fretmeister Posted August 26, 2017 Share Posted August 26, 2017 (edited) It sounds brilliant. Ray spacing and neck, with Precision sound. While I enjoyed the EMGs I had in it (and the abuse for installing them) the Aguilar 60s pickup is lovely. Unexpected benefit- with the EMGs it weighed 9.2lb. Those are very heavy pickups. Now it's only 8.4lb !! Edited December 12, 2017 by fretmeister 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted August 26, 2017 Share Posted August 26, 2017 I do like to see people messing around with basses to get what they want. Congrats on devising a unique (afaik) bass that suits your needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted August 26, 2017 Share Posted August 26, 2017 Best kind of ray! Not a big fan of them as standard... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CameronJ Posted August 26, 2017 Share Posted August 26, 2017 Very cool. Nice work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted August 26, 2017 Author Share Posted August 26, 2017 It was Paul_C who did the work for me. I only had the idea. I shouldn't be trusted with soldering irons! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lojo Posted August 26, 2017 Share Posted August 26, 2017 Lovely idea and job , love the simplicity of the p bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle psychosis Posted August 26, 2017 Share Posted August 26, 2017 That's cool. Good work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted August 26, 2017 Author Share Posted August 26, 2017 Been playing it a lot this afternoon. Bass, Darkglass AO, Cali compressor, Amp. Really enjoying it. In 2 weeks I'll be back on duty with the local educational trust music group I play with and I'm looking forward to giving it a run with some big band tunes and film themes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted August 26, 2017 Share Posted August 26, 2017 I have something very similar that Andyjr1515 knocked up for me - a Sterling 5 with one of those Aguilar 60s pickups in the sweet spot. I retained the MM humbucker but don't actually ever use it - that Aguilar pup is umptious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Valdemar Posted August 26, 2017 Share Posted August 26, 2017 [quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1503751368' post='3360707'] It sounds brilliant. Ray spacing and neck, with Precision sound. While I enjoyed the EMGs I had in it (and the abuse for installing them) the Aguilar 60s pickup is lovely. Unexpected benefit- with the EMGs it weighed 9.2lb. Those are very heavy pickups. Now it's only 8.4lb !! [/quote] Now that I could get on with! Well done. I'd love to hear it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted August 26, 2017 Share Posted August 26, 2017 You gotta do what suits you, I've butchered my USA Jazz bass and now I use it all the time as it suits me more now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Painy Posted August 26, 2017 Share Posted August 26, 2017 So now you have this Ray with a P pickup. Walshy is currently showing off his new Shuker Rockinfreakapotamus (Jazz with a Ray pickup) and a while ago mcnach modded his Matt Freeman precision to a pair of jazz pickups. Now that's a trio of basses I'd love to gig with! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCsBass Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 How are you finding the Aguilar 60's split coil? I keep thinking about getting one of those Squier Classic Vibe 70's Precisions and chucking the Aguilar in there, amongst other mods, but I've been distracted with how good my American Professional sounds with the new Fender V-Mod pickup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 I find it a very mellow organic vintage tone, doesn't really do aggressive. So really what is says on the tin. For a 4 string I actually prefer the Fender Original as it has a bit more variety but on 5ers the choice is not so great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted August 28, 2017 Author Share Posted August 28, 2017 I'm getting tons of clank from mine. Depending on how hard I play. Gentle = round full tone. Hard = proper clank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drTStingray Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 (edited) [quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1503909348' post='3361403'] I'm getting tons of clank from mine. Depending on how hard I play. Gentle = round full tone. Hard = proper clank. [/quote] That is because the sound of a Stingray and especially a Stingray 5 is contributed to heavily by the construction - the bridge especially with those deep seated bolts as well as screws and heavy mass, along with the body resonance (especially if it's an ash body). So you've got all of that as well as your vintage sounding P pickup. If you look at the bridges on the MM passive basses (Cutlass and Caprice - P and PJ) you'll see the bolts aren't included - when asked about this MM said it was deliberate and is part of the design to get a more vintage sound. Btw the weight loss may be to do with