MM 2018 Stingrays

[Musicman20]

Amazing colour! Enjoy...

[drTStingray]

13 hours ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

Looks fabulous. I’m sure you guys know Marcello from You Tube. He has commented on the proximity of the strings to the edge of the fretboard on SR5’s.

i presume that’s a non-issue on these new Stingrays?

Thanks - the combination of colour, black hardware and ebony board/roasted maple is quite striking. I may get a black pg for it as well though I like the white as it is - to be honest, I ordered this having seen a photo of one when they were first announced - which had a black pg. 

The neck profile and string spacing etc doesn't seem any different to me - however I have not had any instance of pushing the G off the edge yet - I find that playing a 5 I have to be more accurate - especially as the spacing is narrower.

Ive also never had an issue with my Bongo 5 with that either.

I have a gorgeous natural/maple ceramic pu SR5 from 2003 - now I do very occasionally push the G off the edge on that - usually after I've been playing 4 strings for a few weeks and go back to the 5 - that said, done once you just adjust and play more accurately - exactly the same as failing to mute the B properly, getting confused which string you're on - forgetting the ability to play two octaves across the strings.

I saw Marcello's video and whilst it's definitely possible to do this, for me it's a case of adjusting your technique slightly so you don't bend the string the wrong way - anyone who plays Fretless will know that doing that on any string wrecks your intonation - so it's an element of the design and doing it continually is a technique issue - one I understand as it's very easy to get excited playing a groove and playing inaccurately in lots of ways (even hitting the wrong notes!!)

All basses have compromises and I prefer the overall playability of the Musicman 5 string neck. Btw this roasted maple neck is so slick to play - the ebony and stainless steel frets possibly give a little more ring to the notes - slap sound is great as well - I'm very pleased with my pair of Specials 👍

 

Edited November 18, 2018 by drTStingray

[fretmeister]

13 hours ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

Looks fabulous. I’m sure you guys know Marcello from You Tube. He has commented on the proximity of the strings to the edge of the fretboard on SR5’s.

i presume that’s a non-issue on these new Stingrays?

that's a design feature!

 

Takes a while to get used to it. Their guitars are the same too.

[mcnach]

18 hours ago, drTStingray said:

Another NBD for me - this time a Stingray 5HHS. I picked it up earlier today - had a bit of a play in the shop and it sounds very nice - I was curious how the B string would sound with the revoiced pre amp - didn't need to worry as its a tight and focussed sound even with the bass fully boosted (and it's got a lot of bass boost).

Anyway, after a 7 month wait here it is!

 

 

sexy!!!

[rodney72a]

Finally joined the club!

[Chiliwailer]

2 hours ago, rodney72a said:

Finally joined the club!

That’s a nice pair. Grain on the burst is gorgeous.

is there much tonal difference between them? 

[CameronJ]

@rodney72a you got 2 at the same time??

[Musicman20]

8.7 lbs is crazy for a Ray 5! 

[fretmeister]

That has settled it. If some of the 5s come up as 8.7lb then I’m saving up for one.

 

Then I’ll still rout it out too!

[drTStingray]

19 hours ago, rodney72a said:

Finally joined the club!

Superb - I'm sure you'll enjoy them - that sunburst does have gorgeous ash figuring as well. 

The aqua sparkles wildly in the right lighting. 

 

[rodney72a]

20 hours ago, Chiliwailer said:

That’s a nice pair. Grain on the burst is gorgeous.

is there much tonal difference between them? 

Don't know, haven't plugged them in yet. They're in a queue.

[rodney72a]

14 hours ago, CameronJ said:

@rodney72a you got 2 at the same time??

Yes, the idea was to get one traditional finish and one that's a bit more flamboyant. Since all my other SR5s have rosewood boards, I wanted to go maple and ebony on these. (Also CITES induced, to a degree.)

[rodney72a]

13 hours ago, Musicman20 said:

8.7 lbs is crazy for a Ray 5! 

