Stingray 5 vs Stingray Classic 5

[obi 2 kenobi]

Hi, does anyone have both these basses ? If so, how do they compare ?

I have a normal Stingray 5. Curious to know what the Classic 5 is like (potential next purchase)

Thx

[Musicman20]

What year is your Ray 5? I ask because some have ceramic pickups, some (the latest as well from 08-onwards) have the 'normal' alnico pickups.

My view? My Classic Ray 5 is probably my favourite bass guitar of ALL time...and I've had around 30-40 basses in my collection come and go since I was 12/13. Note - I have never owned anywhere near that amount at once and never will.

I have a lot of Musicman basses, but the Classic Ray 5 is just absolutely killer. The workmanship is superb, the figuring on the neck is stunning. The EQ seems to suit the low B very well. The bass just sounds EXACTLY how I want a bass to sound, and plays extremely fast.

In terms of sound, mine is a maple board. The difference is that the Classic seems quite snappy, very cutting, aggressive, snarly, lots of punch....but obviously drop the treble, flats on the bass, it is very old school.

The neck is a lovely glossy fast neck...not natural feeling like the normal Ray 5. The body has no contours. The mutes are a lot of fun.

[obi 2 kenobi]

Thanks.

My Stingray 5 is from 2000, so Ceramic. Personally it sounds great and easily cuts through in any band setting. More so than the SR4 2EQ I used to have (which kind of got lost in twin Les Paul situations)

[Rumple]

The Classic 5 I owed for a while was absolutely lovely but ultimately I found the lack of contouring on the body a bit uncomfortable and I prefer unfinished or a satin finish to necks so I moved it on and went back to SR5's.

[stingrayPete1977]

I've got all three, ceramic, alnico and classic

Review later....

[stingrayPete1977]

Well the neck is awesome, glossy birsdeye maple but not sticky, funky old logo,one less fret.
The body on mine is one solid piece of wood, unlike the 2 piece on my proper US Jazz V.

The string through bridge with mutes is cool, possibly adds a little string tension in a good way? (Compliance?).

Gloss pickguard is nice, general overall finish is as good as anything I've ever seen in the flesh.

Mine is Tobacco Burst, it's not as orange as the pictures make out, being a May 2010 5 string Classic it's possibly the oldest one in the uk,and one the very first worldwide.

The 2EQ and Alnico pickup make it sound just like any other 2 EQ Ray, trying a regular 2 EQ in a shop will be near enough to know if it's for you, any debate you can google about 2 EQ and 3 EQ applies here as All EBMM Ray 4s are Alnico (afaik).

The slab body doesn't affect me at all, I had two pre EB Rays before my Classic5.

I found the treble lacking in mine and fitted a John East preamp, during the last few years I've been cutting the treble on all my basses more and more so I'm going to put the original one back in and see if my ears were just playing up! (Also I think the East circuit may have blown up!!!).

I went all out brand new to buy an Alnico SR5 in 2010 before getting the Classic, the Blue Pearl, sounds just like a Stingray should and is very versatile tonally, I then wanted a 5 string backup so I traded a Teal SR4 for the black 2007 SR5 which is one of the last ceramic ones and a mongrel, 2004 fretted neck as it was a fretless with matched headstock and LEDs, it also got the other updates like the new battery box position and horizontal selector switch, would have got a compensated nut but not on the older neck it has now, I love it! It's the cheapest bass on the wall yet it's my go to for loads of gigs, the Ceramic humbucker, 3 EQ and with series option is as much as any bass can have to cut through live, if I can't hear myself when using it I know anything else would be worse.

My Classic is definitely my 'best' bass though, it just feels so nice and looks so good in the flesh, it's more different than you might expect to a regular SR5, if you look at it closely the only interchangeable parts are the tuners,string tree and strap buttons,look at what is different and wont fit an SR5, pickguard-nope, pickup-nope, neck-nope, nut-nope, neck plate-nope, battery box and chrome cover-nope, bridge-nope, frets-nope, 2EQ-nope, add in the vintage tint neck finish and birdeye or flame maple neck over the roasted to look like better wood option of a normal Ray and you can see how different they are and how the factory had to make bespoke tooling for every part.

[URL=http://s997.photobucket.com/user/stingraypete/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-12/20161208_193956_zps1wmudfp6.jpg.html][IMG]http://i997.photobucket.com/albums/af100/stingraypete/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-12/20161208_193956_zps1wmudfp6.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

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[URL=http://s997.photobucket.com/user/stingraypete/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-12/20161208_194059_zps5joz8hqd.jpg.html][IMG]http://i997.photobucket.com/albums/af100/stingraypete/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-12/20161208_194059_zps5joz8hqd.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[URL=http://s997.photobucket.com/user/stingraypete/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-12/20161208_194122_zpsxeiqb4sk.jpg.html][IMG]http://i997.photobucket.com/albums/af100/stingraypete/Mobile%20Uploads/2016-12/20161208_194122_zpsxeiqb4sk.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Edited December 8, 2016 by stingrayPete1977

[drTStingray]

A couple of things I would add to Pete's extensive review.

1) The strings through definitely adds sustain
2) I have a classic SR4, an Old Smoothie SR4, a US Sub 5 and a ceramic SR5 (2003). The US Sub 5 is a Classic in utilitarian clothing, without strings through and with a poplar body - it has a great 2 band MM sound and a great B string.
3) My ceramic SR5 is an absolute tone monster - it's natural ash but is far more resonant than the Sub - the body positively vibrates and that resonance transfers to the output sound - it's also a bigger instrument than the Sub - it also weighs upwards of 11 lb whereas the Sub is a feather weight for an MM - so much so that it suffers from neck dive seated as the body is so light. I'm not sure how heavy a Classic 5 would weigh but the 4s are about 9.5 lbs.
4) I have a beer gut body shape (gradually reducing, to be fair!!) - I don't have a problem with the lack of contours on any of the three 2 band basses mentioned.
5) Even though the SR5 is heavy, it is such a well balanced instrument, particularly on a strap, that providing a well padded strap is used it's not a problem for an old guy like me to gig!! However I've heard of SR5s that are much lighter - around 9 lbs.

Edited December 9, 2016 by drTStingray

[stingrayPete1977]

My blue one is no different to many SR4s weight wise,the classic maybe a tad heavier but not bad, the black one is HEAVY! I think that's why it lost it's fretless neck as the lady that ordered it managed to find I lighter one and swap them over, if a Pao Ferro comes up with a black headstock but not on a black bass it will probably be the other bits of mine

[stingrayPete1977]

I will weigh them and report back.

[obi 2 kenobi]

Thank you guys for all the replies !! Basschat is great.

My SR5 is super light (4.1kg) with most of the weight in the neck. It sounds great though.

Based on the info you guys provided and my own experience of owning a 1978 SR4 2EQ for years, I am leaning towards another SR5 but Alnico this time, as I fear a 2EQ will not cut through in every band setting

[stingrayPete1977]

I think the classic with the John east three band that fits on the standard plate would be the best of everything, I might see if John will part exchange mine (it is working, loose connection fixed last night), then again when the 2eq works it sounds awesome!