stingrays..pre ernie ball or not

[drTStingray]

The Bongo has a lovely sound. And if you turn up that bass control...........wow - watch out any wall not capable of taking the blast!! I understand the Reflex is similar!! Note to self - must think about buying one of them.

[Kiwi]

[quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1374655442' post='2151285']
To get the Louis Johnson slap sound you need a sabre or two pick up ray and have both pick ups on. I have an HH Ray and love it totally.
[/quote]

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CslkVhOoE2U"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CslkVhOoE2U[/url]

Hmm, are you sure?

[Dingus]

[quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1374655442' post='2151285']
I've been following this debate/ruck with interest. I have an early 2010 Classic Stingray and it is without doubt a fantastic instrument. It has the same pre as all post 79 2 band Rays with the addition of a couple of features to stop you frying the pre (listens for all the vintage guy's sharp intakes of breath and cries of its not original then - all I can say is whatever floats your boat - and I know what floats mine). Pete I'm also shocked. I had a 79 ray bought new in 79 - it's what turned me against fender basses - to this day!! And the 2010 is everything the 79 was but built better, with more consistency and a rather good after sales service. The biggest sound shifter with these basses is your amp,it's settings and the strings. You can lose the top end shimmer easily just by cutting or boosting your tweeter.

To get the Louis Johnson slap sound you need a sabre or two pick up ray and have both pick ups on. I have an HH Ray and love it totally.

I get a lot of compliments about the sound of both instruments and one is played sometimes in a classic genre populated by the most anal of anal retro gear and instrument buffs. They often concede that the 2010 Classic (it is fitted with flat wounds and sometimes has the mutes on) sounds live how an old Precision sounds recorded - or possibly compliments the music even better. For me it's one of the best bass sounds known to man.

As a self confessed Musicman enthusiast I don't currently have a pre EB. That they are good there is no doubt - I used one for about 10 yrs so I know. The modern basses do everything the old ones did but have the advantage of great build quality and possibly broader sounds plus you get that 'new car' feeling and vibe from them. I'm afraid a brand new car has always done more for me than a tatty vintage one but that's just my personal view!!
[/quote]

Hi Dr T , haven't heard from you in a while . My take would be that , yes , there are some slight differences between the old and new Stingrays , but like I said before , they are far more similar than they are different , and they all sound unmistakably like Stingrays . I would buy an EBMM Classic without hesitation if I wanted a nice two band Ray and even then , the reason I would get the Classic is more for the look than the sound . A regular EBMM Ray would sound close enough to an original Stingray for me , I think , but for my taste a Stingray has to have the old-style bridge with the mutes , despite the fact that I would never use the mutes ! As it is , my Reflex does the Stingray thing job for me . I can't comment on how Stingray neck profiles have or havent changed , but one thing I will say is that I keep reading that the Reflex / 25th Anniversaryt has a Bongo neck profile . It doesn't ! The two are quite distinctly different . I love my Bongo too , but for my tastes I seldom use the active EQ except for some very slight tweaks occasionally . The flat sound of the bass is usually perfect for what I want . Despite coming out in 2003 , there is something about the Bongo that takes me right back to the mid-late 1980's , both in terms of sound and its' overall "vibe" , whenever I play it . It would have been a massive hit with players of that time if it had been around back then in that era of hi-tech basses , so I suppose it's a bass that is ahead of it's time that came out twenty years too late , if that makes sense !

[drTStingray]

[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1374663173' post='2151415']


[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CslkVhOoE2U"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CslkVhOoE2U[/url]

Hmm, are you sure?
[/quote]

Erm yes I've heard this and that Ray has a special pick up according to Louis - it certainly sounds pumped up. Im not Louis dont have his skils or ludicrously large hands for that matter but my Rays dont sound quite like that - they are less overdriven.

Kiwi I'm sure you must have tried this before but the finger style to slap transition in Stomp seems so clearly to fit single pick up MM for finger style and twin pick up MM with that phenomenal scoop sound for the short slap solo as to be obvious - and just a switch click separates them.

[Kiwi]

There are all sorts of ways to create a slight break up, he could have the gain turned up too much somewhere along his signal chain. Where did you see that there was a change to the pick up? This is interesting. I guess he could have wired the coils to series rather than parallel but his bass sounds pretty similar to my 78 apart from the slight break up and mine is stock (ie. parallel)

[drTStingray]

Hi Dingus yeah I've been busy with other things - including a lot of bass playing. I see you have yet another classic avatar!!! V impressive!

I agree with everything you say about the Bongo - fabulous instrument. I have one with 5 strings and a piezo but it spends too much time in its case. I have 3 gigs this weekend so I may give it an outing!!

I also agree with your comments on the Classic v standard 2 band Ray. There are good deals to be had on the standard ones but the Classics are fabulous aesthetically and playing wise - amazing that some of the detail including figured necks and old fashioned chrome battery boxes appear to have come via forum requests while they were developing the models - and some of the initial colour options.