I think it's not unusual for the Specials anymore. The guide weight on the EBMM website for the SR5 Special is 9 lbs 2 oz, which is about halfway between mine. 

[miles'tone]

I was in Wunjo's a couple of weeks ago and finally got my hands on a special.

F**k me I was impressed! It was an all black, roasted maple board bass with fingerprints all over it. 

My No.1 bass is a 62 relic Custom shop P but if they had offered me a straight swap I would have. It was so light and easy to play... and that neck! 

Plugged in it was so versatile and punchy - the new pickup (single H version) and pre were amazing. So much so that I didn't want to try any other bass in there. Every slight of turn of the eq was valid plus  finger placement really made such a difference.

As a purely p bass guy these days I was sold! I used to play an 86 Stingray for many years but these specials are in a different league.

The only negative - for want of a better word - was that acoustically the ray was not as vibrant or 'alive' sounding as my custom shop, but the new eq is the bomb and more than compensates.

Imho the specials have lost nothing of the Stingray sound but gained so much more.

Smitten!

[Deedee]

 

5 minutes ago, miles'tone said:

I was in Wunjo's a couple of weeks ago and finally got my hands on a special.

F**k me I was impressed! It was an all black, roasted maple board bass with fingerprints all over it. 

My No.1 bass is a 62 relic Custom shop P but if they had offered me a straight swap I would have. It was so light and easy to play... and that neck! 

Plugged in it was so versatile and punchy - the new pickup (single H version) and pre were amazing. So much so that I didn't want to try any other bass in there. Every slight of turn of the eq was valid plus  finger placement really made such a difference.

As a purely p bass guy these days I was sold! I used to play an 86 Stingray for many years but these specials are in a different league.

The only negative - for want of a better word - was that acoustically the ray was not as vibrant or 'alive' sounding as my custom shop, but the new eq is the bomb and more than compensates.

Imho the specials have lost nothing of the Stingray sound but gained so much more.

Smitten!

They certainly are pretty special. I’m spending a lot of time playing mine now (after a momentary lapse of reason thinking I needed a HH) and the more I play it, the more I love it. As you say, the EQ is so useable throughout the range and to me seems far more controlled than the 3 band on a std ‘ray.

[Chiliwailer]

3 hours ago, miles'tone said:

I was in Wunjo's a couple of weeks ago and finally got my hands on a special.

F**k me I was impressed! It was an all black, roasted maple board bass with fingerprints all over it. 

My No.1 bass is a 62 relic Custom shop P but if they had offered me a straight swap I would have. It was so light and easy to play... and that neck! 

Plugged in it was so versatile and punchy - the new pickup (single H version) and pre were amazing. So much so that I didn't want to try any other bass in there. Every slight of turn of the eq was valid plus  finger placement really made such a difference.

As a purely p bass guy these days I was sold! I used to play an 86 Stingray for many years but these specials are in a different league.

The only negative - for want of a better word - was that acoustically the ray was not as vibrant or 'alive' sounding as my custom shop, but the new eq is the bomb and more than compensates.

Imho the specials have lost nothing of the Stingray sound but gained so much more.

Smitten!

I’ve got an HH Special and an original 66 P Bass, like you the Sprcial has won me over and the 66P is rarely played much now (but still much loved). I’ll aim to keep it, but reality says when the wife and I move house, or if I leave my job and have to pay back money towards my Masters, it’ll need to be sold - I’m convinced I wouldn’t be able to justify another P, the Special is just too good and so versatile. 

[garyt]

I played a few 4-string  Specials the other day, and there must be something wrong with me.  I actually prefer the older Stingrays 4s. I did think the action was set quite high on the Specials and was advised that was the factory set up.   I definitely preferred the 5-string Specials over the 4s, but the Stingray V 30th anniversary model stood out for me. 

[Chiliwailer]

11 minutes ago, garyt said:

I played a few 4-string  Specials the other day, and there must be something wrong with me.  I actually prefer the older Stingrays 4s. I did think the action was set quite high on the Specials and was advised that was the factory set up.   I definitely preferred the 5-string Specials over the 4s, but the Stingray V 30th anniversary model stood out for me. 

