No Zing from 5 string StingRay

[cloudburst]

Was a bit stressed at lunchtime today, so I dropped into a music store that I hadn't been in for absolute years, and noticed a few MusicMen and Markbasses.

I'd wanted to try out a SR5 for a while and there was a new one on the wall.

First I plugged in a new Sterling 4H. What a lovely bass to play. I have a fretless Sterling but this was the first fretted Sterling I've played. Oh man it was fine. Far nicer to play than I remember my own SR4 being back in the 1980s.

Then I plugged in the new SR5H. Man was I underwhelmed. Certainly it felt nice in the hands. And not as terminally heavy as I'd expected. But just no zing. Compared to my Bongo, my Sterling and the fretted Sterling in the shop, it just sounded dull. Tried all the settings on the bass. The Markbass combo remained on flat settings throughout.

What gives? Would I have had a different experience had I played an SR5H from about 6 or 7 years ago?

CB

Edited January 15, 2013 by cloudburst

[ambient]

Strings, my SR5 has plenty of zing !

[risingson]

No zing?? God, mine's got loads. In fact I've never had problem getting top end out of any Stingray I've ever played, even under the most difficult circumstances that preamp [u]will[/u] give you splitting treble if you crank it.

Markbass stuff I've tried and gigged has sometimes had a 'muted' top end to its natural sound I've noticed.

[PTB]

Depends what you mean by flat. Mark Bass amps have a filter that rolls off the top/zing. If that was at noon, that would explain it.

[Cairobill]

Yep, the VLE (vintage loudspeaker emulator) is a fantastic knob, it will give even the most zingy, sizzly bass a dark, low middy thump, which I love. Set at 12 o'clock it will take the sizzle off a Ray.

[LeftyJ]

TS is a Markbass player, according to his signature. I'm pretty sure he knows how the VLE works

[Lfalex v1.1]

AlNiCo pickups are back in the SR5, versus ceramic in the Sterling and Neodymium in the Bongo.
That, eq settings and strings are likely to be the biggest contributors.
I moved my SR5 in for exactly the same reason.
No sparkle, even though it was fretless, it was just [i]dull[/i]...

[stingrayPete1977]

Dead strings and dead battery? I own both versions, both have plenty of zing

[cloudburst]

Thanks folks. Must take another look at that particular bass when I get a chance. I didn't have all that much time, so wasn't able to really analyse. Settings were the same on the amp for both basses so all I really did was fiddle about with the SR5 settings to no avail. First thing to try will be to have a play on the SR5 unplugged - just to take a view on the strings.

CB

[TRBboy]

I picked up an SR5 in Guitar Guitar in Brum last year and had a similar experience.... Really dull and flat and not a very gutsy output! The strings were a little dull, but there was more to it than that. A/B'd with w Lakland Skyline 55-01 it sounded decidedly weak! Weird......

[matski]

Strange... I have a SR5 that has had the same set of DR FatBeams on it for 3 years, and every time I play it I think "Ooh, a bit too much zing".

[lettsguitars]

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' timestamp='1358260313' post='1935772']
AlNiCo pickups are back in the SR5, versus ceramic in the Sterling and Neodymium in the Bongo.
That, eq settings and strings are likely to be the biggest contributors.
I moved my SR5 in for exactly the same reason.
No sparkle, even though it was fretless, it was just [i]dull[/i]...
[/quote]That is surprising. With neodymium getting a bit of attention recently due to its ever increasing rarity (used in wind turbines) I would not have expected to find it in commercial pickups at all. I use it extensively but have only ever seen it in one other, the qtuners.

Edited January 16, 2013 by lettsguitars

[Lfalex v1.1]

[quote name='lettsguitars' timestamp='1358331708' post='1936986']
That is surprising. With neodymium getting a bit of attention recently due to its ever increasing rarity (used in wind turbines) I would not have expected to find it in commercial pickups at all. I use it extensively but have only ever seen it in one other, the qtuners.
[/quote]

I think a few others use it here and there in some pickups, but not right across the range (Delano rings a bell)
Definitely a contributor to the BIG Bongo sound, along with the 18v electrics and 4 band eq..

[Graham]

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' timestamp='1358332006' post='1936990']
I think a few others use it here and there in some pickups, but not right across the range (Delano rings a bell)
Definitely a contributor to the BIG Bongo sound, along with the 18v electrics and 4 band eq..
[/quote]
Dingwall use it in their pickups.

[quote name='lettsguitars' timestamp='1358331708' post='1936986']
That is surprising. With neodymium getting a bit of attention recently due to its ever increasing rarity (used in wind turbines) I would not have expected to find it in commercial pickups at all. I use it extensively but have only ever seen it in one other, the qtuners.
[/quote]
I believe the price of neodymium has been falling in the last year as the USA have stepped up production to compete with China