Musicman Stingrays - Overrated ?

[mep]

1 hour ago, tom1946 said:

I have at the moment 2 sterling subs, the cheap ones, £325 or cheaper. They are 2 eq and I can't really find fault with them.

I did think the G was weak but when I asked the "deck tech" he said it was fine, it's your ears that's the problem and he's probably right as I am a bit deef in my left ear so I don't worry about it now.

I bought a Real Stingray 2eq in about 2008 and sold it on here about 3 years later and have been trying to get it back ever since. But these SUB's are almost as good imo. I've been a Precision man now for quite a while but I'n finding the stretch between frets is an issue because my hands are arthritic.

I have a sterling sub as my backup and practice bass. Yes they arrt great for the money and I'm very pleased with mine. When I first got it and gigged with it along with my 92 2eq Ray it was noticeably different and even our drummer noticed the difference. It didn't quite have the Ray oomph but certainly did ok. If you are on a budget a sterling sub would do you very well indeed. 

[stewblack]

I loved the neck on my Stingray. Felt just beautiful. Unfortunately I was always changing my right hand position away from what feels natural to me to avoid the pick up. It felt sharp and scratchy when my finger tips touched it.

The real reason I was happy to pass it on was the sound which just wasn't for me. I tried all the obvious things to tame it including stringing with flats, but it was always too lively and zingy for me.

It ended up as my audition bass. I took it along to show prospective bands that I had decent gear would you believe? So insecure was I.

Anyway I have since come to realise that it isn't Stingrays I can't enjoy, it is simply active basses. I've sold or am selling them all. I hope those of you who love them can forgive me for not sharing your taste and I wish you nothing but joy with your chosen instrument.

 

[stingrayPete1977]

19 hours ago, RedVee said:

If it's not the weak G string issue which has been around for years its the amateur bridge saddles that they fit on their top end basses. There is a definite shortage of quality when it comes to EB Basses.

I see you've just purchased a Rickenbacker!?!? 🤣

[MattM]

They’re not overrated, but those (like me) who love them, really love them.   I’ve owned 2 and 3EQ variants, and much prefer the 2EQ for its simplicity and beefier (to me) tone.   Never had any G issues either,   I find that people who don’t know them that well tend to max all the controls, giving you a trebly, scooped slap tone, and think that’s all they can do, hence the one trick pony perception.

With the 2EQ, I tend to max the bass, have the treble almost all the way off, and just fine tune the treble until you get just the bite you need.   The Ray, more so than any bass I’ve owned (e.g. Precision’s, Jazzes) is incredibly sensitive to hand position, play next to the neck and you get almost double-bass like tone, towards or over pickup really sharpens it up.   Pick tones are great, and we all know what a good slap tone it has.   One trick pony my a**e.

Id also state that the quality on Rays is incredibly consistent, I’ve had bad Fender Precisions in my time, but never a bad Ray, I’d also include a USA Sub I owned in this statement also.  

The active argument is interesting, I remember taking over from a P player at a band rehearsal (thrashy indie type outfit) and the drummer saying to me “god, I can actually hear you” so some guys do prefer active for that reason.  I accept however that for some other gigs and/or sound requirements, a P would be ideal.

Edited December 27, 2018 by MattM

[RedVee]

4 hours ago, stingrayPete1977 said:

I see you've just purchased a Rickenbacker!?!? 🤣

Yes I have, and I find it better than my Stingray Classic. Rickenbacker have corrected the faults that were there in the past and my 2018 4003 is a fantastic instrument.

[Chiliwailer]

2 hours ago, RedVee said:

Yes I have, and I find it better than my Stingray Classic. Rickenbacker have corrected the faults that were there in the past and my 2018 4003 is a fantastic instrument.

Oh my a Ricky, well you know what they say about people living in glass houses 🤣

(Couldn’t resist - it’s just banter, it’s not worth arguing over subjective opinion  ) 

[4000]

2 hours ago, RedVee said:

Yes I have, and I find it better than my Stingray Classic. Rickenbacker have corrected the faults that were there in the past and my 2018 4003 is a fantastic instrument.

My ‘72s pee all over the Stingray Classic I had. That was one of the worst basses I’ve ever owned; weighed a ton and very nasal sound. That went out the door sharpish.

[stingrayPete1977]

3 hours ago, RedVee said:

Yes I have, and I find it better than my Stingray Classic. Rickenbacker have corrected the faults that were there in the past and my 2018 4003 is a fantastic instrument.

They've "fixed all the issues"  yet you've listed the modifications it needs in your thread, lol. 

[stingrayPete1977]

49 minutes ago, 4000 said:

My ‘72s pee all over the Stingray Classic I had. That was one of the worst basses I’ve ever owned; weighed a ton and very nasal sound. That went out the door sharpish.

I presume it gained that weight and sounded nasal after you bought it then somehow? 

I've tried many Ric's, they were all junk in my opinion, so I didn't buy them! 

[4000]

 I got it in a trade along with something else I actually wanted. I didn’t like anything about it. 

Can you explain why is it that you take great pleasure in trashing Rics ad Infinitum but can’t handle it when someone slags Musicman basses? Don’t you think that’s a bit sad?

 

Edited December 27, 2018 by 4000

[4000]

3 hours ago, stingrayPete1977 said:

 

I've tried many Musicman Basses, they were all junk in my opinion, so I didn't buy them! 

Fixed. 😉

Seriously though, they weren’t junk. I just didn’t like anything about any of them. YMMV.

See how it’s done?

Edited December 27, 2018 by 4000

[stingrayPete1977]

22 minutes ago, 4000 said:

 I got it in a trade along with something else I actually wanted. I didn’t like anything about it. 

Can you explain why is it that you take great pleasure in trashing Rics ad Infinitum but can’t handle it when someone slags Musicman basses? Don’t you think that’s a bit sad?

