drTStingray

[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1411738645' post='2562420'] Neptune Blue and a flamed, roasted maple neck? I don't understand the taste that some people have... But each to their own, I guess. Congrats, Dr. T! That's one of the finest ones right there. PS for the uninitiated: I'm a sucker for these, as Dr. T knows very well. [/quote] Thanks - and you should post a pic of your Neptune blue SR's headstock - droolworthy neck - when's the Bongo due?

[quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1411623443' post='2561195'] That is a beaut. Love the roasted maple. Worth the wait by the looks of it. [/quote] Yeah definitely worth the wait - nearly four months 😩 I'm really liking the sound of the 2 band EQ with 2 pick ups and the different coil selections. The roasted maple neck is oil and wax finished so is super smooth - headstock is matt varnished. The finish changes dependent on lighting. I have a wedding gig at the end of the month so will be using this bass for it. I can't wait. The bass is very rare as a mahogany bodied Sabre.

Mahogany body, roasted maple neck with nice flame, and neptune blue finish - this stunner turned up today. It sounds fabulous also - very focussed sound - selecting the bridge humbucker and single coil neck pick up, with the 2 band EQ, produces the classic MM 2 band sound with a little more warmth and bottom end - it was worth the four month wait

[quote name='GrammeFriday' timestamp='1411152455' post='2557114'] Yes indeed. The technical term is the "F**k yeah!" feeling. It has been scientifically proven that only Stingrays can deliver this. [/quote] +1 - that phrase sums it up perfectly - it's happened to me twice - once when I went to Jones and Crossland in Birmingham in about 1980. Played a new Stingray in sunburst for about half an hour and even though I really wanted a natural one, had to have it. It was £375 (no hard case). I still went to music shops, more out if curiosity or with mates, and remember going to another one (Musical Exchange I think) and tried out a new fangled active Precision. The sound particularly and also the feel/playing fit confirmed I'd made the right decision with the Ray. The second time was in 2003 when I decided to buy a 5 string. Played a load of different models but playing a trans orange SR5 in the Bass Cellar really made me smile. Eventually I bought a natural SR5 brand new (btw it was less than £1000 with a hard shell case ;-). )!! The price ws far cry from my about to arrive Sabre!! Anyway Pixiechick23 I suggest you go and try some and see what you think.

Pino - always been fabulous in my view - this shows his chops well - crazy Stingray sound and fretless all at once http://youtu.be/ClMU4oxag60

[quote name='dincz' timestamp='1410799014' post='2553290'] This is the best I can do so far [url="http://s1070.photobucket.com/user/dincz/media/P1000240_zpsf5a25ef8.jpg.html"][/url] So what pickup do you recommend? [color=#ffffff]?[/color] [color=#ffffff]?[/color] [color=#ffffff]?[/color] [/quote] What about a proper Stingray pick up? Available on Musicman-UK website as spare parts (as are various EQs).

Mr Levin with Peter Gabriel - complete with Shadowsesque walk!! Great bass part and great groove. http://youtu.be/05TVDCWRBog

Fabulous - thanks for posting the video.

Yeh big fan of them and especially the first two albums. Absolutely the classic chill out music. Interesting that on the second album there is a different bass player on a handful of tracks - they sound quite different to me, lacking that light and airy bass part feel of the other guy - but perhaps with more of a groove. The first two for me are classic albums of that era and genre.

[quote name='jhk' timestamp='1410460897' post='2549759'] ................................[size=5][b][i]+1.......also previously with joe cocker(my first fretless precision was bought from him in 1973)......... also worth a mention was felix krish with SFX...........john reed with SOX...........[/i][/b][/size] [/quote] Bloody hell - you not only met him but bought a bass off him. Definitely not Brit Funk (the genre started in about 1980/81) but perhaps blue eyed soul (as groups like AWB were termed). But Alan Spenner was fabulous - very audible and famous as the bass player with Roxymusic on songs around the time of Avalon, playing a Wal. He's also on the original soundtrack of Jesus Christ Superstar - fabulous playing.

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1410617734' post='2551306'] George Anderson's playing from Shakatak is much better in the mix of there fantastic music too be honest. but he's one of the UK greats imo. i did enjoy (in parts) his playing here. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Snm_KxSKPY8[/media] [/quote] Oh yes - loved their work. Another player who used a Stingray back in the day. I think the biggest Brit Funk band and most famous Brit Funk bass player has been missed out here - Level 42 was on that circuit and Mark King is just an awesome bass player - I've seen them three times - 1981 (Bham University bar), 1990 (Ipswich Regent) and 2010 ish (Eastbourne Conquest), They were mesmerising each time. Another Brit Funk band from this era was Freeez.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1410534998' post='2550532'] Well obviously, the one that sounds best would be the maple one [/quote] Yeah I know what you mean. They'd both sound fabulous, I reckon Pete, but slightly different. The rosewood being a little darker sounding and in particular less extreme when really playing hard. The maple is, in my view the classic Stingray look so I'd vote for that over the rosewood from purely the angle of looks.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1410454618' post='2549639'] I dont think the body wood makes much difference, it has been said that you can screw a MM pickup and a 3 EQ to a piece of floor board and as long as the pickup is in the right place for the bridge and scale length it will sound like a stingray, I think there is some truth in it. [/quote] I've heard the same - however I beg to differ. The bridge and scale length make a major contribution IMO - you can hear that basic Stingray tone acoustically. There is just more snap to the acoustic sound than say a Precision or Jazz acoustically - this must provide the foundation to the resonant sound projected by the pick up and EQ. Then consider the Stingray 5 (standard version) - the body and neck are bigger and correspondingly the whole resonance is deeper than a 4. I know I'm treading into contentious waters here and there are those who will tell you construction materials make no difference to the sound of an electric bass. However I'm pretty sure if someone blindfolded me and gave me two Stingrays to play, one with maple and one with rosewood fingerboard, I could tell which was which after a minute or two of playing!!

