stingrayPete1977

I put it down to poor marketing? MM and EBMM should of got more big names playing the Sabre to boost the popularity, I think a lot of people see the Sabre and to the same extent the Sterling as a girls Stingray, harsh I know but I really think thats what the smaller size body does for both of those models although they are very different in many good ways to Stingrays, I have room in my heart for a pre EB Sabre one day

Regardless of the head as long as its a good one then that Genz 2x12 neoxT cab with a Roscoe 5 is always going to sound the dogs preverbials! My Alnico equipped SR5 sound massive through mine even if I only use the Genz 3.0 head, them cabs are seriously good IMO/E

Most of them have a plastic one from the factory which suggests to me its intentional rather than a piece of fag packet you find normally, it gives people options as not everyone want a mega low action do they? For some people it could actually be too flat right from the heel to get that bow and arrow some folk like, not me though

[quote name='Les' timestamp='1351550280' post='1852620'] Really I'm getting my scissors out right now. Glued on then ? [/quote] I put a dab of super glue on mine 2 years ago, they are all still in place

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1351596572' post='1852989'] I think stingrayPete meant 0.5mm rather than 5mm. Indeed, from the pictures they look very thin. I'm going to go for it. ... and ordered! [/quote] I was indeed there is a [b].[/b] if you look close enough

A shim would not affect the width of a neck pocket? The shim is their to adjust the angle of the neck at the heel joint just like the microtilt used to do for super fine adjustments, anyone who likes a super low action often has to shim even the best quality basses to achieve this. You need mcnach for the answer to the OP

[quote name='Les' timestamp='1351545378' post='1852516'] what's the foam bit like ? quite dense ? My 79 has all the mechanics but someone took the foam off, might try it, I assume the foam is just glued on ? [/quote] Mousemat is the commonly used replacement

I think you could probably use a bench grinder to create the little recess in the back of the bridge failing that the spring plate is really only about .5mm anyway so it might just squash down, I did not realise the OLP had the big flat area like the ebay ones so its crying out for the mute kit! I will send you a link when its up Jose for the Mag cover, I'm not really sure exactly what is going on there myself 28'000 copies though

I would get one of those cheap copy bridges off ebay as they have the extra metal that the pre EB bridge has for the spring plate to wrap around, it will be floating in fresh air else wont it? Get the kit then just bond 4 matching nuts into the body to create the captive threads, there is not much tension on them really. The only thing is that it wont be reversable as the holes will all be on show if you put the old bridge back on. Should be good though or just get a pre EB you know you want to! btw I have bought another one OT but as an avid fan David Barron has a track on the front of next months Prog Magazine with some top notch bass playing by a certain someone this time, its that track from the video we did but the proper version with my lines etc.

Cool, Plectrum mystery continues and original frets then

Well the top coat has a few damaged areas which appear to show maybe 3 layers of paint its hard to tell, there are also a few areas that have bubbled up which might suggest that that newer coat was not prepared fully in those areas. It could be a factory extra top coat to cover a poor first attempt even its hard to say even after stripping it to pieces, the finish itself is certainly not a rattle can effort or anything similar. Did it have all the body dings on it when you had it or have they appeared more recently? I might have the areas repaired or just leave them as battle scars, I even found a red plectrum behind the pick guard which might be yours then The honey coloured neck and headstock with the worn through area behind the playing area are both really nice and give it that vintage feel that a classic Ray or similar reissue bass just cant recreate. I presume its had a refret and new varnish on the board but its been done well apart from a few stray dribbles of varnish that I have now sanded off. All in all its never going to lose any value and its a pre EB you can use without fear of collecting the odd ding, a 70's pre EB in black with a black guard will always be cooler than a fridge

[quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1351351282' post='1850458'] The Musicman database is pretty accurate - in fact totallly so!! You are right though - the trans logo (Ernie Ball applied over the Musicman name) as on my Classic (attached) was only used for a couple or three years - resurrected for the Classic series in 2010. [/quote] I meant comparing serials to the database rather than the confirmation from ernie ball, I see a lot of comments from people who have looked at basses either side of their serial and dating it from that, those pre EB bridges can pop up all over the place!

[quote name='gareth' timestamp='1348480737' post='1813983'] its basschatter anthorpe and that's my old pre-eb [/quote] And guess who has got it now? I thought I had seen the same name on here as the ebay seller at the time, I have stripped it all down to photograph everything, cleaned it all up, re soldered the earth as it was only hanging on by 2 strands and put it all back together. New strings and set it up just how I like it and its a nice bass, I would date it as '79 not '80 as the newest date I can find is the on the pots of '79 with the neck being '78 hence the early logo. Its not as nice as my '82 to play plus my '82 is mint but for £1200 I cant lose can I? Thanks Anthomp Anyone know anymore about the finish? I am guessing it was always black but that it had a new coat of paint a long time ago?

[quote name='thunderbass1' timestamp='1351027090' post='1846487'] You see I LIKE a white scratchplate on a 'burst ray... [attachment=121904:HH Stingray.jpg] [/quote] So did John Deacon

Funky looking bass but we need to see the logo to be more accurate, the bridge serials are very hit and miss IMO, the rear logo makes it at least '87 and the four bolt no later than '91 but a close up of the logo should date it even closer as the little mens jumpers can even give the game away! Thermos flask and adanoids at the ready

I think anything along the lines of a John East or any Musicman replacement preamp or pickup is just going to give you more of the same? Mcnach loves Rays like me so a Ray with added Ray is a good thing but if you dont like the sound more might actually be less? Even Passive modded Rays sound quite Ray like to my ears even cheap copies have that sound in some way probably the pickup position more than anything? Get a P bass pup installed in the P bass position and a scratchplate made to fit and then fit something like a John East P bass preamp, its all reversable other than the body route that will be covered by the pick guard should you wish to sell it, we have seen them before in the FS already done

In that case they are just gunstock oil finished up to the headstock then its a satin clearcoat finish over the whole head and logo area, you can see the join after a few years on most of them.

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1350751825' post='1843100'] The maintenance instructions for them say the necks should be regularly treated with gunstock oil so I'm pretty sure it's not a matt or satin varnish. [/quote] The Classic series Rumple is talking about are gloss varnish to mimic the pre EB

I think Mark at bassdirect does them? I think you get the spring plate, thumb turns and a set of pads maybe even spare pads too