drTStingray

For that sort of money you should be able to get a nice used Sterling by Musicman Ray 34 (or the 5 string Ray 35) - these are import versions of the full fat US versions, or if you can find one, a USA Sub (not to be confused with the SBMM ones) - they were a more cheaply finished US Stingray. Or a decent Fender Jazz or PJ, or Yamaha, Ibanez etc etc. As has been suggested earlier, it would be worth going and trying some of these basses out if possible (whilst noting most music shops have dreadfully limited ranges of basses on display these days (whilst seemingly full of largely Fender and Gibson guitars). Andersons had a good selection of basses last time I went there.

If you want to learn to play slap, then the Precision is not the most appropriate bass to do it on, owing to its lack of high end and fidelity. Yes I hear that they have been used here and there on famous recordings using slap bass but the vast majority of famous slap bass players do not use Precisions, and I’d wager most people on here who play slap don’t either. If it’s to be a Fender then a two pick up variant like a Jazz would be more appropriate. Alternatively look for a cheap variant of a bass associated with slap, such as the lower priced versions of Stingrays (Ray 4 or 5), or Ibanez or Yamaha, or a Squier Jazz.

Yet another example of what happens if you never change your strings (other than a generally muffled, auto muted sound) 🤪😀🥴

Each to their their own - I have both 2 and 3 bands - I generally follow the Levin approach with the 3 band - mid cut significantly and bass and treble boosted a bit. This gives a good approximation of a 2 band tone - the mid range can be increased if needed. The major difference between the 3 and 2 band is the high pass filter (which restricts the boomier frequencies - which the 2 band can produce on full bass), and the mid range control - the centre detent does not equal the 2 band mid range - needs cutting to do that - but having it available to boost can really help in some mixes and live rooms. I love those two later 80s Stingrays. That 2 band fretless in trans red very likely has an alder body, and the black possibly a poplar body - both of which will probably contribute to quite warm sounds.

Possibly combination of alder or poplar body and rosewood board. I have a mahogany bodied Sabre - makes quite a difference to the detailed sound in my view.

As we all know from the countless threads on the subject, wood type makes no difference on electric instruments…. Except it does - the sound of an ash bodied Precision with a maple neck, or a Stingray with a rosewood board are subtly different, compared with the tone of an alder/rosewood Precision of an ash/maple Stingray. Lively rounds is another thing - I’m afraid I absolutely love them (having dallied with dead sounding stuff both in the early 70s and recently).

Are you relenting and selling your P basses - I suspect not 😀😉

It was meant to be a bit tongue in cheek 😀 apparently Nashville had been known to be a zone where they must be played (although even that has changed from time to time) - for all I know the bass de rigeur may now be a fan fret Dingwall - I think the Stingray 5 has been at times (where 5 strings are required).

Im surprised you haven’t gone the whole hog and reverted to upright bass - there were plenty of people (especially in jazz) in the 60s who took that view. The real issue with Precision basses for many people is their lack of range - so if you’re going anywhere near fusion, for instance, it’s highly unlikely you’d consider one acceptable - Jaco moaned about their sound (which is why he used a Jazz) and could you imagine Level 42 with one?? 😂😂 They’re fine for C and W and 8th root note rock (although arguably there are often equally good or better choices) particularly if you don’t want to alter the sound with effects/EQ remote from playing the instrument - even Jamerson played via a specially designed studio interface. I view them as being adequate for many things but personally, to get the best out of them, I have to play them harder than I’d like (and no, turning up doesn’t do it - it’s the plucking of the bass which does). I find a Stingray can do much the same with less effort - and the advantage of a broader range of tones and styles available in an excellent way. My favourite P is when I reach the service area on the motorway after being stuck in traffic for ages 😀😂

I’ll second that - I’ve been out providing bass in a jam session tonight and had my pedals with me - not intending to use them on the likes of Eagles songs etc etc but someone wanted to play Word Up - and later a medley of Superstition and Play That Funky Music - so I thought what the heck and set up my octaver and EBS Bass IQ (the latter set to quack at will)!! Great fun and the EBS pedal was orgasmic!! Coupled with the EH octaver was delicious!! I’ve found the key to getting the Flea sound with envelope filter (as per his instructional DVD) is to play quite hard giving a very pronounced quack!! Im going through a use every bass you own phase currently so am pulling out some less likely basses - I took this Stingray H (3 band) - I have barely used it for three or four years and only once at a gig - tweaked the action, tuned it and cleaned it before going out - played through my Markbass LM3 and Traveller 2 x 10 (with the tweeter on full) on around 1/4 to 1/3 input and output volume. Amp set largely flat, bass set with the mid range almost fully cut, bass and treble boosted a tad (largely aping a 2 band sound). Brilliant sound all night - and able to boost the mid range to get more presence in the upper register at will if required at times. The bass worked for every genre played - including some quite loud rock and bog standard country and western. No call for a P bass here, folks 😉😀😀

