drTStingray

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1497388510' post='3317825'] It's crazy to think the only alternative to the sub 5 is the classic five for well over two grand new, massive bargain! [/quote] I know what you mean but you haven't been able buy a new US Sub since 2006 or so.... Used SR5s seem to be available for around £800, and used Classics for £1000 upwards. Love my white US Sub5 by the way - compares nicely with my SR5 and Bongo and simpler, electronics wise to use.

Excellent bass - congratulations.

[quote name='markdavid' timestamp='1497281836' post='3317001'] Hi Had a rehearsal with a newly joined band at the weekend, the rehearsal studio is one that they use as its very cheap, hadn't been there before and walked in there expecting to plug into maybe a 200w bass amp, or at least 150w........ There was a Fender Rumble 60 there!!!! It actually held up admirably considering the low wattage but I spent a lot of time stood right next to the amp and a fair bit of time fiddling with the eq in an attempt to hear my bass properly, also when I played high up the neck it had some degree of overdrive from being cranked to the max. The guitar amp was a Marshall 100watt !!! Anyone had any similar experiences to this? [/quote] Yeah - playing in jam sessions run by guitarists where two guitar amps are provided both of which are two to three times the wattage of the bass amp provided (sometimes a 30 watt Warwick combo). Net result is needing to play on full volume and not to be able to hear yourself, with the bass distorting. Those particular amps the OP mentions, from my experience, seem to stifle all the top end in a Stingray also. I recall articles being published which indicated you need exactly the opposite - two or three times the output of the guitar amps. As others have said, it's all about headroom. I seem to recall Alex (Barefaced) writing something about this subject in BGM when he had a monthly slot - or was I dreaming this!!

[quote name='Cato' timestamp='1497395351' post='3317886'] You don't want flats for funk...... Steel roundwounds are the way to go. [/quote] +1 - no one playing bass from the 70s on would have been seen dead playing with flat wounds and certainly not funk. If you do really want flatwounds then try and avoid those with high tension - Ernie Ball Group 3, Tomastik, Ernie Ball Cobalt flat wounds are all good in this respect in my experience - providing tension similar to roundwounds - no doubt there are others - whilst some makes/types of flat wounds seem to give me a sort of arm wrestling experience owing to the tension they create.

I always though Rickenbackers were old clank machines until I heard someone playing Dune Tune by Level 42 on one - then realised a lot of my favourite soul funk bassists from the early 70s played them (Larry Graham for one). They're quite versatile. http://youtu.be/McBSPmqi5fo As for the CEO - well he simply takes issue with people making unlicensed copies of his instruments - and can you blame him - he's more interested in protecting his customers and his business rather than the knock off merchants and theirs. I don't see that being odd in any way - maybe the zeal with which individuals have been chased is a little surprising. Very strange some manufacturers never bothered to protect their designs and probably now regret those decisions.

I still like them but the recent performance on Later with Jools surprised me sound wise. He appears to have changed to some type of Fender bass and the sound, for me was quite different - Fender basses have a thinner sound than Gibson/Guild style basses so whilst the sound was ok I wasn't as wowed as when I heard them previously. Anyone know why he has changed bass?? I know this will be anathema to the multitudes of Fender fans but if any of you have ever heard people play All Right Now on a Precision or Jazz you will know exactly what I mean.

