Firebird? Thinking you mean Thunderbird?
Firebirds are sick guitars..but not the best basses....TBirds are beasts...love em, Rays and Ps
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Firebirds are sick guitars..but not the best basses....TBirds are beasts...love em, Rays and Ps
Rays really shine in the mix as mentioned..my go to in situations with a keys player or a couple guitars....
To echo what others have said, and the point can't be driven home hard enough:
How a bass sounds in the mix is significantly different than how it sounds sitting in front the amp at GC. Try the bass in a band setting, ideally at a gig if possible, before writing it off. I love my Jazz/P basses, and I too am not a fan of the MM sound so much on its own, but in a mix, that sound can be just right sometimes. I've ruminated over the possibility of picking up a classic 'Ray just for the odd time I'd like to use one.
Also, I'd highly recommend trying out the dual pickup 'Rays and Sterlings. They are much different animals than the single pickup instruments. I owned a fretless Sterling 5 for a while, and while I didn't fully bond with it enough to keep it, it got a pretty wide variety of interesting tones with the variety of different pickup options.
How a bass sounds in the mix is significantly different than how it sounds sitting in front the amp at GC. Try the bass in a band setting, ideally at a gig if possible, before writing it off. I love my Jazz/P basses, and I too am not a fan of the MM sound so much on its own, but in a mix, that sound can be just right sometimes. I've ruminated over the possibility of picking up a classic 'Ray just for the odd time I'd like to use one.
Also, I'd highly recommend trying out the dual pickup 'Rays and Sterlings. They are much different animals than the single pickup instruments. I owned a fretless Sterling 5 for a while, and while I didn't fully bond with it enough to keep it, it got a pretty wide variety of interesting tones with the variety of different pickup options.
This is how I feel about J basses...
For a 2 band option...the older MIA SUBs are a great way to see if it is your jam...great basses...like a Classic series ray in tone, with the modern radius, tough as nails finish and cheap...
I do like the MM tone. It has a certain bite to it that the P and the J don't have.
Still. It's an active bass and I dislike active ones. Not enough to the point where I won't get a MM in the future
Still. It's an active bass and I dislike active ones. Not enough to the point where I won't get a MM in the future
2 band ray with flats got me recruited to a very good GD tribute band and performed great on a couple years of gigs...killed it on the Terrapin Suite...great in that dense sort of mix...likely why Phil always favoured active...
I'm gonna go against the grain here and say no to flats on a ray. Totally ruins what makes a ray a ray.
OK, you don't like the 'Ray tone (for reasons mentioned) but you also dont like the tone from Scott's bass lessons intro.......I did a listen for the comparison of the disparity between the two: I agree with something with a single mid-mounted pickup (like a P-bass) but brighter and punchier.......Fender Ps are all over the map in consistency so the G&L LB-100 with Roundwounds or Bright Flats (pressurewounds) would be a good place to start
Yeah, Ive made a lot of discoveries on my Stingray with EQ shaping. Ive turned up the mid and turned down the treble on a few recordings before and got a very nice Classic non-signature Rayish tone on a few recordings....Fast forward to 2:54 (fingers) and 4:00 (slap) below -- I dont think anyone would guess that as a Stingray (and it has rounds)
Thanks so much for the input! Thanks for taking time to listen to that intro and giving me advice. This brings me to anther thought, would I maybe like the HH 'Ray because of the neck pup
you answered your own question.
sounds to me like you don't like bridge pickups in general. thats fine.
enjoy your p-bass, man.
I was just about to get rid of my Stingray 5 as the tone was just too aggressive and upper mid range heavy for what I do, but then I put Cobalt flats on it and now I love it. These strings are brighter than normal flats, but effectively tame the bass. It is still bright and punchy like a Ray, but a little less grindy and snarly. I am LOVING the tone I am getting now and have used it in two sessions already with great results.
Bernard Edwards used flats on his Sting Ray. (Dean Markley) He got some amazing sounds out of his bass.
As someone who played a Sting for nearly 10 years, sold it and spent the next 10 years playing (mostly) Js and occasionally a P, only to sell those and go back to playing a Sting... think this through very carefully. I spent a lot of money figuring out that I had it pretty good to begin with.
The poster who mentioned tweeter less cabs is on to something. I hate tweeters. Even turning them off isn't quite the same as a cab with identical drivers tuned the way it should. Strictly my .02 on that. I'm loving the Ampeg 210AV cabs. A pair of them will cover a lot of ground with nary a tweeter in sight.
But hey, it's not a crime to like what you like. Best wishes on your tone quest.
The poster who mentioned tweeter less cabs is on to something. I hate tweeters. Even turning them off isn't quite the same as a cab with identical drivers tuned the way it should. Strictly my .02 on that. I'm loving the Ampeg 210AV cabs. A pair of them will cover a lot of ground with nary a tweeter in sight.
But hey, it's not a crime to like what you like. Best wishes on your tone quest.
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I agree with some of the others and suspect you are prowling for that Precision tone. I myself have tried about 6 or 7 different Stingrays and found only one that I thought sounded good. It was an older model and the tone was very nice, but my ears always gravitate to the Jazz bass midrange sound. I feel like I can't get the clarity from the Precision. The flip side is that it always seems like the Precision fills up more space where the Jazz bass struggles in heavier music. I imagine 90% of this could be solved by EQ setting and technique, though.
Should never critique tone unless you are in a gig or recording session. Bedroom tone is non applicable
