Tips for Stingray tone/eq?

[kln_bc]

I'm new to playing a ray, in fact I've never played an active bass before. It's an amazingly comfortable bass to play, but I'm struggling a bit with the tone. My biggest issue is that I find that unless I really crank up the bass knob on the ray, the higher stings just kind of get lost. But then the problem is that if I do that, then the E string is really boomy and aggressive comparative to the rest. Is that kind of the nature of these things?

I can adjust my technique to compensate a bit, and I've already played with the pickup height quite a bit to try and balance them more. Hoping for some tips to get it into a happy space .

 

[GTHintz]

If its a single humbucker then your next adjustments should be in string height and neck relief. Also strings have a big impact on volume and overall dynamics.

 

[MattZilla]

Crank the amp up and pluck lightly.

 

[kln_bc]

If its a single humbucker then your next adjustments should be in string height and neck relief. Also strings have a big impact on volume and overall dynamics.

It is a single and I have already set it up perfectly, though it didn't take much tweaking to get there. String change will come next. The set that's on there is clean and the right size (for me), but I'm pretty sure they're hybrid slinky's, which I've never been a fan of.

Crank the amp up and pluck lightly.

Yeah I have resorted to plucking the E lightly and turning up. Just thought there might be a way to get em a little more balanced... maybe I'm missing something.

 

[kln_bc]

FYI this is a Special H if it makes a difference.

 

[GTHintz]

It is a single and I have already set it up perfectly, though it didn't take much tweaking to get there. String change will come next. The set that's on there is clean and the right size (for me), but I'm pretty sure they're hybrid slinky's, which I've never been a fan of.

Yeah I have resorted to plucking the E lightly and turning up. Just thought there might be a way to get em a little more balanced... maybe I'm missing something.

To me its slinkys. I never cared for them either. To me Labella rx or dean Markley blue steels are where its at in strings for humbuckers. My Warwick is pretty picky with strings and so far those 2 are the best sounding for that.

 

[REV]

Lately I've said to myself that if I ever get another Stingray, first I'm going to put flats on it, then if I still don't like the way it sounds I'm going to take out the preamp.

 

[kln_bc]

I tried swapping to some D'addarios I had kicking around and the old strings were definitely very dead sounding. It maybe helped balance the strings a little more by livening them up a bit, but that E is still much more prominent. It's not the end of the world, but it sounds really weird when playing a line across multiple strings...everytime I hit the E string it jumps out.

Is this common with rays? Is that how the preamp is voiced? I don't have this issue with my other basses. Maybe some flats are in order...

 

[Grooveline]

My Stingray Classic sounds equal in volume across all strings but I always thought the D (just slightly) and G (very much) strings lacked the heft of the E and A which makes them sound a bit weaker. Very light compression was able to give the bottom two strings the heft they were missing. If you have a compressor give it a try.

 

[Bassistcool]

As the precedessors mentioned: try different strings and check pickup setting. I always left the controls on a bass in flat positions - no boost, no cut and make settings by the amp until I got my desired sound. Then I can tweak the sound slightly by the controls on the bass when needed.

 

[StayLow]

3-band EQ?

The disappearing D and G strings is a somewhat common issue.

Presuming your strings are set up correctly…

May need to adjust pickup’s relation to the strings, even raise or lower individual pole pieces on the pickup.

Also understand the EQ is interactive and it isn’t anywhere near “flat” at the center detents.

 

[Hevy T]

Compressors are great friends to Stingrays

 

[MattZilla]

Yeah I have resorted to plucking the E lightly and turning up. Just thought there might be a way to get em a little more balanced... maybe I'm missing something.

Most basses are a single voice per string if you listen too closely, and then you’ll be prioritising learning lines up & down the neck rather than economically across strings. This is probably a good thing to focus on for a few years while not quite being ready for being on stage with Bruno Mars or Lainey Wilson and not yet owning a P, and a J, and a hollowbody, and a couple fretlesses, and a shorty, and a Dingwall, and a Ric all at the same time.

All basses have their own personality and all respond well to being played by someone who has, instead of five or nine or thirty degrees of plucking from light to hard, 100 degrees from light to medium-light plucking developed in their hands. Whispering to talking.

A few like the P & EB StingRay accidentally respond well also to being savagely yelled/shouted through with a pick or a wild hammerthumb & claw. Slap is where you’ll find that loud E & quiet G the “feature, not a bug” of this paintbrush.

 

[Rib 13]

String type and how new you keep them ( new as possible, broken in, or Methuselah) is super important here

 

[Geogio]

"If its a single humbucker then your next adjustments should be in string height and neck relief. Also strings have a big impact on volume and overall dynamics"

Make sure your pick-up at the correct height as well. If you haven't already, freshen up the 9V.

 

[nnnnnn]

everytime I hit the E string it jumps out.

Is this common with rays?

It doesn't happen with mine. I don't have the same model though, mine is an SR5 from 2014 (so before the Specials came out). Still with single H and three-band EQ though.

I don't notice a string volume balance problem with mine - perhaps the G is a little quieter than the E, but if so it is a fairly subtle difference, it doesn't make it seem like the E is jumping out the way you describe. The thinner strings have a different tone to the thicker strings, but only in the same way that that happens with most basses, I certainly wouldn't describe it as a problem.

I usually leave the bass and treble knobs in their centre position, and vary the treble knob between centre and zero depending on what I'm playing.

 

[sawzalot]

Common issue with these basses. I have mine set up with the pickup much closer to the G string side and farther from the E string side and it’s pretty balanced.

 

[Element Zero]

Common issue with these basses. I have mine set up with the pickup much closer to the G string side and farther from the E string side and it’s pretty balanced.

Uh huh yup. My pickup setup as well. I usually run Series (which is forward on the pickup selector) Treble and Mids flat and Bass just barely boosted past the center detent.

 

[IPA]

Crank the amp up and pluck lightly.

This. It took getting a ray and really sitting down with it for me to realize I was playing way too hard. Let the amp do the work!

 

[stonetazz]

As others have mentioned, I have found out with my Stingrays that string choice makes a big difference along with the pickup height. My favorite go to string is DR Sunbeams. I boost a little bass, keep the mid at center, and cut the treble to about 10%. I think my 3 band Stingrays sound to brittle with a lot of treble.