[drTStingray]

[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1374667281' post='2151499']
There are all sorts of ways to create a slight break up, he could have the gain turned up too much somewhere along his signal chain. Where did you see that there was a change to the pick up? This is interesting. I guess he could have wired the coils to series rather than parallel but his bass sounds pretty similar to my 78 apart from the slight break up and mine is stock (ie. parallel)
[/quote]

It's in one of the Louis Johnson bass tutorial things on You Tube. He says Leo made him about ten basses and that one has some special pick up magic - it sounds over wound to my ears.

Rod Trussbroken's (Gav's) site talks about the EQ development - quite a lot of changes between 76 and 78 but none of other than practical importance since 79. Is this possibly a result of artist requests/feedback? Remember high profile people like Carl Radle, the guy out of Supertramp, Springstein's bassist, Tom Petty's bassist etc etc using them at that time as well as funk players like Bernard Edwards and Rick James etc etc. According to Sterling Ball Leo took a lot of notice of the country players in receiving feedback on instruments.

Edited July 24, 2013 by drTStingray

[Dingus]

[quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1374667548' post='2151507']
Hi Dingus yeah I've been busy with other things - including a lot of bass playing. I see you have yet another classic avatar!!! V impressive!

I agree with everything you say about the Bongo - fabulous instrument. I have one with 5 strings and a piezo but it spends too much time in its case. I have 3 gigs this weekend so I may give it an outing!!

I also agree with your comments on the Classic v standard 2 band Ray. There are good deals to be had on the standard ones but the Classics are fabulous aesthetically and playing wise - amazing that some of the detail including figured necks and old fashioned chrome battery boxes appear to have come via forum requests while they were developing the models - and some of the initial colour options.
[/quote]

Glad you like the avatar . She's having a Civil Partnership soon , but that doesn't mean that I can't share my appreciation of her assetts with the wider bass- playing public . I would love to see a Special Edition Bongo with switchable series / parrallel electronics and coil selection . I had a sneaking suspicion EBMM might do something like that for the 10th anniverasry this year , but nothing came of it

[Kiwi]

[quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1374668127' post='2151517']
It's in one of the Louis Johnson bass tutorial things on You Tube. He says Leo made him about ten basses and that one has some special pick up magic - it sounds over wound to my ears.[/quote]
Ah ok, thanks for that. The winding process apparently was a bit erratic in terms of windings so it might well be overwound.

[Cairobill]

One thing I really love about the Ray is the way they feel extremely robust and ergonomic at the same time. They balance very well with no sign of nose dive, at least not in my experience. They are such a comfortable bass.

Tonally, I'm getting a big thumping sound in the studio from the two band. Really heavy tone. They do sound like a more aggressive P. I've chosen not to have full on zing and the bass is doing the business. GREAT bass....

[Dingus]

I think the apparent break up of the sound on the Louis Johnson clips is the result of the soundman in the T.V studio struggling to cope with the output of LJ'S bass and dynamic ( i.e loud ) playing style rather than anything to do with the bass itself .

[Dingus]

[quote name='Cairobill' timestamp='1374669581' post='2151558']
One thing I really love about the Ray is the way they feel extremely robust and ergonomic at the same time. They balance very well with no sign of nose dive, at least not in my experience. They are such a comfortable bass.

Tonally, I'm getting a big thumping sound in the studio from the two band. Really heavy tone. They do sound like a more aggressive P. I've chosen not to have full on zing and the bass is doing the business. GREAT bass....
[/quote]

One thing about Stingrays is that , even the tradition single H ones have got massive bottom end . I've never played a Musicman that lacked bass .

[Ou7shined]

[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1374663173' post='2151415']
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CslkVhOoE2U[/media]
[/quote]

I wonder how often he had to get his frets done..... like every other week?

[4 Strings]

For my tuppence, I've got two Pre-EBs and had two EBs, one 90s the other 2006. I have sold the two EBMM models and hope to keep the Pre-EBs forever.

The pre-EBs have a slimmer (front to back) neck and are not as heavy as the two EBs I had (especially the 2006). I really like slim necks and find the Pre-EB fantastically comfortable. I found the neck on the 2006 too clubby altogether. I've played on another recent offering and found it the same. Regarding the neck, for me, Pre-EB, no question. I'm having a custom made and the neck will be heavily based on my '80 'Ray.

The wood selected for the neck is far superior for the older models. The grain is flat as you look at the end of the neck and consistent. The pattern is to the top and the grain very even and tight. The grain on the neck of the 2006 was, frankly, all over the place, not consistent and the pretty bit was on the bottom. Some care was evident in wood selection and positioning for machining on the Pre-EBs, not on the later models.

Soundwise, way less preference. They all sounded absolutely fab. I really like Stingrays, I think only some experience on G&Ls may sway me away. I prefer the 3 band EQ which would tend me away from Pre-EB.