drTStingray

The passive Stingray is a bit more than a simple 70 yr old tone on it off and volume on or off design 😂 But seriously, I can't remember what the controls do but IIRC one of the knobs is for series/parallel/ single coil instead of humbucker, one is volume with a push/pull boost (in reality it is normally in cut mode and you can select for a boost, say in a solo (which some of us seem to be asked to do even if it is only for a few bars - even useful for those short breaks like in Zeppelin's Good Times, Bad Times). I think the other is a tone - but anyway it's a lot more than simply lifting the pre amp from a Special - I believe the whole electronics package was developed for the short scale but worked so well they've done this limited run at standard scale - I think that bass looks killer - as I said like a 76 pre production bass. I too like the SR5 without the pickguard but am more than happy with mine with them as well - PS I don't know what the flip on that blue is but it normally is only on one of the guitar models - the blue is nice enough - cue totally gratuitous SR5 photos..... SR5HHs - Changed pg to black (notice it still has the white selector switch - looks cool!!) i didn't care much for the SR5 pg back about 20 yrs ago but now really like it - my US Sub 5 has the standard Ray shaped pg, which suits it - sounds great btw - has a poplar body like Cliff Williams' original pre EB Ray 👍

https://www.music-man.com/bfr/december-2020 Interesting natural Stingray normal scale with the short scale passive electronics - looks very like the early 1976 pre production prototypes. Also an SR5H Special with no scratch plate and rear mounted electronics. Nice flip colour finish also. No doubt these will be too expensive for my pocket but these basses do look great. I noticed they only have 2 of the Cliff William's signature Stingray left on the Musicman US website.

I bought my first 5 string when I didn't have any other bass at the time - I tried out virtually everything available on the market at the time and the Stingray 5 got the job, as it were. I still have it and still use it, and actually since then I've got a further 3 variations on that theme. However, i'd echo what other people have said here and my curiosity for a 4 string (I'd always had 4 strings prior to the 5) got the better of me when a stunning limited edition model was issued by Musicman and I bought an SR4HH version of it - which I also still have and use - so don't sell 4 strings - you'll probably want them back. The string spacing on the MM 5 string suits a lot of people very well (including me) - whilst others prefer the 19 mm spacing of some models - I'm afraid I find them an awful handful on a 5 string - unnecessarily wide in profile and thus difficult to play and mute suitably - but that's just me. If you want a cheaper Stingray 5 the SBMM Sub 5 is excellent for those on a budget and you can even get it with two humbuckers I believe - if I was looking for a budget version I'd go for that rather than other budget copies - in the same way many would go for a Squier version of a Fender in the same way, rather than other makes - just my view though 👍

This is fabulous news - but wait. I was foolish enough to click on one of the pro Trump you tube blogs so I've suddenly received a number in my You Tube feed - I read one which had some recent Trump clips (the ones where he's at a little desk with a huge badge on it, and seemingly wearing, what the Americans call a diaper (adult nappy in English) under his suit. So here's the gen:- 1) Trump is taking personal credit for all vaccines wherever they come from 2) The democrats are all criminals who should be locked up 3) Joe Biden couldn't possibly have received so many votes - and some of them may be from illegal immigrants 😏 4) God (and lots of evangelists who may be considered certifiable in other countries) are on Trump's side 5) Any vote for the democrats is suspicious and may represent voting fraud (without any evidence but rhetoric and unsubstantiated allegation and the republicans couldn't possibly have received any corrupt or fraudulent votes) Any other view is fake news and a conspiracy (and there is no way Trump is trying to stage a coup d'etat as per the sort of corrupt dictators in some smaller countries have done in the past). So there is the source of all the vaccines proposed 👍😂

This bass looks great - massive attention to detail when you read through the specs and see the photos - also interesting this pre EB Ray is a three piece poplar body. However I still haven't found out the price. Anyone? This is on a par with the Pino CS P bass so I would expect it to be expensive - I'm also curious what else may be in this icon series as I can imagine myself being tempted more than once in the future.

