MM 2018 Stingrays

[Deedee]

I for one certainly wouldn’t call Stingrays agricultural, I love them to bits old and new.  In fact my current fave is my ‘new’ 2007 HH Stingray closely followed by my pair of Sterlings. 

So, perhaps agricultural is a little strong, but several of us have said that the new Specials are a little more ‘refined’ so perhaps we all mean a little nearer the same thing than may at first be apparent.  I personally quite like heavy basses so the lesser weight of the Special isn’t a huge deal for me and rarely do I venture up the ‘dusty end’ of a neck, so the improved access at the heel isn’t of great benefit either.  But the whole package makes for a very impressive bass.

I can see that the inherent features of the Special would perhaps make them sufficiently more appealing to warrant further investigation to someone who for whatever reason wasn’t a fan of the Std Stingray.

[mcnach]

Well... I like tractors.

[LukeFRC]

My mate who was a farmer had very good equipment, well maintained and looked after. It was heavy duty and his tractor was from the 1930s and still going strong.

he hadn’t however mastered the art of putting a fence up that could stop a sow on heat escaping but that’s a different conversation. 

When I say agricultural would Land Rover defender vs Velar be more helpful? 

[martthebass]

6 minutes ago, LukeFRC said:

 

When I say agricultural would Land Rover defender vs Velar be more helpful? 

As our lass would say...’keep digging, keep digging’

[LukeFRC]

55 minutes ago, martthebass said:

As our lass would say...’keep digging, keep digging’

I would say I call a spade a spade ... but think that would make it worse

[Deedee]

1 hour ago, LukeFRC said:

 

When I say agricultural would Land Rover defender vs Velar be more helpful? 

😮     Possibly not 

[drTStingray]

11 hours ago, mcnach said:

Well... I like tractors.

I guess someone has to - rather like caravans, they have the ability to massively annoy the rest of the motoring populace on country roads........and nothing to do with Stingrays. I guess a good analogy would be a Range Rover - capable of agricultural activity but also luxurious and powerful (not sure whether the build quality analogy fits - perhaps Toyota for build quality). 

Yes having had my 4HH Special for 6 weeks or so and done a range of gigs, rehearsals etc I'd describe it as a refined instrument. It's supremely comfortable to play. Well pleased!! 

[Chiliwailer]

Had mine 5 weeks now and also well pleased.

I played my 2015 Stingray for quite a while this afternoon, they may be 'obsolete' now, but in no way does that take off the gleam or spoil their legacy, they'll always be such fine basses IMO (and Mr Sadowski too  ) 

[fretmeister]

Sterling Ball's video claiming they were coming in at about 8lb is looking a bit inaccurate!

[fretmeister]

2 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

Wasn't that for the H rather than the HH?

Possibly, but a pickup doesn't weigh 1.2 lb!

 

Even the really heavy EMG MM5C (five string) is only 0.8lb

[Chiliwailer]

3 hours ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

Probably a little off the pace now after all the furore has died down, but my new luggage scales tell me that my 4HH Special weighs in at 9.26lb.

Whilst not lightweight, it's pretty close to 9lb which is significantly lighter than my old 4HH by a good few pounds.

I’ve heard of a few similar Specials on TB, and saw some when I was at Andertons weighing them, including a single H. Others were around 8.3lbs if I remember right? 

My old Ray was a similar weight, I wonder if they are using up old stock? At least it ain’t a killer weight , and no doubt it’s nice and resonant too. 

[Chiliwailer]

...actually, having thought about it... the new hardware takes about 1lb off doesn’t it? Maybe it’s the same wood as before and Sterling is telling porkies? 🤣

[Deedee]

Mine is certainly lighter than any Stingray I’ve had previously and it’s also far lighter than each of my Sterlings.

[casapete]

4 hours ago, Deedee said:

Mine is certainly lighter than any Stingray I’ve had previously and it’s also far lighter than each of my Sterlings.

I'm getting very interested in these now, will have to try one out somewhere ASAP.

