What would a passive stingray sound like?

[Geek99]

I have a clone and I like the bass but I’m not over fond of the bright sound. 
could a push pull pot be fitted in place of volume and would it sound like a P when in passive ? 

[SurroundedByManatees]

A passive stingray will still sound like a stingray,  but a bit more tame.

 

It's the pickup type+position that define a good part of the sound. It will sound nowhere near a P.

Edited April 14 by SurroundedByManatees

[ezbass]

3 minutes ago, SurroundedByManatees said:

A passive stingray will still sound like a stingray,

Yep, I had the shorty ‘Ray, which is passive, and it sounded like a Stingray.

[Beedster]

12 minutes ago, Geek99 said:

….,,would it sound like a P when in passive ? 

Only if the P stood for passive stingray. Close (ish) but not that close 🤔

[Terry M.]

As has been said before it won't sound like a P. Bridge pickup positioning alone will see to that.

[fretmeister]

Like this

 

 

[fretmeister]

And this one is passive as stock

 

 

[Chiliwailer]

I added a passive switch in mine - to me it sounds less compressed, and with more ‘air’ in the notes like a passive Fender if you catch my drift. Not better or worse, just different - but a Stingray for sure.  

Edited April 14 by Chiliwailer

[Steve Browning]

The OLP version was passive. Maybe there are owners out there who can describe it.

[Chiliwailer]

51 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

Like this

 

 

Only issue here is that the pickup is going straight to the jack, which will sound quite different as it has no load from the vol tone. 
 

An issue with using a regular Stingray volume pot is that the value is meant for the preamp going into it, so it’s not like a passive bass’s value. 
 

I have a Aguilar pre amp in mine, whereby the pup goes to the volume pot before the preamp, so it helps the passive mode as it’s a Fender type value pot. But I still use a volume boost via a pedal to help match the signals. With the volumes matched, the passive tone is surprisingly still big sounding. 

Edited April 14 by Chiliwailer

[Chiliwailer]

1 minute ago, Chiliwailer said:Only issue here is that the pickup is going straight to the jack, which will sound quite different as it has no load from the vol tone. 
 

.

Edited April 14 by Chiliwailer
Duplicate

[Geek99]

Thanks - am missing a p bass and was trying to avoid the traditional tar and feathers on the abstinence thread 

non starter by the sound of it

thanks all 

[Alanko]

With the coils in parallel it still sounds like a Stingray. Find a clean preamp pedal and you would be back to sounding like an active 'Ray. More of the tone comes from having a fat humbucker with parallel coils than might seem obvious.

[fretmeister]

2 hours ago, Chiliwailer said:

Only issue here is that the pickup is going straight to the jack, which will sound quite different as it has no load from the vol tone. 
 

An issue with using a regular Stingray volume pot is that the value is meant for the preamp going into it, so it’s not like a passive bass’s value. 
 

I have a Aguilar pre amp in mine, whereby the pup goes to the volume pot before the preamp, so it helps the passive mode as it’s a Fender type value pot. But I still use a volume boost via a pedal to help match the signals. With the volumes matched, the passive tone is surprisingly still big sounding. 

Yup, this is why the Joe Dart sig has a single 100k pot as it makes up for not having the load from a tone control.

[Misdee]

I've got an EBMM Reflex bass with active/passive switching. It's an HH with a humbucker in exactly the Stingray position. When I switch it to passive I don't really hear much discernable difference to the tone in active mode with the E.Q set flat. It's still got that distinctive Stingray tone. 

 

 On the basis of that, I think a passive Stingray would sound just like an active 'Ray with the EQ flat.

[Beedster]

5 hours ago, Misdee said:

 On the basis of that, I think a passive Stingray would sound just like an active 'Ray with the EQ flat.

 

Which makes a lot of sense 👍

[BassTractor]

This thread brings back memories of the StingRay being introduced (how time flies) with lots of tech speak and calculations. This was supposed to show us exactly how and why the StingRay position made sense.
Corporate mumbo jumbo? Dunno, but the sound was convincing enough.
 

[Alanko]

6 hours ago, Misdee said:

I've got an EBMM Reflex bass with active/passive switching. It's an HH with a humbucker in exactly the Stingray position. When I switch it to passive I don't really hear much discernable difference to the tone in active mode with the E.Q set flat. It's still got that distinctive Stingray tone. 

 

 On the basis of that, I think a passive Stingray would sound just like an active 'Ray with the EQ flat.

I don't think 'flat' is flat on the original two band EQs? They boost and cut frequencies are a little idiosyncratic but, philosophically, in line with Leo Fender's beliefs that musicians would want instruments essentially factory preset specific ways for specific purposes. No endlessly sweepable mids or more generic frequency bands. 
 

I don't like active basses (if I want a preamp then it will be an outboard pedal with power supply), so this isn't my corner of expertise!

[Chiliwailer]

7 hours ago, Misdee said:

I've got an EBMM Reflex bass with active/passive switching. It's an HH with a humbucker in exactly the Stingray position. When I switch it to passive I don't really hear much discernable difference to the tone in active mode with the E.Q set flat. It's still got that distinctive Stingray tone. 

 

 On the basis of that, I think a passive Stingray would sound just like an active 'Ray with the EQ flat.

Your post got me curious - in a good way - as that's not been my experience with various Stingrays modded for passive, I can always notice a difference in the fundamental of the note. So, I took a look at the specs for the Reflex, seems the passive side has a separate volume and tone pot value to the active side which makes sense, but more interestingly Ernie Ball call it a 'passive pre-amp' - never heard of that before! I wonder if that helps 'balance' the volumes (which I always needed a pedal for), or if the passive pre-amp adds some colour? I'm lost now

Edited April 15 by Chiliwailer
typos...

[Chiliwailer]

...maybe 'passive preamp' is just a flash way of saying passive circuit?

[BigRedX]

12 hours ago, Geek99 said:

I have a clone and I like the bass but I’m not over fond of the bright sound. 

 

Can you not make it less bright using the tone controls on your amp?

[Misdee]

1 hour ago, Alanko said:

I don't think 'flat' is flat on the original two band EQs? They boost and cut frequencies are a little idiosyncratic but, philosophically, in line with Leo Fender's beliefs that musicians would want instruments essentially factory preset specific ways for specific purposes. No endlessly sweepable mids or more generic frequency bands. 
 

I don't like active basses (if I want a preamp then it will be an outboard pedal with power supply), so this isn't my corner of expertise!

Good luck with finding "flat" on the original 2 band EQ! No doubt about that. The 2 band is indeed a very different proposition.

 

I was referring to more modern versions of the Stingray, should have made that clear.

[la bam]

I have the sire z3 which is both passive and active. 

 

Centered, there's no difference at all. 

[neepheid]

9 minutes ago, la bam said:

I have the sire z3 which is both passive and active. 

 

Centered, there's no difference at all. 

 

Oh no, you mentioned Sire in a Stingray thread.  Please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts, turbulence ahead

 

[Misdee]

FWIW, I think the Z3 sounds much more like a vintage Stingray than the current Stingray Special. Amazing bass for £400.