Stingray popularity decline?

[Geri O]

I've never found my StingRay heavy, and heavier instruments sound better and have more sustain, anyway. My StingRay is still lighter than a Les Paul. The modern fetish for lightweight basses confuses me. EBMM's decision to move to lighter wood and a lower mass bridge is, all things being equal otherwise, detrimental to "tone".

I’m as big a Stingray fan as there is. I had to sell the last SR5 in order to buy the Mike Lull M5V bass that is my main bass. However, I will get another SR5 in the near future.

The weight has never bothered me, but I can’t go along with the heavier-means-more sustain idea. I used to think that. But both of my Lulls (M5V and P5) weigh in well under 8 lbs. And both Lulls have the most sustain of any bass I’ve ever played, save the Alembic Series Two I used to have. Definitely more than the SR5s and all the Fenders I’ve ever owned.

Having said that, extremely long sustain isn’t a metric I use a lot when evaluating basses. And a little less sustain than my Lulls will never ever stop me from owning a Stingray.

 

[Wood and Wire]

I’m as big a Stingray fan as there is. I had to sell the last SR5 in order to buy the Mike Lull M5V bass that is my main bass. However, I will get another SR5 in the near future.

The weight has never bothered me, but I can’t go along with the heavier-means-more sustain idea. I used to think that. But both of my Lulls (M5V and P5) weigh in well under 8 lbs. And both Lulls have the most sustain of any bass I’ve ever played, save the Alembic Series Two I used to have. Definitely more than the SR5s and all the Fenders I’ve ever owned.

Having said that, extremely long sustain isn’t a metric I use a lot when evaluating basses. And a little less sustain than my Lulls will never ever stop me from owning a Stingray.

Everyone wants basses with oodles of sustain, so that the can put flat strings, and mutes on them.

 

[Geri O]

Everyone wants basses with oodles of sustain, so that the can put flat strings, and mutes on them.

That was worth a few .

Thanx!

 

[craigmack1979]

One positive thing about my 12 lbs. alder SR5 was it didn't have much neck dive

Lmao

 

[craigmack1979]

Never been a fan of Music Man. Don't like the design, pickup placement, pick guard, bridge, control plate, and especially the logo. Please don't take that as a dig to those who do like MM. Feel the same about G&L, except the ASAT bass. I'm sure my tastes don't have universal appeal either. That's a good thing. What a boring world it would be if we all liked the same things.

There have been many great players who've made great music wielding a Music Man so I can appreciate the brand. And if you rock a Music Man, keep on rockin'!

I’ve owned 3 trying to find right one . Imo
it’s one of most over rated basses in music history ! The quality of stingrays has dropped drastically….. i just returned one couldn’t get action as low as I prefer and fretwork was little uneven . They don’t even come with hardshell cases anymore or San Luis Obispo on back of headstock . Imo they over rated

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

I can relate. Louis Johnson, Bernard Edwards, Allen McGreir, Paul S. Denman, John Deacon, and Nate Watts are all 2Band StingRay players I grew up listening to that inspired me to play bass. That vintage StingRay tone is one of my favorites. I briefly owned a USA Sub.
But it was very uncomfortable for me to play . If it doesn’t feel good I can’t play it well and I can’t enjoy it.
Now I play a Caprice that fits and sounds just right for me.
I’ll never own a StingRay, but I sure do enjoy listening to others playing them.

And boy how times have changed . Along came the Specials and I evolved away from 4 strings. Now I humbly and proudly say how wrong I was .

 

[Stranger Danger]

The bass triumvirate: a Pee, a Jay, a Rick and a Ray.

I guess that would be a quadrumvirate.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I’ve owned 3 trying to find right one . Imo
it’s one of most over rated basses in music history ! The quality of stingrays has dropped drastically….. i just returned one couldn’t get action as low as I prefer and fretwork was little uneven . They don’t even come with hardshell cases anymore or San Luis Obispo on back of headstock . Imo they over rated

Personally, I hate hardshell cases so the gig bag change is good for me. But the "Crafted in California" change came because of California "Made In The USA" labelling laws that would require either 90 or 95% US content and the Schaller tuners are made in Germany.

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

I think they are among a comeback.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

I think they are among a comeback. View attachment 5396394
View attachment 5396395

If EBMM is a public company, you should buy stock in it.

 

[bigdaddybass12]

I'm sort of kicking myself for not picking up a US S.U.B 5 back when they came out.

me too,
I passed on a USA SUB 4 several years ago at GC. I couldnt quite get past the painted neck. Here is the funny part, compared it side by side with a Ray4. Very minimal differences of quality and sound. Brought the ray4 home, it’s now my main player while my more expensive basses stay in their case.

 

[PolkaHero]

me too,
I passed on a USA SUB 4 several years ago at GC. I couldnt quite get past the painted neck. Here is the funny part, compared it side by side with a Ray4. Very minimal differences of quality and sound. Brought the ray4 home, it’s now my main player while my more expensive basses stay in their case.