[quote name='machinehead' timestamp='1497104977' post='3315893'] Apart from the obvious differences (finish and choice of woods for example) how close do the Stingray experts (which I am not!) feel that the 2003 to 2005 US SUB model is to the Stingray Classic? Frank. [/quote] I have both. Functionally fairly similar. That's about where the ways part - it's like comparing a Mexican Precision and a high level Custom Shop one. The US Sub is a great bass, very good value, and gets the basic 2 band MM sound. Also bullet proof construction. Lots of things are different - biggest change is non hand finished neck and the edges aren't rolled - no hardware is stamped - body wood is poplar, not ash, painted neck, textured finish. As I said, cool bass in its own right but the Classic Rays are things of beauty with excellent playability and function.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1497033897' post='3315506'] Mine is Tobacco Burst which is another early colour changed to retroburst was it DrT? Being a May 2010 it's very early for a UK five string. [URL=http://s997.photobucket.com/user/stingraypete/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-07/20140730_173849_zpsnblgtvmm.jpg.html][IMG]http://i997.photobucket.com/albums/af100/stingraypete/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-07/20140730_173849_zpsnblgtvmm.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [/quote] Looks great - and yes, when the Classic range was introduced some of the colours were planned to be rotated - which tended to be at NAMM - so tobacco burst became retro burst and the three pastel colours, red, green and blue, were dropped after the first year of production. These colours had been requested on the MM forum periodically. There are Guitar Centre specials as well.

[quote name='Atomic dustbin' timestamp='1497030712' post='3315469'] Thanks dr T I do prefer the natural finishes. I didn't know they only did them for about a year in Coral. The one I saw was 2011 I think. It looks a little bit pink to me. Maybe it was just the photos I saw. [/quote] They are basically very similar to fiesta red - indeed the initial ones made were called that. They're quite pink in some lights but range from deeper red to almost orange dependent on light conditions - they can appear quite pale pink under fluorescent tube lighting. Looks great in combination with the highly figured maple neck. The natural colour wasn't introduced on the classic Stingray until three or maybe five years back.

[quote name='Atomic dustbin' timestamp='1497024150' post='3315413'] Thanks for all the replies. I think I will try and pick up a used one first. I saw one for £1200 but not sure if the Coral Red colour is for me. I'm not in a rush to buy so I can wait for the right one to come up for sale. It sounds like there is much love for the classic! Thanks [/quote] Much as I love the late 80s/90s Stingrays, the Classics have one or two extra features - the one which most appeals to me is strings through bridge - to my mind this adds quite a bit of sustain. However the neck radius is different and they have skinny vintage frets. These basses are absolutely top notch. I have a coral red one - very nice indeed, in fact quite gorgeous, but some people prefer the more classic (for MM) colours (natural/sunburst). The coral red colour was only made for about 12 months so there aren't that many around.

[quote name='Cuzzie' timestamp='1496355962' post='3310862'] Yep Musicman copying Sandberg except they put their guitars together real cheap and they feel awful, at least the new crop do [/quote] I also have a lot of Musicman basses including one I bought new late last year. The quality on them all is consistently top notch. Their plan, they say, was to produce some old school classic styled passive basses to compliment their new guitar models - their single coil exposed pole pick ups have been around for many years, so they're not really copying Sandberg - more they and Sandberg are making basses which are loosely (or not so dependent on which maker) based on Fender. In the US, people have referred to the new MM passive basses as on a par with boutique stuff like Sadowski. I'm sure Sandberg are excellent as well but I too would be extremely surprised if MM took substandard instruments to a show. The London BGS is not the place to spend time with bass equipment unless you're not bothered about the crowds of people and din of slapping going on - and din it really is - unless you stick around in the exhibition whilst a big draw is on stage - very pleasant then 👍

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1496445174' post='3311577'] It's not a sticker, it's a completely new pickguard made by Tim at Original Scratchplates featuring the logo of a Ska band I dep for. [/quote] V nice!!

