ped

Thanks @drTStingray I have hoovered up all the information from the musicman.global site now - that’s something I live about getting a new bass, researching the history and minor details. I’ve ordered a white scratchplate for it too which will be interesting to try, although the black and white matches the headstock puppet and it’ll be known as my ‘panda’ bass! Is there any way to ascertain the exact build date from the serial or do I need to take the neck off or something? I think the slab body looks great - I’ve had one in the past but the corners weren’t even rounded so it was quite painful on the forearm. There’s something about the chunky body that just suits the character of this thing, another reason to call it the panda!

Ffs indeed. Was the ‘buyer’ a BCer? If so please let me know who.

Yeah the mutes are fun. Thanks for the info re the body. When did they stop doing slab bodies? I tend to also rest on the E string but on the pickup too, and I’m used to having a ramp so occasionally I hit the protruding poles on the A and D strings but just a matter of adjusting a bit. Volume across the strings is very even!

Oh the seller said it’s 4.39kg - I haven’t weighed it but it feels fine.

Thanks, yes it's a 4 bolt. Luckily the neck is dead flat and doesn't require a shim (I've always quite liked the micro tilt system). Thanks for the Eq tip. I have found my favourite sound so far (need to come back tomorrow with fresh ears) to be a slight treble boost and a bass boost about 1/4 of a turn more than the treble and backing off the volume slightly. It sound great with some 5:1 compression at a high threshold so you get all the dynamics but a really clear fundamental. It's a very rich sound. I keep touching the pickup pole with my thumb so may have to use my usual trick of covering it with tape!

I’d love to shift that many! Actually I’ve been fortunate with a couple of investments and the work on our garden was much less than I had saved up for. Happy days. Everything just worked out timing wise for once!

Thanks! The strap locks will be up for sale on BC soon - I held a press sale to find the production run and will be sending those in about a week so they should be in general sale shortly after that. All the cool people will have them 😂

Yes, like busses everything has come along at once - and I don't think Fred is college material tbh

Thanks - I think that one was earlier, it had a badass bridge and pickups with exposed poles.

Hi folks Call it what you will but after passively looking for a Stingray for a long time I was delighted to see a birth year ray come up on BC. Now I don't go in for YOB basses and think it's borderline weird but a bright white pre EB was always going to pique my interest. I know there has been quite some discussion here recently regarding the values and relative bargains of the EB Stingrays and I know all too well that the pre EB rays to some may seem over priced - the thinking here though is that the instrument will hold it's value better, whether that is based on a ill judged notion of pre-EB rays sounding better/different is not for me to say! Having tried many Ray's in the past (mostly 5ers) and finding my favourite of them all was in fact an OLP with a status neck I have an open mind about what I think sounds good and judge each bass on it's sound (and I guess visual appeal too). This one just sounds very 'full' and 'chunky' - with that 'slapping a power line' kind of taught attack to the sound which to my ears sounds quite different to others. The treble control in particular sounds very nice and adds a great 'click' to the sound which seems to affect frequencies above the norm, even the enhance setting on my pre. I rarely find a bass arrives to me setup to my liking (super flat neck, super low action) - but after slapping on Elixir 40-95s and loosening the rod a bit to compensate, I only had to drop the G saddle a tiny bit and adjust the intonation on the low E (Which I always tune to D) and it was spot on and I played it happily all through a zoom meeting just now (camera off!) For an instrument the same age as yours truly I can say it's worn the years better than I have - a couple of small bashes here and there and some wear to the scratch-plate but the white hasn't faded one bit (I think they used a different paint latterly which doesn't yellow like before?) and the neck is great, exhibiting that nice balance between chunk and manoeuvrability. Of course the Basschat strap locks look fabulous on it too!! Cheers and thanks to the seller who was great to deal with and UPS who although a day late didn't lose it and/or smash it up. ped

P = G&L SB1'91 MM = Stingray '83 70s J = Atelier-Z / Celinder The Musician only arrived today but I have in all honestly found 2 band rays to sound pretty consistent - this '83 is a birth year bass and will likely hold it's value well. Will post an NBD shortly!!

I'd say my Wingbass but at 16" it wouldn't be long enough

Looking at myself in the mirror

Cheers - yes you're partly to blame for this!

Thanks! Yes I think so - Vol, Vol, Bass boost/cut and treble cut. It’ll be interesting to compare to the Atelier, which has the Marcus Miller sound in spades. Either way I can’t lose - I’ve always wanted to try one and if the Atelier wins then I have scratched an itch finally!

I’ve always loved the sound of a 70s spacing jazz. I bought an amazing Atelier Z recently and of course now this comes up too. I’m basically building up the perfect P/J/MM threesome to have in the toolkit alongside my usual fave. As I’ve said elsewhere before, having found my number one bass many years ago has freed me up to investigate, try and collect ‘perfect’ examples of other marques. As bass means so much to me both as a hobby and of course BC, it’s nice to have a great example of each of these classic types as a no loss investment and just for fun. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!

Kiwi used to have one too. No I haven’t seen Toasted for a long time!

I’ve been after a Celinder J-Update for a long time but never found one for sale. Earlier today I was just browsing some sites whilst I was waiting for something to download and I couldn’t quite believe that this was staring back at me from the Bass Gallery site. Got it bought immediately - I’ll figure out how to afford it later!

They're quite hard to photograph well but the orange colour is bang on - really quite different from the normal red/off red colour and quite luminous. I'll take some proper pictures later but for now there's this. The printing is very sharp and defined.

Hi folks, apparently these are out for delivery today! I will have a look at how best to take payment and collect your orders over the weekend. Once sorted I'll email you all (and update here) with instructions on how to pay. You can have as many sets as you like at the pre-sale price. Once I have everyone paid up I'll probably box them up and get them sent as a bulk job, so it would be helpful to everyone if you are able to place your order as soon as you can. Soon after that these will be on general sale through the Basschat Shop and I'll probably ship them out weekly, but will confirm that nearer the time. Cheers ped

Doesn’t the Stingray boost more than it cuts though? Although I’ve heard the actual frequencies have changed a lot over the years.

It's just a knot in the wood used for the fretboard - it shouldn't cause any concern from a functional perspective. I suppose you could call it bad QC and it should have been rejected but I wouldn't worry - it makes your bass unique! Enjoy it and get stuck in.

She’s awesome.

Although I’m very much decided on my ‘main bass’, I’ve had fun searching for the perfect J, P and MM to have in my collection. I recently bought a MM which will arrive on Wednesday. I’ve had two before and sold them for stupid reasons so I’m hoping this one is a keeper. I do really love the sound of them, instantly recognisable and very versatile.