Linus27

[quote name='flyfisher' post='1341261' date='Aug 15 2011, 10:22 PM']I'd suggest the poll question is too vague to be particularly useful because it doesn't take proficiency or likely use into account. It's a bit like asking how much a car costs.[/quote] This is a good point and could then be expanded. It really depends on what its use is going to be. Lets say a car is £1k. Great for a run about but as a sports car, then not likely. So £10k on a sports car, well yes thats better but again, depends on your use. For trackdays and road use then yes, it would be a good sports car but to take part in competitive races, then probably not. So you can see where I am going. a £1k bass is probably going to be overkill for the casual bedroom player but for the working bass player doing gigs then its not that bad. Likewise, £5k on a boutique bass for pub gigs is a bit overkill. So I would say, its dependant on application.

I feel like I have opened up a right can of worms here

[quote name='51m0n' post='1341910' date='Aug 16 2011, 02:03 PM']No it doesnt, it removes mid at 380Hz. It is a mid-scoop filter. Period. Thats a VERY different thing indeed from adding punch, especially in the mix! You need low mid in the mix its 2nd and 3rd harmonics of your main low bass notes, the human ear picks up on these far easier than it does deep bass (ie fundamentals). I dont give a rats backside how awful it may sound on its own, and neither should you, it only matters what it sounds like at gig volumes in a mix. Have a go at a reahearsal at proper volume, your perception of bass is radically different at those volumes than at bedroom volumes. The right way to do thios is to set your sound up as you like it and record it (oom H2 or similar) at a rehearsal, then dial out the VPF completely and try again. Then set it to a compromise 'sensible setting' (ie not more than 9 O'clock) if you have to have it. The dialled out version will sit in the mix with more presence and require less bass boost to be 'heard'. Put simply, to your audience it means they hear more bass the more mids you can live with.[/quote] Ok will try that also. What I will add though is my bedroom volume is my rehearsal volume as I play in an acoustic band so no drums I also record all our regearsals with a Tascam recorder but I will tonight with no VPF and again at 9 o'clock. However, I have been down this road before and found that the bass was lost when I added VPF so I think I am falling into that trap again of it sounding great on its own but being lost among the acoustic guitars. I should know better really Maybe I will try everything flat with the low mid at 10 - 11 o'clock and boost some of the treble on the Ray and see how that sounds.

[quote name='Prime_BASS' post='1341814' date='Aug 16 2011, 12:56 PM']Don't get to disheartened with it's apparent "nasally" sound, in a live situation or in a mix alot of this goes away and somehow turns into "prescence" in the mix. I have my F1 everything at 12'oclock, VPF and VLE filters off (12o'clcok isnt "flat" it's half way on!) some treble boost on the ray(sterling same and the BigAl has everything slightly boost and bass slightly cut) and the mid and bass flat. I realise again this is a 3eq. However a similar result should be gained from having the treble and bass pots on a centre position (IIRC 3eqs bass is still boost only) I would strongly recommend not using the VPF at all, or very sparingly! Once it reaches the 11'oclock you start losing considerable amount of mid prescence, especially as the control boosts the lows and highs further creating a mid scoop! Mid scoop is bad for a cutting bass sound, especially if you want the "basses" character to come through aswell. Other things come in to play aswell, like pickup bight and strings etc.[/quote] I will try all this tonight. My only concern is that with everything flat, it sounds hideous. Dull, flat, boxy and nasaly and in a really horrible way. The first thing I do to improve this is turn the low mid down to about 10 - 11 o'clock. This removes the nasal tone that I really can't stand. I then find adding a little VPF adds some punch and clarity. Maybe I will try it at around 9 o'clock and then use the treble on the Ray to add the sparkle.

