[quote name='alexclaber' post='581103' date='Aug 26 2009, 10:41 AM']The StingRay sound is quite interesting because although with the EQ flat it's very aggressive in the midrange and highs, as the original active bass it was designed to take some hefty EQing - there are some very smooth StingRay sounds on record, like Louis Johnson on loads of disco classics, which relied on boosting the lows and highs to effectively get a mid-scooped sound. What you can't change about a StingRay is the shape of sound - the naturally compressed tone due to the single bridgewards pickup, with less thump in the mid-bass and thus proportionally more deep bass if you're going for a bassy tone. You can hear this quite clearly if you compare Bernard Edwards and Louis Johnson on disco records to most other disco bassists - the StingRay does not really do thump (which makes it a nice slap bass because it stops slapping from getting too thumpy) - or if you compare RATM's first album to the following three - the bass is deep but it doesn't thud or punch low down, the punch happens in the midrange.
Changing the pickup is really only like changing the EQ, so if you can get the sound you want with the EQ then you're sorted. If not then maybe single pickup StingRays aren't for you. Try using that mid-sweep on the Shuttle - leave the EQ flat on the StingRay, cut by about 10dB on the Shuttle mid, freq @ 500Hz (same as the onboard preamp) and then sweep up and down to see if you like the sound more. Note that the Q on the Shuttle's EQ is much tighter so it'll affect a smaller range of frequencies, whilst the onboard EQ is very wide with shallow slopes.
Alex[/quote]
Thanks Alex, will give all that a go at band practise tomorrow. It makes sense what you say, I just hope it creates a tone that I like. I really hope as I love the feel and look of the Stingray and would be a shame to give up on her.