Stingray 5 Maple vs Rosewood

[Delamitri79]

Alright folks. I've the opportunity to buy a 1999 stingray 5 with a maple neck or a 2013 stingray 5 with a rosewood neck. 

I've played both and I'm still torn. I like the bite of the ceramic pups from the 99 but I like cut through of the rosewood on the 2013. 

Someone put me out of my misery. 

 

[stingrayPete1977]

If you want the classic Ray tone then the 2013 every time Imo 

[ead]

Go with your heart.  If you gig a lot nobody will be able to tell the difference in any case or maybe

Edited June 9, 2019 by ead

[leschirons]

I've got a 2000 Ray 5 with maple neck. 

I love it, it's a keeper,  so playable compared to my later rosewood 5. Not so dark tone-wise as the rosewood but can cut through any mix. Seem to have a much wider tone palette with the maple and can easily achieve any thing from Status quality hi-fi cleans to Bernard's  Le Freak however, the preamp has been changed. 

Bottom line, I  love it. And, a Ray looks seriously cool with a maple board.

[Bolo]

No SR5 has ever lacked cut through. Low-middy tonal character plus very effective preamp will always let you be heard. Just check the truss rod, look for any warping or dead spots on the neck. If both are fine buy the pretty one.

Edited June 9, 2019 by Bolo

[chris_b]

My first 5 string was an SR5 with a one piece maple neck and f/b. I didn't get on with the sharp edges. I prefer a fret board with rolled edges, which you get with the rosewood. .

[miles'tone]

In the long run, picking the least heavy one will be the best choice. 

[leschirons]

1 hour ago, miles'tone said:

In the long run, picking the least heavy one will be the best choice. 

Good point😆

[skidder652003]

10 hours ago, leschirons said:

I've got a 2000 Ray 5 with maple neck. 

I love it, it's a keeper,  so playable compared to my later rosewood 5. Not so dark tone-wise as the rosewood but can cut through any mix. Seem to have a much wider tone palette with the maple and can easily achieve any thing from Status quality hi-fi cleans to Bernard's  Le Freak however, the preamp has been changed. 

Bottom line, I  love it. And, a Ray looks seriously cool with a maple board.

nearly as nice as my jazz

[NancyJohnson]

For reasons too long to put into words, if you like how they both play, then revert to the lowest common denominator, which is the visual aesthetic.  Which one looks the nicest, which one do you think would look better on you and which one do you want to keep picking up time and again.

Born from a discussion as whether Geddy used a Rickenbacker or a Fender Jazz on Farewell To Kings, Gary/cetera and I put on a bass blind shoot out at last years SE Bass Bash; 25-30 attendees tried to select the correct bass from the fifteen that were submitted for the test.  The highest mark was 3.5/4 out of 15, there were quite a few zeros with some people not even recognising how their own basses sounded.  It's highly unlikely that once you're in a band environment the nuances that you're applying will make any difference.

 

[chris_b]

51 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

. . . . which one do you want to keep picking up time and again.

This.

It has to sound good, feel good and look good. If you can't make those decisions. . . walk away.

They are not for you. Wait until you find a bass that you "know" ticks those boxes.

[Delamitri79]

13 hours ago, stingrayPete1977 said:

If you want the classic Ray tone then the 2013 every time Imo 

I'm not sure if it's the classic Ray tone I like. I got hooked onto bass with Tim commerfords bass tone on the 1st RATM album and that's what I love. 

[Delamitri79]

13 hours ago, ead said:

Go with your heart.  If you gig a lot nobody will be able to tell the difference in any case or maybe

"go with you heart"   I hear ya brother ❤️

[Delamitri79]

12 hours ago, leschirons said:

I've got a 2000 Ray 5 with maple neck. 

I love it, it's a keeper,  so playable compared to my later rosewood 5. Not so dark tone-wise as the rosewood but can cut through any mix. Seem to have a much wider tone palette with the maple and can easily achieve any thing from Status quality hi-fi cleans to Bernard's  Le Freak however, the preamp has been changed. 

Bottom line, I  love it. And, a Ray looks seriously cool with a maple board.

There's just something about the maple isn't there. 

[Delamitri79]

11 hours ago, Bolo said:

No SR5 has ever lacked cut through. Low-middy tonal character plus very effective preamp will always let you be heard. Just check the truss rod, look for any warping or dead spots on the neck. If both are fine buy the pretty one.

Cheers mate. Thanks for the tips. I'm trying out both this week at different gigs 

[Delamitri79]

11 hours ago, chris_b said:

My first 5 string was an SR5 with a one piece maple neck and f/b. I didn't get on with the sharp edges. I prefer a fret board with rolled edges, which you get with the rosewood. .

I genuinely haven't noticed any sharp edges on the maple board. 

[Delamitri79]

1 hour ago, NancyJohnson said:

For reasons too long to put into words, if you like how they both play, then revert to the lowest common denominator, which is the visual aesthetic.  Which one looks the nicest, which one do you think would look better on you and which one do you want to keep picking up time and again.

Born from a discussion as whether Geddy used a Rickenbacker or a Fender Jazz on Farewell To Kings, Gary/cetera and I put on a bass blind shoot out at last years SE Bass Bash; 25-30 attendees tried to select the correct bass from the fifteen that were submitted for the test.  The highest mark was 3.5/4 out of 15, there were quite a few zeros with some people not even recognising how their own basses sounded.  It's highly unlikely that once you're in a band environment the nuances that you're applying will make any difference.

 

I was always a great believer in the aesthetics of a bass regardless of how it sounded, it has to look good. 

[Delamitri79]

12 hours ago, leschirons said:

I've got a 2000 Ray 5 with maple neck. 

I love it, it's a keeper,  so playable compared to my later rosewood 5. Not so dark tone-wise as the rosewood but can cut through any mix. Seem to have a much wider tone palette with the maple and can easily achieve any thing from Status quality hi-fi cleans to Bernard's  Le Freak however, the preamp has been changed. 

Bottom line, I  love it. And, a Ray looks seriously cool with a maple board.

I did a gig on sat night with the maple board ray5 and the sound engineer asked if I had the volume up full as he thought there was a low output from it. It does have fairly old dead strings on it which I'm changing tomo so that could've been the problem. Have you ever known a ray5 to have a low output 

[leschirons]

41 minutes ago, Delamitri79 said:

I did a gig on sat night with the maple board ray5 and the sound engineer asked if I had the volume up full as he thought there was a low output from it. It does have fairly old dead strings on it which I'm changing tomo so that could've been the problem. Have you ever known a ray5 to have a low output 

Honestly, no, never. I usually get the inverse comments but then again, I'm deaf😆

[leschirons]

56 minutes ago, Delamitri79 said:

There's just something about the maple isn't there. 

Yup.

[leschirons]

2 hours ago, skidder652003 said:

nearly as nice as my jazz

😆 See what you did there.

[Delamitri79]

4 minutes ago, leschirons said:

Yup.

That's gorgeous. 

This is the choice I've got 

[stingrayPete1977]

1 hour ago, Delamitri79 said:

I'm not sure if it's the classic Ray tone I like. I got hooked onto bass with Tim commerfords bass tone on the 1st RATM album and that's what I love. 

When I say classic I mean, what most people regard as the Ray sound with an Alnico pickup rather than classic as in Aerosmith or AC-DC. 

 

I suspect most people suggesting one neck over the other aren't aware that one has a ceramic pickup and the other Alnico being only a five string thing? 

[stingrayPete1977]

The obvious choice would be both! 

[Fishman]

get both – i had the same dilemma and have both