peteb

A nice version of a great Alan Spenner line. The original would probably have been played on a Wal, but the SR5 sounds great.

I love the sound of them, but I do have the same issue with the G string as well

Sorry for the long link...! I have one box in the gigbag that I actually take out for gigs and another on my desk at home.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-Duracell-9V-Industrial-PROCELL-Alkaline-Batteries-Smoke-Alarm-LR22-MN1604-BLOC/113707992641?epid=9032157047&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item1a79864641:g:rzQAAOSw32lY0nAA&amdata=enc%3AAQAFAAACcBaobrjLl8XobRIiIML1V4Imu%2Fn%2BzU5L90Z278x5ickkAgU0umhwUTmgTFbE5cu7zfLzqGgP6VCouLVsERdqNSMXWquzW8FbJ9EZ8RT2qj017oWIhbCviPb62cgfGk7ESSzROJ0PuerrLbLLDzlvvYR4jjfW%2BZ6a%2BgWSJtZmDncbDifiSr267J006N2%2F%2FSOzmP%2Fgdsv6V1kEKVzJhNlMCCvScjPunBIhLLFfkI9optzCAs376BduorIvNz4jxmjAs9Z1euU%2B2%2BcAsaczY9PctEfJ8f8qQFEl2xC8BNR5PL0a1Ev2uVlzwui3pp0h%2FRwFkAUTD%2FRl%2BicRv54vkzo3jCJ1X3U9iJpeQ8pgu1q04YBixh6pfI0sHoYrU6yQQFb9zzte2x2DV5jolR5ZKmsXCkmDdVTb7SuConXHOxrAFJ6lqe6Flag%2FW%2F6LFssAa8zAMu3oi87wJbu42iIU3Ev4BwcPWa0k1Itv%2FFH%2BFmrGkoNNRxh%2FlQP31JhrinpsiviHrGAC2iM5g25bJLADmY0Jk0prXuLXhMezW1NjeQVaXaogi3pmwOqc8cyo30SlZKLyyXn6xeq%2B3iccUwDcemfE%2FrPHoT0AzRpj9yvDDEdhSr3VrHbo5KKXpsUiX3U5Jtbr%2B%2BQ6u72OqNbnfsr7OqPA2ikXvtYYdu%2BzbCawSD7ftFP7pzC9aY8oMi0BKEFX%2BrK9TnmmfFT5xgbULpW%2BUkpTR4ArjFfXBuA7uX99g83liinr65M%2BE1XlB0TthccsyeEBYEg6hZ9x1y9YQggBU%2FHJZ52ZYWCtJAWd7fNnfkoiUgCe0XhodtNHCwrw%2FZFbisgxuw%3D%3D|cksum%3A11370799264147d6fa20ddb0459a8684336bd551ecde|ampid%3APL_CLK|clp%3A2334524

Just won the s/h original Musicman scratch plate on eBay - £18 plus just under a fiver in shipping

If you want someone a bit controversial, then Paul McCartney.. Yes, I know he was in the Beatles and therefore we're supposed to find hidden depths in everything he does but I'm afraid that I'm with Quincy Jones. If you listen to a lot of his old baselines there are some bizarre things going on (and not in a good way) that would get anyone else thrown out of the studio and the playing is as sloppy as hell...! Sorry Beatles fans and I do appreciate everything that he achieved, but his bass playing is overated.

To be fair, a s/h Stingray would probably be a lot cheaper 🙂

Apparently, a lot of pro bass players in the Chicago area used to take both Stingrays and Jazz basses to gigs around town. This led to Lakland going into business producing the 4-94, which was meant to be able to do the jobs of both in one bass.

The thing about Stingrays is that they are pretty unique and you can still sometimes pick them up pretty cheap. I generally gig jazz basses, but I do like having a Stingray as an option.

In 95 they were all 4H...! I have been told that early 90s three band Rays (up to 95) are ones to look at, along with early Ernie Ball two band ones. However, my experience is pretty limited as I've only owned early 90s 4 strings and a couple of early 2000s 5 strings.

About 5 years ago, there seemed to be a glut of s/h Stingrays and there were some real bargains around. The market does seem to have corrected itself a bit, although I know a few guys who are now asking silly prices then wondering why they won't sell. I do think that new MM basses are somewhat overpriced.

