drTStingray

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1496390681' post='3310951'] Well I like the proportions and neck on my USA jazz five and I like the pickup position and preamp of a Stingray five, put the two together and hey presto! [/quote] I always find the Musicman necks are better for my taste. There is more than just the pick up and EQ to a Musicman - the whole package contributes to the sound - not least the bridge.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1496325546' post='3310541'] If fender released the one Flea uses but in a five string version I'd buy one. the bits are already there on the shelf other than the pickup! [/quote] Surely G and L do something similar already? Or Sandberg? Musicman certainly do a Musicman better. I got the feeling Flea plays the Fender hybrid Stingray clone for financial reasons.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1496241304' post='3309842'] it's that narrow string spacing that puts me off... I suppose I could adapt to it, but as I'm still not in a position where I feel I need a 5-string bass, it doesn't tempt me enough. The day I am tempted enough I'll probably go to Maruszczyk 'though... [/quote] You're really missing out not having a Stingray 5 - especially the ceramic version. I've started using mine a lot recently and even though an H version, it's very versatile, and especially sensitive to playing dynamics and playing position. Great bass sound. Playing that even persuaded me to get the Bongo 5 out for a blues rock gig last weekend - I'd forgotten how good that is as well. Musicman 5s are basically 5 strings on a wide Precision neck - I'm used to 19mm spacing 4s but don't find the 17.5mm a great change - although I would admit to being a little less confident with some slap lines!!

[quote name='Yukimajou' timestamp='1496222283' post='3309601'] I will start by saying that I know this has the potential to open me up to all manner of heckling, but here I go anyway. I was set to thinking by Al Krow's 'Best Bass Lines' thread and one of my favourite lines is from Riders on the Storm by The Doors. I thought I'd go and check out a few tabs to see if people agree with my assessment of the line and every tab I have seen is wrong. I know this makes me sound like some knob head who can't accept that what I think could be wrong (I'm not a lead guitarist!), but in this instance I have some back up. All the tabs I have seen start on the open E and it is a nice easy line to groove on, however, it should be an octave higher and start on the 12th fret. This does make it much harder to play, but sounds so much better (as it's how Ray wrote it!). The proof I mentioned earlier is: I have a Doors music book for piano and the bass line there corresponds to the 12th fret E string as the start. and This [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3deQXzV-qTk"]You Tube video[/url] of Ray talking about Riders saying that when he came up with the bass line, Jerry (their session bassist on all albums except the first) said that you couldn't play that and had to do some gymnastics with his fingers to play it. Now this would make no sense if the bassline started on the open E as it's nice and easy to play there. Here are the tabs for both and see for yourself: The one everyone seems to use [font=courier new,courier,monospace]G——————————————--—I D——————————————--—I A———2———2———0—4—0—I E—0———3———0—————-—I[/font] And the correct one [font=courier new,courier,monospace]G————————————————-----—I D———————————————-----——I A———14———14———12—16—12—I E—12———15———12———————--I[/font] I know the temptation to play the easy one is huge, but it's for reasons like that that us bassists are tarred as the dumb ones in bands. [/quote] Jerry Scheff has a lot of respect from me - love his playing on the Elvis stuff as well. It's interesting the correct line is at 12th fret on the E string - I have found quite a number of blues rock and rock bass lines are played in that area - making a subtly different sound from fret 7 on the A string which is where I would play in the second E octave normally. It's often puzzled me why this would be and (about to commit sacrilege for some) had wondered whether owing to the area of dead spots on Fender basses, whether players of the 60s/70s era just knew to avoid frets 5 to 7 ish - particularly on the upper strings, migrating to fret 12 upwards.

....... and at least you could hear the bass - unlike in the 60s and some of today's output.....

[quote name='Barking Spiders' timestamp='1495526723' post='3304390'] As a teen in the 80s I have nothing but fond memories of the music even the cheese. It was the decade that spawned hip hop ( a very good thing IMO )when electronica took another quantum leap (another very good thing), when it was fun to go clubbing, when metal didn't take itself too seriously and when the general public realised the bass is a proper instrument requiring some talent to play. [/quote] Well said!! Every decade has its plus sea and minuses - even the 60s. Whilst the 60s was a great decade to grow up in and was very different to what went before many of the abominations of the decade are overlooked by the rose tinted spectacles brigade.

