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So I want to Hot Rod a Stingray

B

Bsharpflat

Nov 22, 2010
29
0
#1
Well..I've just thrown a deposit down on a 2011 Musicman Stingray from a fellow TB'er...I got it for a great price and plan to pimp it up and hot rod it...

It's the double humbucker model, white finish and rosewood board.

Re cosmetics....Simple really..I'm going to make a custom wood (havent decided yet) pickguard for it....Thats it plain and simple...

I'm after ideas on whether it's worthwhile "hot rodding" the electronics and what you guys would recommend if money was no object...Not that I've got a tonne of money to do it.

I guess I want to keep the Stingray tone but really beef this up and having something totaly unique...

So chime in for types of wood for the guard and suggestions on electronics
 
#2
I think a rosewood pickguard to match the rosewood fingerboard would look nice...or tortoise.

Not sure if i'd change the preamp or pickups but if I did I'd probably start with a full Bartolini setup.
 
#4
Yeah it took me forever to track down original ebmm pickups and a 3 band preamp because people really don't mod their stingrays so those parts are few and far between, I say the guts in the ray is what gives it its tone,I don't think most would like them without their classic tone and playability
 
#5
yeah, play with the pickguard, but leave the guts alone.

you can't really "hot-rod" that already pretty complex circuit, you could only replace it with something else that wouldn't be better, just different.
 
#7
"pop in" might be a little optimistic. it'll be a project, and likely a sideways move rather than an "upgrade".

i guess it's doable though, if the pickups go to the blade switch first, and their combined output is what gets sent to the otherwise "normal" preamp.

the pickups themselves look a little different than the classic 'ray pickup, so i wonder how "vintage" one could get with it anyway.

i also suppose one could play with different switching on the blade switch. with a "superswitch", you could get neat combinations of different coils, series and parallel, to get some cool sounds. (i've done this to some old sabers, the combo of one coil from each pickup in series is a really good one.)
 
#9
The Stingray is for the most part already hotrodded electronically, so I wouldn't mess with that.
If you're trying to make it a little more personal than everyone elses Stingray throw some DR Black Beauty strings on it, along with a black graphteck nut and a black pickguard and black knobs. Have the control plate, bridge and tuners black chromed and then you'll have a really cool looking "bow tie" Stingray.
Understated, unique and kind of anti-bling all at the same time.
 
#10
trunkshope6 said:
Yeah it took me forever to track down original ebmm pickups and a 3 band preamp because people really don't mod their stingrays so those parts are few and far between, I say the guts in the ray is what gives it its tone,I don't think most would like them without their classic tone and playability
Click to expand...

Glad to help! I looked forever until I found that pickup. Unfortunately my tax bill kept me from putting it to good use.
I've owned several 'Rays: H, HS, HH, 2 and 3 band eqs. I've also modded a few (pickups, preamp), and was never satisfied with the results. The signature Stingray tone is all about the pickup and guts. IMO I'd buy another bass before I modded one.
 
#11
If you 'hot rod' the stingray you just bought... you'll be hurting it's resale value. No way around it. Non-stock electronics, pickups, etc are detractor's to used stingrays. Which is different than many stock basses.

I suggest you learn to love the bass for a few weeks to a couple months, then decide what it needs. If you want to hot-rod something, buy an OLP or other Stingray knockoff.
 
#12
stflbn said:
If you 'hot rod' the stingray you just bought... you'll be hurting it's resale value. No way around it. Non-stock electronics, pickups, etc are detractor's to used stingrays. Which is different than many stock basses.

I suggest you learn to love the bass for a few weeks to a couple months, then decide what it needs. If you want to hot-rod something, buy an OLP or other Stingray knockoff.
Click to expand...
Sterling Ray34/35. I'm gonna be hot rodding my Ray35 with a Nordstrand MM 5.2 and John East preamp.
 
#13
perhaps a pair of EMG MMTW pickups with minitoggle selector (TWs are a side by side dual coil and a stacked coil humbucker in the same houseing) and an EMG 3 band variable mid EQ, that'd give you humbucker tones as well as hum free single coil tones and the preamp to play with and many combos form that lot, just a thought
 
#15
I'll be the voice of "dissent", so to speak. I think stingrays are great, but it's YOUR instrument. Do what you want to it, don't worry about resale value- the fact is stingrays don't hold tremendous resale value stock. You can count on at least a couple of hundred gone if you buy one new and try to sell it unplayed. With minor player wear, even more.

I've owned three stingrays and have electronically modified all of them. The first was a 4HH, which I dropped the previously mentioned East pre-amp into. The sweepable mids made it so much better it's not even funny, and between that and the toggle switch you have a jillion tones, including a pretty good "vintage" tone with the bridge pickup soloed and the mid knob centered. It's the only bass I regret selling.

