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StingRay Not Cutting It... Am I Crazy?

#21
You know those shiny round things down there under your plucking hand? Yeah, those. Plug your StingRay in and start playing. Now, try spinning those shiny round things around to different positions.

Okay, that was just a little bit poopy of me, but my point is: Yeah, StingRays are famous for a sound that NO other bass can nail, BUT, the three-band eq and pickup switching options gives the modern 'Ray a tonal variety that the poor thing just DOESN'T get the credit for here! People STILL think of StingRays are slap machines and nothing else. It's an unfair pigeonhole that the 'Ray broke out of many years ago.

I used to own a closet full of basses, like many guys here. When I got my EBMMSRHH4, half of 'em went. When I paired it with a HH5, the rest went. Those two basses give me any and every sound I ever need for live, studio, church, etc.

I'd say don't give up on it yet, but if you do, don't sell it: Donate it. To me.
 
#23
IMO, if say you dont like the neck, but you like the sound/pickups = get a new neck
if you dont like any of it, but you maybe like the body = new pickups, new neck
personally, i love franken-basses. I have a P with a jazz neck, and an epiphone EB with a jazz neck. i love jazz necks. they play so nice. but they arent for everyone.

or theres always this option

P-bass.
 
#25
Try a Lakland 55-94 with Duncans. Fantastic neck, light comfortable body and many tones available. Or a Zon 5/1 (one pickup near the P or MusicMan position). The Zon has much more versatility than a P. I have one with TI's on it, and it is the sound I hear in my head.

MusicMans are usually heavy, and the necks aren't in the same class as Lakland/Sadowsky/Zon (IMHO).
 
#26
Thumper said:
Try a Lakland 55-94 with Duncans. Fantastic neck, light comfortable body and many tones available. Or a Zon 5/1 (one pickup near the P or MusicMan position). The Zon has much more versatility than a P. I have one with TI's on it, and it is the sound I hear in my head.

MusicMans are usually heavey, and the necks aren't in the same class as Lakland/Sadowsky/Zon (IMHO).
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:hiding:

.....no offence, but what about those of us who dont have a billion dollars to spend on basses
 
#29
It totally depends on what sound you are looking for ? And what genre of music your going to be playing. I just let go of a Warwick Corvette $$ for a SBMM 35 ? Which on the face of it sounds crazy BUT MM definitely gives me that funk sound now it may only be one sound but that is what MM is.
 
#30
I play a single H Stingray, finger-style, for classic rock and oldies and find it sounds so much better in a live band situation than in my practice room playing solo--wherein it sounds a tad harsh and "clanky." I found that by setting all of the controls on flat (middle indent) and then raisng the bass a tad and correspondingly lowering the trreble a tad (quarter inch?) really works for most applications. I use well-broken in EBMM Stage III flats, and this really gives me the thump--with Stingray articulation--that I cannot get anywhere else. I've been gigging since the mid-60s and recall how radical the ray seemed when it first appeared. It took awhile for me to appreciate its virtues. My Ps thump, my Js growl, but the Ray will do both. As for the neck, it's an acquired taste for many, but I prefer the wider fingerboard (and I have small hands). Just my two-cents.
 
#31
Can't go wrong with a Jazz bass...

Really, they're all great basses...Stingrays, P basses, Jazz basses. I think a Jazz bass with some noiseless/stacked pickups can cover it all.

It's easier to have YOUR sound in an original band....hence making any choice work. In a cover band setting, I think the Jazz would be the best fit...
 
#32
i hear you about the stingray it just never worked in my band. It was always too obnoxious sounding in the mix, it played great though and it sounded nice to me but in the mix and live it was too overpowering and obnoxious. I came to a conclusion that active bass's just don't work in my band. I traded my stingray for a american standard precision 5 and am not looking back, im quite happy with my trade.
 
#33
If you haven't found a bass that you like yet, you probably haven't tried many. You need a price range though...just because you're selling a 'Ray doesn't mean you're going to stick with however much money you get from selling it.

Go on YouTube and listen to clips of every bass you can think of. Surf TalkBass and find brands you've never heard before and find them and play them.
 
#35
unclejane said:
They can't do what my Carvin does. In fact, the Stingray can't either, tho it's a lot closer to the Carvin than the J is.

So depending on the type of sound he needs, I don't think the OP is nuts at all.

I.e. I like a clean, sits-in-the-mix "paw paw paw" sound and with as little hammering with the right hand as possible. The Carvin is the only bass I've ever played that does this right out of the box with no EQ and no matter what strings I put on it.

If you're into the "flub flub clack flub" cardboardy sound, the Precision is the way to go. If you want "plink plink plink plack plack plack" the Jazz will do that pretty good.

The Stingray is kind of in between the flub flub flub and clop clop clop sound, tho if you do away with the frets, that calms it down quite a bit. But it's still a pretty honky sound....

So I also really tried to love the Stingray/Sterling but just couldn't make myself do it. When I discovered the Carvin, it was like coming home or something (and you can get the other sounds out of the Carvin too with the pickup pan pot if you need them).

But again it'll depend on the type of sound you want and how strong your right arm is....

LS
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STOP IT! You are killing me with those "plop-plop Fizz-Fizz bass noises! :)

Point is unless you play only certain kinds of music a 'Ray is a rather specialized bass. I love mine, but it's not my main bass nor even a "go to" bass except for what it does. Nor is my Fender. [My 6 string grapite-necked Modulus is...just watch a 'Ray or Jazz try to do what it does...] Point is a 'Ray is a totally unique and wonderful bass. But it's not the universal bass. You love it for what it does and where it doesn't do it, you grab something else for a while. There's no shame in that. Trust me, sooner or later you'll need that 'Ray again.
 
#37
I get you man. I love the look and feel of my stingray but the sound is sterile. I dont know how old you are but I know a lot of younger guys aren't aware of the awesome Japanese made basses from the "80"s. The beauty of it is you can find them used for next to nothing and have a world class instrument. Check out some of the basses on the " show your Japanese bass" thread.
 
#38
I love my $590 Sterling by musicman. For "that sound" that was the price I could justify, and it was only that much after plopping a Nordstrand MM 4.3 in it. With a stock pickup if you want more sizzle, it would have been $450 new. Now it sounds great with the nordy, even with the stock preamp. The nordstrand single coil mode has much more sound to it than any Sterling 3-coil pickup I have heard..

But you still can't dial out the musicman snarl. It gets quieter but its still there.. for better or for worse that's the tone that its known for. And its TOTALLY the coil arrangement that make this sound. Need a different one, plop out the Jazz or P.
 
#40
Thumper said:
Try a Lakland 55-94 with Duncans. Fantastic neck, light comfortable body and many tones available. Or a Zon 5/1 (one pickup near the P or MusicMan position). The Zon has much more versatility than a P. I have one with TI's on it, and it is the sound I hear in my head.

MusicMans are usually heavy, and the necks aren't in the same class as Lakland/Sadowsky/Zon (IMHO).
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True about the weight, but the necks on the EB Sterlings are great.
 

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