drTStingray

What you mean you didn’t notice the slap bass on their 2nd song - I thought that one was great - oo hang on I forgot - slap bass is as verboten as Rick**bo**er on Basschat 🤣🤣😀 To pick up on another of your points, I thought Dave Swift’s bass sound was great all night (and the drummer wasn’t irritatingly high in the mix as is usual in post 1995 live performances) - however Dave appears to have succumbed to BGRS (bass guitarist regression syndrome) - in his case he’s got back to upright bass (not P with flats or Rivoli or EB2 with flats - even further) he played upright ALL night - and it sounded great. I do wonder when some bassists with BGRS will revert back to 14th century bass instruments - or further - I guess it’ll come at some point…….. 🥴😀😀

Me too - I thought it was far better than usual to be honest - there again I like hearing the band arrangements (which were quite stunning at times) and the female singers they had on were really special. I like the way this thread on Basschat (along with quite a number of others) feels like walking into alternative reality 🤣

I once looked into buying a Fender Precision but amongst the eye watering range of apparently the same instrument from relatively cheap to eye watering prices, I couldn’t decide which one to get………. apparently there’s even one called a Vintera (without Vintera on the headstock) and an Ultra, an Ultra 11, American Professional, American Professional 11 - and various other baffling models. As per @warwickhunt I concluded Fender, along with Warwick, Musicman and probably several other companies making guitars have very confusing marketing strategies which involve updating their models every couple of years and issuing umpteen variants. Probably Fender is the most confusing to those who don’t follow their activities on a day to day basis. But they all seem to be doing OK!! Now the Stingray is quite straightforward - there are just several variants (currently) and have been several variants in the past. Best bet is to find a shop with some in stock and try playing them and pick the one you like. If you want to know what’s available now, the best bet is to go on their web site and look!! The Stingray has been around for nearly 50 yrs - during which time there’ve been a lot of different variations on the same concept.

This is true - the slab body being the other difference from a 90s era Stingray. The early EB ones are pretty much as the later pre EBs, but with a contoured body. They’re all excellent!!

That’s exactly what the Stingray Classic was, hence the highly figured necks (which most 90s Stingrays also had). The only difference was the bridge having strings through, a feature dropped on Stingrays originally around 1980/81, and the truss Rod wheel finished in chrome (these features were not on the Sabre Classic). It’s meant to be a period correct 1970s Musicman - if you want the 90s version, you could get a used one or a used Stingray Classic. For me, there’s some advantage in having a period correct new 70s Stingray rather than a worn original one - although there are good condition original ones around, there are also those which are quite badly worn. I guess it’s a similar comparison as original Fender bass v Custom Shop. There appears to be a market for both!

Most likely, yes - this is GB after all (and even Nigel’s broke (relatively!!😀) according to banks!!). Looking at the more expensive stuff in Marketplace it seems you’re right.

It appears the Peach ones have been sold. Judging by the apparent lack of interest on Basschat (compared with Talkbass where there have been about 300 replies to the thread…) I can only assume this is because BC may have ceased to be a beacon of what’s going on, basswise these days - or maybe the U.K. has stagnated, bass wise!!! 🥴🤣

Stingray proper as per 1976/77 even down to the original long pole pieces and tantalum capacitors it seems. The natural finish is only available in the on line shop (The Vault) - hmmm…. they ship internationally! I suppose when you compare the price to a used pre EB Stingray, you’re getting the same thing, with new parts, but with warranty etc etc. Similar principle (and price) to, say a Fender CS Pino bass!!

Precisely!! I have a reasonable number of active basses - I carry spare batteries - however when I change them I add one of those circular coloured stickers to the battery (s) and write the date on them. I’m currently changing batteries which are 2-3 yrs old simply as a precaution. This really is about as much of an issue as worrying about breaking a string. I haven’t carried a spare bass or strings for years, in fact I don’t remember the last time I broke one (maybe sometime in the 80s owing to aggressive slapping!!). As with everything else on the internet I suspect some of the people stating there is an issue might not even use an active bass 😂 I must admit I have a couple of basses which are virtually the same, one active one passive. I don’t use the passive one when I require certain types of sound as it’s not the best for that - I certainly wouldn’t give the battery much more than cursory thought, and then probably only if I hadn’t used it for a while.

Superb - apparently he played the famous fretless stuff (like Bergerac theme) on that.

