drTStingray

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1453852399' post='2963556'] I have been involved in many of the threads about gigging. Based on the comments and responses; 1. Many bass players don't gig. 2. Gigging is not as popular as it once was. 3. Many feel it's not worth it. 4. Good gigging opportunities are drying up, especially in the UK. 5. Playing bass has become a solo at home hobby for many. 6. Bass players are no longer will to put in the effort to gig. So what's the future guys, should we all just stay home and noodle? This thread is not posted to initiate a " troll fest" just an exchange of opinion and thought. Blue [/quote] I've been in and am in more than one band where some of the musicians are in their mid 70s. The only rule seems to be, don't do more than one gig a day - and the level of arrangement fog ones seems to increase at times!! One of them plays One Step Beyond and another plays I Feel Good and one or two other James Brown songs (songs of their youth!!) You'll find particularly (but not exclusively) the older age group in the Shadows music scene - there are a surprising number of fans who also play - I had quite fun playing in a tribute band for a few years. I think this is often true of sixties era fans/musicians as well. So I don't plan to have my feet up watching Strictly or the Voice every Saturday night any time soon, but I most certainly won't be helping to manhandle Hammond B3s and Leslie units (or refrigerators) up and down fire escape stairs either, as I did 30-40 yrs back!!

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1453980914' post='2964850'] It doesn't let me quote for some reason (might be the work PC) but I also agree with you! If they hit the price of around £1100-1200 they could compete...hmmm. [/quote] I think they're quoted at around $1600 in the USA. What is exciting about these is that most people who picked one up at NAMM said they are great - feel, playability etc. They obviously know how to make a great P bass sound as well as my Classic Sabre, in single coil neck pick up mode really sounds the part. And the SSS Big Al was a pretty decent bass. So the combination of EBMM quality, playability and engineering should mean these things are quite special - love those cool blue and red colours as well. It appears the Valentine guitar made best in show as well. Now call me daft but I'm gassing for a 40th Anniversary Old Smoothie - but I was already gassing for a natural Classic Ray as well - do you think they'll give me a good deal if I order both - whichever - it'll be cheaper than if I arrange a visit to Mr Baxters - as has also been on my mind .......

Another manufacturer recycling a previously used model name.

[quote name='matski' timestamp='1453810047' post='2962908'] Quick cheaty way to ascertain where the centre points are: when I first got my StingRay, I loosened the knobs and repositioned them so that the screw hole is directly on top when the EQ is in the middle (flat) position - makes it very easy to see what you are doing [/quote] That's a good tip - however as stated above, you need to remember that the 'flat' is not at the centre of travel of either the bass (lower than centre) or treble (higher than centre IIRC) - it's useful to know where you are in terms of the travel of each control, but my own view is that the advice to adjust according to what you hear is probably the best on this.

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1453886354' post='2963699'] As it has been bumped... My Sr5 now has the EMG MM type in it, and also an EMG DC40 at the neck. Vol / Vol / Tone. It sounds great and it's more versatile than before. The neck pickup does a good P impression when needed, but there is still plenty of clank from the bridge. I'm very happy with it. [/quote] You should try a Musicman piezo in the bridge as well - I have one in my Bongo 5 - adds a whole new dimension if you're after flexibility.

[quote name='Jazzneck' timestamp='1450943484' post='2937149'] [b] [font=tahoma,geneva,sans-serif][size=4]Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion by Robert Gordon is the book.[/size][/font][/b] [font=tahoma,geneva,sans-serif][size=4]I haven't read it yet, it's an early Christmas present.[/size][/font] [font=tahoma,geneva,sans-serif][size=4]Oh and as Muscle Shoals has been mentioned, dare I add Chess Records, too?[/size][/font] [/quote] I think you may - but hey what about James Brown - not a mention in this thread but surely the coolest of all soul singers (phenomena in Brown's case) and bands from the 50s until they morphed into funk in the 70s - and I love all the post 70s stuff as well - neither Motown, Stax, Atlantic or Chess. Now that band could groove!!

