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What bass for a pick player? (stingray like tone)

#41
wow, lots of suggestions, thnx guys!

Ill try all the stuff you guys mentioned (mids, pick, amp, etc).

Im currently playing through a genz benz combo into a pa live. Practice I just play through the combo (50 watts, but really 200). I usually play with a 1.50 mm pick sometimes 2mm, play right behind the pickups. Boost my high mids, and boost my low mids a little bit, I guess I should try boosting those low mids a bit more..

When I tried the stingray, I would just get a low (thump) and the sound of my pick hitting the string making a kind of 'dink' sound. Granted, this was a friends stingray, so the strings mightuve been dead etc.. . I have heard the sterling is a bit better with pick playing, so ill try one out next time im at guitar center. And again, I sound fine with my p bass, just i want more of a uniqe sound, cutting edge tone type tone, if nothing works, then ill just stay with the p. Again, thnx for everones time and responses :).
 
#43
maybe dink wasent the right word, more of a high end snap, and lowend moan.

But it could be a number of things, maybe the strings were new, maybe the eq was messed. So i am definatly not going to give up on the stingray, I have heard many bassists use that bass like a sabre.
 
#45
From the latest posts, it seems you're getting the "low boom/high click" sound with the 'Ray, which I've heard from several modern active basses, including some 'Rays. That means you're getting lots of bass, and lots of treble, but not enough mids, as just about everybody has been saying.

IMO, this sounds horrendous in a rock band mix, and sometimes it's difficult to correct with EQ. (I seriously doubt this is the case with a StingRay though.) I had an Ibanez with this type of tone, and I just couldn't make it work. I think it was partly the electronics, but largely the acoustic properties of the woods. I dumped it, and bought a Fender Jazz -- problem solved!

A few years later, the bassist in a friend's band was getting this tone from a modern dual-soapbar bass -- even with all the mids boosted on his amp! They were frustrated at the bass sound, and heard the "low boom/high click" on a recording I made of one of their gigs. I took my friend aside, and suggested he tell his bassist to get a Precision. (It was an old-school metal power trio, so this was appropriate.) I saw another gig a couple of weeks later, and, lo and behold, he had bought a brand new American Series Precision. He sounded great, and looked like this: :D.
 
#46
dunce180 said:
And again, I sound fine with my p bass, just i want more of a unique sound, cutting edge tone type tone, if nothing works, then ill just stay with the p. Again, thnx for everyones time and responses :).
Click to expand...

After being a DR fan for so long, I finally put Rotosound Swingbass strings on my Precision.

It has never, ever sounded meaner than it does now - and I'm not talking about that "new string sound"(already have them on for a few weeks) - there is something harsh and aggressive in the midrange that I haven't heard in any other string...and I have tried a lot of strings on my basses.
 
#47
Infernal Affair said:
If you believe that you're cutting through with a pick on a Precision but not a Stingray then something's wrong here. IMHO Precisions are notorious for not cutting through. They're better "sit well in the mix" type of basses. A Stingray should cut through better than a P. Just EQ for it.
Click to expand...

I wonder if you ever played a Precision with a pick.

A picked P cuts better than a Stingray through a heavy mix.
On the other hand the Stingray cuts better in fingerstyle, but it's important not to boost onboard lows and highs.
 
#48
maxbass said:
I wonder if you ever played a Precision with a pick.

A picked P cuts better than a Stingray through a heavy mix.
On the other hand the Stingray cuts better in fingerstyle, but it's important not to boost onboard lows and highs.
Click to expand...

+1 on the P going through the mix - heck, I even like how it cuts through fingerstyle, with the right bass...it can be extremely fierce, whereas a Stingray is more "modern funk" to my ears, fingerstyle.

Many times, when I hear a Stingray, I can't avoid thinking of the term "mid-scoop"...even when guys like Tony Levin are at the helm...
 

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