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Stingray 5 Club!
- Thread starter armybass
- Start date
Maybe the wrong place, but thanx for sharing anyway. What a gorgeous bass, regardless of where it belongs.
Enjoy!
Wouldn’t a 5 String Old Smoothie be cool!?!
Played this at a gig yesterday for the first time. I've had it for about six months or so but I was hesitant to take it out because it's so fine. In fact I've had it up for sale here on TB for quite some time. Of course it sounded great and now I'm rethinking selling it. I do have two other SR5's but this one is special. Think I'll be keeping it for a while.....
I know what you mean, most every stingray 5 I’ve played were nice basses, but occasionally you’ll find that one that has that special something... The right tone, feel, setup, everything just seems to be amazing. Mojo or whatever you wanna call it, it’s all there.. I’ve recently acquired a 88 SR5 that is indeed special. Congrats!
Alan Ace Cooper
Supporting Member
- Jan 6, 2004
- 3,349
- 9,350
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Devon Basses, DR Strings, EMG pickups, Bag End Cabs
Here's my offering. I call it Genie, from Aladdin. This one is an 1988, that I got about 2 years ago. It is almost identical in color to the 1989 I got in 1994, but sold it in 2001. It plays like a dream 
All original, except for the nut and recently changed Input jack.
All original, except for the nut and recently changed Input jack.
Those early Stingray 5’s from 87-92 are special, hard to find, & amazing. Love those from that era!Here's my offering. I call it Genie, from Aladdin. This one is an 1988, that I got about 2 years ago. It is almost identical in color to the 1989 I got in 1994, but sold it in 2001. It plays like a dream
View attachment 3510492
I'm definitely in the SR5 club - in fact I think these are the best 5 strings of all.
So I relented - usually I use my SR5HH Special but last weekend I had two gigs - I took my ceramic SR5 to the first and was so impressed with the growl, tone,sustain, everything that I used it for the second as well - and in spite of it being my heaviest bass (probably 2 lbs or more than my SR5HHS), I had no ill effects from the weight - in fact it balances perfectly on a strap.
And here's the special for comparison
Coincidentally - I'm playing above 12th fret in both photos!! Must be the same song!!
So I relented - usually I use my SR5HH Special but last weekend I had two gigs - I took my ceramic SR5 to the first and was so impressed with the growl, tone,sustain, everything that I used it for the second as well - and in spite of it being my heaviest bass (probably 2 lbs or more than my SR5HHS), I had no ill effects from the weight - in fact it balances perfectly on a strap.
And here's the special for comparison
Coincidentally - I'm playing above 12th fret in both photos!! Must be the same song!!
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Those Ceramics are hidden gems.
Man I'm loving that turquoise and black, I keep coming back to look at it. The black hardware sets it off. Very nice!
The turquoise (Cruz teal) is actually very close to Fender seafoam green - the bass was unpacked new in Andertons almost next to a new Telecaster in that colour and was a remarkably close shade - the story is it came with the stock white pg - looking like this, but having seen an original ad with a Cruz teal with black pg, and Lowdownthump having replaced her SR5HHs pg and thus having a spare black one, that's how my bass went all black, courtesy of her
(It already had the hardware and ebony board stock).Dark, smooth in grain and to touch like maple - the sound is brighter than rosewood, possibly as bright as maple but as that bass also has stainless frets, I don't know how much brightness and projection of notes is down to that.
Now getting back to the regular SR5 (subject of this club - lest Armybass reminds me), in my view the ceramic creates a growl and warmth, particularly in parallel mode which lets it have quite a vintage sound, but with a bit more punch - and has a phenomenal slap sound.
I have 125 - 40 Slinkies on mine which may affect the sound a little. The slap/pop sound is certainly a hi fi type of sound, though boosting the mids fattens it and brings it back to Louis Johnson territory (minus the genius, of course)! Classic basses in my view.
That's a sweet bass with either PG.
I too, love the ceramic PU's. Mine is 2007, not sure when they went to Alnico but I know mine has ceramic. My SR5 was purchased from Beaver Felton at Bass Central. I looked all over and couldn't find white, rosewood, tort PG anywhere so I called Beaver and told him what I wanted and he found the bass with a white PG and swapped the tort for me, put black knobs on, set it up and sent me pics and a price. I would buy from him again.
On a different note (but related), has anyone played a Sterling 5 side by side with an SR5? Is the neck the same or is the Sterling thinner? Sound? I have a Sterling HS and even though they both have ceramic PU's they certainly have different tone.
I too, love the ceramic PU's. Mine is 2007, not sure when they went to Alnico but I know mine has ceramic. My SR5 was purchased from Beaver Felton at Bass Central. I looked all over and couldn't find white, rosewood, tort PG anywhere so I called Beaver and told him what I wanted and he found the bass with a white PG and swapped the tort for me, put black knobs on, set it up and sent me pics and a price. I would buy from him again.
On a different note (but related), has anyone played a Sterling 5 side by side with an SR5? Is the neck the same or is the Sterling thinner? Sound? I have a Sterling HS and even though they both have ceramic PU's they certainly have different tone.
If I recall correctly, the switch back to alnico was in 2008.
I've never had a USA Sterling 5, but I've played a few in shops. I don't remember a difference in the necks and I recall reading that on the 5-strings that the necks were the same (necks do differ on the 4-strings though). For the 5-strings, the only differences other than body that I recall were ceramic vs. alnico (now neodymium in the SR Specials) pickups and then for the HH models, everything is wired in parallel on the StingRay 5 vs. mostly series on the Sterling 5 (except it's still parallel in position 3 with both pickups on; the Sterling 5HS is series in positions 1, 4, 5, and parallel in positions 2 and 3).
Most Jamiroquai videos with Paul Turner on bass. Very enjoyable.
Peter Gabriel’s live concerts - Secret World Live, Growing Up Live, etc featuring the great Tony Levin on SR5...
Not quite Levin live, and no good if you’re GASing after a Special, but the man can really play an SR5, no?
I dropped my 30th anniversary off at Mike Lull’s shop to get a setup. I think I’m the second owner and I don’t think the factory setup was done properly to be honest. The saddles were basically down to the bottom of their travel and the action was still pretty high. The relief seems to be exactly where it needs to be. Definitely higher than I prefer which made the already fatter neck feel much to fat. Not bashing MM at all. I think this is my 12th stingray so I’m a big fan. I just think this one needs a shim or something to get it right. Can’t wait to see what he can do to make it perfect.
