Stingray purchasing advice required.

[Treb]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1490274967' post='3263831']
What you really want is a used Classic Ray, now we're talking awesome quality
[/quote]

In other words, there's no substitute for the real thing (in either 2 or 3-band).

After 20+ years of StingRay tone lust I bought a new EBMM Sterling. A Sterling because I wanted a smaller body and narrow neck. It's a 2010 3-band EQ and has that sound I wanted for so long. It has the oiled neck and excellent fit & finish. I bought it online (untested) but it was all I hoped for and more. I believe you can buy a new EBMM bass unseen and it will not let you down. These are quality basses.

[casapete]

[quote name='Treb' timestamp='1490294408' post='3264089']
In other words, there's no substitute for the real thing (in either 2 or 3-band).

After 20+ years of StingRay tone lust I bought a new EBMM Sterling. A Sterling because I wanted a smaller body and narrow neck. It's a 2010 3-band EQ and has that sound I wanted for so long. It has the oiled neck and excellent fit & finish. I bought it online (untested) but it was all I hoped for and more. I believe you can buy a new EBMM bass unseen and it will not let you down. These are quality basses.
[/quote]

Yup, never played a duff new EBMM. Loved my EBMM Sterling too, but constantly surprised by how many weigh as much ( or
even more ) than an EBMM Stingray, despite the smaller dimensions.
If anybody has a really light one, please let me know....

[stingrayPete1977]

I think these SBMM ones are great basses but they aren't cheap, I know which would be a safe place to invest £800 given the choice of a new SBMM or a used EBMM that's all.

[casapete]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1490305418' post='3264247']
I think these SBMM ones are great basses but they aren't cheap, I know which would be a safe place to invest £800 given the choice of a new SBMM or a used EBMM that's all.
[/quote]

Absolutely.
£800 should easily buy a nice s/h EBMM Stingray, which will hold it's value should you ever need to move it on.
Quality never goes out of style.

[Storky]

[quote name='casapete' timestamp='1490302216' post='3264200']
Yup, never played a duff new EBMM. Loved my EBMM Sterling too, but constantly surprised by how many weigh as much ( or
even more ) than an EBMM Stingray, despite the smaller dimensions.
If anybody has a really light one, please let me know....
[/quote]


Impulse buy and I seem to have got a new EBMM Sterling! Happy with it though and a very reasonable 8.5lbs which makes it my lightest bass, just a little less than my Classic 50's P.

[miles'tone]

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1490229705' post='3263509']
I own more USA Stingrays than any other type of bass, but I have played many others types including Sub's and 34's. I can tell you that I have not found one non-USA Stingray that is a patch on the real thing.
The build quality and options on a USA are far superior to anything achieved on a non-USA. I fear we will run around in circles regarding the sound which is subjective, but I would argue the same on that count.

Case in point, this arrived yesterday....



It's a USA Stingray 4HS 'Starry Night' SLO with MHS. I'm fairly particular about my basses as some here will attest to. I would not hesitate one second to send it back if it didn't meet my expectations.
Hand on heart, I can't think of a single way that this bass could be improved.
[/quote]

Literally took my breath away.💓Perfection. 👌

[Treb]

[quote name='Storky' timestamp='1490351666' post='3264474']
Impulse buy and I seem to have got a new EBMM Sterling! Happy with it though and a very reasonable 8.5lbs which makes it my lightest bass, just a little less than my Classic 50's P.
[/quote]

You know the drill. Pics or it didn't happen...

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='Storky' timestamp='1490351666' post='3264474']



Impulse buy and I seem to have got a new EBMM Sterling! Happy with it though and a very reasonable 8.5lbs which makes it my lightest bass, just a little less than my Classic 50's P.
[/quote]

Ace

[Storky]

[quote name='Treb' timestamp='1490355759' post='3264529']
You know the drill. Pics or it didn't happen...
[/quote]

Here she is:

[attachment=241492:IMG_0407.JPG]

[attachment=241493:IMG_1747.JPG]

[attachment=241494:IMG_1748.JPG]

[casapete]

Great looking Sterling, the grain is ace.
Not a bad weight too, nice one!

[Treb]

Very nice Sterling Storky! Lovely grain on the ash. Enjoy it!

[Roger2611]

I love the USA Sub bass, I have owned 7 or 8 Stingrays over the years and had never taken to any of them, I still loved the looks but not the sound, I tried the Ray 34 and really didn't like that, anyway a £300.00 USA Sub came up last year so I brought it and, guess what, I love it, it is my main gigging bass now, so forward a few months and I was offered a 92 USA Ray with 3 band EQ and a maple neck for a sensible price, so I wondered, had I just grown into the Musicman sound of was the Sub something special?

I used them both at a rehearsal and the band was in total agreement that the Sub sounded far better, more aggressive, more bite and sat better in the mix than the USA full fat Ray, so my question was answered, the USA Sub is something special! Get one whilst you can, mine is another one that is now permanently off the market!

[stingrayPete1977]

That's like saying the chequer plate pick guard sounds better than a normal one

[mcnach]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1490550984' post='3265897']
That's like saying the chequer plate pick guard sounds better than a normal one
[/quote]

Not really. It could easily be he had one of the early SUB basses with the pickup wired in series. It is why I prefer the sound of my 2003 SUB to my 2002 Stingray.

