drTStingray

The attached article, though 5 yrs old, gives an interesting insight into Fender and its financial issues - citing competition with its own history as its biggest competitor - people wanting only to buy old ones rather than their new ones!! https://mobile.nytimes.com/2012/09/30/business/fender-aims-to-stay-plugged-in-amid-changing-music-trends.html?referer=https://www.google.co.uk/

Yes you are correct - a 5 string list without a Stingray 5 (the original mass produced 5) or a Warwick 5 of some sort is incomplete. The SR5 single H version, especially 1992-2008 with ceramic pick up remains an extremely versatile and capable performer with a superb B string. Dont listen to all of us - go and play some and see what you like best.

Yeah I'd agree that other makes were guilty of this but I witnessed and still do, plenty of woolly bass sound provided by Fender basses, or more precisely some bass players wielding Fender basses. That said there have been exceptions - Paul Turner is a V good example. Like you, I'm always asked to play bass so that the tonality of the notes can be heard. As I said, I will be checking these out - V nearly bought a pair of US Vintage (J and P) ones when they first came out.

Even more so guitars - they didn't sell that many basses particularly in the first few years.

Certainly in the 60s the amplification equipment am didn't help but the issue still persisted in the 70s with much better amplification. I've not heard you but I regularly hear this sort of thing and it seems to persist on televised music as well - there's fitting in the mix and being inaudible! With one or two notable (and probably virtuoso) exceptions you'll be hard pushed to find a Precision in use in jazz fusion music, or even a Precision in use on funk music without something like an Alembic pre amp assisting.

Washing up and tea spoon playing aside, Fender announces a rename of its American Vintage line with some (very mariginally) modified basses and it gets 1370 views and 100 replies in less than 24 hours?!! Good for them if that's what keeps them afloat and is their sales model. I'll certainly be looking at the new models with interest - not sure they'll get over my 70s created aversion to their basses, when lots of other makes started providing a better platform for players to express themselves. However if people generally want to hark back to 60s pop when bass players were generally the rumbling and inaudible poor relation of the band, plodding along in the background then this doesn't auger well for bass players and bass playing in general - it's also to be heard and seen in current popular music as well - not universally though as some producers and players do seem to see the value of bass as a fundamental or leading part of music. The demographic of the forum must have changed and is perhaps over-represented by Fender players - something also visible on televised music but strangely not amongst the range of players I see in local bands where a much broader range of makes appears.

I saw this band in the mid 70s around the same time I saw the Stanley Clarke band (I'd never heard Schooldays as it had only just come out - first song - rather mind blowing), the Crusaders, Roy Ayers, Jeff Beck band, Weather Report and others. It's a testament to the Buddy Rich Orchestra that I remember the concert really well - and not just because of him - the bass player was excellent and the whole band played jazz funk and jazz rock with a tightness and fluidity easily on a par with the best of the time.

Not sure they're addictive - however if you can get on with them they're good. However, there are flat wounds and flat wounds - I was put off them when I bought some of a certain make and once fitted put me off playing the instrument largely because the string tension made it feel like arm wrestling. Probably OK if you're a double bass player wanting to play a bit of bass guitar. Since then I've found several types that I really get on with including TI, Roto Solo bass (actually not fully flat wound but half ground), EB group 3 and EB cobalt slinky flats. These all have one similarity - string tension more or less the same as round wounds. The cobalt flats are absolutely amazing and are permanently resident on my Stingray Fretless whilst TI flats are a current fixture on my Classic Stingray. Im not sure about wearing them in - the first set mentioned resulted in the bass not being used very much. Strings are such an important part of an instrument, I don't think anyone should have to compromise - choose strings that compliment and suit your playing - we are all different and one person's utopia is often another's anathema - including flat wounds - you have to remember flat wounds were really a thing of the 50s, 60s and to an extent, early 70s (when bass was not really heard that much in pre hi fi days - at least in the UK) - ok they are popular currently but it is largely a retro thing in my opinion. I personally love Pino's Precision sound with John Mayer using flat wounds - and am convinced Bernard Edwards used them on his Stingray for some of the famous stuff in the late 70s (based on flatwounds being the only way I can create his popped string sound on We Are Family plus Stingrays shipping with them till mid 78). However Pino is probably one of the world's best bass players - I am not and however much I aspire to play like him I probably won't and I doubt flatwounds would be that much help in me getting there anyway - it's more about technique, knowledge and feel.

Here's another - much more recent in fact positively modern - but the bass part idea sounds slightly reminiscent of Electric Avenue - Eddie Grant - another with a synth bass part.

There is actually a bass guitar part on this - playing a type of guitar picked line high up on the fretboard. If you are very adventurous you can play the keyboard bass part into a looper on bass guitar with envelope filter and then play the actual bass guitar part over it!! I'm sure lots of people play this, the band I'm in plays this the guitarist plays the picked part but changes to duplicate the melody line with the sax - it actually sounds quite effective. We play it as a latter day jazz standard along with Watermelon Man and others.

Another one from the era of Chameleon but a top 20 single. This always sounded more like an organ to me - i don't know what type of keyboard is used. I think you would need an octaver to perform this on a bass guitar - interesting bit at 1.39 - almost a little bass solo. These tracks are certainly from the days of punchy, up front bass in the mix - none of that woolly rumbling in the background!!