Thanks for posting that @Silvia Bluejay and it all sounds very familiar to me. Takes me back to doing this at the end of the 70s - I also recall one reasonably famous band at one of the borders in Europe, who were in front of us in the queue having all their equipment removed from their quite large truck, presumably to check against their carnet (in case they were carrying any 'additional' items (eg expensive instruments, amps, or anything....). Interesting that the political Brexit people would have you believe this is all a myth and 'Project fear' - when in reality their own 'take back control' rhetoric seems to be amongst the hottest air or most powerful eyewash ever created!!! I will be very pleased to be proved wrong and discover some actual benefits to this process at some point in the future but I'm not going to hold my breath! There will be a number of inland border locations to get your goods checked (4 additional ones in Kent alone) so you may be able to choose where to queue for this process 😉 Unless they intend to have people book slots - if they're anything like my doctors surgery or coronavirus tests, you may have to wait days to actually get through if that's the case - very interesting times ahead (especially if you plan to or have to use the road network in Kent after January)!!

I've tried various types and settled on TIs on my Classic Ray and Cobalt Flats on my fretless. However, despite what anyone says I prefer worn roundwounds and using muting technique or even the onboard mutes. FWIW I didn't find hi tension flats to my liking on a Stingray, hence going with the ones mentioned but I guess there are others available. I understand the original Stingrays shipped with GHS flats before they changed to GHS roundwounds (early 78?).

This has been on Freeview since the channel reshuffle in early October - I watched back to back a Roger Waters band concert and a Pink Floyd one - they were both really good but great to hear the different approach to the same songs in many instances - Guy Pratt on bass with Pink Floyd. I watched the Who and it was extremely enjoyable - Entwhistle's tone and volume on that Alembic was, shall we say, unique and loud - what was really good to see was the clear interplay and exchange of smiles and laughter between Moon and Entwhistle - I particularly noticed it when Entwhistle played that run down the bass in Summertime Blues. Did anyone see the George Ezra before it? They played Shotgun last and the bass player used a fretless Lakland (looked like a 55-94) and was clearly having fun! The bass sounded monstrously fat compared with anything in the rest of the set (which was played either on a seafoam Precision or fiesta red Jazz).

Thanks for posting that again. It's very interesting and demonstrates how controls interact as well. I said in an earlier post that I sometimes boost one of the mids on the amp when using a 2 band Stingray - it's to compensate for that mid cut. Remember this bass was originally designed in 1976 - at that time everyone used a smiley face type EQ with Fender type basses - this bass put your sound into that direction straight out of the box and sounded more like a recorded bass sound. Its worth remembering the original hang tag manual for a Stingray bass suggested moving the controls back towards centre from full to enhance the mids. So none of this is new at all!! 👍 To answer earlier points on 2 band Stingray pre amps, you can see both the bass and treble controls can cut as well, although the treble more so than the bass. @ped mentioned the frequencies changed over the years - for the 2 band it's the same since 1979 (there were several iterations of the original pre EB preamp. Those charts also demonstrate the point of adding a mid range control to it, and high pass filter to cut some of those lower, muddier frequencies out. It's how you use the mid control which gets you close to the 2 band sound.

Yes things on there could, at one time, get lairy - there's a lot of history and to be fair to Big Poppa, there were some people who wound him up a lot and had axes to grind business or customer wise and he sometimes 'fed the troll' - haven't we all 😕 The book I have, below, is by no means a coffee table book but it does cover the start up, running, and end of the original company and contains some interesting info. This is the Kando Shokai letter I referred to reproduced in the book

Haha! Yes inter string volume is an off debated point!! The slab bodied Stingrays stopped when the original Musicman company went out of business - Musicman was bought by the Ernie Ball company in 1984 and amongst other changes, introduced contoured bodies. However the Musicman Sabre, introduced late 78/early 79 had a contoured body from the start. Charvel were contracted by Musicman to produce the bodies and necks after they stopped using CLF - CLF had produced hundreds of incorrectly manufactured necks, discovered early in 1980 when the Japanese distributor took one to pieces owing to not being able to adjust any truss rods from a whole batch. It cost Musicman large amounts in rectification (which didn't help their finances). An interesting exchange of letters is reproduced in a book I have. They, at that time, also invested in Modulus to produce the necks for the Cutlass basses. Yours must be one of the last pre EB basses - they closed at the end of 1983.

