Skezza Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 (edited) Hi I am thinking of buying a really nice 5 string and am considering all those listed in the title. I thought I was sure about controls on these basses. BUT some stingrays have a 3 way fender type switch and some dont (I assume that is for tapping the single HB) All sterling seem to have a 3 way fender type switch (the same I assume) the Bongo has no switch If the guitar has no fender type switch is it that you cannot alter the configuration of coils in the humbucker. Up till today I thought I had it worked out then I saw a single pickup ray with a 3 way switch but the one I recently played which looked identical did not HELP Skez Edited February 18, 2012 by Skezza Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 The H versions of Ray 5 and Sterling 4/5 all have pickup selector switches. The Stingray 4 H does not. Once you get into double pups, they have selectors anyway. The Bongo has a blend control to go between the two pups. The best Stingray 5, for me, would be a Stingray 5 HS or HH; the single H does have a selector but the changes aren't as significant as it doesn't allow a single coil alone at the bridge. On the other hand, the Sterling 5 H will! There is a lot of differences...what tone and shape do you want? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynepunkdude Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 I have a 3 way switch on my Sterling, not sure what it does but it sounds best in the low position. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 [quote name='waynepunkdude' timestamp='1328457259' post='1527309'] I have a 3 way switch on my Sterling, not sure what it does but it sounds best in the low position. [/quote] Series/single-coil/parallel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynepunkdude Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Probably why it sounds best in that position. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime_BASS Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Switches and knobs do different things depending on the Pickup config as well as bass. Between the 3 basses the of the 5 string version the stingray 5 for me is the best, in particulaly the single H. HS and HH gives you the jazz and P sort of sounds but if you wanted those you'd get a P or a jazz right??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocco Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 I didn't get on with my bongo 4HH, much happier with my my ray 4 2eq. The bongo was just too much, fussy and complicated. But that's just me. At the end of the day tone is in your fingers and you don't need crazy eq systems to sound good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skezza Posted February 5, 2012 Author Share Posted February 5, 2012 The one Im most drawn to is the Bongo and I assume the HBs cannot be split as there is only a blend control. Do the bongos do the stingray sound? skez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 (edited) [quote name='Skezza' timestamp='1328458430' post='1527332'] The one Im most drawn to is the Bongo and I assume the HBs cannot be split as there is only a blend control. Do the bongos do the stingray sound? skez [/quote] The HH Bongo has different pickup placement to the 'Classic EBMM' tone...the H bridge is further back thus sounds more bitey, mid-rangey, etc. It does still sorta do a Stingray tone IMO....you can tell its a Musicman no problem! The H Bongo only has a 3 band EQ (I say only....its just a different flavour) so the H Bongo is basically very Stingray-ish as the pickup is in the classic sweetspot. It will sound much more modern and clean compared to a Stingray as it has a massive 18V pre-amp and neo pups. Very very clear tone! If you get the Piezo single H, then you get a 4 band EQ as well. All HH and HS Bongo's, whether Piezo or not, are 4 band. You can't get the single coils from the humbuckers on a Bongo...unless you get the HS...and that's only the neck pickup....as you cannot get the bridge humbucker to split into a single. The problem with 2008-onwards Stingray 5's in H (and H only) is that the selector isn't as exciting as it used to be. That selector now does series, parallel, and something else....but NO single coil at the bridge. A Sterling 4 and 5 WILL allow you to do this in single H...just because of the way they are. To give you a brief rundown, the Sterling uses ceramic magnets and the Stingray 4 and now 5 uses alnico. The Stingray 5 used to use ceramic as well for a period. When they designed the Sterling 5, they essentially took the Stingray 5 ceramic pup and elecs and put it into the Sterling, thus making the whole Sterling series 'match', and the whole Stingray series 'match'. This is when its useful to know which year of Stingray 5 you are testing. Anything 2008 - = classic alnico tone. BUT, make sure you pickup a HS if you want to be able to use single coils for Jaco type stuff or a P bass type tone at the neck. Edited February 5, 2012 by Musicman20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 [quote name='Prime_BASS' timestamp='1328458182' post='1527326'] HS and HH gives you the jazz and P sort of sounds but if you wanted those you'd get a P or a jazz right??? [/quote] Its close, but still Musicman DNA...lets face it, all Musicman basses sound like a Musicman no matter what the pups/EQ configuration. The bridge H sounds EXACTLY the same no matter what with a Stingray H, or HS, or HH...the extra pups don't make any difference. What they do is give you more tone and flexibility....which is not a bad thing considering the upcharge isn't much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skezza Posted February 5, 2012 Author Share Posted February 5, 2012 Im looking at a secondhand HH bongo which is a good price and I do like the look. Iv e always fancied a stingray five but they are all more than I have to spend the Bongo 5 is a very good price skez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocco Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Bongos def do not do the ray sound Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 [quote name='cocco' timestamp='1328476029' post='1527813'] Bongos def do not do the ray sound [/quote] Not dead on, no, but its in the same ballpark (basically it sounds like an EBMM Humbucker!