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This is why Louis Johnson ended up with a Stingray!

#43
Kat's seem to forget that LJ had some serious input into the development of the Stingray. His early Stingrays which he preferred had a much hotter pre than what the general public was getting. Leo Fender felt that the prototype pre would be way to hot for players. And went back to the drawing board and tamed what is now the famous stingray pre.
 
#44
JAUQO III-X said:
Kat's seem to forget that LJ had some serious input into the development of the Stingray. His early Stingrays which he preferred had a much hotter pre than what the general public was getting. Leo Fender felt that the prototype pre would be way to hot for players. And went back to the drawing board and tamed what is now the famous stingray pre.
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True, Louis says he was tight with Leo Fender well before he became a known player.
 
#46
JAUQO III-X said:
Kat's seem to forget that LJ had some serious input into the development of the Stingray. His early Stingrays which he preferred had a much hotter pre than what the general public was getting. Leo Fender felt that the prototype pre would be way to hot for players. And went back to the drawing board and tamed what is now the famous stingray pre.
Click to expand...

When I got mine in Kansas back in the 70's I picked one out of many ten basses on the wall that had a noticeably hotter output. Traded it a couple of years later for a new T-40. Duh. Guess I wasn't ready for it.
 
#54
JAUQO III-X said:
Brad, I'm sure that's not why you got rid of it.
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I'd bet it was. I've figured out many things the hard way over the years. Tried to keep it at a minimum after these early debacles...

At the point I traded the Ray, I was really into Alphonso Johnson, loved his work especially Spellbound". The T-40 had that out of phase sound built in and at the time I really dug it. Since I was leaning more towards Fusion at that time it made sense. But that Ray was a beast live and I realize I should've kept it.

Of course the way I got the Ray was a learning experience too. I couldn't figure out why that store was willing to trade for it straight up with the old Fender I had at the time. It kind of looked like Verdine's Telecaster at the time but with a different pickup and and a couple of other minor differences. It was a 1954 P Bass.

:hmm:

Those two moves no longer sting as much as they used to and I definitely learned something from both.
 
#58
Brad Johnson said:
Yep, he was originally killin' on a P Bass. Despite the fact that you can't slap on a P. Fortunately nobody told Louis.

Alembic Series basses are cool if that's what you're into and they're probably not is you're not. Many basses fit that description. I owned a new one and it was a no go for me as well. For others they're nirvana.

Back in the day that was "the" choice if you had the bucks... but for many folks it just didn't fit as well as some much lower end (price-wise) basses. More money still does not equal a better fit for everyone.
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Apparently they also had a Gibson endorsement.
 
#60
Dr. Cheese said:
So did Stanley Clarke around that same time, maybe just a few years earlier. Those old Rippers, Grabbers, and G-3s, were all pretty good basses.
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Getting back to your original topic, The Ray was/is a much better fit for LJ that the Alembic. Not that the Alembic is a bad bass, but for his style the Ray was IT! Having said that, I would give my left testie for a good Alembic:) But I aint LJ :D
 

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