drTStingray

As you say, you saved up a decent amount if money so you need to spend it wisely - if I was buying a bass in this price range I would:- a) avoid buying things you haven't at least played an example of in a shop, and if possible try the actual bass you're buying b ) go for the style of bass which you prefer - remember there are lots of other valid instruments other than Fender Jazz and Fender Precision clones - not everyone likes these - there's a vast array of music which has been recorded on these basses - and a vast array of equally memorable music and particularly bass played on other makes such as Gibson, Rickenbacker, Musicman etc etc c) don't necessarily plump for something just because of the name on it - when I bought a bass for my eleven year old son many years ago I had a long chat with the guy in the shop over whether I should buy a Squier or one of the other cheap Fender copies - I ended up buying one of the others and he still has that bass, it's been heavily gigged and still sounds good - it's not his number 1 as he now has a Stingray and an Ibamez Musician, both of which are top class basses. d) look at Rickenbacker and Stingray copies - the Sub Sterling by Musicman Ray is an excellent bass for the money (Andertons had a used one when I was there the other day). e) try as many types as you can in shops

My SR5 has a lot more body resonance than the 4 - It creates what I would call a more growly sound - I can't say I've noticed the issue you mention (my 5 is in the 92-08 period when they had ceramic magnet pickups) but I've thought my US Sub 5 can sound a little like that - at least I thought so until I saw a You Tube video of a performance with it - talk about fat sounding!! The upper register popped sound is more like an Alembic (though to me the stage sound was a little thin). It may be worth you checking the pick up height setting, that all the saddle screws are touching the bridge and set the string height/neck relief to factory settings. It's surprising how much difference this can make. I tend to boost my bass and treble EQ a little and cut the mid a little to obtain a Classic Stingray sound. I them use the mid range to make fine adjustment dependent on what the song requires and what the other instruments are doing. The ceramic SR5 is significantly more punchy sounding than the Alnico version in my experience.

[quote name='cana.dan' timestamp='1449502669' post='2924125'] Stingray classic owner here. Love it, the electronics are the same but the body is a slab rather than the contours of the standard one. You also have a 7.25 inch radius. [/quote] Skinny frets, string through body, chrome battery cover. Different finishes and a stunning figured maple neck. I've had mine since they were first introduced in 2010 - it's a stunning bass and has more recently been joined by a classic Sabre bass. My Classic Ray has done a large number of gigs but is still good as new. The sound is great and it's currently strung with TI flats for that real Bernard Edwards sound. I have tried the current AV 63 P bass (sonic blue) and AV 64 Jazz (LPB) - they are both very good (though a recent extended play in a shop on an Adam Clayton Jazz has made me realise the current high end US medals are also v good). No I wouldn't swap my Classic Ray for either - having used it last weekend in a six piece band, just the sound on the Sade songs alone was enough to make me smile inanely - I might have the P in addition but not instead.

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1448819668' post='2918378'] I've seen worse. In fact some of you are probably playing things that I see as worse ... so I apologise. [/quote] I went to a large retailer's shop on Friday and would have tried one of these out but couldn't find one. However they had lots of other basses with funny things like offset contour bodies and four in line headstocks, none of which make any sense at all aesthetically ......... I think you're right et, many of us are probably playing far more ungainly devices than this!! I still can't help thinking there's an element of looking down the nose at entry level basses in this thread though I may have completely the wrong end of the stick!!!

[quote name='Meddle' timestamp='1448813626' post='2918323'] [/quote] I once played in a tribute band - the type involving pink guitars and a lead guitarist with large, 60s style spectacles (like Hiram K Hackenbacker's!!!!) - the guitarist turned up one gig with a whizzo music stand which clipped on to a Mike stand - great for small stages (or pubs) - by Stagg. On pointing out to the owner that the same firm was advertised in my local Greggs as providing part of the ingredient for their chilli con carne he replied rather tersely:- 'no doubt - BUT IT'S A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT COMPANY'!!! So there you go guys, you appear to have it completely wrong...... !!

Yeah I spent 45 mins playing one last week at Andertons. It was very nice indeed. It was fun running through various sounds with it and I thought it was a very nice, highly playable instrument. The colour's really gorgeous and I thoroughly enjoyed playing it. I'm actually gassing for a pre CBS so I played this to get an idea of a high end current Fender to compare. As with gsg, I really didn't have any thoughts of it being a signature bass, just a v nice passive US Jazz in a very fetching colour (the signature is actually quite a discreet squiggle on the headstock). Congrats on your bass.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1448582451' post='2916705'] To be fair, I don't like Alembics either - they look like they've got buttocks. It's an arse issue, nothing more. But let's not go there. [/quote] Lol!!

[quote name='Meddle' timestamp='1448579296' post='2916676] Stagg seem totally obsolete when you can buy beginner basses from Yamaha and Ibanez now with no discernible defects whatsoever. [/quote] I would disagree with that. The Stagg bass I referred to in the previous post had replaced a Soundgear the G string of which was inaudible and various pots broke - it did not stand the rigours!!