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1453729232' post='2962163'] I've just realised that the title of this thread may actually have been a request .. [/quote] Surely not .....

[quote name='obi 2 kenobi' timestamp='1453722564' post='2962057'] Yes, the link I sent (on page 2 with graphs) mentions both bass and treble are cut & boost but the cut on the bass is very small - "And looking at the T=0, B=0 curve at the top of your post, I see the evidence for the claim that although the bass pot is supposed to be boost only, it actually has a cut (very small, like -2dB) when set to zero." Personally I find that setting bass to 50% is not flat - its a definite boost. But then again I have a '78 model when there was little consistency. [/quote] Yes I agree. I tend to run mine at full with the treble backed off a little, and then adjust back if I want to bring the mid range up. I also agree with the significant sound variation available from moving the plucking hand and also from the intensity of plucking the strings. One thing I hadn't appreciated but I picked up from watching a Bernard Edwards/Chic performance is the sound variation by plucking between the pick up and bridge. The range of sound available from a 2 band MM bass is excellent. Even before you start adding in the mutes etc.

Regrettably, we all will one day ........... There have been some notable expulsions in the past and departures in sympathy on occasion - this seems to happen on most forums.

[quote name='obi 2 kenobi' timestamp='1453714250' post='2961945'] This is correct. Link below explains it all. http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/instruments-amps/226943-understanding-music-man-stingray-2-band-preamp.html Note I have a 2eq and a 3eq. With a 2eq, I find it better to go easy on bass boost as it quickly becomes overpowering. [/quote] I agree with this - except for the boost and cut - see attached clarification - also clarified in the thread by Rod Trussbroken (owner of the website Musicman.org). http://forums.ernieball.com/music-man-basses/52008-cut-boost-2-band-eq.html

[quote name='Greg.Bassman' timestamp='1453668276' post='2961634'] The quote that I have sent off for was to Musicman themselves; 100% uncompromised Ernie Ball. Do you think [i]that bass[/i] would be the same, or feature detents? [/quote] All of the 2 bands, be they in USA Sub, standard Stingray 2 bands or Classic Rays (or pre Ernie Ball for that matter) do not have centre detent controls so yours won't have them. The only minor differences around, but rare, are the gilded white LE Stingray (produced a few years back as a PDN model) on which one of the three controls is a push-pull pot which activates/deactivates the active electronics and changes to a passive tone control. To make matters more complicated, EBMM supplied a limited number of regular Rays (and possibly Classic Rays) to Guitar Centre in the same time period with this same feature, which crop up on classifieds (usually Talkbass) occasionally. Some USA Subs were built as passive basses and thus do not have active electronics. The 133 basses were IIRC standard red, white or blue coloured 2 band Stingrays, as stated provided with a gig bag instead of a hard case, and were part of a celebration of 50 years of Strings and Things distributing in the Uk for EB. They were originally £999 new. 133 is part of the build code.

[quote name='Doctor J' timestamp='1453634876' post='2961176'] On the 2-band the bass is boost only, the treble is cut and boost. [/quote] I think it's been quoted by EBMM that the bass and treble controls on the 2 band EQ are both cut and boost. I agree entirely that these are very much adjust according to what your ears tell you - also as you cut/boost, the mid range is more/less audible. The high pass filter on the EBMM 3 band EQ is designed to adjust out boomy bass frequencies.

[quote name='Rich' timestamp='1453592765' post='2960964'] Meh-yow, surely? [/quote] Autocorrect problem??

[quote name='Greg.Bassman' timestamp='1453603632' post='2961006'] Unlike the 3-band, which features centre detents to indicate the 'flat' point of the bass, I believe the 2-band controls are boosts only; does this mean that the 'flat' point on the 2-band is when both controls are rolled off to 0? or am I off? Cheers. [/quote] Correct they don't have a centre decent but they are boost and cut. The 3 band EQ has more mid range at centre detent so you have to cut it a little (and boost bass and treble slightly) to get a comparable sound. The 2 band does sound excellent though and is a good choice.