[rodney72a]

The lighter hardware makes a (big) difference but there will still be variations in the weight of the wood. I think it's safe to say that - on average - the new StingRay Specials are lighter than their predecessors. (The guide weight on the EBMM website for the SR4S is now 8 lbs 8 oz, it was 9 lbs 5 oz for the old ones.)

It's always been possible to find light(-ish) StingRays, although you had to search a bit. My 'regular' (agricultural) SR4s go from 8.2 lbs to well over 10 lbs, several are under 9 lbs. No SRSs in the stable so far.

Edited October 27, 2018 by rodney72a

[Deedee]

11 hours ago, casapete said:

I'm getting very interested in these now, will have to try one out somewhere ASAP.

Ahem .............

https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/331797-2018-ebmm-stingray-special-4h-charcoal-sparkle-with-ebony-board-new-price-£1800/

 

[martthebass]

11 minutes ago, Deedee said:

Ahem .............

https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/331797-2018-ebmm-stingray-special-4h-charcoal-sparkle-with-ebony-board-new-price-£1800/

 

Hurry up and buy this one Pete....I'm getting tempted but fortunately I'm still about £500 short......

[casapete]

14 hours ago, martthebass said:

Hurry up and buy this one Pete....I'm getting tempted but fortunately I'm still about £500 short......

Me too Mart, by a bigger margin....🙁

[drTStingray]

On 26 October 2018 at 02:20, rodney72a said:

The lighter hardware makes a (big) difference but there will still be variations in the weight of the wood. I think it's safe to say that - on average - the new StingRay Specials are lighter than their predecessors. (The guide weight on the EBMM website for the SR4S is now 8 lbs 8 oz, it was 9 lbs 5 oz for the old ones.)

It's always been possible to find light(-ish) StingRays, although you had to search a bit. My 'regular' (agricultural) SR4s go from 8.2 lbs to well over 10 lbs, several are under 9 lbs. No SRSs in the stable so far.

I think this is spot on - and to echo Deedee, my SR4HHS is significantly lighter than any other Stingray (or Sabre) I have. Strangely the two that come nearer to it are both two pick up (Classic Sabre - with mahogany body and SR4HH 2007 LE. At the time, several others commented on the light weight of their 2007 LEs of various configurations - maybe they used a batch of lighter ash. The multi-pick up variants have a much bigger chunk of wood routed for the electronics, which probably more than compensates for the extra component weight). 

You ought to try some SRSs  Rodney 72a - they really are impressive in many ways. 

A couple of other points, when these were first in production AJ posted a list of weights of 4 and 5 string basses produced - they all hovered within or just below the 8 lb range. And remember, it's generally only us over 40s that stress about instrument weight - my son's quite happy to gig a 12 lb + Ibanez Musician!! It certainly was never a consideration in my younger days. I was mainly after the sound and something I could play with ease. 

Perhaps this says something about a changing demographic of the guitar buying public!!  

Edited October 27, 2018 by drTStingray

[rodney72a]

13 minutes ago, drTStingray said:

You ought to try some SRSs  Rodney 72a - they really are impressive in many ways. 

I'm sure they are! Two SRS5s on order. December/January arrival was the latest estimate. 

[drTStingray]

1 hour ago, rodney72a said:

I'm sure they are! Two SRS5s on order. December/January arrival was the latest estimate. 

Great - think you'll be impressed. The latest on my 5HHS is first/second week January. 

[fretmeister]

The routing does not compensate for pickup weight.

 

Pickups are way heavier than the wood removed for them.

 

having routed my own sr5 I know this intimately.

[drTStingray]

3 hours ago, fretmeister said:

The routing does not compensate for pickup weight.

 

Pickups are way heavier than the wood removed for them.

 

having routed my own sr5 I know this intimately.

The rear of the lower bout on a multi pick up Stingray is almost entirely routed (which is not the case on the H versions) as the HH (and discontinued HS) have rear mounted electronics - this is what I meant. 

[drTStingray]

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!

 

[Chiliwailer]

That colour looks pretty good on a 4, but it looks GREAT on a 5 🤪

Nice one!