CamdenRob

[quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1382452908' post='2252308'] I have a 97 Sting Ray and a 2012 SUB Sting Ray. There may be differences in the internal make up but there's next to no difference in playability and sound. The only difference is the SUB cost a fifth of the price. Get one. You won't regret it. [/quote] I'm pretty much sold to be honest... just got to wait for the right one to come along somewhere near where I live...

[quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1382447828' post='2252225'] I used to have a red bass and got no interest from the ladies. Since changing to a yellow bass I find I am beating them off with it. [/quote] Right, yellow bass time it is then... Also... perhaps I should join a band.

I have a red bass too... no young ladies come up to me.... maybe I need a hat....

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1382444804' post='2252166'] Not massively different. The low and highs are less 'extreme' on the 3EQ...I think the bass is set at a lower frequency on the 2 EQ, and the 2 EQ's just seem to sizzle more, but also have this organic inherent fatness that is just brilliant to hear. The 3EQ is the same tone; only Ray enthusiasts could tell the difference! What I like on the 3EQ is obviously the mids, which with say a dual pickup bass like a HH or HS, leads to many many different tones as well as the classic Ray tone. As we all know, every bass will sound different due to wood/strings/pickup winding etc...none are identical. The last HH I sold (to get a 5HH) had such a wonderful bridge humbucker....it was one of those moments when I first heard it of 'that's THE tone'....plus it had 4 other pickup positions! If you opt for a 3EQ, try a dual pup bass as well! Then try a Bongo...totally odd instrument but boutique quality and stunning electronics/ergonomics. I sound like a fanboy, and I guess I am, and I have not always had 100% smooth runnings with EBMM's (probably because I have had a LOT) but it never ever stops me realising they are my favourite bass guitars... The last two I bought were just absolutely perfect. In fact, this makes me want a single H Bongo now....ARGHHHH! [/quote] Yeah there certainly do seem to be a lot of options... I just heard one for the first time in ages at a gig on Saturday night and it sounded great, admittedly the guy playing it was pretty awesome anyway, but the tone was perfect. I think maybe I'll try a 3EQ single pick up to start with as that is what this guy was playing. Hopefully one will turn up somewhere near London in the marketplace....

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1382442958' post='2252131'] Yep...they are usually highly figured and come with the following: Birdseye or flame highly figured neck (therefore opt for maple fretboard!) Vintage tint/lacquer on the neck and fretboard Chrome truss rod wheel Standard nut Chrome battery cover Vintage logo 2 band EQ single H Through body stringing Mutes on the bridge (very cool!) with adjustable screws For the first time EVER, a 2 EQ 5 string with a normal Ray scratchplate [/quote] Thanks for all that, much appreciated... A Ray I heard someone playing the other day was a 3EQ model, is the sound of the 2EQ radically different? Think I'm going to get one, there is a nice looking black one on the marketplace for what looks like a fair price... Rob

Which Stingrays are the ones with the figured maple necks? are they the new classics?

No.. In fact why am I even reading this thread....

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1382429451' post='2251907'] When I'm playing a line, I'm playing it because it sounds right. Which, by happy coincidence, must also mean the theory behind it is solid. [/quote] If it sounds right then it is right... You obviously have an inherent musical feel for what is right. I sadly don't... However with a thorough knowledge of which modes I can use over which chords, I find myself coming up with tuneful melodic basslines that I simply could not do naturally by ear... I find that through knowing the theory I am able to write much more interesting music than my natural ability would have allowed me too...

[quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1382424549' post='2251842'] I agree and I know that no one bass can do everything but lets be honest I think it is mostly about knowing your own ability's and finding a bass thats comfortable and that suits your musical style way I see it is no matter how much I practice and no matter what gear I have I am never going to be Billy Sheehan or Flea or any other master bass player I am just going to be "me" and have my sound and just be as good as I can be [/quote] Yeah exactly... I think it's part of our development as musicians to find a bass that best communicates whats we have written to those that are listening. At the end of the day our bass is only a tool we use to play our basslines... Its what we are playing that really counts. I'm still searching for my sound..... Rob

I think its pretty normal to go through the entire spectrum of basses until you find the one that suits you. Sometimes it might be the first one you ever tried you end up going back to. This is much more sensible approach than buying a P bass first, never trying anything else and declaring that it's the only bass worth having.... something I see a lot of on BC....

[quote name='booboo' timestamp='1382400154' post='2251800'] My theory knowledge is pretty sound, but I'm always in awe when I hear a great 'ear' player. There seem to be a lot of players who read well, and a lot who play well by ear, but the guys who do both truly well are rare. It seems there are a lot of jazz or ear players who are a bit daunted by sheet music, and and many good readers who live in dread of turning up for a gig where there is no book or chart and just being told to listen. I also think just as it's said a blind persons hearing gets more acute, a non reader/busker (generally) has good ear to finger skills on the bass. Readers might be able to do some pretty complex things at sight but are often trapped by reading and formal musical training into turning off the inner ear to an extent, holding onto the chart like a non-swimmer holds onto the side of the pool. The best musicians are of course the rare ones that are just as happy reading as they are using their ears (clever bastards!). [/quote] The thing is, knowing about theory doesn't necessarily mean reading sheet music. If you know all the shapes and notes on the fretboard and can establish what key a song is in, it is a lot easier to work stuff out by ear, as you are choosing from a pattern of notes as opposed to guessing from the entire fretboard.