[stingrayPete1977]

How much would a push/pull series pot cost, a fiver?

[Bolo]

Who has a spare fiver to waste, these days?

[Count Bassy]

[quote name='Bolo' timestamp='1490563496' post='3266054']
Who has a spare fiver to waste, these days?
[/quote]
The new plastic ones are meant to last longer, but to me they seem to go just as quickly as the old ones.

[Count Bassy]

[quote name='Jecklin' timestamp='1490125444' post='3262441']
Oh and as for a compensated nut, it's the solution to a problem that didn't exist
[/quote]
I experimented with a compensated nut in my younger days (well actually a compensated zero fret), and I found that it made a noticeable improvement to the intonation. If one was available on a bass that I could afford then I'd go for it.

[djaxup]

for me nothing beats the US 2-Band Stingray. The old S.U.B. Basses are very close sometimes in tone, but they feel more clumsy and just not as good as the real ones.

2-Band vs. 3-Band... my take on this subject:
the 3-band is easier to use, it is very intuitive to use and its almost impossible to dial in bad tone. Also more varied.
the 2-band has a bit more zing in the top end and a lot more deep low end booty. If your amp and cab can dish out serious low end you will for sure notice the difference. The 2-band has a phat deep low end to die for. Many amps have a built in HPF that essentially cuts out the lowest lows. If you think all that happens down there is unwanted rumble then you have yet to hear a bass/cab/amp combo that really delivers in that region. Feet massage and low end punch that can be felt without overpowering the other instruments is something very nice.

[40hz]

[quote name='djaxup' timestamp='1490623104' post='3266533']
for me nothing beats the US 2-Band Stingray. The old S.U.B. Basses are very close sometimes in tone, but they feel more clumsy and just not as good as the real ones.

2-Band vs. 3-Band... my take on this subject:
the 3-band is easier to use, it is very intuitive to use and its almost impossible to dial in bad tone. Also more varied.
the 2-band has a bit more zing in the top end and a lot more deep low end booty. If your amp and cab can dish out serious low end you will for sure notice the difference. The 2-band has a phat deep low end to die for. Many amps have a built in HPF that essentially cuts out the lowest lows. If you think all that happens down there is unwanted rumble then you have yet to hear a bass/cab/amp combo that really delivers in that region. Feet massage and low end punch that can be felt without overpowering the other instruments is something very nice.
[/quote]

The SUBs use the exact same pickup and pre-amp. How can they be "close sometimes"?. My USA SUB 'IS' the Stingray sound. I much prefer it to the full fat 3-band model I had.

[djaxup]

yeah the one I had a while sounded close to my 2-band. I measure every Stingray against my '91 Stingray, and up until now no other ray like bass came close to it... but... every bass sounds different.

The stingray sound is as easily identifieable as the J or P Bass sound, still every single one sounds a bit different. I've had good sounding and not so good sounding p-basses - still every one of them sounded like a P.

[Mudpup]

[quote name='40hz' timestamp='1490624638' post='3266553']
The SUBs use the exact same pickup and pre-amp. How can they be "close sometimes"?. My USA SUB 'IS' the Stingray sound. I much prefer it to the full fat 3-band model I had.
[/quote]

You have an exceptional Sub there though......it has something special going on with it. I played a couple of others before i bought that one and they didn't sound quite as good as [s]mine [/s]yours :-)

The 3 band USA Rays have a built in HPF on the board i believe - thats what makes the crucial booty difference between a 2 and a 3 band. I have a full fat 2 band Ray and it sounds a bit different to the Sub - its a wee bit scoopier and maybe a touch warmer in the low end. Your Sub has more slam to it in my opinion - perhaps the lower mids are a bit more prominent with it. Vey close but quite different when you play them back to back. And the 3 band one i had was way different to either - not as warm and more brittle sounding than the Sub or 2 band. I had the luxury of using all 3 for about a year so became quite familiar with the differences.

djaxups post above makes a lot of sense re the cabs you use with a Ray. I have a couple of Barefaced BB2 gen3 cabs and they can throw enough bottom end out to make you sick without breaking a sweat. Consequently the difference between all 3 was quite pronounced. If you use a less extended cab you probably wouldnt notice so much of a difference between the 3 types.

Edited March 27, 2017 by Mudpup

[mcnach]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1490559927' post='3266007']
How much would a push/pull series pot cost, a fiver?
[/quote]

remember the Stingray pickup does not have 4 wires coming out of it. You can stil 'tap' each coil, and while not being exactly as delicate as brain surgery, there is the possibility of screwing up a great pickup, and you won't buy a replacement easily. Hence... the Stingray remains untouched. Just in case. But it has a 3-band MMSR preamp. The SUB is good 'as is' with the original 2-band preamp. It's not like the Stingray sounds bad, just that the SUB sounds better.

[drTStingray]

Thus bass already exists (US Sterling with 3 way selector for parallel/series/single coil.

I understand MM do sell replacement pick ups and EQs also.

[Treb]

[quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1490722914' post='3267417']
Thus bass already exists (US Sterling with 3 way selector for parallel/series/single coil.

I understand MM do sell replacement pick ups and EQs also.
[/quote]

Sound-wise the Sterling is kinda like a StingRay on steroids. It has a ceramic magnet pickup, the StingRay has alnico. It still very much sounds like a MusicMan though. While the switch brings three sounds I only use mine in parallel mode.