My other rays are 4H models and I kept the stock pre's and switched the pickups. I put a Nordstrand in one and a Bart in the other. Both are wired in series instead of the stock parallel. Both sound better TO ME than the stock setup. The mids are much more pronounced, the "zing" is tamed. It's not better or worse, just different, but it's MY preference. FWIW I think the Bart is a bit duller, more P-bassish but still cuts and grinds. The Nordy is a lot more like the stock pickup, but wired in series (which is more difficult to do with the stock pickup- only 2 wires there) it's got those mids I like. I'll probably add a series/parallel switch to it to get the stock sound one day, but I like it as it is for right now.

If you change the electronics, it's not necessarily throwing money away. Yes, you'll lose a bit, but you can either sell the original pre or pickup with the bass if you ever want to sell it. Or, as I think is demonstrated by many of the posts on this thread, you can consider the huge market for the stock electronics, sell them separately (you'd probably make a pretty penny doing so) and that money would probably counter the predictable loss of resale value for the bass itself.

Just my two cents
 
#17
Gasman said:
I'll be the voice of "dissent", so to speak. I think stingrays are great, but it's YOUR instrument. Do what you want to it, don't worry about resale value- the fact is stingrays don't hold tremendous resale value stock. You can count on at least a couple of hundred gone if you buy one new and try to sell it unplayed. With minor player wear, even more.

I've owned three stingrays and have electronically modified all of them. The first was a 4HH, which I dropped the previously mentioned East pre-amp into. The sweepable mids made it so much better it's not even funny, and between that and the toggle switch you have a jillion tones, including a pretty good "vintage" tone with the bridge pickup soloed and the mid knob centered. It's the only bass I regret selling.

My other rays are 4H models and I kept the stock pre's and switched the pickups. I put a Nordstrand in one and a Bart in the other. Both are wired in series instead of the stock parallel. Both sound better TO ME than the stock setup. The mids are much more pronounced, the "zing" is tamed. It's not better or worse, just different, but it's MY preference. FWIW I think the Bart is a bit duller, more P-bassish but still cuts and grinds. The Nordy is a lot more like the stock pickup, but wired in series (which is more difficult to do with the stock pickup- only 2 wires there) it's got those mids I like. I'll probably add a series/parallel switch to it to get the stock sound one day, but I like it as it is for right now.

If you change the electronics, it's not necessarily throwing money away. Yes, you'll lose a bit, but you can either sell the original pre or pickup with the bass if you ever want to sell it. Or, as I think is demonstrated by many of the posts on this thread, you can consider the huge market for the stock electronics, sell them separately (you'd probably make a pretty penny doing so) and that money would probably counter the predictable loss of resale value for the bass itself.

Just my two cents
Click to expand...

Little bit greater than two cents in this post. I've considered getting the Nordstrand and re-wiring my 4H in series just to get that different tonal character. Using the same pickup in series that was meant for parallel can sound like total crap too.

I'll always have the stock pickup anyways and can throw it back in if I'm looking to sell or trade and can just sell any parts I've obtained. Hell I'm gonna do that soon with my Fender Aerodyne and sell off some pickups.
 
#18
i don't recall it being all that hard to re-wire the stock pickup to series, it's just two single coils mounted inside that cover and the wires jumped together before being sent to the preamp.

series will indeed fatten the mids and remove the "clinky" top end.

as a contrast, that fender aerodyne is a cool bass with cheese pickups, so hot-rodding it makes perfect sense.
 
#19
I associate hot rodding with making a large change to an instrument.
IMO / IME changing to an East pre or replcement pickups that are voiced to the stockers will not offer THAT much of a change.

If you really want to chop it up, go with either different pups or a pre that is not voiced to sound like a MM

You didn't mention liking anything that is particularly unique to the SR like the neck profile, body shape, finish, etc.
Why not cut up a lesser bass and make it something greater?
 
#20
walterw said:
i don't recall it being all that hard to re-wire the stock pickup to series, it's just two single coils mounted inside that cover and the wires jumped together before being sent to the preamp.

series will indeed fatten the mids and remove the "clinky" top end.

as a contrast, that fender aerodyne is a cool bass with cheese pickups, so hot-rodding it makes perfect sense.
Click to expand...

It's already been hot-rodded i just need to sell the old pickups, installed an SPB-3 and STK-J2(bridge) and a BADASS II bridge, makes this bass great, though now I'm temped in making a change by getting a new neck, I dig the sound, the body, but I don't dig the neck radius.
 

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