Strings to tame a Sting Ray ?

[Chickenwheels]

What Flats did Bernard Edwards (Chic) play with?

To quote him “whatever came on the bass when I got it”.
The shipped with GHS strings in the 70s from memory.

source: Music Man Bass Global - 1978 Hangtag Manual

 

[Deleted member 271037]

Trying to make a Stingray sound like anything other than a Stringray is a lost cause IMO. If you're not happy with the tone you will probably be better off with a different bass. Based on your description I don't think any strings will give you what you want.

 

[matbard]

GHS Brite Flats, the original OEM strings in the '70s

 

[Beefwren]

I went from HiBeams to FatBeams and never looked back

I tried lots of strings on my maple fretboard 4H and the search ended with FatBeams. They are the perfect balance IMHO.

 

[GwenOnBass]

GHS Brite Flats, the original OEM strings in the '70s

Tried them for three months on my Bernard Edwards era 'Ray. The stickiness wore off in the money zone with play. Ran out of patience, and was pulling at the bit to try the EB Group flats. Have not looked back.

 

[pcake]

i dislike fresh strings, but i know that new string sound is temporary.

years ago, when my primary instrument was acoustic guitar, i tried a set of TI plectrums. i hated the way they sounded the minute i tried them. hated them with a passion, and i've never hated how any string sounded before or since. but after 8 days, magic happened - they became the best-sounding string i've ever used. really.

 

[Nekomata]

GHS Pressurewounds work well for my fingers and my ears.

 

[Brich]

Ghs boomers. Dead out of the pack

 

[wattsman]

I find DR Pure Blues to be similar to Sunbeams but a bit darker. I would also treat the new strings with vaseline or hand lotion, leave it overnight and clean before installing. Strings will be darker and sound as they would after a couple of months of use.

 

[Killens84]

Hello,

For years I loved my Sting Ray with maple fingerboard and fresh Ernie Ball regular Slinky strings for an aggressive and nasty tone I wanted for the type of music I mainly played.

Now I am seldom playing that genre, and for the others I play I feel I would like a smoother/rounder/mellow/more gentle tone. Not really a darker one; I still want some presence and brightness.
I got some good results by changing the EQ on the bass or outboard, but I would like to see what different strings may bring.

I play with fingers and pick, some slap.

Any suggestions?
I tried reading some threads in this Forum; am I in the right direction with DR Sunbeams or stabilized(*) Hi Beams?

Thank you!


(*) By “stabilized” I mean that, to my understanding from what I read, the Hi Beams are too bright when new and they deliver their best after some use.

GHS Balanced Nickels, without a doubt. They’re slightly on the darker-sounding side, and have a little bit lower output. They’re perfect for any bright, aggressive bass that you want to tame. I used them on the Stingray Special I used to have.

 

[GeneralElectric]

Tone knob?

Stingrays don't have a tone knob.

 

[GwenOnBass]

GHS Balanced Nickels, without a doubt. They’re slightly on the darker-sounding side, and have a little bit lower output. They’re perfect for any bright, aggressive bass that you want to tame. I used them on the Stingray Special I used to have.

Balanced Nickels sound and feel good to me right out of the pack, and settle in even better on my Nordy Cat. They're the perfect complement to that instrument.

When my StingRay was new 45 years ago, I pulled the factory strings because they just had to be junk, right?

Installed Rotos because. Everybody. That's what we did then. Then it was Dean Markley Super Rounds forever.

Here in the future, delighted with EB Group IV flats. Worried when they were brand new because I liked the G fresh out of the pack. To my surprise, the G is still beautiful after more than two years' play.

 

[Spectre Gunner]

Try using more compression and a High-Pass/Low-Pass Filter to tame the unwanted sounds. Flats might be the answer but not the popular choice for slap style.

 

[Danny C]

I'm digging DR Pure Blues on mine. But it is an old smoothie so it's not that zingy to begin with.

 

[bdplaid]

Hello,

For years I loved my Sting Ray with maple fingerboard and fresh Ernie Ball regular Slinky strings for an aggressive and nasty tone I wanted for the type of music I mainly played.

Now I am seldom playing that genre, and for the others I play I feel I would like a smoother/rounder/mellow/more gentle tone. Not really a darker one; I still want some presence and brightness.
I got some good results by changing the EQ on the bass or outboard, but I would like to see what different strings may bring.

