• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Stingray String Dissatisfaction

E

EarlSandwich

Nov 13, 2007
32
0
#1
Beginning at the beginning, a few months ago, I strung my Stingray with Chromes, initially to see if it would reduce the quiet G string problem that so many 'Rays seem to have, and ended up really liking them after being critical for a few years. Months went on, and I realized that they didn't quite growl enough for somewhat heavier playing, although it was the end-all bass for funk. A few days ago I broke down and bought some Slinkys, to see if rounds really were what I liked the most.

I immediately remembered what I had liked about flats- rounds on a stingray have an unavoidable "clank" to them, especially when slapped. Some people like this, and I'm not really a fan, but flats seem to hide a little too much in a rock setting for my taste.

Thoughts? Recommendations? Solutions? Should I simply be playing with my EQ a bit more? Should I be running a tiny bit of grit somewhere in my pedal chain?
...or should I just use my MIM Jazz for growly playing, and thump to my heart's content on the Stingray?
Tell me what you think.
Also, does anyone have experience with tapes on a 'Ray?
 
#2
Eqing will help,but you might want to try a nickel round (I THINK slinky's are stainless) and let them settle in for awhile.Another possability would be a half-wound or ground-wound string,if you can stand the feel.Never tried any of the coated strings but that might work.

With my Markbass rig,I always turned on some VLE filter so even if I got nuts and turned up alot of treble on the bass it would only go up to a certian level.

IMHO,YMMV,and all that jazz.
L
 
#3
A VLE would definitely be nice to have... I played a stingray through a LMII at Guitar Center, and it really added a good amount of thump. So it looks like the solution to fixing a $30-50 string problem is to buy a $500 amp... :smug:
Maybe I should make some sort of string-fix-o-matic low pass filter. Except I don't really know where to start.
Ernie Ball sells specific special Stainless Slinkys by the seashore, so I would assume that the standard is nickel.
All of this could just be "new string dissatisfaction" as well, I suppose...
 
#7
So...
I listened through isolating headphones, and realized that a great deal of the sound I don't like doesn't actually get amplified, and is due to the fact that I mostly play at low volumes where the unamplified tone is competing with the amplified one.

I also discovered that my amp (210 Fender Rumble 100) has a pretty steep drop in output from ~80hz down, meaning that the low end is somewhat drowned by the high end. The combination of these two is probably what gives it the lackluster tone.
Seems that you need a mighty amp to hold the massive balls of a Stingray.
Also, my strings are now breaking in a bit, and warming considerably.

I apologize for the "oh noes, I don't like brand new strings" thread.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back