Hello fellow bassists. I am wondering how does Tony levin get such a fat warm sound out of his stingray 5? I've been watching a lot of live peter Gabriel shows with good headphones on and I could never get that warm and deep of a tone out of my stingray 5 when I had it. His tone is beautiful. It is so deep but has that slight cutting growly midrange too at the same time. I'm guessing he turns the treble all the way off or close and bumps the bass at least close to full on with maybe a lil mids. But still it almost sounds like his stingray has been modified or Sumthing to get an even warmer sound. It almost sounds like a precision 5 with just a bit more definition and guts. Any thoughts on this ?
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Tony Levin's Stingray 5 questi
- Thread starter growler571
- Start date
check this out:
...with Peter Gabriel, it's a combination of sound processing for the mix and his great technique of course....
...with Peter Gabriel, it's a combination of sound processing for the mix and his great technique of course....
That's an awesome video. Even on this video his stingray sounds a lot like my stingray 5 I had. I can tell he's using an octave pedal or Sumthing in this video for that one part he plays. When he plays live his tone is still so much warmer and fatter than this. It must be a combination of the arena and his ampeg svt with 810 cabs too. And yes his technique. It's funny how much a bass will sound different in one room to another. Even playing around the house.
Eh, I've seen Tony live at least 8 times, and I think on only two of those gigs was he using an SVT. The guy gets a huge sound regardless of what rig he's playing through.
But he also seems to not give 100% when he's not performing or recording with A-List acts; it seems to me like he's not incredibly comfortable doing product demo videos or NAMM Show appearances, and so he's not quite "in the zone", not quite giving his best (or getting his best sound), in some of these youtube video you can find.
Yea I've definitely noticed that. I do not care for the tones he is getting in a lot of those videos he does. It sounds almost like a sound u would get by just just plugging headphones straight into a stingray with ho amp and turning everything off of the preamp or close too it. His tone with Peter Gabriel and Pink Floyd albums tHat he has been on is way different than the tone in the stingray promotional videos he's doing.
Tone control is nearly off and he uses a rubber-mallet style compressor. Most famously the Analogman Bi-Comp.
Tony gets amazing tone with both PG and KC-- but he's also working with some of the best FOH engineers and sound designers in the world on those tours/recordings. Gabriel won't tour without Levin, so it's pretty telling what PG thinks about the role of the bass within his music. Tony has the great luxury of being able to "Be Tony" for his gigs, and as such, he gets far more sonic space and care than your average bassist... there's actually bass tone and low end management going on.
I just purchased a 2018 stingray 5 this past week and found out Sumthing very interesting I did not know. In 2008 Ernie ball switched the pickup magnets on the stingray 5 back too alnico instead of ceramic magnets which they used in the stingray 5 from about 93 until 2008 I read on the Ernie ball forum. The preamp was also switched back to the stingrays preamp in stead of the sterling preamp they had been using since about 93-98 this gives the stingray 5 bass a much deeper fatter tone compared to the sterling pickup and preamp that was used in my last stingray 5 I had in about 97-2000. This would explain why Tony levins stingray 5 sounds so much deeper and warm than the stingray 5 I had in the late 90s which had the sterling a preamp and ceramic pickup in it. My new stingray sounds just like Tony Levins. Well of maybe not exact cuz I'm not Tony Levin but I can get extremely close to his tones he gets. Now I just need to get all of his subtle techniques down. 
wish me luck.
wish me luck.I remember Ernie Ball Music Man used to have a line called OLP (Official Licensed Product) which was like their version of Epiphone or Squire. They actually had a Tony Levin model. I'm not sure if they are still around.
C/S,
Rev J
C/S,
Rev J
On the promo video for the MM 30th Anniversary StingRay, TL discusses his preferred tone settings starting at around the 2:55 mark. He cuts the mids and boosts the bass - but it's not dimed - so that he can 'echo' the tone of his 2-band 'Ray(s).
Depending on the song, I gather there's a lot of compression/effects used, as well.
Depending on the song, I gather there's a lot of compression/effects used, as well.
Ah ha!
I've been a 6 string guy exclusively for close to 20 years so my knowledge of what 5's are out there is limited.
C/S,
Rev J
