I’ve only ever owned one Stingray bass which was a 2001 Stingray 5 with a ceramic pickup.
It was definitely the best build quality bass I’ve ever owned.
It was definitely the best build quality bass I’ve ever owned.
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StingRay Encounters
- Thread starter LadyLoveStingRay5
- Start date
I know where there is at least ONE. It will never leave my possession. And it only weighs 7lb 12oz
I'm new to the Stingray world and bought an Old Smoothie over a year ago. I go back and forth--sometimes I think it's the most versatile of my eight basses, other times the tone just isn't right. But the build quality is definitely the best of what I own, mostly Fender basses.
This was the last actual Music Man I owned, a USA SUB Sterling. I traded it for my MTD Super 5 and that was a good trade, however, I do miss it. It is the best four string I have owned in last thirty years outside of two Peavey Cirrus basses I have had the pleasure of owning. Shoot, I need to track down another nice fretted four when it is in my budget.
Off topic, I have lost 55-60lbs since these videos, and it takes looking back to realize how much smaller my tummy is now
I kept a buddy’s ‘79 Stingray for several months after I replaced the original preamp with a new OEM unit from Mm (after the obligatory return of the bad one, of course).
I thought it sounded really good, but I’ve never pined for it when it went home. I’m quite happy with subsequent 5-string ‘Rays.
Congratulations, I have total respect for people who can do this.Off topic, I have lost 55-60lbs since these videos, and it takes looking back to realize how much smaller my tummy is now
may I therefore refer you to the link below
When will it be too light?
Off topic, I have lost 55-60lbs since these videos, and it takes looking back to realize how much smaller my tummy is now
From that trend, can you predict a date when you'll be weightless?
Attachments
I bought a 94 or 95 Honeyburst/maple board Stingray 5 in the summer of 95 from the GC in Chicago over by Wrigley Field. Played that bass all over the country for several years. It had super low, buzz free action and always sounded amazing through my Eden rig. That bass felt like it was indestructible. Most of the time I ran the switch all the way towards the bridge (parallel??) but sometimes I’d get in a room where I’d run it all the way to the front (series??) to cut through a little more. I’d leave the treble and mids at center detent and usually give the bass knob a slight boost. What a great bass…
Congratulations, I have total respect for people who can do this.
may I therefore refer you to the link below
When will it be too light?
I have had weight issues my whole life. What I am trying to do is remain conscious of how much I eat and how much I exercise. A person, like me, has to be mindful of what I do because if I don’t think about what I do, it will be easy to fall into ingrained habits of overeating.
The best Stingray I ever played was one of these…
…30th Anniversary.
I really wanted to buy it, but I couldn’t justify the purchase at the time.
…30th Anniversary.
I really wanted to buy it, but I couldn’t justify the purchase at the time.
I owned one in 1977. Active electronics were state of the art at the time—-massive sound with a noticeable dead spot (yep, 7th fret, G string). Went through many basses since then, so the best Stingray I played, but never owned was one with a graphite neck. Also loved Modulus’s version of a Stingray.
My current “good” bass is an Elrick, though my Squier P5 gets equal play time.
My current “good” bass is an Elrick, though my Squier P5 gets equal play time.
I get weak knees on matching headstock.
Agreed - Stingray 5 strings of this era were among the finest electric basses you could buy, regardless of price. And they were actually fairly affordable back then. I never paid more that $1500 for mine back in the 90’s. Still a go-to for me after all these years, and I’ve owned most of the big name boutiques.
Newer models and revisions of this bass don’t suck, but they got this right the first time. There was the occasional beef about your fretting fingers pulling the G string off the treble side of the fingerboard. It’s from the factory specs for the G string nut slot and how the frets are dressed. A refret totally eliminated that issue for me.
For the really experienced MM players:. Does anyone feel there's any noticeable change in performance from the OG Stingray Fives with the dummy hum-canceller vs. the later version after they eliminated it? Any real difference in the real world?
Doc, you are right. These EBMM SR's are stellar basses, but IMO (over here at least ) they are now priced well beyond what they're objectively worth in my book. Almost beyond reach (a bit like Fender CS basses, which go for 7 - 8K over here: The Pino signature P is north of 8K - which is ludicrous. Even Ultra P's / J's are up between 3.5 - 4K).
