it then put on the TI short scale rounds and thought it sounded great. I think both suit the bass far better than the slinkys that it came with.

 

[Iofflight]

Anyone got a picture of the raspberry pearl with a black pickguard?

I haven't seen one posted so far, I put a black abalone on mine because I already swapped out my dropped copper special with a black pickguard and didn't want them exactly the same. I posted it back on page 20. I can say I think it looks better with a darker or black pickguard though.