[quote name='UglyDog' timestamp='1453574743' post='2960738'] [/quote] Shouldn't that be miowww?

Really liking that 40th Anniversary Ray - other pictures on the net show the burst as being quite a stunner.

[quote name='NJE' timestamp='1453405160' post='2959296'] Both all kinds of fugly! What on earth are they thinking? I love music man stuff, I thought the new Sabres in the cool colours were amazing, but these just look a bit naff. I got all excited thinking they had released a graphite neck stingray/sabre again. To be honest I would look at the new Sandberg VM5 HH now that the Sabre has gone. Great colours and it even looks similar with the new body shape. [/quote] The Stingray can still be had in HH form - I'm glad I got a Classic Sabre but having been and tried a number out, I felt they were too similar to my Ray HH to justify buying one.......... until the Neptune blue package appeared with mahogany body and roasted oil and wax finish neck - basically the Sabre has never sold well in any of its three incarnations.

As for the Caprice and Cutlass basses, it will be very interesting to hear how these sound and feel to play. I like the look of the split P type pick up with large exposed poles - reminiscent of one of the earliest Stingray prototypes. If they are as good as the Big Al then that will be excellent. I'm not sure about people saying meh on the basis of one or two pictures - oh I almost forgot - it's a bass forum where such things are de rigeur.....

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1453392066' post='2959096'] The 10 pole piece pickup has been engineered from the original - same with the preamp. They should sound quite different. [/quote] Also has an alder body according to the spec list.

[quote name='keefbaker' timestamp='1453208679' post='2957372'] Not seen another thread about this so I thought I'd start one. Managed to watch the first half last night (busy day) and it's really good so far. Anybody else got this yet? [/quote] My son has it and I watched it with him. I thought it was very good. We both thought it inspired picking up a bass and playing - especially the excerpts from the instructional video with Jerry Jemmott.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1452951186' post='2954986'] the groove is sacrificed for the fluff in that example... IMO [/quote] Yeah possibly - but this really is more towards the pop end of the soul/R and B spectrum - however it's a pretty good copy of the original (with a few fluffs), which does have that extended 16th note groove at the end - the timing and accents of the original sound a bit unusual - this was one of a number of Chic/Sister Sledge/Sheila B Devotion/Diane Ross Edwards/Rogers produced covers which I played in a touring covers band at the end of the 70s and that song certainly got people up dancing - I think the bass 16th note groove just adds to the intensity - quite clever the way it's restricted only to one bar every twelve until the end when it cuts loose. Very clever guys as writers, arrangers and musicians.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1452889402' post='2954562'] Curious, I had never seen the MM humbucker in that shape (long ear, rather than two individual ears on the bass side)... I guess I haven't been paying attention! That blue looks lovely with the maple neck! Yum! [/quote] They appear on all of the multi pick-up Stingray and Sterling 4 strings which started in 2005 ish - like a Bongo pick up case. Also don't have the raised A and D pole pieces like the single H versions (of the 4 string). Blue Dawn is an awesome colour - the sparkle is subtle in normal light but can be outrageous in bright lighting.

[quote name='JamesBass' timestamp='1452837225' post='2953900'] Spent all of yesterday afternoon focusing on this one, that chucking technique really is hard to begin with, especially as you're skipping a string to play the 7th and the octave! But I'm getting there, I'm not at tempo yet but should be by later today! [/quote] As I said, I've played this since 1978 and always finger style - it sounds fine like that and is fairly typical of disco pop bass parts of the time although possibly one of the best. Bernard Edwards once described his own playing as basically an extension of Jamerson. Unless you find it easy to do I wouldn't worry too much about the chucking style - as I said finger style is fine on this and part of the line is most likely played like that anyway. The key is keeping the groove going and also that octave jumping.

Ha ha!! And in answer to the original question, you can never have too many basses......

Ha ha!! And in answer to the original question, you can never have too many basses......