Me too - plus the selector switch creates three different tone bases. Used mine on Saturday at an outdoor bash with lots of bands. Having adjusted the provided back line to avoid a silly level of scoop, the bass sounded great. Ranging from super thump to funk slap, to Herbie Hancock. Excellent - currently my go to - also the most resonant bass I have - the body really resonates. The Lakland 55-76 clearly is a 19 MM spacing SR5 although my experience of Laklands suggests they are good in their own right but don't quite get the SR5 sound. However it's a pity all those people moaning about the spacing on SR5s on Talkbass and wanting a 19 MM spacing weren't informed enough to know about the 55-76 - maybe they'd have sold a few more!!

The idea that the bass drum needs to be some sort of sub-sonic woofer is really something which ive noticed in recent years. The whole idea of over loud drums in mixes is another fairly recent innovation. In my opinion the best sounds I have heard were in late 70s clubs where the mix of dance music had very prominent bass drum but also very prominent bass guitar - and neither was compromised by ludicrous levels of low bass EQ or unequal volumes in the mix. I play in a band where the bass drum invariably gets miked (we don't have a sound guy), we have powered sub PA speakers and the bass drum usually starts off far too loud and too bassy, tweaked back at sound check. I'm guessing some people think that's the only bass element driving the music - most of the time it isn't!!

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1495053244' post='3300954'] ... no such option on a genuine musicman though. [/quote] Except a Reflex, Big Al, some US Subs, one or two limited runs of Stingrays (PDN white Classic; a Guitar Centre special run - used the same stuff as the white Classic). The hang tag manual for the 70s/80s Stingrays mentioned battery drain as negligible. The change to the design was made in the 80s. Battery life of one to three years estimated according to the blurb. http://www.musicmanbass.org/mycustompage0051.htm

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1495018571' post='3300452'] One of these I believe... (but with four strings obviously...) [url="https://www.public-peace.de/maruszczyk-instruments/mi-bass/frog"]https://www.public-p...ts/mi-bass/frog[/url] [/quote] Looks great in that trans blue - reminds me of a friend's PRS guitar finish. I hear the comments about tone but this sound puts it on a par with the 80s slap sounds like Mark King (the sort of sound you can get from a Jaydee, Alembic, Overwater, BG).

[quote name='keeponehandloose' timestamp='1495022020' post='3300501'] Me, Im happy stuck in the 50's . You had to play Fender bass with a plectrum or you were considered to be a communist. [/quote] I think you were more likely to be considered a communist in the 50s if you DIDN'T play an upright!! You were certainly unlikely to be considered a bass player anyway if you played a bass guitar, and in jazz circles probably into the 70s (though there were occasional exceptions like the MJQ). And if you're talking UK, the chances of finding anyone playing a Fender bass guitar in the 50s was virtually nil - owing to our war time heritage in terms of finances there was an import embargo until the beginning of the 60s - many of our 60s acts even, didn't play Fenders - Gibsons (especially EB2 type) were more common - and of course our most famous with his Hofner. I guess these guitars simply reproduced the upright thump better at the time (or maybe that was all that was available).

I rather liked it although it does get a bit extreme towards the end. And of course it's bass playing - in the same way as Mark King or Victor Wooton. The vast majority of us can only dream of such mastery of an instrument. Fantastic slap bass groove all through I thought. There may be an issue of flash over taste on this particular example but it is intended to be an instrument demo - it has similarities with some of Mark King in the 80s/90s. For those of you who think people (and particularly women) don't dance to slap bass grooves you've obviously never been to a Level 42 concert. What a lovely looking bass as well. I think I've said it before, the only people I seem to come across who have a downer on slap bass are other bass players, and many I meet/know haven't found the inclination or taken the trouble to learn the technique.

10 cc were superb. Reminded me how good they were back in the 70s and a major touring band. It's quite bizarre how some music like this nearly disappears off the radar in terms of radio airplay - this happened to ELO also until the revival in recent years. For those of us reminiscing with rose tinted spectacles about the OGWT, I recall that rather like Later, it had its ups and downs and sometimes it was a pile of poo whereas others it was great - once again, as with any music programme of that type, it depends on your taste as to how much you like or dislike. The Tube is another - some phenomenal stuff on there - along with some not so good.