I've been watching this thread with interest - and marvelling at the armchair diagnosis of a bass which no one seems to have played ......... Apparently it has a solid mahogany body and maple neck so should be resonant and solid. I quite like the look of it with its nod towards Alembic and Gibson. I don't share the sentiment of looking down the nose at bargain basement entry level stuff and presuming it will be no good. I've played Stagg basses and they've been fine for what they are - get a reasonable sound and are playable (and from what I've seen are robust enough to last years as a jam session instrument played by all and sundry). As the purchaser of an Encore Precision copy for my son about 15 yrs ago, it's still going strong, stays in tune and sounds....... Like a Precision!! In fact in spite of having acquired several high end instruments over the years he still occasionally uses the Encore and has not felt the need to replace it with s Fender, such is its ability to make the right generic sound!!! I suspect Messrs Stagg, Encore and Vintage and all the other regular entry level people are actually doing just fine!!

[quote name='Sonic_Groove' timestamp='1448289987' post='2914169'] There are even more great bass players on Ferry's solo albums. Late one's (Boys & Girls on) heavily feature one Mr Marcus Miller!! B PS RIP Spenner & Gusto [/quote] Shared sentiment on AS and JG. If you watch Ferry on the Live Aid video you'll see Marcus sporting a rather new looking modded jazz (his normal one) - it's a shame that his sound (IMO) is not good, and pales into also ran when compared with Pino on fretless Stingray and Trace Elliott with Paul Young elsewhere in the concert. Quite disappointing but then Marcus redeemed himself for me on live Miles films of that era when both his playing and sound were sublime.

[quote name='Mudpup' timestamp='1447968743' post='2911988'] Just received this lovely Stingray today 3eq with maple neck and in a pretty rare colour Autumn Redburst. It's all sparkly in the right light so gotta break out the disco pants! [URL=http://s1271.photobucket.com/user/mudpup1/media/Guitars/_57%208.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1271.photobucket.com/albums/jj640/mudpup1/Guitars/_57%208.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://s1271.photobucket.com/user/mudpup1/media/Guitars/_57%2013.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1271.photobucket.com/albums/jj640/mudpup1/Guitars/_57%2013.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://s1271.photobucket.com/user/mudpup1/media/Guitars/_57%2011.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1271.photobucket.com/albums/jj640/mudpup1/Guitars/_57%2011.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://s1271.photobucket.com/user/mudpup1/media/Guitars/_57%2014.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1271.photobucket.com/albums/jj640/mudpup1/Guitars/_57%2014.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [/quote] V nice - love that colour - I have at the back of my mind it may be called Autumn red rise sparkle. EBMM customer services would confirm based on serial number.

[quote name='zawinul' timestamp='1448021129' post='2912337'] Quite literally pissing myself!! best thing ive ever seen!!! [/quote] Oo a Wal as well .......... I learned Teen Town amongst a load of other Jaco stuff probably about 10 yrs ago - I copped out when I realised I was making v v v slow progress on the bass solo on Havona - I got about half way through and realised it was ludicrous even trying to learn it. I've kept Teen Town in my home noodle routine (I have never come across anyone else who can play the other parts!!) and thought - I'll never use it - however I play in a funky/souly blues band and for a laugh I played the first few sections of it as part of a bass solo in Cissy Strut - played in a jam session. What was even more fun was a few acts later a million notes per second bassist was obviously influenced by it and played some out of context descending semi tone stuff. All v tongue in cheek!! I think learning JP stuff and particularly in the context of the chord structure and some of the bass part structures has taught me a lot, which I have used in other, more sensible contexts. As with learning several other things (eg the unison riff in Sir Duke) - Teen Town is a great test to see if that GAS inducing vintage guitar or amp/cab in the shop can keep up - or at least whether your playing of it sounds as good as playing it on/through your own equipment/instrument!! I have to say some I've tried have been an abject failure - such as a 76 Stingray through a flip top Ampeg - which on playing the Sir Duke unison riff had no sound other than fret noise from the top three notes owing to a serious neck issue!! I may not have found that out quite so quickly and emphatically!

Not forgetting all of Gustafson, Spenner and Tibbs played Wal, and got that fabulous sound on Avalon and the like. I'm really surprised that Mr Tibbs played on the single Jealous Guy as it sounds so much like Alan Spenner to be unreal. I think possibly Alan Spenner played on the Woodstock Joe Cocker film - he certainly ranks as one of my favourite ever bass players with groove and note choice/musicality on a par with Jamerson and Palladino - greatly underrated. That whole nucleus of Kokomo played on quite a lot of stuff in the 70s - I have an old Alvin Lee live album (in Flight), which has most of Kokomo on it, including Spenner on bass. Spenner in some ways is interesting in progressing from P bass to Wal. He made a P bass sound absolutely great but the Wal really brought out the nuances of his playing - saw him live at a Kokomo reunion concert in the late 70s using the Wal and the live sound was just unbelievably good - one of the reasons I want one ....