[quote name='ern500evo' timestamp='1410443030' post='2549490'] They had poplar bodies, I've got one,a blue pearl and maple fretboard 2010 model. Before I bought it I sent the serial number to AJ at MM and he confirmed that it was part of a limited run they did for strings and things, poplar body, limited finish choice and gig bag instead of a hard case. The original owner of mine paid £1050 for it new. [/quote] Cheers for that - did AJ say the whole run was poplar or just yours? Anyway the same as a US Sub in that context - my blueburst 93 is poplar or maybe alder (per AJ) also - to my ears they're sightly smoother than an ash version. The original selling price when launched was £999 - I've seen them for various prices since - don't ask me why - it happens with lots of instruments sitting in shops. There are still some around in shops (Knighton music had one last time I looked).

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1410352666' post='2548427'] Not quite so simple as that! Ebmm did a range about four years ago I think called the 251 or something, two eq only, no hard case, poplar body and less colour options to choose from they were around £1050 in the UK compared to £1300 for a regular two eq or £1400+ for a three eq. They may have only been available in the UK though, I'm not sure. I use an angled Jack on all my basses. [/quote] They were called 133 which I think was part of the EBMM manufacture code. Basically a red, white or blue Stingray with a gig bag for £999 (when they first marketed them) - Stings and Things celebrating 50 years working with Ernie Ball company in the UK IIRC. I don't recall them having a different body wood - all Stingray and Sterling variants have been ash at least since the USA Subs ceased in about 2005 - except one or two specific limited edition runs with mahogany bodies. As regards 3 band/2 band comparison the underlying sound is pretty much the same. The 3 band can be easily adjusted a With the mid range knob for those moments when the guitarists or keyboard players feel the need to fill all the sonic space...... however the 2 band makes a fabulous sound and just lifting the upper mid EQ on the amp can compensate for the situation above. As you turn down the EQ knobs on the 2 band you get more mids also! The 3 band also has clever filters that dial out boomy frequencies - you can also get 3 band basses with additional piezo pick ups at the bridge - they add a whole extra dimension if you're lucky enough to come across one.

Another duplicate post - pl delete - iPhone went mad!!

What a fabulous looking bass. I'm waiting for a Classic Sabre to arrive in that spec! The neck is meant to be oil and wax finish with a satin headstock and the body is mahongany. That flame maple is awesome - there's a picture if a Bongo with a similarly flamed neck to that on the EBMM bass forum. Having severe GAS waiting for mine to arrive......

Duplicate post pl delete

I'm not sure what bass it is - could be Musicman with one pick up. I don't think it sounds honky enough to be a Jazz personally - could be an active one I guess but doesn't have the Marcus Miller tone (or the other people I've seen play active Jazzes who sound very similar). It sounds active and it definitely isn't a passive Precision!!

[quote name='yanto' timestamp='1409239879' post='2537882'] [attachment=170399:stingray 002.jpg] There ya go. The black is a bugger to keep clean though. As new and came from the Bass Gallery a few months ago. Paid £900 which I thought was pretty reasonable [/quote] Oo that's v nice. I've stopped bothering to keep mine clean - occasional polishes with Dunlop Polish is all I do - the blueburst ones get especially messy in the darker areas. And dusty round the pick ups and bridge.

[quote name='ikay' timestamp='1409232107' post='2537786'] dr TStingray - re EQ curves on the EBMM forum, could you post a link? I've had a look but can't find them. Thanks [/quote] Post 45 has a link in it http://forums.ernieball.com/music-man-basses/59097-musicman-bass-suggested-settings-thread.html

I also start off with them both on full and rotate them back about a quarter of a turn each (treble and bass). If I play a song where I need more mid range I just turn the knobs down a little more - this accentuates the mids. If I need more bass or treble I adjust accordingly. However I have Thomastik flats on the bass (it is a Classic SR4) no one believes me until they feel the strings - it still has a nice slap sound and great harmonics!! A guy has posted lots of EQ curves recently on the EBMM bass forum which are quite interesting. The bass and treble have different centre detent positions on the 2 band, which demonstrates a different curve from the 3 band. The 3 band Musicman SR4 EQ has filters which suppress the boomy frequencies below 80 hz. The 2 band doesn't. If you think the SR4 2 band has a powerful EQ you should try the SR5 with ceramic!! Borne out by the EQ curve also.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1408878596' post='2534226'] Big fest we have next week will have 20,000 or so over two days but that is too big for the town to handle and they have ditched most of the stalwart acts and are going for a more folkey Hop fest feel. They say that the clean-up/drunkenness is too great when more rock bands play... so time will tell. The bar take has been staggering these last few years with pubs taking ridiculous amounts - £58k is ok for a pub and others are similar. Can the folk acts maintain that sort of interest..?? [/quote] I believe I'm playing at said festival - and the set includes rock music and funky blues amongst other things!!

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1408782230' post='2533378'] My mate does wood turning, that stuff is heavy and only good for seriously heavy metal! [/quote] Isn't that often called pau ferro - used for fretless fingerboards - indeed most fretless Stingrays have it - haven't tried metal on mine - Ok when used for some RATM though :-)

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1408756586' post='2533313'] I`ve found that in comparison to alder and ash, it just has a little less "heft/weight" to the sound. Almost like if you really hit the strings, expecting a roar, you don`t get quite as much as you expect. But played moderately, no real difference. [/quote] It sounds like you haven't played an MM Bongo?