Why We Love Stingrays

[Dr. Cheese]

Do you think the Bros Johnson were the inspiration for the MusicMan Logo?

The Ray predates the Brothers Johnson as a national act.

 

[2milehighspike]

Your statement is slightly ironic, but whatever. I've owned quite a few MM basses, but for me, they don't sit well in the mix and they end up being flipped and then I get the itch to try one again and it gets flipped, again. I have a charcoal sparkle Special 5 at home now that will probably be flipped in the near future. My Caprice is pretty good.

Fair enough but that is what it have observed, for me though I find MMs sit in the mix great, I have had many compliments from audience members to sound engineers all stating the the punch and presence were remarkable, and it stays consistent when playing different spaces. It may have something to due with the 18v pre amp. To each his though, YMMV. And when the time comes to flip your Special hit me up! I’ll take it!

 

[stratovani]

I've played a Stingray only once, at a gig I was playing at several years ago. Some guy there told me he had his bass in his car, and offered it to me to play for a song or two. A Stingray! Played and sounded great, but it was a bit too heavy for me. At least I can say that I tried one.

 

[squish]

Is it true the Classic has been discontinued? I have been putting money aside for a Ray. And I really want the slab body, bridge mutes and 2 band eq.

I owned a Classic and that body shape was beautiful and the two-band eq was magical. My eldorado gold had a roasted neck and ebony board too. But good grief it was one of the heaviest basses I had ever lifted. It made a three set gig an act of extreme endurance.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Fair enough but that is what it have observed, for me though I find MMs sit in the mix great, I have had many compliments from audience members to sound engineers all stating the the punch and presence were remarkable, and it stays consistent when playing different spaces. It may have something to due with the 18v pre amp. To each his though, YMMV. And when the time comes to flip your Special hit me up! I’ll take it!

I am considering a Sterling, MM not SBMM, because it has the roasted neck and the older hardware. I'm not a huge fan of the hardware on the Specials. The tuners feel like dollar store plastic. Actually, I should have kept my original MM SR5 from ~2001 or so. It was unknown to me at the time extra light and the neck was incredibly stable. I don't think I ever touched the truss rod even with seasonal weather changes.

 

[2milehighspike]

I've played a Stingray only once, at a gig I was playing at several years ago. Some guy there told me he had his bass in his car, and offered it to me to play for a song or two. A Stingray! Played and sounded great, but it was a bit too heavy for me. At least I can say that I tried one.

I owned a Classic and that body shape was beautiful and the two-band eq was magical. My eldorado gold had a roasted neck and ebony board too. But good grief it was one of the heaviest basses I had ever lifted. It made a three set gig an act of extreme endurance.

. I do believe that is why MM decided to introduce the new Stingray Specials, I had a 2001 Ray the weighed close to 11 pounds. My 2019 SRS5 weighs just under 8 pounds, with the majority of them in the 8.5 to 9 pound range.

 

[eastcoasteddie]

The Ray predates the Brothers Johnson as a national act.

Just asking because I remember reading this:
“Brothers Johnson bassist Louis Johnson was a consultant to Leo Fender's CLF Research, from the beginning.”

I guess I’m just an idiot. Carry on...

 

[2milehighspike]

I am considering a Sterling, MM not SBMM, because it has the roasted neck and the older hardware. I'm not a huge fan of the hardware on the Specials. The tuners feel like dollar store plastic. Actually, I should have kept my original MM SR5 from ~2001 or so. It was unknown to me at the time extra light and the neck was incredibly stable. I don't think I ever touched the truss rod even with seasonal weather changes.

. Dollar store plastic huh. Whatever. people complain about the weight of the old design, then complain about the light weight tuners they designed to make the Specials lighter.You are correct about the necks though, once set I never have to adjust the truss rod.

 

[easyj]

I never met an Ernie Ball bass I didn’t like. I don’t think you can go wrong with one.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

Just asking because I remember reading this:
“Brothers Johnson bassist Louis Johnson was a consultant to Leo Fender's CLF Research, from the beginning.”