 

Doesn't bother me at all, who says I can't handle it? , I play a USA Jazz most the time anyway. 

Did I trash the Ricky in the Ricky thread? 

You can't comment on terrible bridge saddles (that no one else has heard of) and say they are low quality compared to a Rick when in your own thread you are talking about changing the shoddy bridge, altering the pickup height to fix that issue, glueing the other pickup back in straight and having to fit a pickup surround on a hugely expensive bass without getting picked up on it. 

[stingrayPete1977]

18 minutes ago, 4000 said:

Fixed. 😉

Seriously though, they weren’t junk. I just didn’t like anything about any of them. YMMV.

See how it’s done?

I'd start a 'Rickenbacker basses, Overated?' Thread but hardly anyone rates them highly anyway 🤣

Junk. 

[Ricky 4000]

5 minutes ago, stingrayPete1977 said:

Doesn't bother me at all, who says I can't handle it? , I play a USA Jazz most the time anyway. 

[...]

So would you say a Jazz is "better" than a MM then? 😁

To be honest, this smacks of "My Dad drives a Vauxhall, so Fords are crap".

I want at least one of everything to be fair.

Except a Gibson. I hate Gibsons. 💩

[RedVee]

1 hour ago, 4000 said:

 I got it in a trade along with something else I actually wanted. I didn’t like anything about it. 

Can you explain why is it that you take great pleasure in trashing Rics ad Infinitum but can’t handle it when someone slags Musicman basses? Don’t you think that’s a bit sad?

 

Because they are the same people that frequent every Bass forum and who defend EB whenever anybody states a true fact about poor EB quality control. Their names are well known wherever they frequent.

Edited December 27, 2018 by RedVee

[drTStingray]

6 hours ago, Chiliwailer said:

Oh my a Ricky, well you know what they say about people living in glass houses 🤣

(Couldn’t resist - it’s just banter, it’s not worth arguing over subjective opinion  ) 

Indeed - I find it quite alarming that a bass that's been in production for over 40 yrs in lots of different variants draws these subjective opinions - as if all are exactly the same.

Never let facts get in the way of biased conjecture.

 

[drTStingray]

1 hour ago, RedVee said:

Because they are the same people that frequent every Bass forum and who defend EB whenever anybody states a true fact about poor EB quality control. Their names are well known wherever they frequent.

You could say exactly the opposite as it's usually the same people deriding Stingray basses and quoting issues 'they have'. Well it shows how long it's been since you've frequented such places - look on Talkbass - you'll find threads with hundreds if not thousands of responses and hundreds of pages on the 2018 Stingrays mostly positive - from vast numbers of different people. 

So unfortunately your statement is also wrong - what do they say about fake news and rumour? 

Glad to see you like Rickenbackers though - I really can't understand why you would ever buy a Stingray Classic if that's the sound you wanted!!

Edited December 28, 2018 by drTStingray

[RedVee]

This thread is not about Rickenbackers which have their flaws, it is about Stingrays so stop trying to divert away from the subject matter. People can see for themselves if they go onto TB where they can view the 3 Stingray fanboys on this thread who defend EB to the hilt and never admit that there are any flaws on any EB Basses at all. It is trollish behaviour, and we all know their usernames.

 

[Delberthot]

I have a EBMM Sterling and a Rick. I changed the tuners to Ultralites on both basses as I found them both slightly neck heavy. 

Both basses have their place although I'm enjoying the Rick more at the moment as it's still relatively new but will be using the Sterling when we go into the recording studio at the beginning of next year

[RedVee]

Any pics of the Ric?

I have a 2 band band Stingray Classic that has the usual flaws which I hardly play though I do like its tone. I have just recently purchased a Rickenbacker 4003 which I can't put down and I prefer it over my Stingray. I don't understand how people can dislike Rics they are a fantastic Bass.

 

[stingrayPete1977]

9 hours ago, RedVee said:

Because they are the same people that frequent every Bass forum and who defend EB whenever anybody states a true fact about poor EB quality control. Their names are well known wherever they frequent.

I'm not on any other forums. 

[stingrayPete1977]

All mine are five string so I don't have the weak G, this thing about saddles is new to me so I'm not sure yet what "the usual flaws" are yet. 

[chris_b]

Define "usual flaws" so that it's such not a meaningless term.

My first 5 string bass was an MM SR5. I played it for about 4 years. It had a good punchy tone and no dead spots or "problems" that I recall. It was on the heavy side but my back problems hadn't started so I could deal with that. I didn't particularly like the fretboard, if I remember correctly, had sharp edges not rolled.

I only sold it because a US Lakland 55-94 came up at a great price. Sorry MM fans, IMO the Lakland was in a different league.

[stingrayPete1977]

The 55-94 is a great bass, and twice the price though? 

I dont think any SR5s have an unrolled board, maybe less than some. 

[Paddy515]

On 27/12/2018 at 08:22, stewblack said:

I loved the neck on my Stingray. Felt just beautiful. Unfortunately I was always changing my right hand position away from what feels natural to me to avoid the pick up. It felt sharp and scratchy when my finger tips touched it.

The real reason I was happy to pass it on was the sound which just wasn't for me. I tried all the obvious things to tame it including stringing with flats, but it was always too lively and zingy for me.

It ended up as my audition bass. I took it along to show prospective bands that I had decent gear would you believe? So insecure was I.

Anyway I have since come to realise that it isn't Stingrays I can't enjoy, it is simply active basses. I've sold or am selling them all. I hope those of you who love them can forgive me for not sharing your taste and I wish you nothing but joy with your chosen instrument.

 

Hunt out a passive USA SUB - no disernable difference in tone from an active version but far more user-freindly as regards controling its "zingyness"