Stingray-the most divisive bass sound?

[darwin-bass]

Live or recorded?

Live, many rooms / mixes are muddy enough that a J with both PUs on simply gets buried creating little more than an low frequency event. A P might be heard as notes from an instruments, maybe. A Stingray can produce the missing mids to allow it to be heard as a instrument playing notes, not just making low sounds. So live, a Stingray can sound like the P-bass in your head.

In the studio, things are very different.

Different tools for different tasks.

 

[Bunk McNulty]

In my experience, many Non-Stingray players associate the bass with aggressive tones that use lots of treble. In my mind, the great Stingrays masters Tony Levin, Bernard Edwards, Louis John, Paul Denman, Pino Pallidino, were good at darkening the bass' tone. I am no master, but I use a darker tone most of the time on my Sterling.

I was going to say, I don't much care for the Stingray sound, unless it's Bernard Edwards.

 

[Rnr..........4]

I like the two band EQ Stingray's (the 70s era, classic series). Not really a fan of the newer ones and I think the recent redesign looks horrible. I'm more into passive basses personally.

 

[mongo2]

Want to really fluster the easily-excitable?

Play a Bongo, 4-string, in purple!

LOL, I had an Bongo in stealth black. Some really hated it and others really liked it. That Bongo was the second most commented on bass I've had. My most commented on bass was my DIY 4 string oval washtub shortscale upright mounted on an NS stand. Never had a negative comment on it.

 

[chadds]

I agree. Why divisive? The Man, Leo kept evolving his designs. He didn't stop you from buying any previous iterations!

Amps evolved too. Imagine playing a MM through a 2x12 piggyback bassman. No mas!
(No good) Finally amps could handle this full spectrum output.

Meanwhile I love Leo's work and love the '51 P single coil. I also LOVE the Aguilar version of the MM pre with 18v. OCB-1, 2, 3. 3 my fave. You can leave your amp flat and torque the S/$!e out of it. Huge headroom and every frequency amplified.

 

[bassdude51]

Stingray-the most divisive bass sound?

I think that you are right! The Stingray sounds like a Jazz Bass with both pickup at full on steroids.

I've tried to tame that down with flat wounds and eqing out the mid range but it is a sound that is hard to tone down.

I think that the 'Ray is a slapper dream! Clank, clank, clank.

Yes, it is a divisive bass sound!

I'm thinking of selling my 2004 Stingray. It's not my kind of sound! I keep trying to fool myself that it's a nice bass. But, it is not!

Too each his own. YMMV. IMO IMHO. (Whatever floats your boat.)

 

[_Obra_]

Stingray is a weird beast. I couldn't live with it, and I can't live without it. Constant love and hate game.
I had three in the past and sold them all from different reasons.
In past four years I was Ray-less, all until 3 days ago. As I said before, can't live without it and couldn't resist the new look.
The Special arrived in Aqua Sparkle color and I must say the EB finally fixed all the problems that accompanied the previous models.
And regarding sound, they retained the essence but restrained aggression just enough for my taste.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I find this interesting. Both in real life and from a couple of YouTube comparisons I've made it seems that the Stingray is the bass sound that people either love or hate. One of the few instances where someone has asked me to record with a certain sound it was a Ray. On the other hand many people find it annoying and artificial sounding. P or Jazz type basses by comparison most people (especially non bassists) do not really have strong opinions on IMO. Has anyone else noticed this?

I rarely have an issue getting a suitable sound out a bass, with a few exceptions, and Sting Rays aren't on the list. I have heard Sting Ray players play with really offensive EQs settings (especially excessive use of the onboard preamp), but that isn't the bass's fault. I can say the same for Fender Basses as well.

 

[chadds]

Allesandro Sanz - Syrope

this is a MM.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3rT5TTHuF_iJktwSSbeu2XV1T9FhiT4O

Hope you're listening on headphones and or great system.

 

[Vanheusen77]

I happen to really like the sound by the way! Especially the honky disco sound you can get from it.

 

[bass12]

Off the top of my head I can think of two albums that were recorded with mostly StingRays and I wouldn't have had a clue if I hadn't read about it after the fact (I associate the players on those albums with other basses). I'm guessing most people couldn't differentiate a StingRay from any number of other basses without a visual cue.

 

[SunByrne]

Personally I love 'em.

Obviously, some people don't. Other things not liked that seem to cluster together: anything not a P, playing with a pick, rounds, slapping, use of effects, etc. There's a a core bunch of people on TB who basically don't like any sound produced by a bass that isn't something Jamerson could have done in 1962. That's fine for them. Me, I like options, and one of the options I really like is the StingRay option.

 

[blmeier7]

I like the stingray sound, but I don't like the sound when I play them. I really want to like them, but they don't stay around too long after I buy them. Same thing for Rickenbackers. I can safely scratch those basses off my list and just enjoy it when others play them.

 

[micguy]

Sting rays, like a lot of active basses, have enough upward range on the treble pot that, depending on strings, playing technique, etc, it's often easy to dial up a very "brittle" sound - usually with a lot of hiss thrown in as a side "benefit" (Yes, there is sarcasm intended there).

I find that treble on basses is something that (as you run it up) sounds better and better until....suddenly it goes over the cliff and it's too much - and too much treble sounds awful. In voicing my own basses (I build my own, with some rather off the beaten path circuits) I have struggled with this - your ear/brain combo, at different times, perceives things differently - that threshold between "this is really good" and Ii's TOOOOOOO BRIGHT!!! moves on you. I have, over time, figured out a solution to placing the treble in the right place, but it wasn't an easy thing to figure out.

 

[Barton Lee]

I've had two Stingrays, an early 80s that I gigged with for a couple of years late that decade and a new 5 string in 1993 which got used a lot over ten years. I liked it for theater and wedding/corporate gigs but sold it in the early 00s as it wasn't getting played any more. My one regret is that I never tried flats on either bass. Both were high quality builds and I had no problems with their playability but I simply prefer a passive bass. Still love hearing Denman or Levin play one though.

 

[arbiterusa]

If you think owning a Stingray is divisive go and buy a Steinberger. Few people ever get to the point of actually listening to it.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

The biggest thing I take away from this thread is that eq'ing a bass takes time to master. When I first played Stingrays and Sabres, I loved the bright and crunchy sound. Over time, I wanted to tame it and I did. Because the pickup location, Stingrays never sound muddy, so the bass will have plenty of cut with the treble turned off completely. On a three band, wise use of the midrange can result in a more controlled higher frequency presence than bass alone.

 

[Chickenwheels]

Treat em right, they'll treat you right.

 

[Killing Floor]

I love the sound of a MM. it's distinctive and very powerful in a mix and highly versatile. I like that it's not trying to be a P or J. It's a great standalone bass too.

 

[droo46]

The biggest thing I take away from this thread is that eq'ing a bass takes time to master. When I first played Stingrays and Sabres, I love the bright and crunchy sound. Over time, I wanted to tame it and I did. Because the pickup location, Stingrays never sound muddy, so the bass will have plenty of cut with the treble turned off completely. On a three band, wise of the midrange can result is a more controlled higher frequency presence than bass alone.

Agreed. Sometimes, people get a different kind of bass, try the same things they do on other instruments and when it doesn't work, they give up on it. Understanding tone and how to shape it is a separate skill from playing IMO.