Yes a subject which divides opinion - however I use the onboard pre amp on the bass for minor adjustments between songs or even mid song - this usually entails a slight mid range bump for greater articulation, harmonics and prominence in the mix (where required by the song). I wouldn't want to do that on the amp although I might slightly up one of the mid controls if I feel the need - but that would stay for the set. I also change pick up settings mid song - a very good example of this is in Stomp by the Brothers Johnson - using a twin pick up Musicman, the humbucker is selected for most of the song but both humbuckers for the slap section (different - more scooped sound). The point I was really making was that it's possible to cut the bass control which would also influence the 40 hz - however all the controls interact on basses and in any case they affect adjacent frequencies. As well as the practical issue of not being able to change the amp EQ readily, by having the tone controls on the instrument, the interaction of the player and their playing style with the pick up, bass and tone controls is different from the effect of adjusting the amp, which is more remote in the chain. Just the same as passive bass tone controls v tone controls in the amp - in reality most of us use both to an extent. I guess it depends on your viewpoint and what sound you're seeking.

That's a reasonable weight for a pre EB - that one will be assembled from Charvel made body and neck. Glad you have found a good sound - I have found resting my thumb on the E string (like when playing a 5 string) reduces the possibility of hitting the pole pieces - the E side of the pick up should be set a bit lower than the G side and that might also help - but tape is a possibility. You should try the mutes if you want a really thumpy sound.

This shouldn't really come as a surprise - the bass control on an amp is often centred on 40. However there are other controls (in some cases another three) - they also CUT as well as boost - so you can cut those frequencies (eg 40 hz) if you want to.

Wow that's really nice - presumably 4 bolt neck attachment? Ive used 125-40 on my SR5 (though EB nickel strings) Stingrays sound great with that gauge. If you haven't had one before, a tip on the EQ settings, I tend to use my 2 bands with full bass and nearly full treble - move the controls back towards the centre to further boost the mids where/when you need to - and they are both boost and cut!! I also up the upper mids on the amp slightly to taste (and especially dependent on the room). Im sure it sounds great - like other wooden construction basses, they seem to improve as they get older, somehow. What sort of weight is it? The white does change to cream on all of these (the clearcoat is affected by UV) - those which have not seen as much UV tend to look whiter (eg those not in a case much when not in use). I've seen 10 yr old EBMM basses change towards cream - if you look under the pickguard you may see a difference 👍

Did they back in the early 80s? A spare battery is an essential part of the kit if you have an active bass - the batteries in my Stingrays last for year's (but I never leave them plugged in when not in use). I suppose I should recount a story of my long divorced she who should be obeyed persuading me to buy a cheapo battery for my Stingray back in about 1985 as I wanted a brand new battery as we were playing a prestigious gig with a massive PA and sound guys (the cheapskate approach was so she could buy some ciggies as well) - the net result was it started to fail mid gig - but i never twigged what was going on and neither did the PA guys - who thought there was something up with the PA channels - I took the bass to a shop later thinking it was f*cked whereupon the guy put a Duracell in and Bob's your uncle - perfect Pre EB Stingray again - moral - I've never since bought cheap replacement batteries 😏 When I went in the shop for the repair, for those Stingray officianados - they had a brand new EB one hung up in the shop in fire engine red - it was not far short of twice the amount of paid new for mine in 1979-80 😧

All the instruments since 2015-16 have that logo - to do with a change in the law in the US (California) at the time meant that because elements like the tuners not being made in the US or California prevented the previous logo being used. Easier to look at the front of the headstock? Old Smoothie 40th Anniversary - 2016

Dare I say it also - more sustain. The 60s and 70s Precisions did not feature string through bridges and those 60s players often played with foam rubber under the strings and very heavy gauge flatwound strings. But that was the 60s. The original Precisions (51 onwards) had string through body bridges also IIRC.