Owned a MIA Stingray 20 years ago. Sold it very quickly as it was heavy, had a "baseball bat" neck, and the sound wasn't right for the band I was in at the time.

Gigged with my new RAY24 last night. This is now my main gigging bass. It's light, the neck is just like my Jazz Bass, and the sound is so versatile just by plucking the strings in a different position and barely touching the treble and/or bass controls. Got many compliments from other musicians in the audience how "punchy" and "tight" it sounds while still having good bottom end.

 

[beatdatthang]

I wonder if the OP still feels the same way. I can tell you that the wife and I go to a lot of rock/metal music festivals (Louder Than Life, Rocklahoma, Welcome to Rockville, etc) on a regular basis and it’s probably almost 90% Stingrays these days. It’s about 5% Ps and Js, and another 5% for everything else.

The sad part is, the best “Stingray” isn’t even a Stingray. IMO, the USA Sterling is a far superior instrument. Even if you look past the neck (which is 1.5” nut and is better) and the smaller body (which I prefer), the fact that it gives you that 3 way switch to go from Parallel, to Single coil, to Series makes a huge tonal difference and is an improvement over the Ray. I love my Sterling.

 

[bigdaddybass12]

Owned a MIA Stingray 20 years ago. Sold it very quickly as it was heavy, had a "baseball bat" neck, and the sound wasn't right for the band I was in at the time.

Gigged with my new RAY24 last night. This is now my main gigging bass. It's light, the neck is just like my Jazz Bass, and the sound is so versatile just by plucking the strings in a different position and barely touching the treble and/or bass controls. Got many compliments from other musicians in the audience how "punchy" and "tight" it sounds while still having good bottom end.

Yes on playing in a different position. I use EB slinky’s, play between neck & pu. Nice big clean sound.

 

[amper]

The sad part is, the best “Stingray” isn’t even a Stingray. IMO, the USA Sterling is a far superior instrument. Even if you look past the neck (which is 1.5” nut and is better) and the smaller body (which I prefer), the fact that it gives you that 3 way switch to go from Parallel, to Single coil, to Series makes a huge tonal difference and is an improvement over the Ray. I love my Sterling.

No, no, no. The Sterling is not in any way superior to the StingRay, much less is it “far superior”. Your anecdotal preference is not in any way an objective measure.

I’m glad you like your Sterling, but I greatly prefer the StingRay to the Sterling, and many others feel the same way.

 

[amper]

If there is any decline in the popularity of the StingRay, I would surmise it may be because the price of the StingRay relative to the price of an equivalent Fender has risen precipitously, since Ernie Ball is clearly trying more to compete with PRS than with Fender, in recent years. A new StingRay now costs $2600-2800 USD street price, compared with $1850-2000 for a Fender American Professional II P or J. That is a 40-50% difference in price.

The consequence of this is that it is getting harder and harder to find StingRays at reasonable prices in the secondary market, as well. The cheapest used StingRays listed on Reverb right now are in the $1400 USD range, and there's a only a few of them; most are priced higher.

 

[Geri O]

The sad part is, the best “Stingray” isn’t even a Stingray. IMO, the USA Sterling is a far superior instrument.

No, the sad part is, you probably really, really believe this to be true….

If you prefer the Sterling basses over the Stingrays for whatever reason, that’s fine and I understand the Sterlings to be good instruments as Squiers to Fenders and the G&L Tribute things to the domestic G&L basses. Different strokes, and so on as nauseum….

But to assert that the Sterlings are superior instruments to Stingrays will get you more funny looks and pity than anything else.

 

[FirewalZ]

I think the OP's observation maybe generally true, they did seem more popular in the 90's through the early 2000's. In recent years the mighty P (with flats) and J's seem more popular than ever. I have a love/hate relationship with the Stingray, my 96 3 band has always been too aggressive, twangy, thin sounding G string and not very warm. I think the new ones may addressing these..

Since I posted this, I now have a 2018 4H Special as well as my original 96 4H 3-band....and I gig on one or the other almost exclusively (outside of an occasional Jazz Bass). The Special does have a slightly rounder tone and is a lot more even across the strings. However if I really need to cut and sizzle I use the 96, I've found that Sunbeams, Fatbeams or similar strings pair well with it to tame the zing.

 

[PolkaHero]

Sterling superior to a StingRay? No, but is a USA made StingRay 5x better than a comparable Sterling ($2500 vs. $500)? No way. For just a few hundred bucks (better tuners, fret filing, even pickup but I think the stock is just fine) I can make this RAY24 nearly as good as any USA Stingray plus it's lighter and has the thinner neck I prefer.

 

[Parzival]

No, the sad part is, you probably really, really believe this to be true….

If you prefer the Sterling basses over the Stingrays for whatever reason, that’s fine and I understand the Sterlings to be good instruments as Squiers to Fenders and the G&L Tribute things to the domestic G&L basses. Different strokes, and so on as nauseum….

But to assert that the Sterlings are superior instruments to Stingrays will get you more funny looks and pity than anything else.

I think Ernie Ball’s stupid naming conventions have struck again.