Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Tried Some New Basses Today
- Thread starter KingRazor
- Start date
Ding ding ding! We have a winner.
It didn't take long after starting this thread before I realized this was the case.
The neck profile on a 4-string Stingray just does not work for me. I don't know why. It could be the thickness, the width, the shape, but either way, it simply doesn't work for me.
I have tried two 5-string Stingrays so far. The one I talked about in my OP had a lovely neck profile, fit my hand perfectly. The one I saw at GC one time (I think it was one of their "classic" series) I can only remember vaguely but it had all sorts of issues, and definitely needed a setup. Dunno what I would have thought of it had it had a decent setup.
The fact that it was fretless had something to do with it, but I've known for a while now that I like very tiny frets on fretted basses, it helps me slide, which is something I like to do a lot on bass.
Perhaps I should have worded something differently in my initial post.
I prefer the playability on my SX over that of any 4-string Stingray I've ever tried. But I think it's simply due to the size/shape of the neck. It's an issue of preference, nothing more.
If what everyone says about setup is true though, that means every Stingray I've played has had a bad setup (other than the fretless fiver).
Aside from the neck shape/size that I just don't care for, the other problems I noticed were an overall "dry" feeling on the bass. I really don't know how to describe it very well. It was "dry" and "tight". It was difficult to move on the bass, for either hand. Didn't help that the strings were terrible (stock strings just seem to suck all around, they're rough and overly stiff). I don't know if maybe the fretboard needed an oil treatment of some kind, or I just didn't like the finish on the neck, or if the saddles weren't set right. I honestly don't know.
But the thing is, I notice a lot of those problems on really cheap basses too, so it makes it nearly impossible for me to really tell any difference in quality when the setup is THAT bad. Maybe those basses I played were extremely high quality, but the setup made them feel like junk.
If I can't tell a difference in playability between a $1000+ bass (due to setup or whatever else) and a $100 bass, then why would I spend $1000 on a bass?
I don't know what it is that causes you guys to see through the "bad setup" or whatever other problems a bass may have and be able to tell which ones will be winners and which ones won't. I certainly can't.
To be honest, I don't know what compelled me to argue about the setup thing. I think the two basses I owned already had decent setups when I bought them, so I never noticed a major difference when I took them in for string changes and routine maintenance (although I never did get the B string on my fiver to not rattle, despite multiple setups from more than one shop).
I haven't seen the affect of a good setup on an instrument that was badly setup, so it was wrong of me to assume it would have as little of an affect as a good setup on a bass that already has one.
What I can take away from this thread:
- I don't like the neck profiles on 4-string Stingrays.
- Most basses in most shops appear to have terrible setups and strings.
- I don't know how much a good setup can do for a bass that plays badly because I haven't experienced that yet.
- I still prefer to buy basses that play better off the shelf since I can't tell whether a bass will play well after a good setup or not.
I've edited my first post, I realized some flaws in my wording and hope that the changes clear up any misunderstandings.
Two different identical models of the same bass often have slightly different feel, even when given a setup.
Mass production is good, but it ain't perfect.
It does if the bass is set up poorly to start with. If it is already set up well this doesn't do much. If it is set up poorly it makes the difference between a bass you buy and a bass you pass on. I just bought a bass that was set up specifically to another person's taste. It was unplayable for me until I had it set up; now I love it.
Some new bass players know everything. The longer they play the more they realize how little they know. There are two ways to learn - your experience, or other people's experience. The latter is much easier.
I addressed this in post #142. I believe the basses I've owned already had good setups to begin with, so I didn't notice a major difference in playability after getting setups afterward.
Since I've never owned a bass that had a very poor setup, I've never seen first hand the affect of a setup on a bass that had been setup poorly before.
