stingray HS also battery paranoia

[hambone1]

I played a stingray HH the other day and loved it. How is the HS version? Does the neck pickup contribute as much?

Also, does it bother you that f the batttery weakens or dies it will affect the sond quality?maybe I'm just paranoid...

I would hate to let my paranoia prevent me from getting the stingray.

Thanks.

 

[Ach]

Interesting thing about Stingray's battery: my ray works without it, the output is low, but it works without any distortion, and without stingray vibe.

 

[murphy]

battery usually lasts about a year.
I have the HS and love it.. The neck pickup adds a bit deeper low to the stingray sound and on it's own sounds quite traditional...
p-bass vibe

 

[hambone1]

really? when the battery dies it still works?

so the neck pickup has good out put if soloed?

 

[Ach]

uhm... i never tried with a dead battery, but if you sweep it out of the bass, Stingray should work, but again, very silent, so you should have additional gain. Also i think it could be noisy to use Rays without battery.

 

[Jeran]

The batteries last ages, and you'll know when you want to replace it. Its a good idea to take spares gigging and whatnot as they only take seconds to replace. The only problem i've had is that some 9 volt batteries are slightly too small for the socket, and so the signal cut out quite regularly, this can be solved by jamming a piece of card behind the battery to stop it coming loose, but ideally you want the right sized battery!
Don't let ANYTHING put you off buying a stingray!!!

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

The great thing with modern 'ray's is that it takes literally 10 seconds to change the battery, no screwdriver needed, just pop the compartment open, out with the old, in with the new and away you go

 

[hambone1]

Thanks a bunch. I am going to get a HH ray asap.

 

[JTE]

I've owned active basses since I got my first StingRay around 1979. In that whole time I've only had one battery go bad on stage. And that was the one and only time I used something other than a DuraCell battery.

I change them once a year in active basses, using my birthday as the reminder time. I used to use DST change, but I always forgot if I used the spring or fall one. My birthday only comes once a year. Unplug the cord from the instrument jack when you're not playing the bass (I leave them plugged in on stage during breaks, but don't leave it plugged in over night) as most active basses have the power supply switcehd in when the bass is plugged in.

The originals StingRay circuit was deemed by Leo to be such a low current draw that they didn't bother to out a switch in the power supply. Don't worrly about it, just use good batteries.

jte