[quote name='Meddle' timestamp='1496253838' post='3309999'] I sort of disagree about Trombone Shorty being the highlight. Apart from the bassist riding along on the B string it sounded like something from the '60s or '70s. Actually the bassist was pretty lousy and messy, if full of energy. [/quote] Blimey I've just watched this. Don't recognise your description at all. The bass player was pretty tight from what I could see/hear - indeed some nice focussed playing on a Steinberger. I may be biased as I have a liking for the R and B side of things but i found it quite refreshing compared with the monotonous inaudible cobblers played on the same bass type you often find in this show.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1496430040' post='3311440'] Well... he's right! I just went to check. The signal is a lot weaker, but it does work, and at a pinch, I think I could probably use it like that at a gig as I usually have lots of headroom left. The volume control still works, but the bass/treble doesn't (there's a slight change in tone when you turn them up/down, but nothing there really). Who would have thought it? [/quote] Back in the day, a friend played a Stingray back in the mid/late 70s and told me he used the bass fir recording with the tone controls turned off. I must admit I've never done that. I did have a battery fail on a gig around 1980 - I turned the amp up but the sound guy complained after that the signal was quite variable (probably because I was still trying to use the tone controls) - the bass was DI d through a large PA. In response to Pete's query, the bridge design on most Musicman basses has the deep rooted bolts at the sides as well as screw fixings at the back - I think the ones with strings through bridges have a bit more sustain - however the new passive basses (Cutlass and Caprice) don't have those bolts - the rest of the bridge is similar but narrower - those basses seem to have less twang than a Stingray, rather like a passive Fender. Hollow saddles probably make a difference also (standard on Stingray Classics).

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1496412149' post='3311246'] Yes, I think a few hasty purchases were made. My one isn't going anywhere. [center][/center] [/quote] I'm not surprised - I tend to keep most of what I buy as well - I nearly went for one of those but the initial batch sold out before I got to it! Nice sticker btw.

The original thread on these ran to a few hundred posts and people falling over each other to get one - it was immediately pre Brexit so they were comparatively good value, but available at that price for a very short time. The stack knob Jazz was changed by Fender originally for a good reason - presumably some people with the Flea Jazz have stumbled across it also (I seem to remember discussion about this when these basses came out) - as well as the flip flippity flip nature of some people on the forum.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1496390681' post='3310951'] Well I like the proportions and neck on my USA jazz five and I like the pickup position and preamp of a Stingray five, put the two together and hey presto! [/quote] I always find the Musicman necks are better for my taste. There is more than just the pick up and EQ to a Musicman - the whole package contributes to the sound - not least the bridge.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1496325546' post='3310541'] If fender released the one Flea uses but in a five string version I'd buy one. the bits are already there on the shelf other than the pickup! [/quote] Surely G and L do something similar already? Or Sandberg? Musicman certainly do a Musicman better. I got the feeling Flea plays the Fender hybrid Stingray clone for financial reasons.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1496241304' post='3309842'] it's that narrow string spacing that puts me off... I suppose I could adapt to it, but as I'm still not in a position where I feel I need a 5-string bass, it doesn't tempt me enough. The day I am tempted enough I'll probably go to Maruszczyk 'though... [/quote] You're really missing out not having a Stingray 5 - especially the ceramic version. I've started using mine a lot recently and even though an H version, it's very versatile, and especially sensitive to playing dynamics and playing position. Great bass sound. Playing that even persuaded me to get the Bongo 5 out for a blues rock gig last weekend - I'd forgotten how good that is as well. Musicman 5s are basically 5 strings on a wide Precision neck - I'm used to 19mm spacing 4s but don't find the 17.5mm a great change - although I would admit to being a little less confident with some slap lines!!