I play with fingers and pick, some slap.

Any suggestions?
I tried reading some threads in this Forum; am I in the right direction with DR Sunbeams or stabilized(*) Hi Beams?

Thank you!


(*) By “stabilized” I mean that, to my understanding from what I read, the Hi Beams are too bright when new and they deliver their best after some use.

I really liked EB Cobalt Flats on my Stingray. Generally smooth sounding, but bright when you play harder.

 

[stonetazz]

I use Sunbeams on all my Stingrays. I’ve tried other types, but I always go back to them.

 

[Boneless]

I don't know why many folks don't seem to get this, but all strings start out at their brightest. Fairly quickly, they lose some of that initial brightness, and then for a good long while, they are fairly stable at a reduced brightness - they are getting duller, but VERY slowly. At some point, they will become dull enough that you decide it's time to change them - they don't really "die", you just decided one day they aren't what you want any more.

So, given that life cycle, if you put strings on that are "just right" at first, unless you have a deal with unlimited free strings and a roadie to change them every day, YOU HAVE BOUGHT THE WRONG STRINGS!!!. If that is your initial reaction, in not too long, when the initial zing dies out, you'll be running around telling everyone that "those strings die fast". No, they don't "die fast" - you bought the wrong strings.

The right strings, when you put them on, are too bright. You turn down the tone controls on your bass and your amp or pedalboard, you play them for a while, and then....a week or two later, you turn the knobs back to their normal positions, and... the strings sound great. Congratulations! You have bought the right strings - by buying strings that are too bright initially, you now have the benefit of enjoying that long, relatively stable period, and the strings sound good for a good long time.

I never play a gig with new strings - I always make sure they get played at least a week before I play a gig (this means I need multiple basses (reason #42 for why you need another bass). That way, I am never trying to coax the sound in my head out of a bass that is too bright - if you end up in that situation, you tend to play timidly, which is not a good thing.

Anyway, the short lesson here is: When you try the right strings, you won't know it for a while - you need to leave them on long enough to have them settled before you know if you've go the right strings. If they sound too dull or just right when you first put them on, however, you know you don't have the right strings.

I don't agree. Sometimes the sound of extremely new strings is what you're after. For instance, I *love* new roundwound Rotosounds. They still sound fine for three months or so (even longer, depending on how much I play on that specific bass) but the sound of brand new Rotos is something I truly adore. When I record, I almost always make a point of installing new SB66s right before recording. Also, I love TI flats when new. They still sound fine after being broken in, but I love their combination of smoothness and brightness they have right out of the box.

By the way, some strings do die faster than others. It's not just about the inherent tone of the strings. Otherwise, the whole idea behind coated strings (which stop the grime from entering in between the gaps) would be a sham, but coated strings do last measurably longer. Rotos, I suspect, die faster because they have a much coarser winding, which also give them their "chainsaw" tone quality.

 

[JazznFunk]

By the way, some strings do die faster than others. It's not just about the inherent tone of the strings. Otherwise, the whole idea behind coated strings (which stop the grime from entering in between the gaps) would be a sham, but coated strings do last measurably longer. Rotos, I suspect, die faster because they have a much coarser winding, which also give them their "chainsaw" tone quality.

This. Body chemistry and sweat can also shorten the life of strings in some cases. That out of the package 'zing' lasts longer with some strings than others. The kicker is how long the string maintains its realtive fullness and liveliness beyond the initial zing wearing off. A lot of folks could benefit from just cleaning their strings after each playing session. Maintenance is maintenance.... even for strings.

 

[mcnach]

Stingrays don't have a tone knob.

 

[alex1fly]

Strange, I experienced the opposite... if I have a low signal going to the amp I instinctively play harder to compensate, which results in a less mellow/round tone. In fact I even recently added a booster pedal that I use for my two active basses.

I actually have a set of new La Bella RX that I haven't yet installed on my Warwick Corvette 5 (this also currently strung with EB Slinkys)

When I do this I turn the amp up to compensate. So I'm sending a slightly more mellow tone to the amp but not losing any volume. I tend to have a soft touch but bass volume at 10 has a little too much aggression in the character of the sound at times.