Dependent on which version of the SR5H it’s probably worth £1500 if a Musicman rather than an SBMM (more if a post 2018 Special or something v rare (like a fretless or very very rare colour). I’d just buy the OE and swallow the £25 cost tbh, to keep it standard - my 2003 one started to get a bit scratchy at one time - I simply moved it back and forth swiftly a few times and it’s been perfectly ok for the fifteen years or so since - thinking back I probably affected it when I changed the pickguard 🫢

White with white pg was definitely an option on pre-release (NB I ordered a Cruz teal 5 on the basis of this ad - by the time it arrived they’d changed the standard pg to white on this colour - so the details shown may have changed on release). I don’t remember what colour hardware was offered on the white one - the yellow was certainly black. The ad was circa NAMM 2018.

I think you’ve misunderstood when it comes to the points I made. I can’t imagine anyone would make the mistake of trying to argue that the constructional attributes of a solid body electric have exactly the same characteristics and reasoning as the materials and construction of an acoustic - that would be silly. However so would arguing the construction materials and fundamental design of a solid body electric somehow defies the laws of physics and makes absolutely no difference to the tone, timbre and sustain. Of course, so does the string choice and possibly most importantly, the skill (or lack of) if the player. It’s interesting looking at some of the types with more consistent quality - such as a Wal. They all have similar sound qualities (and you don’t hear of people trying 15 before they find the ‘one’). They’re all consistently good. There is variation and particularly where the body wood is different - in fact the fundamental design of a Wal is based on a mahogany body - the early ones with ash may well sound slightly different. I’ve found a similar thing with Stingrays and Bongos - consistent sound and quality although there are marginal variations in tone and sustain - and also where body wood is different (eg a mahogany bodied Stingray) - similarly, there are sound differences (marginal) between a maple board and a rosewood. The latter is particularly true with guitars - in fact Hank Marvin is on record saying that his use of rosewood board fiesta red Strats was based on feeling the tone was more mellow than the early maple board one he played initially. So @BigRedX we will have to agree to differ on this subject - I do know that people have produced electric guitars out of numerous items including simple planks of wood and got acceptable (to some) results. That the pick up design and position is probably a major contributor to the sound is not disputed - however the rest of the instrument clearly is - that some people can’t hear a difference is not a reason to argue differences don’t exist. All of the pro luthiers say so as well. At one time, I could barely hear the difference between series and parallel on a Stingray pick up, such was the marginality of it - however I can now hear a clear difference, and especially in certain mixes and EQ levels.

Unfortunately, this debate is likely to degenerate into the tonewood makes no difference debate - I tend to go along with the manufacturers of quality instruments who do this professionally and state that different woods create different effects etc. Debates amongst interested onlookers on the internet, and particularly those that claim the likes of Roger Sadowsky et al would say this wouldn’t they, seem to be deluded into a wild conspiracy theory!! Back to the OP - I would agree - a very resonant instrument translates into a certain tone, which I would describe as an improvement, and also an increase in sustain - I have such a bass and can tell the difference between that bass and others which are similar but less resonant. Of course transmission through the bridge to the strings is not a one way process - the body transmits vibrations back to the strings via the bridge - and presumably via the neck to the tuning pegs and strings - it’s a system of parts. That’s not to say that in an electric instrument there aren’t other factors like pick up position, pick up design, electronics and other elements (not least the strings and the player). But resonance = good in my book. I have one production bass with a mahogany body where it would normally be ash - that bass has a subtly different sound from its more standard siblings. I’m not a great officianado of Fender Precision basses but from personal experience, a bass with a maple fretboard and ash body, to my ears, has a different timbre to its sound than a rosewood fretboard, alder bodied instrument. Dare I say, they may even be more resonant at certain frequencies….. I know some people are only after the ‘thump’ but there are differences in my view (even though we all know wood, construction etc make no difference 😂😀)

@warwickhunt I have similar electronics in my Stingray Tim Commerford long scale. The cut/boost push pull is indeed a large change, volume wise. I have taken that bass to a couple of jam sessions and via both an Ashdown class D set up and a Fender Rumble 100 combo, used the normal setting with the push/pull out (i.e not cut) to get a decent volume at the way the house amp was set up. It’s even more noticeable in series mode on the pick up! I have used it once or twice in a gig through my Mark Bass rig, with the bass and amp set up for normal playing and sound in the ‘cut’, i.e. attenuated mode, and activated the control for a solo. It’s actually quite effective - I found it difficult to remember to change it back after the solo!! Usually, I simply play the bass in the louder variant.