Which forum are the Sleaford Mods from (Farming Chat??) 😂😂👍 I’ll collect me coat (PS I quite like ska and stuff, really). Last night I watched the Paul McCartney show - I was completely captivated and blown away by it - quite a moving experience for me and others I’ve spoken to who have grown from teenage to elderly alongside his music since the late 60s - fantastic band - particularly liked Abe Laboriel Jnr’s drumming but singing also. The whole band was great to be fair and even the guesting from Dave Groll and Bruce Forsyth was dealt with v tastefully - including the guitar battle (5 guitarists) in the last number (the wonderful medley from Abbey Road). I could forgive the occasional lapse from sound (vocal volumes not being there for the first phrase sometimes - I presume they were turning off mikes to avoid back line bleed). Macca’s voice was suffering tour rigours a little I thought but these are nit picking - it was effin brilliant and the look of elation on the faces in the audience was equally moving. National treasure or what!!! I loved the Ashdown/60s P bass sound which was quite high in the mix at times as well as Macca’s Höfner (also quite audible). It’s good the sound people have recognised that not all band’s bass players just play root 8th notes the whole time and are thus mixed somewhere alongside the kick drum - McCartney (and also noticeable with Noel Gallagher), the bass parts often form a fundamental counter melody/harmony and thus mixing alongside the kick drum either results in that part of the performance being insufficiently audible (thus ruining the whole thing) or the kick drum being miles too loud (similarly ruining it - though at least you might hear the bass part well). I dread to think what would happen if some of these sound guys got anywhere near an orchestra!! Whilst recognising they have a majorly difficult job in such a huge outdoor arena. The bass is, of course, one of the most important parts in many types of music (and not sub boom!! It ain’t drum n bass 😀😀😀 unless, of course, it is….😂😂)

Yeah often a problem for 4 string players of all persuasions (though I got a Stingray early on and always anchored my thumb at the pick up - much as P bass players do - I was playing disco/soul/funk so this suited the sound (through an Acoustic 371 set up). However as soon as I played 5 string I was forced to change my technique to avoid the low B droning when I wasn’t playing it (much like a set of bag pipes do, as a natural characteristic). So I always anchor my thumb against the lowest string whether it be a 4 or 5 er - I found I could then vary where I’m plucking the strings for a huge variation in the sound and soon learned the floating thumb technique as well - almost naturally. So my advice @Steve Browning is to use the E string to rest your thumb - not the pick up (except when plucking the E). Also, take a look at Bernard Edwards playing live - he plucked his Stingray almost at the bridge, and very hard - Louis Johnson always smacked hell out of his Stingray as well!! Mr Jameson didn’t rest his thumb on the pick up either - most pics I’ve seen have him playing near the neck joint!!

It’s been quite up and down for the bass mix - however it’s been very audible for the Oasis numbers - noticeably earlier on in the set the bass drum was way loud compared with the bass. Seems to be a perennial problem with mixes!!

Yeah they’re good - he’s playing a Rick 4003 currently though - must have changed at some point. Sounds good as well. And back to the sunburst Precision!

Me too - having heard her singles on the radio I’m surprised how ‘rock’ it is - quite pleasant though, with some nice guitar playing, whilst I’m waiting for the headline ‘heritage’ act - no doubt the audience will change a bit for him. I suppose the middle aged men (and older) with beards are possibly the same as the largely young male beard stroking audience I encountered at ‘prog’ concerts in the early 70s like Yes and Jethro Tull - it’s only when I experienced a Level 42 gig that I realised lots of ladies like them a lot - in fact I was astonished how many middle aged women went to their gigs when I went to one at Eastbourne around 2010!!

I was sorry I missed them - used to love their stuff - must look at the iplayer!!

I initially thought you meant the cricket commentator 😲🥴😀 but then realised he’s been gone a long time.