I guess I’m just an idiot. Carry on...

Who knows? I don’t have inside information.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

. Dollar store plastic huh. Whatever. You are correct about the necks though, once set I never have to adjust the truss rod.

They do feel cheap, especially the black tuners

 

[2milehighspike]

They do feel cheap, especially the black tuners

. Well I have not seen the black ones. The chrome tuners on mine feel fine. Did I mention my 5er weighs 7 lbs 14 ozs, just sayin.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

. Well I have not seen the black ones. The chrome tuners on mine feel fine. Did I mention my 5er weighs 7 lbs 14 ozs, just sayin.

The chrome ones aren't bad, but the black tuners feel really cheap. I like the old hardware which is why I was considering a Sterling. Downside - you get to choose between a bright red and a greenish blue.

 

[eastcoasteddie]

I am considering a Sterling, MM not SBMM, because it has the roasted neck and the older hardware. I'm not a huge fan of the hardware on the Specials. The tuners feel like dollar store plastic. Actually, I should have kept my original MM SR5 from ~2001 or so. It was unknown to me at the time extra light and the neck was incredibly stable. I don't think I ever touched the truss rod even with seasonal weather changes.

I agree that I don’t like the new smaller bridges of the Specials, and I do prefer the old style open gear Schaller tuning machines (I have an old soul), but I have say that when I first inspected a Special in 2018, I was most impressed with the new tuning machines.
I, too, would consider a Sterling 5 over a Stingray 5 (I actually never could get along with a Stingray5 a I can never get it to sound like it should). I just hope that the Sterling doesn’t disappear. For some reason they are no longer carried by Sweetwater...don’t know if that’s because of poor sales or a precursor for things to come...

 

[2milehighspike]

Haven’t seen those tuners ,the tuners on my Big Al are definitely beefier. the Sterlings are sweet with the Ceramic buckers,

 

[pedroims]

Stingrays are great basses, I have a SR5 that I don't like how it sounds by itself but on the FOH sounds great.
The stingray and my Yamaha BBP5 are my basses to go.

 

[Pet Sounds]

I will say this... StingRays are great basses, but, three out of four that I owned in my life had relatively weak G strings compared to my Fenders and Laklands. That's not to say they're all like that. But it's enough to keep me away from them. That and the fact that they're a little too bright sounding for me.

I've also noted these issues, but feel the Special has corrected them. I'm very happy with mine.

 

[Altitude]

I don't have a Ray currently, but I love the way they sound. They sound like bass sounds in my head. Possibly a bit aggressive relative to the current fashion in bass tone approach. But you can always dial back the high end.

Think of the first two Jamiroquai records. Sure, Zender played great and they sounded cool on a P. Think how they would have sounded if he had used a Ray. Holy crap.

 

[Arthur U. Poon]

I am considering a Sterling, MM not SBMM, because it has the roasted neck and the older hardware. I'm not a huge fan of the hardware on the Specials. The tuners feel like dollar store plastic. Actually, I should have kept my original MM SR5 from ~2001 or so. It was unknown to me at the time extra light and the neck was incredibly stable. I don't think I ever touched the truss rod even with seasonal weather changes.

I also owned a SR5 from the same era. Beautiful bass too, translucent teal finish, with a maple neck and fingerboard. Stupid move on my part selling it.

I absolutely love my ‘01 EBMM Sterling! It’s slightly downsized body, J-style neck, and sculpted neck heel are such nice touches, IMO. And of course, it’s tone.

I’ve played many StingRays over the years, IMO they’re killer basses, especially in a live mix. I’ve never owned one, though.

 

[Bob Leton]

The slab body, egg pickguard the 2 band eq.... (sigh)
View attachment 4080632

If only they would edit a Stealth Black version ... i d'become bitta untrue to the Bergers. *sigh*