[quote name='Yukimajou' timestamp='1496222283' post='3309601'] I will start by saying that I know this has the potential to open me up to all manner of heckling, but here I go anyway. I was set to thinking by Al Krow's 'Best Bass Lines' thread and one of my favourite lines is from Riders on the Storm by The Doors. I thought I'd go and check out a few tabs to see if people agree with my assessment of the line and every tab I have seen is wrong. I know this makes me sound like some knob head who can't accept that what I think could be wrong (I'm not a lead guitarist!), but in this instance I have some back up. All the tabs I have seen start on the open E and it is a nice easy line to groove on, however, it should be an octave higher and start on the 12th fret. This does make it much harder to play, but sounds so much better (as it's how Ray wrote it!). The proof I mentioned earlier is: I have a Doors music book for piano and the bass line there corresponds to the 12th fret E string as the start. and This [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3deQXzV-qTk"]You Tube video[/url] of Ray talking about Riders saying that when he came up with the bass line, Jerry (their session bassist on all albums except the first) said that you couldn't play that and had to do some gymnastics with his fingers to play it. Now this would make no sense if the bassline started on the open E as it's nice and easy to play there. Here are the tabs for both and see for yourself: The one everyone seems to use [font=courier new,courier,monospace]G——————————————--—I D——————————————--—I A———2———2———0—4—0—I E—0———3———0—————-—I[/font] And the correct one [font=courier new,courier,monospace]G————————————————-----—I D———————————————-----——I A———14———14———12—16—12—I E—12———15———12———————--I[/font] I know the temptation to play the easy one is huge, but it's for reasons like that that us bassists are tarred as the dumb ones in bands. [/quote] Jerry Scheff has a lot of respect from me - love his playing on the Elvis stuff as well. It's interesting the correct line is at 12th fret on the E string - I have found quite a number of blues rock and rock bass lines are played in that area - making a subtly different sound from fret 7 on the A string which is where I would play in the second E octave normally. It's often puzzled me why this would be and (about to commit sacrilege for some) had wondered whether owing to the area of dead spots on Fender basses, whether players of the 60s/70s era just knew to avoid frets 5 to 7 ish - particularly on the upper strings, migrating to fret 12 upwards.

....... and at least you could hear the bass - unlike in the 60s and some of today's output.....

[quote name='Barking Spiders' timestamp='1495526723' post='3304390'] As a teen in the 80s I have nothing but fond memories of the music even the cheese. It was the decade that spawned hip hop ( a very good thing IMO )when electronica took another quantum leap (another very good thing), when it was fun to go clubbing, when metal didn't take itself too seriously and when the general public realised the bass is a proper instrument requiring some talent to play. [/quote] Well said!! Every decade has its plus sea and minuses - even the 60s. Whilst the 60s was a great decade to grow up in and was very different to what went before many of the abominations of the decade are overlooked by the rose tinted spectacles brigade.

Me too - plus the selector switch creates three different tone bases. Used mine on Saturday at an outdoor bash with lots of bands. Having adjusted the provided back line to avoid a silly level of scoop, the bass sounded great. Ranging from super thump to funk slap, to Herbie Hancock. Excellent - currently my go to - also the most resonant bass I have - the body really resonates. The Lakland 55-76 clearly is a 19 MM spacing SR5 although my experience of Laklands suggests they are good in their own right but don't quite get the SR5 sound. However it's a pity all those people moaning about the spacing on SR5s on Talkbass and wanting a 19 MM spacing weren't informed enough to know about the 55-76 - maybe they'd have sold a few more!!

The idea that the bass drum needs to be some sort of sub-sonic woofer is really something which ive noticed in recent years. The whole idea of over loud drums in mixes is another fairly recent innovation. In my opinion the best sounds I have heard were in late 70s clubs where the mix of dance music had very prominent bass drum but also very prominent bass guitar - and neither was compromised by ludicrous levels of low bass EQ or unequal volumes in the mix. I play in a band where the bass drum invariably gets miked (we don't have a sound guy), we have powered sub PA speakers and the bass drum usually starts off far too loud and too bassy, tweaked back at sound check. I'm guessing some people think that's the only bass element driving the music - most of the time it isn't!!

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1495053244' post='3300954'] ... no such option on a genuine musicman though. [/quote] Except a Reflex, Big Al, some US Subs, one or two limited runs of Stingrays (PDN white Classic; a Guitar Centre special run - used the same stuff as the white Classic). The hang tag manual for the 70s/80s Stingrays mentioned battery drain as negligible. The change to the design was made in the 80s. Battery life of one to three years estimated according to the blurb. http://www.musicmanbass.org/mycustompage0051.htm