Judging by the audiences shown for the bands/acts I’ve just mentioned and for Billy Eilish, and also from the dance type stuff, this isn’t true at all - mostly late teens to thirty somethings. In fact I recall when my daughter and her friends went (several times) they were late teens/early 20s - they seem to have spent a lot of their time in the dance tent watching what would now be ‘heritage’ acts and superstar DJs from the 90s/early 2000s. I saw The Libertines were on yesterday and I thought of them as a ‘heritage’ act - anyone who was 20 when they were famous will be pushing or beyond 40 now. I guess tonight’s ‘heritage’ act will draw an older demographic, as well as youngsters.

Indeed - the two bands I mentioned back up the thread (Blossoms and Sigrid) had people singing along - but that’s because they've had fairly recent hit singles - I thought they were both very good as well (Blossoms sound quite 80s to me). I watched Sam Fender, was ok (I didn’t overly like it) but again, mass singalong - a bit too indie rock for me and the sound error which had the (very good) sax player sounding like a cazoo for the first couple of minutes was quite bizarre. The only performance (I didn’t see many) I saw lacking singalong was Alison Krause/Robert Plant - I only caught the last song - I’m afraid I ended up feeling glad I didn’t have to endure the rest of their set - I really didn’t like it very much at all and the sound seemed a bit odd. I also caught part of the set of a hip hop artist which was ok. Is there a possibility that the ‘general Basschat collective’ is somewhat removed, demographic wise from the current mainstream music scene, be the genre dance, pop, rock?!! Heaven forbid 😂😂😀

Of what I saw, Blossoms were a stand out - bass player used a Rickenbacker most of the time. Fender Jazz when they did the Spice Girls song with Mel C and Charlemagne at the end (and it wasn’t as audible as the Rick which had sounded really good). Sigrid was really good as well.

Yeah I was aware the Mustang had a similar design to the 1976 Musicman version - however I wasn’t sure whether the Mustang was under CBS and Leo had already gone - in which case it was reprised on the Stingray. Cue lots of debate……. you also need a screwdriver to activate them on a Mustang (thumb screw for easy application on a Stingray). I’ve even activated them between songs, live it’s that easy!! Whatever the answer, it’s a great system as you can vary the pressure of each individual mute - they sound great recorded on a Stingray - very very thumpy!!

To an extent, I think this is true (and we shouldn’t forget the impact Jet Harris and the Shadows had on 60s musicians). However Rickenbacker was also there in the mix. But the 60s blues guitarists were also strongly influenced by blues musicians like Buddy Guy and rock and rollers like Chuck Berry - hence the number of players of 335s - the Gibson/Marshall combination was a v popular choice. What’s really weird is the very best bass sounds coming out of that era included the likes of Jack Bruce, Andy Fraser and Glenn Cornick - all of whom played Gibson basses - they were heroes of mine. However I have personally never had any great desire to play a Gibson bass and until I played one, my heart’s desire was actually a Fender Precision - the only people I actually liked at that time that played them (that I knew about) were Larry Taylor and Alan Spenner, and the latter changed up to a Wal by the later 70s (and immediately sounded even better and certainly more audible and articulate than before). I really can’t explain the lack of desire for a Gibson (and the desire for a Precision) - maybe I was seduced by the marketing/advertising!!!

I use these when available - these are based on when Leo and co finally got it right on mutes!! When not available I use left and right hand muting and v occasionally one of these 😀

The basses are shipped in their cases currently - packed in a cardboard guitar packing case. The Mono bag is presumably strong enough to ship basses (and guitars) in a similar way. Re the SR5 shape and scratch plate, I’ve grown to like all the variants over the years - the 35th Anniversary bass certainly looks very nice indeed - the necks look sublime. Unlike some types of basses which will remain nameless, the Stingray 5 was designed as a completely new instrument rather than adding a string to an existing 4 string design - I think it benefitted from that engineering process. Like @rodney72a I like the standard design of SR5 (with the big pickguard) as much as any other version - judging by how scuffed those pickguards get on working basses I wonder how the finish would stand up to extensive gigging for a bass without a pickguard? The hard cases have increased in size since the mid 201x period - when you have a number of them they take up a lot of space and like others I tend to take basses out in gig bags and have done for years rather than hard cases, which take up much more space in a car. A mono case would be reasonable to take out I guess and have more protection than a gig bag when carried with other equipment.

👍 I suppose all this brand snobbery and inverted snobbery relating to basses is only like the brand snobbery around fashion and clothes which some people (ranging from children upwards in age) seem to be partially or totally obsessed with.