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StingRay Encounters

#61
Dr. Cheese said:
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!:woot:
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Those SBMM's are very nice instruments and in most cases sound identical to their MIA cousins. But again, they aren't cheap: 2.5 - 3K here. Same with Sandberg. Anywhere from 2.5 - 3.5 K.

P.S. I really love that MTD of yours. Great sound.
 
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#62
ToddB1963 said:
Those SBMM's are very nice instruments and in most cases sound identical to their MIA cousins. But again, they aren't cheap: 2.5 - 3K here. Same with Sandberg. Anywhere from 2.5 - 3.5 K.

P.S. I really love that MTD of yours. Great sound.
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Is the price SBMM’s due to your exchange rate? I would think SBMM’s would be less expensive since Australia is so close to Indonesia.

I think my Super 5 sounds great too, but it is more “polite” sounding than a Stingray.
 
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#63
The first gig I played with my 2000 SR 5H I just fell in love with the clarity with ease of playing. I bought it as a gift for graduating teacher's college in 2014 as I've wanted a SR since I was a kid learning bass (thanks Flea). I was all excited to do a bass buying adventure and the first place I went into had this bass for $950 out the door. It was like new. It ruined my adventure :) Couldn't believe it and blown away when playing it. I've recorded with a Ken Smith and a Fodera before. Crazy easy to play and definitely have a different thing...but the sound is too velvety for me. Just love mine. Don't think I'm getting rid of it and it will probably be the nicest instrument I'll ever have.
 
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#64
Nice stories. Nice basses. Keep them coming. This is fun!!:hyper: Its no secret around here that I favor the the Special5's. But I can really appreciate all of the different eras of StingRays and how they have differ yet still maintain that signature StingRay bounce and excellent build quality. Others may come close, but nothing else sounds and feels like a MusicMan StingRay. None of mine are ever leaving me.
 
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#65
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These two for me. The blue one I bought in 91 when I was 26 years old and full of dreams. It will always be the most endearing physical possession that I own.
The other is the BFR from last year. 5 string fretless at 7 lbs. what a joyful thing to play.
 
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#68
I have a long love-hate relationship with StingRays which has morphed into mostly a love-love relationship. In 30 years of playing, buying, trading and (too occasionally) selling, I have parted with two EBMM Sterlings (somehow I never bonded with Sterlings) and several overly zingy (for my tastes) StingRay 3-band 4H models. Quite awhile back, I had a pre-Ernie StingRay that I traded straight up for a restored '64 Precision Bass. I also traded a beautiful 20th Anniversary 4H as part of a deal for an all-stock 1967 Precision Bass, which I love.
My biggest quarrels with StingRays were always weight, quiet G strings and the zingy, zippy sound that seemed baked in to some old 3-bands (I know many love this aspect of StingRays). On the plus side, I've always loved the beauty, playability, quality components and incredible workmanship. As others have said, I've never played a bad or poorly built StingRay.
As I've mentioned before elsewhere, the Specials solved all of my issues with the previous 3-bands. Probably my favorite StingRays are, No. 1, my Amethyst Sparkle Special and, No. 2, my Burnt Apple Special with flats. Lately, however, I'm also rediscovering my two early Ernie Ball 2-band StingRays, which are wonderful in their own way when EQ'd properly!
I have better amplification now than I did early in my bass journey, which I'm sure also has helped in the tone department.
 
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#69
They are all good. I own or have owned almost every version. I prefer 3 band eq 4h’s. But they are all pretty good. The pre ErnieBalls sound phenomenal but I like the body’s better on the later ErnieBalls and the specials sound awesome but just aren’t my thing. They also play the best. I swapped the pups and preamp out in mine for some aggy ceramic pups and the older style preamp. I’m sure that will annoy some purists but it’s my bass and always will be. I also kept all the original parts. The Sterling Ray34 is also a crazy good deal but may require some hardware upgrades though mine from
2018(I think?) has never let me down in that department. I would just go play a bunch and decide. My dream Ray is an 87 translucent teal green to match my birth year but I just don’t have the money currently for one… they also often go for more than I am willing to pay…. For now….
 
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#76
LadyLoveStingRay5 said:
best Stingray ever madeWhat is the best MusicMan StingRay Bass that you’ve ever played? Was it a BFR, a 4string or a 5? Was it an H, HH, or HS? Did you buy it and keep it? Do tell.
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To be honest? I couldn't tell you which of the handful of EBMM StingRay 4H's (never played a 5) were "the best". Since I'm left handed, and the basses I picked up in various music stores weren't, I messed around with them, simply to get a general overall impression of Stingrays. I certainly wasn't going to buy a righty. Plus, at the time I had no need - or desire - for an active bass. So, one of those might have been the best one ever made - but, I have to admit; I wasn't paying all that much attention. I did like the one 4HH I had my hands on - a lot more than a 4H. I'd always wanted one of those, but... there were no leftys. That is, until the end of 2019, when a little birdy told me EBMM was making a small run of left handed 4HH StingRay Specials. By that time, I'd broken down and had an active bass in my herd. Actually, I had two of them. But, even though it filled no specific niche in my herd, I still wanted a 4HH, so... I wasted no time calling the factory and ordering a Burnt Umber one. With a set of Galli Jazz Flats on it? I have to say that it's the best StingRay I've ever played. But, it's the only left handed StingRay I've ever had in my hands, which makes it the only one I could ever really play. Which makes the sample pool awfully small... So, yes I bought it; yes I still have it. And no, I have no intention of selling it....:cool:
 
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#78
Fun thread! I've owned two StingRays - a 2014 4H black/rosewood and my current 2018 4H Special black/maple, both bought new. The Special is an incredible bass, both from an overall build quality perspective and the tone. I'm really digging the sound I'm getting through my SansAmp VTBass DI (pretty neutral settings), with onboard bass +40%, treble +25%, and mid just boosted above center, and using standard super slinkys. Additionally, I like the balance from string to string and up the fretboard. With the onboard EQ, you can either mellow it out or make it really aggressive, albeit less aggressive I think than the pre-specials.

I generally liked the sound of the 2014 4H (pre-special), but the neck was incredibly unstable on my particular bass. In time, I ordered and installed a Status graphite neck (had been playing Modulus basses for years). While that solved the neck 'issue', I didn't dig the feel or its effect on the tone. Ended up selling it.

All in all, I'm very happy with the Special and it complements my other basses nicely.

IMG_E8427.JPG
 
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#79
Dasgre0g said:
I've probably had at least 10 different Ernie Ball music man bass guitars. I really liked every single one of them very much. That's why I keep going back. However, my favorite by far, which I sold for stupid stupid reasons and would love to have back, was a 2010 stingray classic 5 in Blue Frost. :( View attachment 4951790
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That is amazing!
 
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#80
LadyLoveStingRay5 said:
What is the best MusicMan StingRay Bass that you’ve ever played? Was it a BFR, a 4string or a 5? Was it an H, HH, or HS? Did you buy it and keep it? Do tell.
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My stingray special 5 HH. I wanted a 5 string bass again after 10 years of playing my fender 4 string. I’ve relied on zzounds since 2018 because of their payment plans. Well in 2020, they weren’t offering payment plans on American fender products for a while. I saw a 5 stingray stingray special 5 HH and I purchased it. Fell in love with the tone so much that I sold a fender 4 stringer. A year later I purchased a Bongo BFR 5 HH. Now I alternate between the 2 of them with every other gig. I will say that music man basses ruined my love for fender basses. In my opinion a fender passive bass can’t come close. And I’m not saying a fender sounds bad
 
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