I find the way I can't refer to Di*k Emery, Van Dyke or Betts without it changing the word to Richard mildly amusing (and also idiotic frankly) - the best one of all is the replacement of co*k as in co*k and bull by pink torpedo - this is surely worthy of a Carry on Film or Monty Python sketch - however if this is what it takes to keep the forum owners out of the courts who are we to moan - it does seem quite barmy when there must be far greater chance of litigation by annoyed CEOs of guitar making companies. Come to think of it his first name is slang for lavatory in the US (sorry for any offence to anyone from the US - bathroom) - perhaps the word John should be added to the profanity filter 😂

@stewblack forgive me if you already know this but the highly acclaimed track Donna Lee on Jaco Pastorius's first album is him playing a Charlie Parker solo piece on bass.... not sure if your FB mates might be sending you up? 😯 For the 12 keys, you could start at any note you like but if it's a 4 string bass maybe E as the first key - then each key based on the next note in ascending order (eg F, F#,G etc etc) until you get to the next E octave - you'll have covered all 12 then dependent on whether your solo is in major, minor or whatever mode it might be in (please - any theory guru correct me if I'm talking ballcocks!!) 😬👍

She's really good and has such groove and style in her playing. Her version of Hair by GCS inspired me to learn it for the first time (despite having been a Larry Graham fan since the first GCS album appeared in the UK in the mid 70s and they appeared on a CBS sampler album along with other newbies, Earth Wind and Fire and Kokomo 😀) - based on the fact she says she is now 19, she was 14 when she posted Hair - and it's an absolutely brilliant interpretation 😳 better and more accurate than the SBL version in my view. https://youtu.be/vSyKWnxPfFQ There are loads but the other stand out one for me currently is Dua Lipa Hallucinate - the groove, and her impro on that is so tasteful and accomplished 👍 https://youtu.be/f40HDIwho_E Both are well worth a listen - very inspiring stuff.

If you mean the 2 band Musicman circuit, then that is boost and cut (but doesn't have a centre detent). Ive also seen it described as a Baxendall type circuit.

Some of the things you raise here are a wider debate eg onboard active v outboard pre amp pedal v completely passive (but still electric) - or even onboard active PLUS outboard pre amp pedal (as advertised with the Sadowski pre amp pedal at one time)!! As I said many of these designs date from when it was either not possible or certainly not desirable to have an active bypass with switchable passive ability for one reason or another - the reliability and functionality of some active basses (and especially lower priced budget ones) has always been questionable - however this doesn't just extend to active basses - the switches, pots and most particularly the Jack socket connections have sometimes been unreliable in even expensive basses where you wouldn't expect it - it's unlikely you will have this as a general issue either with the general electronics, or the active circuit on a quality bass like a Wal, Alembic or Musicman. Of course, if this was the 60s, many of the bass die hards of the day 🤔 would tell you this is a good reason for using an upright!!! There was a lot of upright v electric bass snobbery back then, especially in jazz. With regards to your bass suddenly dying mid song, this is generally not how active circuits behave - if the battery discharges it's usually gradually over a period of time resulting in the controls being less responsive and the bass generally sounding a bit compressed, and eventually a bit far*y sounding. I think you must have had another fault as well there (I've had that with a dodgy lead before now).

Haha!!! It doesn't like the work D*ck either - heaven knows what you do if you want to quote Richard Van Dyke haha!!

@Stub Mandrel and the four likes - a number of active basses around currently were designed at a time when it was the direction of travel for basses - fatter, more lively sound altogether, and more hi fi if desired - back then (the mid/late 70s/early 80s), the idea someone would want to pay the extra price and then play say a Wal, Alembic or Musicman in passive mode would have been somewhat laughable. Look at the trouble Marcus Miller went to make his 77 Jazz usable for his requirements at the end of the 70s!! The pre amp was often, in any case part of the whole system design, and the pick ups may have been lowered in output to compensate, thus rendering switching out the pre amp (if anyone had taken leave of their senses) somewhat a solution to a largely non existent problem (battery failure), because the drain on the charge (in most basses) is so small - and the bass may not have worked as well without it switched in. Frankly if my active basses did have an active/passive switch, I wouldn't use it (same as if my car had some gizmo to turn off the turbo - it does have one to turn off the aircon part of the heating/ventilation system but I've never pressed the button once). If I felt the need to aim for the exact sound of a bass designed 60+ years ago into a scenario where bass was a barely audible component of popular music, then I wouldn't be playing an active bass designed to get the all together more beefy bass sounds of the later 70s-late 90s at all 😏 So it's a largely non-existent problem which only arises if you make a c*ck up, as per @ProfJames - best bet is carry spares like you and I 👍