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocco Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 I found the neodymium magnets a lot more brilliant in sound than the ray. There was definate MM DNA but no ray growl. The bridge pickup is set closer to the bridge on a bongo, and the sustain from the neck isn't the same, the eq makes up for it but changes it slightly too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime_BASS Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 [quote name='cocco' timestamp='1328477160' post='1527857'] I found the neodymium magnets a lot more brilliant in sound than the ray. There was definate MM DNA but no ray growl. The bridge pickup is set closer to the bridge on a bongo, and the sustain from the neck isn't the same, the eq makes up for it but changes it slightly too. [/quote] I wouldn't say 'brilliant' I'd say more cleaner, compared to the passive esque distortion you get from the sterling's ceramic and the stingray's alnico. My sterling has a SD alnico in and a JE MMSR so it's essentially a stingray, and it definitly sounds it compared to a strandard sterling. The Big Al SSS has neodynium and that did do everything, I just wish it has alnico single coils. [quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1328475202' post='1527789'] Its close, but still Musicman DNA...lets face it, all Musicman basses sound like a Musicman no matter what the pups/EQ configuration. The bridge H sounds EXACTLY the same no matter what with a Stingray H, or HS, or HH...the extra pups don't make any difference. What they do is give you more tone and flexibility....which is not a bad thing considering the upcharge isn't much. [/quote] Agreed musicman sounds like a musicman (the difference is a lot clearer solo than in a mix compared with other musicman models and copies) However I was merely being simplistic in that if you was going to get a musicman it may aswell be a single H version, this is what they do best. I'm a one bass kind a guy and I find I can get every tone/sound out of my sterling with the single H, and a lot of others arn't(single bassers) so they would naturally have a Jazz or a precision (like you haha!!)aswell or something similar to do that. The rest is merely subderfuge. If I really had to make a choice on a bass it would be a sterling, it does the stingray sound easily in a mix and the (better IMO) jazz single coil back pickup sound (useful for a RATM covers band, which I want to do haha) it also wieghs less. The best 5 stringers Musicman have done are the Stingray classic 5 and the SUB 5. Purely from a stingray design point of view the Stingray 5H has never really been a stingray, always some kind of sterling/silhouette hybrid. Anyway, it's not been said but you should really go out and try them, even if it's just a 4 string model, it'll sound the same as the 5 string versions. That way you'll know what sounds best for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skezza Posted February 6, 2012 Author Share Posted February 6, 2012 [b]Thanks[/b] [b]thats the problem I played the sterling and loved the neck and range of sounds[/b] [b]played my mates ray got the sound I expected (it has the 3 way switch) and the chunkier neck was ok I used to play precisions[/b] [b]Ive never played a bongo and cant find one close enough to home to try.[/b] [b]I have heard the bongo demos on You tube but not tried one[/b] [b]skez[/b] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluRay Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 [quote name='Prime_BASS' timestamp='1328487486' post='1528071'] However I was merely being simplistic in that if you was going to get a musicman it may aswell be a single H version, this is what they do best. I'm a one bass kind a guy and I find I can get every tone/sound out of my sterling with the single H, and a lot of others arn't(single bassers) so they would naturally have a Jazz or a precision (like you haha!!)aswell or something similar to do that. The rest is merely subderfuge. [/quote] Its HH for me all the way! The extra pup suites my playing style better than the H version. Doesn't sound like like P or J bass, just a more versitile Stingray. Worth a try anyhow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 [quote name='BluRay' timestamp='1328538274' post='1528642'] Its HH for me all the way! The extra pup suites my playing style better than the H version. Doesn't sound like like P or J bass, just a more versitile Stingray. Worth a try anyhow. [/quote] +1 The HH Ray is a stunning bass. I absolutely love mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 [quote name='Skezza' timestamp='1328534373' post='1528550'] [b]Thanks[/b] [b]thats the problem I played the sterling and loved the neck and range of sounds[/b] [b]played my mates ray got the sound I expected (it has the 3 way switch) and the chunkier neck was ok I used to play precisions[/b] [b]Ive never played a bongo and cant find one close enough to home to try.[/b] [b]I have heard the bongo demos on You tube but not tried one[/b] [b]skez[/b] [/quote] I'm the same. I haven't had much experience with a Bongo but I want one...probably 4 or 5 HH. They have just this month announced the new lightweight tuners for the Bongo/Reflex/Big Al, so if you order a new one it will have new tuners. My plan is to wait until I have almost all the money and just order a new one...probably won't be til near the end of 2012. 2013 is the 10 year Anniversary of the Bongo and I bet they will release a special edition. IF you daren't take that leap, the Sterling 4/5 and Stingray 4/5 are exceptional anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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