NBD - Stingray 5 Fretless

[drTStingray]

No frets here and what a gorgeous bass. I got this from @jhk at the weekend and I’m very happy. It weighs just under 10 lbs and sounds huge!! It’s a 1992 bass, so over 30 yrs old. 
 

The neck has a lot of Birds Eye and the fretboard also has figuring. Altogether a very pretty (imho) and great sounding bass. 
 

 

Edited May 14, 2023 by drTStingray
Space cleared for new pics!

[lidl e]

Love...

 

I had the same bass in trans orange but with the piezo.

 

None better.

[ezbass]

Very cool, great colour too.

[Grahambythesea]

Handsome, great shade of blue.

[drTStingray]

Thanks guys - the colour is called blueburst and was available in the late 80s and early 90s. I agree - it’s a great colour. I’m told Flea’s Stingray 5 (used on Funky Monks) may have been this colour - although not fretless!! 

[uk_lefty]

That neck!!! Lovely.

[jonnybass]

That is easily my favourite colour of stingray. Lovely bass

[drTStingray]

It was pretty clean when I bought it but has now had a polish and deep clean (ie under the pickguard, in the routs, and lemon oil of the fretboard) - scrubs up beautifully and looks new - the neck now has Cobalt flatwounds which not only feel great but sound great as well - you can almost hear the fretboard saying ‘Ah thanks’ in a mwah-ish sort of way, having been relieved of the stainless rounds it had (which are going to find their way - well four of them - on to my Tim Commerford long scale passive)!! 

I’ve had to delete the earlier pics to make space for the new ones (crikey - forum restrictions or what 🤣🤣🥴)

 

 

 

 

Edited May 14, 2023 by drTStingray
Changed photo

[dub_junkie]

I had a blueburst fretted SR5 with maple board, white pickup cover and guard back in the mid nineties. I still think its my favourite MM combo along with teal/black/rosewood. 

 

Really great looking bass😍

[drTStingray]

On 16/05/2023 at 17:15, dub_junkie said:

I had a blueburst fretted SR5 with maple board, white pickup cover and guard back in the mid nineties. I still think its my favourite MM combo along with teal/black/rosewood. 

 

Really great looking bass😍

A lot of people seem to have had them (or SR4s) in blueburst back in the day. It’s really my favourite older Musicman colour as well (however I wouldn’t say no to a peach one, or pre EB Inca silver - my wallet would not agree though!!)

 

I’ve been playing this bass both at home a lot and taking it to jams to play a couple of songs - home practice has included doing bass parts like Take Five or Moondance and then improvising a solo based around the melodies of the songs - my intonation accuracy is improving with practice.

 

However I took it to a jam last night and was asked to play on Moondance (good as I’d been working around that at home) and also some Shadows stuff - the latter posed a few problems as I hadn’t played some of what was asked for at least ten years - culminating in Don’t Cry For Me Argentina which has a nice bass arrangement - which ends up doubling the first couple of bars of the melody in high register at the end…… well I attempted it and I think it was ok!!! I’d say the original bass arrangement was akin to a West End type show song where the bass performs quite an important function. People in the room were complimentary anyway!!! I felt rather self conscious as the lead guitarist was more perfect!! 
 

Nothing like a fretless 5 to focus the mind (I’ve got a fretless 4 but never even played a fretless 5 until I acquired this bass a couple of weeks ago) am loving it though - a couple of gratuitous photos!! 😅

 

 

Edited May 18, 2023 by drTStingray