lowregisterhead

Thanks. The pickup and controls were stock, I just had the scratchplate removed, and a mirror surround made to cover the gap. I also got the slab body reshaped with a roll-off on the top front edge, a belly cut, and resprayed brilliant white. It was sunburst originally. The bass must have been made late on a Friday afternoon, as mentioned earlier in the thread, because when I bought it second hand for £250 in a music shop in Edinburgh in 1981, the bridge was slightly out of alignment, so I had it removed and a Schaller with roller saddles installed. As it was the 80's, I also had to have a brass nut fitted, of course. It was a lovely thing, and I'd pay a good few bob to get it back, but I suspect it's either met a sticky end, or is languishing in someone's loft, never to see the light of day again. Of course, if anyone knows different... 😄

Seeing as this thread seems to have attracted the attention of many a Stingray lover, this might be a good opportunity to shamelessly attempt to locate my pre-EB (but heavily modified) Stingray that I sold for £450 in 1985, when I couldn't afford to pay the rent one month. If anyone knows where it might be, please let me know - and I know I'd have to pay substantially more than that to get it back! 🙄

Sorry, but that wouldn't do it for me. I put an East MMSR circuit into a 2007 Stingray 5 once, and it did improve the tone, but if I was to replace the circuit in a Special with a two band, then I'd need to replace the frankly rather characterless Neodymium pickup they put in it with an Alnico, lacquer the neck, fit a chunkier bridge, and string it through the body. (OK, maybe not the last one!) I don't disagree that the fit, finish and feel of the Special is very nice (I briefly owned a Special 5) but they're a completely different animal to all of their predecessors for a whole host of reasons. Sadly, I feel they've lost the essence of the original design along the way, IMHO. If it's not already apparent, I'm a Stingray fanboy - in the 50 years I've been playing I've owned 18 Stingrays, a Sabre, a Bongo, and a USA Sterling. Yes, I have a list, but oddly enough, I don't currently own one. But to stop hijacking the thread and get back to the question posed by the OP, 'regular' USA Stingray 1200 and up, Special/Classic 1800 and up, pre-EB think of a number and double it! Good luck with your sale/hunt, @Supernaut.

The Special range is definitely more consistent, and the build quality is excellent, but to me they've somehow engineered out the soul of the instrument, and they don't sound anything like the original pre-EB Stingrays. But then what does??

Complete with an invisible amplifier. And yet 5 people have added it to their watchlist. Allegedly.

It's just to make sure it fits... and so they can prevent anyone installing it in their BMW...

It's a real looker. Based on the Canadian Z series, but Chinese made and coming in at about £2600. I spoke to Bass Direct about them and they're taking pre-orders, but can't currently say when they'll arrive. Bass Freaks in Belgium are also listing them for pre-order, but showing delivery estimated as November this year, so there's likely going to be quite a wait.

This is my second purchase from Paddy - this time I bought his Maruszczyk Elwood 5a, and the bass was absolutely as described, very well packaged, along with very fast delivery! Excellent communication, and a great guy to deal with. Highly recommended. Thanks!

Bought a rather lovely Status from Dave. Great communication, and on a flying visit to collect, the bass was every bit as pristine as stated. Thanks Dave!

I've got a couple of 'Top Twenty' guitars and a 'Audition' amp that must all be worth a fortune now! 😁

23 Railway Cuttings, East Cheam.

Welcome from Woking. You might even want to consider attending the 'South East Bass Bash' in Crowthorne on the 9th of November to meet some more of the local yokels. We're everywhere! 😁

I'm sure there are endless views on this, but all I know is I'd much rather someone said something - anything - between songs rather than the stony silence you get from some bands. If you can be witty with it, all the better, but perhaps draw the line at a full comedy routine. That said, read the room. Bill Bailey tells a tale of going to a Whitney Houston gig. She kept the audience waiting for an hour, then came onstage and gushed "I just wanna say, I love each and every one of you!" at which point a big black guy standing beside him shouted "Sing, b*tch!!". Tough crowd.

This is a near-impossible question to answer. There are so many variables that contribute to what any one player would perceive as being a great B sounding string - construction, scale length, string type and gauge, electronics, amp setup... the list is endless. As has already been suggested, I would encourage you to go to as many (preferably bass specialist) shops as you can, and try out literally everything. You might be surprised by what will float your boat. My personal preference is for 35"+ scale just because in my experience, it adds more tension and clarity to what can otherwise be a rubber band added to a 4-string bass as some kind of afterthought. Other people's experiences will obviously vary! At the last count (yes, I have a list) I've owned approaching 200 basses over the 50 years I've been playing, the majority of which have been fivers. The best B strings for me have been a Lakland 55-94 and 55-02, a Dingwall Afterburner, if you can cope with the fan frets, and I'm currently using a Mayones Jabba Custom EP VF5, which is also multi-scale. None of them are the Holy Grail, but they're all very good, and leave most of the other contenders in the dust. In my opinion. The perfect bass probably doesn't exist of course, but you can have great fun looking for it!