Further, would you believe people here are asking 2.5 - 3K for nearly twenty year old used EB SR4 3EQ's? Even more insane is the price of the old vintage 2EQ's. I mean no one can dispute that they sound incredible (I certainly think they do), but 7-8k for a forty year old bass with a 3-bolt neck?
But I digress.
Getting back to my own SR4 3EQ, I'm glad I purchased it when I did because back then I could afford one. Not only that, the bass total revitalized my playing. Such a good instrument in fact, I always looked forward to practising/gigging with it, and while I used it mostly on rock gigs at the time, it became the instrument I used to really hone my jazz chops - so I owe it a lot (odd choice for jazz you might say, but yes, they can sound very good with flats and the correct technique). It's still in pristine condition despite having been used on hundred of gigs ( the only wear is a depression in the pickguard where I rest my thumb ).
Alas I haven't used it much in recent years because a) I'm not playing much rock, and b) have other basses which sound much better for the types of gigs I'm doing. Nevertheless, I hang onto it for sentimental reasons (I'm a sentimental sort of guy. Incidentally, it wears Sadowsky black flats. I can achieve a fairly good approximation of Bernard Edwards' sound by putting flats on my 3EQ, Leaving the midrange flat, and bumping the treble/bass. All I have to do now is play like him
). To wrap things up, IMO these days the prices of MIA instruments here no longer warrant the outlay from a gigging perspective. There was a time when I thought they did, but like you, I'm much older and wiser now, and those days have long since passed. While I still adore my CS '59 Precision (I bought it used and gig it often), and keep the SR for sentimental reasons, I now reside almost exclusively in the Yamaha camp. I was completely won over when I snagged that used BB2000 (mint condition) several years ago for $1200, and the used BB3000 not long after, and more recently the TRB6II and TRB6P. The cost of the latter two combined was less than the cost of a new EB SR4 Special here. My bass buying days are over.
Back to thread.
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Doc, you are right. These EBMM SR's are stellar basses, but IMO (over here at least ) they are now priced well beyond what they're objectively worth in my book. Almost beyond reach (a bit like Fender CS basses, which go for 7 - 8K over here: The Pino signature P is north of 8K - which is ludicrous. Even Ultra P's / J's are up between 3.5 - 4K).
Further, would you believe people here are asking 2.5 - 3K for nearly twenty year old used EB SR4 3EQ's? Even more insane is the price of the old vintage 2EQ's. I mean no one can dispute that they sound incredible (I certainly think they do), but 7-8k for a forty year old bass with a 3-bolt neck?
But I digress.
Getting back to my own SR4 3EQ, I'm glad I purchased it when I did because back then I could afford one. Not only that, the bass total revitalized my playing. Such a good instrument in fact, I always looked forward to practising/gigging with it, and while I used it mostly on rock gigs at the time, it became the instrument I used to really hone my jazz chops - so I owe it a lot (odd choice for jazz you might say, but yes, they can sound very good with flats and the correct technique). It's still in pristine condition despite having been used on hundred of gigs ( the only wear is a depression in the pickguard where I rest my thumb ).
Alas I haven't used it much in recent years because a) I'm not playing much rock, and b) have other basses which sound much better for the types of gigs I'm doing. Nevertheless, I hang onto it for sentimental reasons (I'm a sentimental sort of guy. Incidentally, it wears Sadowsky black flats. I can achieve a fairly good approximation of Bernard Edwards' sound by putting flats on my 3EQ, Leaving the midrange flat, and bumping the treble/bass. All I have to do now is play like him
To wrap things up, IMO these days the prices of MIA instruments here no longer warrant the outlay from a gigging perspective. There was a time when I thought they did, but like you, I'm much older and wiser now, and those days have long since passed. While I still adore my CS '59 Precision (I bought it used and gig it often), and keep the SR for sentimental reasons, I now reside almost exclusively in the Yamaha camp. I was completely won over when I snagged that used BB2000 (mint condition) several years ago for $1200, and the used BB3000 not long after, and more recently the TRB6II and TRB6P. The cost of the latter two combined was less than the cost of a new EB SR4 Special here. My bass buying days are over.
Back to thread.
If I were Australian, I would get a Sandberg, an ATK, SBMM, or some other Stingray adjacent bass, and call it a day. For what it is worth, new Stingrays are not that affordable in the USA these days either, but $2.5K ain’t $6K!
Off topic, I have lost 55-60lbs since these videos, and it takes looking back to realize how much smaller my tummy is now
That's no small effort, nice work!