Made in 2004 - now superseded by an Xotic 5 string jazz

Why would you? That rig you have there would cover literally any gig you are likely to get that doesn't require a 5 string...

I think that a few years ago Stingrays were going for ridiculously low prices, for what is a bass that could cover pretty much any pro gig. I remember just missing out on a pretty nice Ray with a few knocks that went for around £570 or so, which was a silly amount. However, the market seems to have recovered a bit and they now seem to be going for comparable prices to similar American Fenders.

At the moment the red Stingray is part of a pair (although the SR5 will be going soon)

I thought that 96 was the first year of the smaller bridge. You must have had one of the last Rays with the 'transition' bridges! I never knew that there was a MIJ Stingray...

That's the first year with the new bridge without the mountings for the mutes. What other Rays have you had??

double post

A bit mellower isn’t such a bad thing for a Stingray – the black 95 I had was certainly rather fierce, one of the reasons that I have always wanted a Ray with a rosewood board. I’ve never really played a two band Ray (except a pre-EB one very briefly in a shop in Denmark Street once), always been happy with the three band version. Gawd knows when I will get a chance to gig it – I might set it up tuned down a half-step so I that get more opportunities to use it live…

A trip up to the north east included a detour to meet up with my old mate Captain John Morgan to pick up an early 90s three band Stingray. I had been chasing this particular bass for about four years, ever since picking it up after seeing the Captain play a gig in a bar on the banks of the Tyne in Newcastle. I had always asked him to give me first refusal if he ever decided to move it on, so I bit his hand off when he got in touch last week to ask if I was still interested. It is a deep wine-red colour with a rosewood fretboard, a six bolt plate and the old style bridge with the mutes still attached. John has installed brass bridge saddles, which seem like a great mod, but apart from that it is pretty much stock. It currently has a black scratchplate, but I have been looking for a s/h white one (mainly because I remember seeing a picture of Boz Burrell playing one like that back in the 70s). This must be the nicest Stingray to play that I’ve ever come across and has a great neck. I’ve had a couple of Rays in the past (a great natural 91 w/maple fingerboard and a pretty nice black 95 with the transition bridge with no mutes) and always regretted moving them on. I think that this one is going to be a keeper. Edit: I've just checked the serial number online and it was made in May 91

Thanks for that dude - I'm currently looking them up online. I've just seen a s/h oldish MM one on eBay, so I've put a snipe in for a couple of days time. Thanks for the help.

Does anyone know where I can source a 3 ply white scratchplate for an early 90s Musicman Stringray? They are advertised on the Ernie Ball site, but they only ship to USA for some reason. Is there anywhere in UK / Europe that keep them in stock?

I’m fine with people wanting to pay tribute to their fallen heroes. In the case of EVH, he was a major part of the lives of many musicians who play that type of music (including me), especially guitarists. It’s hardly surprising that many want to do something to mark his passing, given that the medium to do so (YouTube, etc) is well established. I would definitely participate in some sort of tribute given the opportunity. On a personal level, EVH may have been a hero of mine, but I didn’t know him personally. It’s always tragic when someone passes away relatively young, but he had been ill for several years and there were rumours that he had died three years or so ago. I find the public outpourings of grief by people who didn’t know the person a bit disturbing (I’m thinking more Princess Di rather than Eddie by the way). It’s a shame, but it’s not as if he didn’t get the chance to reach his full potential – a life well lived (on balance) and he isn’t suffering anymore. If anyone wants to pay tribute to everything that he achieved, then that’s OK by me…

There used to be a great clip somewhere on YouTube of John Paul Jones demonstrating on bass the differences in playing, on, in front and behind the beat. Unfortunately, it was buried in the middle of a clip about 40 minutes long with JPJ talking about all sorts and the quality of the video was terrible. This is quite interesting if you want to learn more about this; a session guitarist talking about how to play guitar laying back on the beat

Originally it was supposed to be a single album but they weren't prepared to edit down any of the tracks on the original playlist so that it would fit on a vinyl record. They included a couple of tracks that should have made it onto the previous two albums and a few outakes that they had hanging around, which generally were quite interesting if not quite up to the standard of the rest of the tracks. Still one of my top 5 favourite albums.