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1382367644' post='2251276'] Yeah. It's an absolute [email="b@stard"]b@stard[/email] when that happens! [/quote] Yeah sorry I read that back and it does sound terrible arsey... This is probably why I don't have any friends.... I kinda meant it in the context of turning up to a jam for the first time and launching into a song you've never heard before, after being told it's in a different key to the one it actually is....

[quote name='ShergoldSnickers' timestamp='1382367303' post='2251262'] Done without theory. Noodling on a keyboard in fact. [media]http://www.ianhalstead.com/bc/samples/Orcastrated.mp3[/media] BUT... I'd be able to expand on it and do something with it far more effectively if I knew more theory. And the instruments would remain correctly within their register, etc, etc. And I would have finished it. [/quote] I don't have audio at work sadly to listen to that... The thing is though, it is of course possible to write a solo piece using whatever notes you like. It's when someone else tries to add a counter melody to it that it becomes difficult if it doesn't follow an established structure.

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1382367019' post='2251256'] The last bit is kinda A mixolydian, except for the F natural, but if that was a single note in a guitar or bass line it would be a passing note to the E. D-A and Bb-Eb are both I-IV, the Eb to the A mixolydian bit would sound nice and bluesy if it was in a guitar or bass line, flat 5 to A. [/quote] Another one of my pet hates is when someone writes something that is clearly in A Mixolydian then tells me the song is in A.... no its not.. its in D

[quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1382365311' post='2251216'] We do a lot like that but rarely stick to roots.....our guitarist often 'tries' to communicate with theory...last night he was trying to work out which key a new middle8 is in...I said that it doesn't really have a key and he conceded defeat...so what key would a passage that went D,up to A, up to Bb,down to D#, upto A, down to C#, up to G, down to D through F and E be in???? whoops I've just given away our latest middle8.. [/quote] Well with D#,E & F in there, it doesn't really fit into anything as that's pretty much chromatic... You've got a C# and a D# in there, so the F and G would also be sharp, if you made that Bb an A# you'd almost be in B major... but still... I'd really struggle to come up with anything to fit a progression like that outside roots and 5ths... Obviously though, if it sounds good and fits with what your trying to sound like as a band then that's far more important! I personally just find it infinitely easier if everyone knows what key we're in... this seems to be a very rare occurrence though! I also find people say I'm difficult to work with... no idea why... Rob

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1382362624' post='2251165'] Not necessarily dropped from a great height - there are hardcases & hardcases. Hiscox ones are probably the best without going down the "full flightcase" route, whereas a lot of supposed hardcases like the Musicman ones are incredibly fragile & offer little more genuine protection than a good gig bag. [/quote] Yeah fair point, this was an 83 fender one, which (when shipped) was mint, that's why it was a bit of a shame....

It was the hardcase itself they managed to smash to bits on mine... annoying as it was original to the bass. I don't know how they managed to do it, it was a good thick solid bit of plastic with a metal brace. This wasn't just a knock... must have been dropped from a serious height.

Ouch... Its just pot luck really. I got a cab from parcelforce last week - completely undamaged, got a bass from UPS the previous week - case smashed to bits...

The problem with theory is that no-one else knows it... The amount of times I turn up for a jam and the guitarist has written a bunch of stuff that doesn't conform to any structure or key signature, "Who needs theory when it sounds cool man"... ... Coincidentally these are also the bands that only want you to play root notes.... I write every bassline I play from a theoretical perspective, knowing which notes work with which chord progressions etc... then again I have no soul.... Rob

A red one...

I had a jam with some guys at the studios on Denmark street last Friday... Not sure what it's called but to get to it you have to go down that little ally by hanks.. Not a great experience... it smelt of wee and only half the gear worked... Rob

Ended up in the Blues bar in Camden Saturday night. A band were on called the Frank Ash Band (I think) and the bass player had a stingray. Sounded absolutely fantastic. Punchy and smooth, cut through beautifully... Looked modern, single pick up, 3 EQ type thing to me, although the couple of hours I'd spent in cottons rhum shack prior to the gig had made things a little hazy... Want one now... Rob

[quote name='lojo' timestamp='1382335643' post='2250648'] Didn't jazz fm become smooth? [/quote] I thought it became a station that played birdsong on a loop?

Ordep bought my GK cab. Top guy, great communication and turned up exactly on time. Recommended. Rob

[quote name='Nick Riffed' timestamp='1382103431' post='2248020'] I have played lots of the regular "named" stuff but the thing that surprised me most was a Rickenbacker 4003. Up until I saw the comments on here I thought it must've been me! I was left wondering where the additional £900.00 had gone between the Rick and my poor little Tanglewood Warrior. (Yeah, I know) That price gap has now extended to about £1300!!! Why? How? I was so disappointed as I had always wanted one based I on the look of it. I have tried several since, in the off chance that it was a dodgy one, and sadly my opinion hasn't changed. [/quote] Yeah the general consensus seems to be that Ricks are a bit s**t...