• 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.

With which genre or playing style are Stingrays commonly associated?

#22
ninjaaron said:
Hey man, I've known what a Stingray was almost since I started playing guitar, 13 years ago. That was the year Lateralus came out. I loved that album, and man, Justin Chancellor. I had to figure out what was making that beautiful sound! Ever since then, whenever I hear a bass tone that made me wish I were a bassist, it was usually a Ray. Not that there weren't a few times it was a P...
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if you mean bass in general as making a beautiful sound, but JC didn't play a Stingray on Lateralus.
 
#23
ninjaaron said:
Hey man, I've known what a Stingray was almost since I started playing guitar, 13 years ago. That was the year Lateralus came out. I loved that album, and man, Justin Chancellor. I had to figure out what was making that beautiful sound! Ever since then, whenever I hear a bass tone that made me wish I were a bassist, it was usually a Ray. Not that there weren't a few times it was a P...
Click to expand...

He used a Wal on everything except one or two songs off Aenima. I remember reading an interview in BP Magazine where he said he was originally a Stingray player and than he switched to a Wal since it had more lows and less high mids than the Stingray. The first Tool bassist used a Stingray when he wasn't using his Rickenbacker CS.
 
#25
Spirit of Ox said:
He used a Wal on everything except one or two songs off Aenima. I remember reading an interview in BP Magazine where he said he was originally a Stingray player and than he switched to a Wal since it had more lows and less high mids than the Stingray. The first Tool bassist used a Stingray when he wasn't using his Rickenbacker CS.
Click to expand...

46&2 being one of them on a 'Ray, if I read correctly. My favorite tone on that album, coincidentally.
 
#27
ninjaaron said:
OK, I get that you can play any style on any bass, and that will be especially true for the 3rd most iconic bass out there, but I'm just asking what that guy might have been talking about when he called it a "one-trick pony." Is there a stereotype connected with the Stingray?
Click to expand...
The dude didn't like the tone HE got out of it so he decided it's not a usable tone. Unfortunately (look at nearly any thread about a particular bass) there will be people who insist that it is the worst piece of s#@t out there and can't be made to make good music under any circumstances and anyone who uses them is a noob and a loser. It has a distinct sound that can't be made to sound like a P or a J (they can't really sound like a Stingray) and this makes it in some people's minds useless or "one-trick" because it has been associated with many aggressive players like Flea. However, it has also been used by lots of guys you'll never think of as "out-front" (Pino Palledino and the guy from Counting Crowes come quickly to mind).
I think you need to ignore people who make declarations about YOUR equipment, if it works for you it is good, if it doesn't it is bad. I have a G&L 1505 which is similar to a Stingray (a little more "hi-fi" in the treble to my ear, but in the ballpark) and I use it most on country gigs where I don't want to bother "getting a sound" with my other less modern sounding basses - just into the compressor and into the amp and away I go. The band members hate it 'cause it sounds too trebly to their ears on stage - but out front it mixes beautifully and sounds nice and round. Also ignore anyone who plays guitar or sings as they think if the bass can be heard it's too loud and too aggressive sounding.
 
Last edited:
#28
You will see Stingrays and Sterlings across EVERY genre of music...to those who call it a one trick pony apparently don’t know what an EQ is or how much difference your playing style and right hand placement can make tone wise..I’ve been playing them for 15 years and it never fails to draw other bass players in to tell me how awesome they sound regardless of what my gig was at the time(covers which span from Rancid/the clash to Elvis Costello, Lowest of the Low, or originals, etc.) and i always eq the amp and bass flat. As a matter of fact at this point i think Music Man owes me commission … anyways I call bull headed BS!
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Deleted member 264575
#29
A few weeks ago I used my Stingray 5HH to record 1930s-40s jazz with some seasoned pros (30 stage sound, 40 yrs recording exp, etc).

Nothing but smiles for the Stingray bass sound for that project.

In fact, for one track, I sat on the couch and listened to everyone else record. Because my bass track sounded so awesome on the scratch it was used in lieu of a click track (as I pat myself on the back : )
 
#31
The only "one trick pony" is that guys imagination and abilities... A Stingray was not designed for any one thing and it can be used for anything. Not to mention it's active with a 2 or 3 band EQ (depending on the model) and therefore infinitely gives you a variety of possible tones... Factor in playing styles, position, and technique and it's far from one dimensional...


Geddy Lee Jazz Club - Member #222
 
  • Like
Reactions: blindrabbit
#38
Ed Friedland, AKA "The bass Whisperer" is better than you, me, and all our friends baked in a pie. That dude can play. He has no illusions, mis-conceptions, or ill-conceived notions about Stingrays, and his comment had nothing to do with him or his "limitations." He never said the 'Ray WAS a one trick pony; he was speaking to the perception some folks have that it is.

The idea comes from the fact that the Stingray has a very distinctive sound and one pickup with pole-pieces you can see from the nose-bleed seats. Please, someone tell me it is not a muscular, powerful sounding bass. Yeah, you can make a P-Bass sound like a sardine can with enough tweaking. I am talking about plugging in with fresh strings and no EQ to a flat amp and turning it up a little.

So, for better or worse, it is a can 'o whupass. Weather or not you LIKE it is another issue.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dkelley and ninjaaron
#39
Dave W said:
I'm not sure if you mean bass in general as making a beautiful sound, but JC didn't play a Stingray on Lateralus.
Click to expand...

Spirit of Ox said:
He used a Wal on everything except one or two songs off Aenima. I remember reading an interview in BP Magazine where he said he was originally a Stingray player and than he switched to a Wal since it had more lows and less high mids than the Stingray. The first Tool bassist used a Stingray when he wasn't using his Rickenbacker CS.
Click to expand...

Ha! That's kind if ironic.

I'm pretty sure he was playing one a good portion of the night when I saw them touring Laretalus, so I guess I just assumed that's what was on the album. At this point in my musical experience, I realize that's a stupid assumption, but it made sense to me at the time.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back