[quote name='Jecklin' timestamp='1494588051' post='3297176'] It's not the price per se, just relative values. I wouldn't consider £5k for a fodera expensive for example. These are mass produced factory instruments built down, not up to a specification. I watch with wry amusement at the pricing models used by Fender, Musicman and G&L. They charge what people will pay, so good for them. They are running successful businesses after all [/quote] Musicman instruments are hand finished and particularly the necks - that's how they get consistent high quality - not sure what G and L and Lakland do but to get that on a Fender you would be looking at some form of custom shop instrument I believe. So the comparisons being made may not be like for like. All US instruments have suffered at the hands of the exchange rate debacle following that well known recent political phenomena - it's similar in many industries - so we have probably just got to get real on these new pricing structures for instruments. The price of respective used ones is also going up.

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1493569956' post='3289160'] It's next week. [/quote] Tomorrow - still can't get there though 😕

Did anyone from here go to this? I would have loved to - Neil Murray is one of my favourite bass players since I first heard/saw him in National Health in the 70s. Last saw him in the We Will Rock You musical and he was great in that as well.

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1493561524' post='3289105'] That is infinitely cooler than a Big Al. [/quote] It's certainly infinitely older..... and more quirky - but don't knock the Big Al unless you've actually tried one - they're pretty damn good basses. There's some very interesting old 60s basses in that listing like Vox and even some lefty versions of wierd 1960s creations - the Burns is interesting as well - presumably he used the Stingray 5 for recording. Mark Griffiths is an excellent bass player - check out his bass solo on Nivram on the Shadows final tour - excellent.

[quote name='acidbass' timestamp='1493296649' post='3287233'] Hi All Does anybody know if there is a company out there who make an aftermarket bridge with mutes (a la the Stingray Classic bridge) Preferably Fender style/dimensions Cheers! D [/quote] The Fender Mustang had a bridge with mute to a similar design to the Stingray - presumably how come they included them. So you might find a Mustang bridge or maybe someone makes them. You won't get a Stingray one without buying a bass - they had them up to around 95 as well as on the Classic model now. These specific designs allow the intensity of muting and even muting individual strings to happen, unlike the JJ method. You've got to remember JJ was originally perfecting his playing before satellites, space rockets, computers, PCBs, the Beatles etc etc - almost Neolithic times in relative terms!!! That's not to say the piece of foam rubber method is not effective - just that the systems spoken about by the OP are far more precise and offer broader benefits.

Bernard Edwards played a 1977 Stingray. It is suggested they were shipped with flats (GHS) from 76-78 and changed to rounds in 1978. Bernard Edwards is one of the main reasons I first bought a Ray back in the late 70s - one element of sound I could never get was the pops in We Are Family - until I fitted flats to a Ray a couple of years back and nailed the exact sound. So for my money, in Chic in the late 70s his Ray (with which most of their material from that time was recorded) had flats. + 1 on Jerry Barnes - does a great job (even seems to have the bass sound fattened but remaining clear and punchy sometimes as per Bernard - not sure if Jerry uses an effect).

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1492764105' post='3282942'] As per the sound clip posted above i.e. Very nice indeed. Must add one of these to the arsenal one day. [/quote] Indeed, sounds great and really nice colour. Although I'm really a die hard Stingray person, I also have one of these - 5 strings, HH and also a piezo, which I bring out every so often. Great basses, these. Great sound, plenty of variation and really really comfortable to play. The looks go down well with many people, so much so people often say it sounds and looks great. Turn up the bass EQ and its seismic!!

[quote name='Clarky72' timestamp='1492689427' post='3282344'] Good plan! It does seem the only way to get a white musicman pickup is to buy a cheapo off ebay and just use the cover. [/quote] Well it's a way of doing it (presuming the cover fits the pick up you're using). However, as was mentioned in another thread, you can buy a real Musicman one for about £10 if you order it from a shop. You should be able to buy a whole pick up the same way.