It's possible to get a decent sounding version of this using a Stingray with an envelope filter. Another track which would be better with synth bass is Flashlight. Ive played Chameleon live quite often on bass guitar without effects and have merged the bass part from Flashlight with it - having a fat bass sound helps.

This - bass even at very low volumes travels - I always practice acoustically - it has its advantages but if you can't get on with this, use headphones. Playing bass in a house is likely to be anti social to neighbour's and definitely to other occupants...

One of the first things I look for in a bass is the tone and whether it enables me to get my sound (I suspect we all have a sound in our heads we are striving for). As has been stated before in this thread, tone and sustain are generally linked. Unless you're aiming to buy a bass to provide a toneless thump or rumble (and I can believe some people do judging by some comments and some bass sounds I've heard) then tone (and thus sustain) would surely be a primary consideration for most musicians - once you have that, muting to create thump can follow - this could take the form of technique or some device to deaden the strings - these days flatwound strings don't necessarily mean dull and dead sound - some are better than others in terms of giving a little more breadth of tone. As for carbon graphite, a Stingray or Sabre with such a neck creates a clearer and more punchy sound - and you surely wouldn't be berating Status basses - not to everyone's taste but from what I've heard, they produce an excellent sound. However for someone after vintage sound (especially at the woolly end of vintage) they probably wouldn't be looking to one of those.

There's perhaps a slightly different explanation - other than guitar based music - which is often in E and A (although quite a lot of metal actually uses dropped tunings) lots of music is in keys like Eb and C often to suit keyboards, sometimes to suit singers and sometimes to suit brass instruments. They will often have lower notes than E, which may not work played on a 4 string unless you use an octaver - which sometimes have tracking problems. The whole reason 5 string basses with low B strings became popular in the 1980s was to allow bassists to play parts played on keyboards which during that era were probably as popular as guitars - in fact nicked a lot of work off both bassists and guitarists. Dance music often uses notes lower than E. So it shouldn't be a great surprise to find a Stingray tuned to Eb - they can be tuned even lower than B and still work fine. It's a standing joke amongst musicians and is referred to on this forum sometimes how guitarists seldom want to play songs like Superstition, I Wish in the proper key (Eb) or even Hard to Handle (Bb). If you have a sax player, they will give a wry smile when asked to play these songs in E or B etc ..... it generally reflects guitarists with restricted ability.

You maybe right in terms of upper harmonics dying off quickly but those of my basses with the best sustain tend to retain less lifeless tone for longer. Like several other people have said about their own playing, my general style tends to be more staccato and sustain is less of an issue than acceptable muting technique and in some cases having the strings permanently muted. However there are occasions when longer notes are required such as on ballads. I also once played in a tribute band where a particular song ending required the bass to hold the last note for three beats and then on the fourth slide down part of the octave - rest for the first beat of the next bar and then play the octave below the held note for one beat (the last note for the other instruments as well). It was essential for the bass to be able to hold that note and not decay too much or die mid way during the held note or slide. You may say this is a very fine detail but isn't that what much of music is about - fine details of arrangement? In this instance it was an extremely effective ending to a shortish pop song. Having sufficient sustain is just one of a number of essential elements to a bass sound as far as I'm concerned.

I thought the OP was asking about Jazz bass sound. Enough of those have been played on recordings over the years to suggest that any decent musician and recording engineer should be able to get a decent recorded sound with one (indeed they should be able to with any professional standard bass - including a Precision, Stingray, Yamaha, Rickenbacker, Hofner etc etc).

Is she wearing vintage clothes or some sort of custom shop reissue? 🤔

I've just been reading through the responses on here. Have I got this right:- 1) Some people have basses which need modification to get sustain. 2) Some people smack their basses so hard the strings come off the bridges 3) 99% of people bash away on rudimentary basses and amps where sustain is not required. All I can think is gor blimey. But seriously, have we finally found a differentiator here between the designs which were got right in the long and distant past (but need modification to make them sustain so weren't that good after all) and the more recent makes and more recent iterations of 'vintage' designs which amongst other things, correct this flaw. Good grief - you learn something every day 😂

Also, appear to be people around with all the gear and no idea as well!! Not necessarily bassists, but sometimes seems to apply to drummists - anyone else come across one bringing a gong to a gig but still not being able to play a straightforward groove?

If you're intending to play music which calls for a bass part beyond just a half note thump - perhaps requiring notes to ring for two beats or more then it's an essential part of playing. Having a note ring and then stop it at a strategic point in a bar can be extremely effective. Sustain and tone there of is often essential when playing ballads. In my experience, string through versions of basses can improve the quality and volume of sustain.

I've had the same set of TI flats on my Stingray Classic, strung through the body for about two years now. I believe they would have fitted a 4 in line bass - doesn't Pino use them and the CS Pino Precision come fitted with them (not strung through but surely only needing a short amount extra of string?). Nice story btw McNach - glad it worked out!! Has she not played one of your Stingrays yet or did you hide them for fear of getting a bigger present bill 😂

Do you guys think the 70s v 60s bridge pick up location makes a difference to the 'Jazz' sound? Certainly Marcus Miller has the 70s location - not sure whether Jaco altered his.

Hahaha!! I recall there were some bassists on Talkbass years ago who were suffering from a toilet fixation - as well as Bongos they were forever going on about P(ee) basses 😂 However my orange Bongo has absolutely no bathroom or any other furniture connotations to the normal musician's mind or anyone else from my experience. The nice pointy headstock could come in very handy as well 😉 😄