Stingray popularity decline?

[Stranger Danger]

Not true. Sorry.

Definitely not true. I don't know where this stuff comes from sometimes.

 

[Solude]

For me it is that the bands I listen to that use a Stingray play an HH model but Sterling doesn't make any so the "drive" to have what your influences play just isn't there since it is out of reach. Meanwhile even if you don't have MIM money, Squire makes the "same" P and J as your influences at pedestrian prices.

 

[mcnach]

Definitely not true. I don't know where this stuff comes from sometimes.

Indeed, and it gets perpetuated without thinking by people who could just test it by themselves.
I also believed active = high output when I started out because that's what I had heard, and I didn't realise how untrue it was for years, when I started using some active basses.

The input sockets on many amps labelled passive and active when they just mean lower and higher signal do not help matters either... I have never encountered an amplifier with such sockets where I could not plug my active bass on "passive".

 

[BrickBatMansion]

I am a Ric man. In the late 70's, (I was 17) a friend of mine was the mgr of a music store and they got a franchise with MM. I remember looking at them hanging on the wall and thinking: "that's pretty cool" but also wondering if this was a fad or would it last. 30 yrs later I got my first 5er/1st MM. And 40+ yrs later we debate MM.

I find it to be a finely built instrument. Never had a problem with it in any way except it just wasn't my sound. I still have it and will never sell it.

 

[Rumbledore]

i dont like them

 

[decentbassbreh]

I have seen the opposite. More and more bands (Rock/Metal) seem to be rocking Stingrays these days

 

[Jim Carr]

High output? I never played a Stingray whose output was too high. It's right there with your typical Precision.

Unless you dime that bass control, but why would you do that? I guess people used to passive basses tend to dime every knob... it's their fault then

I love the Stingray's tight bottom end. It's fat, it's present, but you can easily control it so it doesn't get boomy, much more so than on a Precision, for example...
I find the position of the single pickup on a Stingray perfect.

Paul S. Denman...

 

[Jim Carr]

I wish there was a 5-string Stingray with a 35" scale. The closest thing I have found is the now discontinued passive MTD Kingston Artist 5-string. Great Music Man-type growl. Combined with an outboard preamp, it is a killer.

Here is a favorite old clip of Anthony Nembhard:

 

[DeliriumTremens]

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

That's four...

 

[Stranger Danger]

i dont like them

And that is totally cool and I respect that opinion.

 

[Stranger Danger]

That's four...

Haha yeah that's right. A quadrumvirate then. Thanks for catching that.

 

[Altitude]

Stingrays create the tone that’s in my head when I think “bass guitar.”

They are optimal for me but a little out of style right now.

They are sizzly and forward and right now the trend is mellow and dark.

I still love them.

 

[InnerBass]

I have to agree on the toy logo look.
View attachment 3097277
Darren Stevens never would've tried to submit this to Larry Tate for approval.
Entire headstock is too busy, just like the Sterling SUB Rays...which are a thing of the past, by the way.
I think it’d look much better with just MUSICMAN StingRay.
It wouldn't stop me from buying one, of course, but then again, they’re simply not for me. Better options for better prices, IMO.

Of course, Music Man fans are every bit as steadsfast as Fender fans...they're not going anywhere and neither are the basses.

Just recorded with my ‘79.
Perfect for the song - and I like the more simple logo too

 

[JoeWPgh]

I really like the sound of a SR, and for the most part, they're pretty sharp looking. And they certainly are an iconic bass. But there's reasonable points that work against them, too. The confounding naming convention of the different models, the horrible logo and excessive scribbling on the otherwise decent looking headstock. The weight and ergonomics were not all that great. The one thing I never liked about them is the knob placement. They seem just a bit too far from the right hand playing position. Still I have one that I have no interest in parting with.

 

[Yammybass]

Regarding the logo, I can't think of a gig where I'd be embarrassed to show up with my bass. Sometimes, you can overthink a think.

View attachment 3097438

That is sweet. How could you be embarrassed by that.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

People finally made the connection with the pickguard making it look like a toilet seat

It certainly hasn't been a problem for them. I mean, look at the roster of a-list rock stars that have played StingRays over the last 40+ years.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Stingrays create the tone that’s in my head when I think “bass guitar.”

They are optimal for me but a little out of style right now.

They are sizzly and forward and right now the trend is mellow and dark.

I still love them.

They addressed the "zing" with the specials released in 2018. Definitely thick and vintage sounding, IMHO. But if you crank up the treble, and you really can max it, you can bring back the zingy character if you want.

 

[40Hz]

i dont like them

Refreshingly honest and to the point.

 

[CapnSev]

Not true. Sorry.

+1 I have yet to find a pedal that doesn’t behave 100% with my Stingray.

 

[dennis james]

speaking of logo designs, the backwards "F" on every fender has never been criticized. it honestly never occurred to me until I heard somebody comment on it years after I started playing them.