[quote name='hubrad' timestamp='1492079780' post='3277729'] I remember being told, by a non-band person, that fretless couldn't work in a rock band. Fast forward about 20 years and one band I was playing with told me not to bring a particular fretless (I have a couple!) 'cos it was 'too agressive'! Result! [/quote] The non-band person had clearly overlooked Boz Burrell - playing Fretless on several classic blues rock songs of the early 70s with Bad Company - strange thing is the Fretless vibe is very much a part of some of these tracks, particularly Feel Like Making Love. As with a lot of 'what gets played down the Dog and Duck' the role of the bass (often subtlely essential) is overlooked amidst strident vocals, guitar warbling/thrashing and drum cacophony. Boz's playing was quite an influence on me and probably others http://youtu.be/TeZqjZ_kvLY

It has to be blank plank for me, purely for the look if nothing else. As an avid Pino fan, his Musicman has no lines so I don't buy the neccessity of them as extolled by other worthies of bass mentioned in this thread. My Fretless Stingray has no lines - bought used but I was very pleased it was unlined. I rely a bit on the dots on the top of the fretboard (one very dark gig made this very clear to me - and made me use my ears more). I also struggle with intonation more above fret 12, especially if I haven't played Fretless for a while. As you would guess, I'd suggest unlined. I've used mine live and in the studio - generally no problem with intonation although it did shock me initially that I needed to learn to play accurately. That said it didn't take long to acclimatise and I used the bass on most of a recording a couple of weeks after receiving it without problems.

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1492413732' post='3279934'] The list, so far: Jack - American Precision Rich - Yamaha RBX preamp Bartleby - Dimarzio Model One Warwick 3 band MEC Pre-amp. Warwick jazz pickups Longtimefred - 2 standard sandberg splitable humbuckers Gregbass - active EMG Precision , Mex Fender Precision set. Tony_m - 1997 CIJ Fender '60s Reissue jazz, 2008 Squier Classic Vibe '60s jazz pups Fretmeister - Stingray 3 band EQ Cato - stock pickups from a Squier VM70s Jazz. Cotswoldbassguitars - bridge pickup; 1978 Jazz Ead - Squier VM Precision 5-string pup Grangur - Seymour Duncan SPB-3 and p-bass Jess Louriero hand wound "Classic" p-bass pup. Saved - unknown 6 string humbuckers Geoffbyrne - Ibanez MM copy pup Bassasassin - DiMarzio DP123 Model J Osiris - Sandberg own brand, 4 string Stingray style humbucker cheap single coil jazz pickups ( Squier,?) P/J set from a Peavey Zodiac. JJTee - Pickups and pre 1995 Ibanez SR885 PJ set from a Fender Jazz Aerodyne. E Sharp - Aguilar 2 band pre-amp Merton - cheap low output pickups from Vester J and P basses jonnybass - fender n3 noiseless pickups and the active 3 band that goes with it. pete.young - Fender P; Japanese not-for-export and SGC Nanyo 5-string Jazz set DarkHeart - Entwistle JBXN SH73 - Seymour Duncans Spb1 and Spb4 Steve Harris sig Lownote12 - Fender N3 [/quote] Wot - no Warwick, Hofner, Rickenbacker or Musicman 2 or 4 band? The F word appears with great (some might say monotonous, heaven forbid) regularity.......

[quote name='Rich' timestamp='1492358432' post='3279655'] And an awful lot to look at and think "that's absolute bollocks mate" [/quote] Quite - we must all have wildly varying tastes. For once I liked most of what was on this episode although I too found the Goldfrapp dancers mildly worrying. I can't imagine why anyone would want to rewrite Bootsy-like bass parts either but there you go! As for Jules himself, I think he's ok and a good muso - I've mellowed over the years to the orchestra, helped by being bought a ticket to one of their gigs as a prezzie, thinking I wouldn't like it, and then finding they were highly impressive and truly excellent live - only marred by not giving Mr Swift a little cameo feature, as he's excellent as well. For true fans he has a radio show as well late on Monday nights on radio 2 which features some cool artists. Now if the show had included the likes of Morrisey and Weller I'd most likely have reached for the remote control, as I regularly do with Later!! Different tastes eh....