Exactly the approach I’d have taken. How many MM Bongos do you see on the used market, it that’d the bass you’ve set your heart on - it ain’t a common all garden P bass that could be swapped for another without too much hassle. That said, very shoddy of PMT. Give them a bad review if say as well. All that said, how many of us have been to a big box shop, asked to buy an item only for it to be lifted from display on the shop floor? It happened to me once at a well reveered bass shop that used to be in Wapping - the items were taken off display where they were in use, and sold without boxes!! It never dawned on me at the time (I was a bit green to these sales techniques at the time) to insist only paying half price for used items!!! Sorry for thread drift but my experience of many retailers is they have no massive respect for their customers from time to time!!

You’ve just achieved teaching the Basschat massive who don’t live in Walsall how to pronounce Caldmore!! 🤣🤣

I think the comparison being made is that electric musical instruments are one of the only products where (some) people are willing to use something designed and actually built in the 1950s/60s for everyday use, arguing they’re better than stuff produced (and designed) more recently - and indeed they’re reveered. Other stuff like vacuum cleaners, kitchen appliances, really anything you can think of, very few, if anyone would use a vintage one - the world’s moved on in 60+ years!

With the exception a Ford Mondeo is a relatively modern car. A simplistic bass like a Fender Precision is a sort of a workhorse of the 50s (although you won’t see hardly any being used in U.K. groups until the late 60s - much more likely an Epiphone Rivoli or an EB2) - so a Ford Popular would be a far more apt comparison - and a vehicle which no one in their right minds would use as an everyday vehicle, maybe something for enthusiasts of classic cars and for classic car shows.

Fabulous - I think the number quoted as recorded was 133. As you may know from the history of Musicman, many bodies were rejected owing to paint defects and refinished at CLF - sometimes in different colours - there looks like there has been a coat of black on that bass before Inca silver - the silver had gone very green, which many do. I agree - it’s great. People who play slap bass often find their bass pickguards and body wood get scuffed in the area where that wear is - one of my SR5s and several SR4s show wear (in the clear coat and on the pickguard) in that area. I think it’s scuffing from finger nails from ‘popping’ the strings. I would imagine pick players might also create wear like that when playing around the neck joint (for a more mellow sound).

Yep I have - as always very interesting indeed - I seem to remember he stated he was a Louis Johnson fan in the early days of RHCP, and presumably why he went for the sound he did at that time. I’m referring to a period after you mention. I’m pretty sure it was a video of a studio warm up or rehearsal session, around the time of Stadium Arcadium, when he’d started using that shell pink Jazz live and for recording - he went back to the Modulus basses live a while later as the Jazz simply didn’t make an aggressive enough sound, presumably? But he was using a Musicman Sterling in that particular item.

Stingray copy or tribute, incorporating various Fender components - similarly (though not available publicly), Pino’s Thunderbird pick up Precision could hardly be described as a Thunderbird!! 🤣😀

signature Stingray copy 😉😀

I read somewhere that the reality was he (or his advisers) wanted the name of the bass changed to reflect his involvement, presumably affecting all Stingrays sold. Musicman produced 100 basses with through body stringing and Status graphite necks for the 100th NAMM anniversary - very sought after basses. However they haven’t done any other basses with these necks other than the pre EB Cutlass 1 and 2 (Modulus necks). There’s also been some suggestion that Flea wanted a Stingray with this type of neck, which they wouldn’t produce. However Flea has been seen on various videos with Stingrays (may have been US Sterlings) long since the 90s. The change in Policy re signature basses at EBMM seems to have coincided with Bryan and Scott Ball taking over far more day to day control.

Agreed - as with everything, people with money can afford to buy their way around ‘environmentally friendly’. Mind you, are you sure it’s not the remainder of Elton’s entourage 😉🤣 I recall someone discussing a fascinating piece of info years ago - the daily bill for flowers for Elton’s properties - ran to the tens of thousands (when Sterling rates were actually twice those of dollars, in the days before the populace was charmed by lies and idiocy resulting in a B 😀) Now if you arrived this year by shuttle bus from the rail at Bristol, the vehicles have been fully electric.