Can you get a Fake Stingray?

[thisisswanbon]

I understand the want for this, and don't think any abuse is necessary... personally I'd rather use a cheaper branded bass than a copy, but each to their own.

 

I think the issue you'd have getting a copy is they all seem to use that cheap big plate bridge without the side poles - always a bit of a give away, and finding a music man replacement seems very difficult.

 

 

[martthebass]

This looks to be still available, at this price it’s a steal. I had one of these for a few years and gigged it alongside my EBMM Ray and if anything I preferred it.

 

 

[Geek99]

On 19/11/2023 at 16:46, ezbass said:

There’s always the JHS Vintage brand too.

 

https://www.jhs.co.uk/collections/vintage-basses-1/products/vintage-reissued-v96-4-string-active-bass-black

 

I have the active bass shown in yellow/natural

Can thoroughly endorse it. It has mellowed to a trans honey colour and punches far above its weight 

Edited November 20, 2023 by Geek99

[Chienmortbb]

On 19/11/2023 at 14:29, jd56hawk said:

You'd rather by a fake than something like this Sterling that blows a mere copy out of the water?

I'm guessing OLP doesn't cut it, either.

 

Only goes to prove that Leo got it wrong occasionally! Only joking.

[tauzero]

8 hours ago, thisisswanbon said:

I understand the want for this, and don't think any abuse is necessary... personally I'd rather use a cheaper branded bass than a copy, but each to their own.

 

I think the issue you'd have getting a copy is they all seem to use that cheap big plate bridge without the side poles - always a bit of a give away, and finding a music man replacement seems very difficult.

 

Having never had a Stingray, I just had a look at a few pictures and those poles, whatever they are, rather puzzled me, as on the 4-string Rays they're level, but on the 5-string Rays the G pole is closer to the neck than the B pole. Can anyone cast any light on that?

[Lfalex v1.1]

5 hours ago, tauzero said:

 

Having never had a Stingray, I just had a look at a few pictures and those poles, whatever they are, rather puzzled me, as on the 4-string Rays they're level, but on the 5-string Rays the G pole is closer to the neck than the B pole. Can anyone cast any light on that?

 

The poles/posts on the bridge serve two purposes;

To help anchor the bridge to body.

To help prevent side-to side movement in the strings. 

 

Assuming a fairly normal set of strings are in use, and that the intonation is correct, bass bridge saddles often describe a diagonal line.  On a four, the G saddle is further forward (towards the neck) than the D, the D further forward than the A, and A further forward than the E.

The opposing positioning of the poles/posts on the 4 string bridge still contact the outer strings (G and E) restricting their movement. The D and A strings are restricted by the fact that they're sandwiched by the adjacent saddles.

 

The addition of a 5th string (especially if it's a Low B) means that the saddle for that string will be further back still than the E. It would generally not fall into contact with the upper pole/post, and it's side-to-side movement wouldn't be contained. Moving the B post backwards  addresses this,  but means it's not directly opposite the G post.

 

It's not a particularly elegant solution, although it does help anchor the bridge. Many designs are better in this respect; The stock G&L and 2 piece Warwick bridge, any monorail design,  The Badass II plus hardware from any of the usual  manufacturers like ABM or Hipshot.

 

Is side-to-side movement in bridge saddles an issue? If you play with a light touch, probably less so. I found with my OLP, which had no posts, grooves or slots to be awful. A lot of my input went into flexing the saddles as I plucked. To me, that dulled the sound and muffled the sustain to an unacceptable degree. 

YMMV and all that. 

Edited November 21, 2023 by Lfalex v1.1
Just realised that essay was likely unnecessary. Didn't really notice I was responding to @tauzero. Could just have written "Because: intonation" and it would have been enough! Wasn't intending to be patronising!

[Lfalex v1.1]

And in some crazy moment of synchronicity,  this popped up...

 

[edstraker123]

I picked up one of these for £100 on Saturday. it had black nylon strings on it and it is nuts for the money.

 

[tauzero]

14 hours ago, Lfalex v1.1 said:

Just realised that essay was likely unnecessary. Didn't really notice I was responding to @tauzero. Could just have written "Because: intonation" and it would have been enough! Wasn't intending to be patronising!

 

Don't worry, it was a good full explanation - it does seem a rather clumsy way of restricting lateral movement of bridge saddles.

[la bam]

5 hours ago, edstraker123 said:

I picked up one of these for £100 on Saturday. it had black nylon strings on it and it is nuts for the money.

 

These are fantastic!! 

 

I now use this as my main bass in the party band. They're SO good! 

[casapete]

There’s a copy currently for sale on Gumtree in Nottingham.

Natural / maple board, £160.

[iconic]

OK, this will throw the cat amoung the pigeons. 

 

I had a 2000 4H Stingray....for me, it was a case of don't meet your hero's. 

 

Quiet G string, no matter how high the pup on that side went, I wasn't entirely satisfied, then discover it's not that uncommon....s'wot compressors are for....

 

The neck wasn't the most stable, but easy to adjust but still disappointing... 

 

And, as much as I liked the humbucker near the bridge sound and bass boost/treble, I really didn't take to active controls faffing about, never have truth to be told, and had many active basses.