you having two defunct pick up routs and the pre amp/ multi switch rout - quite a lot of wood missing under that scratch plate now? Edited August 28, 2017 by drTStingray 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 [quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1503911436' post='3361427'] That is because the sound of a Stingray and especially a Stingray 5 is contributed to heavily by the construction - the bridge especially with those deep seated bolts as well as screws and heavy mass, along with the body resonance (especially if it's an ash body). So you've got all of that as well as your vintage sounding P pickup. [/quote]There was a video of Chris Squire playing a Lakland Bob Glaub on the Lakland website years ago. The bass (a P bass with a much bigger bridge) sounded just like Chris's Ric; clank a plenty. It seems that having a nice big chunk of metal holding the strings down, coupled with the classic split pickup, gives the player a good range of tones from a number of iconic manufacturers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted August 28, 2017 Author Share Posted August 28, 2017 [quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1503911436' post='3361427'] That is because the sound of a Stingray and especially a Stingray 5 is contributed to heavily by the construction - the bridge especially with those deep seated bolts as well as screws and heavy mass, along with the body resonance (especially if it's an ash body). So you've got all of that as well as your vintage sounding P pickup. If you look at the bridges on the MM passive basses (Cutlass and Caprice - P and PJ) you'll see the bolts aren't included - when asked about this MM said it was deliberate and is part of the design to get a more vintage sound. Btw the weight loss may be to do with you having two defunct pick up routs and the pre amp/ multi switch rout - quite a lot of wood missing under that scratch plate now? [/quote] No more routing since the EMGs went in. Here is the weight of a 40DC and the MM5CS. The 2 pickups together weigh 0.8 lb ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted August 28, 2017 Author Share Posted August 28, 2017 Stupid upside down picture! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misdee Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 Don't be surprised if EBMM steal your idea and start marketing this adaptation. They have already committed heresy by introducing a passive Fender- style P and PJ, so what do they have to lose? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drTStingray Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 [quote name='Misdee' timestamp='1503917738' post='3361501'] Don't be surprised if EBMM steal your idea and start marketing this adaptation. They have already committed heresy by introducing a passive Fender- style P and PJ, so what do they have to lose? [/quote] They already did create basses with a decent Precision sound (amongst others) - the Classic Sabre has a neck pick up single coil selection which sounds like a Precision (I have one - the setting is quite useful for occasional use) - the Big Al does a passive P sound really well. As one of the early Stingray prototypes had a P type pick up and more than one modified Stingrays with a P pick up have been featured on here it's hardly a new idea - interesting on a five string though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drTStingray Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 [quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1503914225' post='3361462'] No more routing since the EMGs went in. Here is the weight of a 40DC and the MM5CS. The 2 pickups together weigh 0.8 lb ! [/quote] Crikey that's a lot!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted August 30, 2017 Author Share Posted August 30, 2017 I was amazed - it was instantly noticeable when I picked it up. It's a bit concerning really - I was going to get the routs in my Marleaux enlarged a little bit so I could fit a pair of EMG soapbars in. But I might weigh one of the existing Delanos first to see. I don't want that bass getting any heavier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted September 18, 2017 Author Share Posted September 18, 2017 I've finally been able to use it in anger. On Saturday morning I played in the local educational trust music group in a variety of ensembles. Very happy with it. It sounds, not surprisingly, like a good P bass should. I've got the pickup quite high so there is plenty of clank available, but when played gently it's really round and plumby (is that a word?) too. Signal chain was the bass, a smidge of compression, and then my Darkglass M900 and a single Barefaced One10 cab. Don't need more cabs when playing next to woodwind instruments! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted September 18, 2017 Share Posted September 18, 2017 That looks really nice. I like the way the staggered pickup echoes the shape of the scratchplate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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