[quote name='nottswarwick' post='1341359' date='Aug 15 2011, 11:50 PM']This is what I used to do- Amp- all 4 eqs at 12 o clock, often a slight bass cut to around 5 to and sometimes the same slight cut on the low mid. Sometimes a touch of vpf but not much. Sr4 all flat maybe a slight on gig adjustment here and there but never much.[/quote] I think this is the way I am going with it at the moment.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1341239' date='Aug 15 2011, 10:05 PM']Yep , You should hear the EBS pre amp in my jazz, It's twice as huge! Just use less bass on the amp. You will find the majority of long-term ray players on bc use the controls like that especially on the 2 EQ, general opinions bass on full and use the treble pot like a tone pot.[/quote] Blimey Ok well I will give that a go also.

[quote name='Beedster' post='1341132' date='Aug 15 2011, 08:43 PM']Without doubt the worst combination of bass and amp I've ever owned was Stingray (several, both 2 and 3eq) and Markbass (several, combos and head/cab). I've heard the same about Rics and Markbass. Not sure it's much help, but thought I'd mention it [/quote] Thats interesting as it is generally considered that a MB and Stingray is a match made in heaven

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1341068' date='Aug 15 2011, 07:53 PM']I find the 2 EQ harder to get to the sweet spot than the 3's but nicer when you do. The treble is boost and cut, bass boost only. I use bass full on with all my Rays and adjust the treble to suit, mids just a tad of boost on the 3's.[/quote] Wow, bass on full on the Ray. When I try that my whole house shake. We have a big shelf in the kitchen with pots and pans on and they all started to rattle when I tried the bass on full

[quote name='51m0n' post='1341126' date='Aug 15 2011, 08:37 PM']VPF at 2 O'clock!!! Holy cow thats insane![/quote] Oh, was that bad See my post above as I did manage to turn it down to 12 o'Clock and boost the treble on the bass itself. Oh and I also turned the bass on the MB combo down to 11 o'Clock as it was still boomy on the E string a bit.

[quote name='51m0n' post='1341124' date='Aug 15 2011, 08:36 PM']Was this in a mix at war volume, or just at home in tthe practice room at sane levels? All that annoying honk will translate to presence in a mix you see. Or rather a lot of it will! Stingrays can be tricky, I've always found a decent jazz with new strings a doddle to get to sound nice. You can do worse than listen to some Bernard and hear how he got Stingrays to be fat and punchy as hell, thats where they really sound the beans for me. Still cant play one though - too heavy and the pickup is the wrong place after all the years spent playing basses with a jazz pup config. Keep fiddling about, a little upper mid may be just the ticket in a mix to get some of that clarity back, careful though![/quote] At first it was at home solo. However, I then played in the mix and it all turned on its head. The Ray cut through to the front of the mix like a dream with each note cutting through to the front. The Jazz on the other hand which sounded better solo was sitting in the middle totally just there and not really cutting through at all. It was quite shocking the difference. I then turned the VPF down to 12 O clock for the Ray and boosted the treble a little more on the dial on the Ray and it sounded better still. I also dropped the Bass (Low) on the MB combo to 11 O'Clock as the E string was string a bit boomy and bass heavy. Again, its still not perfect but getting there.

So, I plugged the Stingray into the MB combo and turned the bass and treble dials to off or flat. I then set all the EQ on the MB combo to flat and I must say, it sounded horrible. Dull, muddy, flt, lifeless and really middy or nasaly as I call it The first thing I did was dial the Mid Low down to about 10 O Clock and this really helped but it still sounded dull and flat. So I dialed about 1/5 of treble on the Stingray dial and it added a bit of sparkle. I continued to try different settings on the combo and I finally settled with the following, MB Combo Bass: 12 o' Clock (FLAT) Mid Low: 10 o' Clock Mid High: 12 o' Clock (FLAT) Treble: 12 o' Clock (FLAT) VLE Filter: OFF VPF Filter: 2 o' Clock Stingray Volume: Full Treble: 1/5th on Bass: Off (FLAT) This gave me a smooth warm sound with a bit of sparkle. Its still not perfect and lacks a bit of character and energy but its a start I guess. What I did notice is that when I plugged my Jazz in with these settings but turned the VPF Filter down to around 11 o'Clock then it sounded totally amazing. Lots of punch and growl. Very annoying as I am trying to force myself to use the Stingray rather than the Jazz but with the Jazz sounding this good, its making it very hard to play the Stingray

