Stingray sound on a budget

[Ric5]

Maestro

 

[mcnach]

The OLP will be the cheapest if you leave it passive. You'll have to rewire the pickup coils in series rather than parallel though. Add a Stingray preamp clone and you'd be good to go.

The pickup is already wired in parallel. With individual volumes for each coil (I immediately hardwire it so that one volume does nothing and the other is a normal master volume).

OLP will be the absolute cheapest with some quality still in it.

Then buy a Seymour Duncan SMB4A alnico replacement pickup. THEN it will give you a Stingray like tone. Limited, of course, because you will have no preamp... but that's another matter. You will still get some great sounds out of it (I do).

 

[mcnach]

I've got my SUB for sale in classifieds. It IS the Stingray sound for a reasonable price

+1

Not the absolute cheapest, but well worth it!

 

[nocontrols]

An Ibanez ATK is a good budget-conscious Stingray alternative. My old ATK 300 is tons nicer than the OLP's I tried out. It's also cheaper than the Sterling Ray.

+1... get one of the old ATKs... Not the 2011 model...

I'm glad someone said it. Every time this conversation comes up, people always default to an OLP or a Sterling brand but OLP's are passive and that's the opposite of StingRay tone. Using an OLP for StingRay tone is like saying you're going to eat a sandwich but you don't want any bread. You could add a preamp but there are cheaper and more effective ways. The Sterlings are still too pricey... a good ATK will get you there for cheap and MAN what a powerful instrument. The ATK is just a beast of a bass.

I'd go for the SUB. It is a StingRay that was built on the same production line as the 'regular' StingRays and used all the same parts.

+ 1 for the SUB!

And the coating on the SUB-body makes it virtually bulletproof

The SUB's are now considered collector's items... haven't their prices on the used market gone way up?

 

[bassmachine2112]

Sub all the way-no brainer-fantastic bullet proof giggin bass.
the usual complaint is the scratchplate-hooo ha what a deal breaker and sometimes the finish which to giggin musician is the best finish for working with-no fingerprints almost scratchproof,built as solid as a rock and sounds and plays great.
If you want it,s always a Musicman not an almost.
Bargain,go get it.

 

[allexcosta]

This doesn't sound bad and you can always replace pickup:

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It sells for 130 bucks or so...

 

[mcnach]

I'm glad someone said it. Every time this conversation comes up, people always default to an OLP or a Sterling brand but OLP's are passive and that's the opposite of StingRay tone. Using an OLP for StingRay tone is like saying you're going to eat a sandwich but you don't want any bread. You could add a preamp but there are cheaper and more effective ways. The Sterlings are still too pricey... a good ATK will get you there for cheap and MAN what a powerful instrument. The ATK is just a beast of a bass.

I haven't tried an ATK, but it's certainly on my "to do" list. They look great too.

Regarding the OLP comment... yes, they lack a preamp. But having the right kind of pickup *at the right position* is the most important bit, and OLP has the position. The pickup is wrong: ceramic, and not a fantastic one. Put a good alnico one (Basslines SMB4A) and you are there.

I hear the argument that the Stingray tone is on the preamp a lot. But I disagree to some extent. Some "signature" sounds are easily achievable using the MM preamp. True. But it's just a modification of the core sound. You need the right starting point. An OLP with a SMB4A has that starting point.

It's also interesting that after I got a bypass switch on my 2002 MM Stingray, I found that the tones I was mostly using were *very* close to the bypassed sounds. I could have used my amp controls, or an EQ pedal, to bump a bit the bass and turn the treble up/down to taste, with the bass in passive mode, and it would sound like its usual very Stingray tone.

My old OLP, without preamp, but an SMB4A, gets you very very close indeed. The Stingray wins hands down in the build and finish department etc. It just exudes quality while the OLP is undoubtedly a compromise. But the Stingray sound lies more on the pickup type and pickup placement above everything else. No doubt.

The SUB's are now considered collector's items... haven't their prices on the used market gone way up?

I think they are starting to go up a bit, but it's still marginal. Some people ask crazy prices (I saw recently a SUB4 for £700!!! you can get a real Stingray for that, and sometimes less!!!), but there are many at reasonable prices still.
I bought my SUB5 for £350, with a Seymour Duncan SMB5D installed and the original alnico pickup in a box (which I promptly reinstalled!) less than a year ago. £350-400 is the usual price around here. When you consider a new Sterling by MM is around £600 new, and that they ask around £300-400 for them second hand... to me a SUB is a no brainer. They may not be as pretty, but they are real Stingray basses whichever way you look at them. The Sterlings are ok, but pickups are not the same, and the preamps are different too. They may be nice, but if you want a *Stingray* sound in the same price bracket? Gotta be a SUB.

 

[Staccato]

+1 SUB.

Another copy, the OLP version, is rare on the forum classifieds.

Others like the Ibanez SRX series of basses were not designed to sound like a Stingray, and are no competition for it. Ibanez ATK is similar sounding to some on this forum, and the older models of those (there's also a recent sparkle finish) seem to get lots of attention/very good reviews.

 

[BassLife77]

I have two OLP's where I installed Alnico pickups and homemade preamps and it sounds almost exactly like the Stingray I owned. The Stingray obviously has it beat on workmanship and quality of parts. I would even argue to say it sounds better than the Stingray because I tweaked the preamps to the exact sound I wanted. If you are handy with a soldering iron, making your own preamp is the way to go, only $10 in parts. A good Alnico pickup is only around $99.

 

[parsons]

Get a SUB or an ATK300. Pull out the ATK300 and throw in a SD SMB4A. I have one in my ATK and its pretty close to a Ray.

 

[john grey]

The OP has to make certain decisions:
1.) How much do you want to pay? Is money a seriously bigger issue than any other?
2.) Do you want new or used?
3.) Do you want EBMM SOUND or just StingRay shape?

I just came back from Tucson and a local store on Campbell (locals know where I'm taking) and they have a LOT of Music Man stuff. Prices on NEW Rays are going down! Passive is passive: It can sound great but it's not a "real" Stingray sound.
IF you want sounds that simply are overwhelming in their variety get a G&L Tribute L2000 - there are just too many sounds to list - yet you pay about $100+ more than a RAY!
IF you are interested in USA made StingRay shape/mfg yet have a good amp and other goodies to shape that passive sound output....SUBs are a fantastic deal. IF you want close to original StingRay sound but need price - hunt on TB for a used RAY.
You need to close up your options because the "type" is copied very widely.

 

[Funk Factor]

I've owned a 2 band Stingray(4 string) as well a 5 string SUB
I no longer have them, but I do have 3 ATK's that I personally find a warmer more versatile option.

 

[CapnSev]

Go for the SUB. I think they are some of the sweetest 'Rays out there in general, not just on a budget.

 

[Syco_bass]

If you can do your own work, I would go for an OLP. You can pick them up sometimes as low as $125. There are many, many possibilites for upgrades to pre-amps and pickups. I personally love my OLP MM5 with SGD pickup wired passive with S/P switch. I'm waiting on David's new 2 band pre-amp. Yes, I will have to figure out what to do with the battery, but there is easily enough room under the pick guard for that. It sounds great now, but I want a bit more punch in perallel mode.

Here is a pic for you: good luck.