Nah, I doubt there’s anything wrong with you! IMO the older Rays have that lovely raw tone and are still awesome basses. Ideally I would have kept my 2015 Ray as well, for that reason. 

Again IMO, too many shops don’t know how to, or can’t be bothered to, look at wether the truss rod needs setting. I wonder if that was the issue and it needed a tighten? 

[Deedee]

5 hours ago, garyt said:

I played a few 4-string  Specials the other day, and there must be something wrong with me.  I actually prefer the older Stingrays 4s. I did think the action was set quite high on the Specials and was advised that was the factory set up.   I definitely preferred the 5-string Specials over the 4s, but the Stingray V 30th anniversary model stood out for me. 

I've gave mine a tweak when I bought it and then more recently I've lowered the action again (and changed the string gauge) to get it bang on as to how I like my basses.

To be honest I've never bought a bass (new or used) that hasn't needed a tweak to get it exactly how I like them. I think there's a thread on here discussing the fact that everyone has their own idea of a decent set up and 'factory spec setups' are often a million miles away from how many players would like them set. 

Edited December 5, 2018 by Deedee
Typo

[drTStingray]

It helps when the design allows such an easily tweaked action via the spoke wheel truss rod. 

Ive reset both of my Specials recently - the 5 taking a bit more to and fro than the 4 - to be fair it was probably still settling as I only picked it up last month - and as we all know the weathers been up and down quicker than the proverbial - if Virgin Trains air con can't keep up (I've had a couple of sweltering journeys recently - on warm days following freezing ones) what chance your brand new living, breathing wood with low action!!

Anyway they are both now perfectly set for me and are staying like it, so I'm very happy!! 

[danny-79]

I’m a huge Musicman fan so I’m biased, possibly hated by fellow MM owners cause mine weren’t doing what I wanted so modified them to suit. 

Regarding prices of new basses/guitars I honestly don’t know what’s happened over the last decade. The quality has in a lot of cases gone down and the price tags over doubled?!?! 

[kyuuga]

4 minutes ago, danny-79 said:

I’m a huge Musicman fan so I’m biased, possibly hated by fellow MM owners cause mine weren’t doing what I wanted so modified them to suit. 

Regarding prices of new basses/guitars I honestly don’t know what’s happened over the last decade. The quality has in a lot of cases gone down and the price tags over doubled?!?! 

Why do you say the quality has gone down?

If anything the new 2018 Stingray Specials are being praised for having extreme high quality and being boutique-level instruments.

[danny-79]

2 minutes ago, kyuuga said:

Why do you say the quality has gone down?

If anything the new 2018 Stingray Specials are being praised for having extreme high quality and being boutique-level instruments.

Sorry, I meant generally the quality of new stuff in general not Musicman, there new stuff just keeps getting better and warrants the extra $€£. In my opinion they are about the only one that does

[martthebass]

51 minutes ago, danny-79 said:

Sorry, I meant generally the quality of new stuff in general not Musicman, there new stuff just keeps getting better and warrants the extra $€£. In my opinion they are about the only one that does

I don't disagree with you on the pricing point though.  There's been a number of comments on the TB site regarding price hikes.  The price hikes on the Caprice and Cutless in particular have drawn attention and comment made that the $500 hike earlier this year effectively caused the demise of these two models.

[danny-79]

7 minutes ago, martthebass said:

I don't disagree with you on the pricing point though.  There's been a number of comments on the TB site regarding price hikes.  The price hikes on the Caprice and Cutless in particular have drawn attention and comment made that the $500 hike earlier this year effectively caused the demise of these two models.

Shows how upto date I am. I didn’t know they were being discontinued but saying that I can’t say either of them ever appealed to me, just not my thing. 

What I was more on about was the general rise in costs of guitars/basses across the board some of them are just silly money for an average bass/guitar (my fault going off topic)