[quote name='51m0n' post='1340616' date='Aug 15 2011, 01:13 PM']Low Mid, mate, its the hardest to get 'right'. Definitely figure out where 0 is on the ray, see if you can go from there, if it is boost only then turning it off is going to leave you feeling all empty inside for a while, dont worry, the amps eq is more than powerful enough to work around that, dont feel the urge to go straight back to halfway on both. If it is a boost only circuit then I think that bass & treble set at half with some VPF would be a real thudding clankfest with no discernable pitch very quickly in a mix! <Yoda>Powerful is the eq you use......</Yoda>[/quote] This is exactly what I have noticed when using the Bass and Treble dials on the Ray. It's been really big and muddy and the top end very clanky with not much else. As a general rule, I like to run most things flat so if I can run the Ray flat then thats great for me as I can hopefully just make minor adjustments on the amp which I suspect will be turning the Low Mid's to 10 O Clock. So its now a case of finding out where flat is on the 2EQ Ray

[quote name='Musicman20' post='1340494' date='Aug 15 2011, 11:28 AM']The 2EQ is apparently boost/cut, Ed F mentions this on the Classic review. Id say half way ish is flat, so basically only roll the treble on 1/3.[/quote] Gareth, you sure about that? Been doing some reading and those on TalkBass seem to think that its boost only. JTUK also seems to think its boost only. Is the classic different to a standard 2EQ perhaps?

[quote name='JTUK' post='1340481' date='Aug 15 2011, 11:22 AM']IIRC correctly.... bass control on a MM 2 band is ALL boost....so flat would be all the way off. Treble is +-12bd..I think.[/quote] Ah cool, thank you, now this I did not know. Thats a big starting point for me tonight then. When I did get the 2EQ Ray, at first I used the dials like a Precision and wound then both up to full. Now I know why the bass was coming through the roof and it sounded subsonic

[quote name='Musicman20' post='1340444' date='Aug 15 2011, 11:07 AM']With my Rays, to get less clank, I leave the bass/mids as they are, and drop the treble.[/quote] Yes but on a 2EQ what is leaving it as they are in terms of settings? The 2EQ only has a treble and bass dial so where do you set them on your 2EQ?

51m0n, thanks that was certainly not tedious but very helpful. One point that I find interesting is the part about dropping the low mid to reduce the boom. I find I have to do this with pretty much all basses on my MarkBass to get a tone I am happy with. My ears really do not like this dial set to flat. The other point is you say set the EQ on the Stingray flat. However, what is flat on a 2EQ Ray as it just has a tone and bass dial and no indent like a 3EQ Ray has? Is flat on a 2EQ Ray with both dial turned half way?

I have a Stingray 2EQ and a MarkBass CMD112H combo which I believe is a Little Mark head. Generally, it sounds very good but I am suffering a little with the bass being too bassy or the treble being too clanky. Finding a happy medium does seem to be a bit of a struggle at times, especially trying to balance the bass and treble dials on the Stingray. Could those who use a Stingray and a MarkBass head/combo care to share their settings, on the amp head as well as on the Stingray. Thank you.

I'm in a similar boat to you. My band is an acoustic setup which plays a mix of Motown, folk, 60's, soul, jazz type of music. I have a Jazz, Stingray and a Precision strung with flats and I really can't decide what to play and what works best. Each bass has its plus and minus points. The Stingray cuts through really nice and works perfect for the more articulate bass lines but does sound quite clanky and aggresive. The Jazz is punchy but not as cutting and seems to sit more in the mix, so not really standing out. The precision with flats is warm and smooth and sounds great with some of the Motown sounding tracks but also sounds dull on and lifeless on the more high played articulate bass lines. Hope you get your choice sorted out. What i do know is my MarkBass CMD121H combo works a treat

I also recommend a MarkBass combo, something like a CMD112H, especially as you are planning on using a Stingray as they match really well. Top quality combo that you will never ever need to change and you will even be able to gig with it.