She found a new home to a session player in the Netherlands who told me it was the best bass he'd ever owned....go figure. 

 

But, I do like a humbucker by the bridge as it's where I always play and I like the beefy yet bright sound...

 

Years later I bought a Harley Benton MB4 SnideRay on a whim....best bass purchase I've ever made, and I've had them all. 

 

Simply excellent fit, finish and build quality.

Lovely, stable neck too. 

 

But, the sound wasn't all that, very dull indeed, and the original strings were rough as a badgers backside feel wise. No idea what they are but woeful things. 

 

Slapped on (!) a set of Harley Benton Value strings and wooooow it sang beautifully, totally different bass. 

Even though it's passive (good) it very nearly nails the Stingray sound, sure a bass anorak may notice the subtle differences but, a punter in the audience wouldn't.

 

Oddly you can split the splt humbucker as it has a separate volume for both coils, so one can play bridge coil, or neck coil for glassier sound, or both coils in humbucker mode. 

 

How they do it for the money is beyond me, even taking into account no middle man. 

For the money it's a no brainier 😎

[AJ567]

On 19/11/2023 at 12:46, BassApprentice said:

 

find a proper USA style bridge. Jobs a good 'un.

 

 

 

Easier said than done! USA Stingray bridges don't come up for sale often. 

 

The Sterling Ray34/Ray35 basses are excellent quality. I believe the pickups and electronics are the same as used the USA models. And the bridge is more or less idential to the real thing (except the engraved logo, but who can tell from a distance).

[BassApprentice]

@AJ567Yes it seems so, did a quick search after my post and they don't seem to exist. Weird that there's not an AliExpress equivalent yet either!

[Lfalex v1.1]

That might well be because some (such as my old 1990 SR5 had the serial number engraved into the bridge baseplate. They weren't available to order then either;

Saddles, screws, springs and posts? Yep.

Baseplates? Nope.

Whole units? Nope.

Not OEM ones,  in any case. 

[jezzaboy]

8 hours ago, AJ567 said:

 

Easier said than done! USA Stingray bridges don't come up for sale often. 

 

The Sterling Ray34/Ray35 basses are excellent quality. I believe the pickups and electronics are the same as used the USA models. And the bridge is more or less idential to the real thing (except the engraved logo, but who can tell from a distance).

I don`t think the pickup and electronic are the same as the US models, some of them have the same electronics as the Sub range according to Lowendlobster. 

[mcnach]

9 hours ago, AJ567 said:

 

Easier said than done! USA Stingray bridges don't come up for sale often. 

 

The Sterling Ray34/Ray35 basses are excellent quality. I believe the pickups and electronics are the same as used the USA models. And the bridge is more or less idential to the real thing (except the engraved logo, but who can tell from a distance).

 

The Ray34/35 are pretty cool, but they've gone up in price a lot recently. The Ray35 I've got was £1300... not that long ago this was EBMM money, but those have gone stratospheric...

 

The pickups/electronics are not the same as the USA ones, by the way, but they're pretty decent.

 

[Baloney Balderdash]

On 21/11/2023 at 04:30, Lfalex v1.1 said:

And in some crazy moment of synchronicity,  this popped up...

 

Extremely poor upper frets access, extremely poor ergonomics, and there is something horrible wrong with the 5th string, not to speak of only having a 4 string bridge, and the tuning mechanisms appears to be broken, looks like the fretboard is warped/crooked, and also the pickup looks like poorly done home made one with misaligning pole pieces.  

 

Edited November 27, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[Bevan7]

AI won’t be taking luthier’s jobs anytime soon 😃

[Baloney Balderdash]

27 minutes ago, Bevan7 said:

AI won’t be taking luthier’s jobs anytime soon 😃

Or artist's jobs for that matter.

 

Edited November 27, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[Bevan7]

[Rick's Fine '52]

On 19/11/2023 at 12:23, dave74200 said:

Not sure if this is sacrilege but I want a Stingray, that looks like a Stingray, but isn't £2000. I know you can get Sub ones etc... but I'd rather buy a fake that looks the part. Is this a possibility? I know they do it with Fender and Gibsons.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice...... or abuse!!!!!! 

one on Gumtree at the moment;

 

MUSICMAN STINGRAY BASS REPLICA
https://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/musicman-stingray-bass-replica/1469770582?utm_campaign=socialbuttons&utm_campaign=socialbuttons&utm_content=app_ios&utm_medium=social&utm_source=sms

 

 

[Rib13Bass]

One of my closest friends is a working bass player that gigs with his SUB because he likes it better and doesn't worry about it getting abused on stage......Its about the Tear, not the Gear

[iconic]

I'm not a great fan of bass demo's when played on their own, one needs to hear how the bass sounds in the mix...so to speak. 

 

This gives a good idea of the MB4 sound.....to me, as an ex Stingray owner if I was blindfolded and asked what bass is this....tutto bene. 

 

 

Edited December 4, 2023 by iconic

[tegs07]

Don’t bother with the effort and expense of making a fake, just buy this: 

Not mine BTW