[quote name='LayDownThaFunk' timestamp='1447834399' post='2910703'] Why buy something without even trying it first? [/quote] Unfortunately this is reality for many bass purchases in the UK - I have several Musicman basses all of which have been bought from order or used - mostly without trying them. These days many music shops with one of two exceptions seem to have huge guitar sections and very small bass stock - you may find one Musicman and a few SBMM or Subs but most of what you want would have to be ordered. Same goes for most brands. I guess it just reflects the level of guitar sales compared with bass.

[quote name='No. 8 Wire' timestamp='1447807754' post='2910665'] That's great info. Which gauge of cobalt are you using on the fretless? [/quote] The cobalt flats are 100 80 65 45 (pink pack). They're packaged as Slinky Flatwound.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1447836785' post='2910733'] Not sure they came with flats.. mine didn't. Around 82-ish [/quote] They came with GHS flats up to circa 78 when they changed to GHS rounds. Mine also came with rounds in 1980. BE's was a 77 bass. IMO flats on a Stingray make the biggest difference to the timbre of popped notes and perhaps enable a bit more thump. If you bought yours new JTUK, 1982 is quite a late pre EB and well into the Jackson made period.

[quote name='zawinul' timestamp='1447806742' post='2910658'] Probably my favourite band of all time, I keep discovering new things in their music. . Its got immense groove and technicallry so complex on another planet really!! [/quote] Yes agreed - I love it - 35 yrs or so after first hearing it. I went through a phase of learning Weather Report pieces from transcriptions about 10 yrs ago - I still play Teen Town when practicing at home but have never been able to keep up adequately playing along with the CD!!

There's a review of these basses (4 and 5 string) in Bass Player magazine this month. They also mention the controls but also say the individual elements of the stack knobs are difficult to operate independently - I.e. It's difficult to operate the mid control for instance without moving the mid sweep. I was quite surprised because I'd never seen this mentioned on Basschat or Talkbass despite seemingly hundreds of posts about these basses. Maybe the test ones had unusually finicky controls.

Jaco used an octaver on one section of the song. The live DVD I have of Weather Report clearly shows Zawinul doubling the bass part on a synth with his left hand - seemingly effortlessly - the bass part played by Jaco is great in itself but played together - Incredible.

[quote name='No. 8 Wire' timestamp='1447678358' post='2909411'] Have you also tried TI flats? How do they compare tension wise if so? I really like the low tension of the TI flats but I'm interested in trying out the cobalts. [/quote] I have TI flats on a Classic Ray and EB cobalt flats on a fretless 3 band Ray. The tension is very similar IMO. The TI flats with the 2 band Ray can get a decent slap sound - indeed the band I play in has a couple of songs with slap - one has a solo and I've used the Classic Ray without a problem, simply tweaking the onboard EQ. The fretless with the cobalt flats is quite interesting - the sound is quite unique it's closer to having rounds sound wise but the feel is as per flats. I've wound the mutes on slightly on the E and A strings to get more thump and take the mwah a little - leaving the D and G to sing freely - which they do very nicely. I've played a couple of gigs with it and am very pleased. Well worth the added expense in both cases for me. That said I also have a Ray or two with zingy rounds so can get that fix if desired!! Interesting to see the Nile Rodgers tweet. I read somewhere that Stingrays were shipped with flats until 1978 when they changed to rounds. BEs Ray was a 77 so will have come with flats and he was famously interviewed stating his strings were the ones which came on the bass - I'm guessing that was around 78. Also, as a BE fan trying to emulate his sound with a Stingray from around 1980, the one element i could never get to sound right was the popping on We Are Family - until I played it on my Classic Ray with TI flats. So I think that song was played on the Stingray with flats. I wonder what point he actually changed over?

[quote name='rogerstodge' timestamp='1447436127' post='2907713'] Lefty bass player is Lee Pomeroy, plays left hand with it strung right handed, E string where the G should be?? [/quote] Well done for mentioning this - I'd almost forgotten this was a bass forum!! And you are right - he's also an excellent bass player - love his work with Take That as well.

Sounds great - apparently she played guitar on it as well. More info and a second link in here http://forums.ernieball.com/music-man-basses/61627-carole-kaye-music-man-stingray-bass.html

Nice to hear the intricacies of the bass line beyond the octave line at the beginning. Must say I don't particularly like the bass sound - a little coarse, particularly when heard higher in the mix. I guess the best available at the time and didn't really matter because it would be far less audible through a contemporary Dansette record player or Bush transistor radio. Even less so on MW stations.

[quote name='clarkpegasus4001' timestamp='1446750831' post='2902103'] Thanks, I've seen one with the "letterbox" in the corner but not one as you describe. I wasn't sure if they used the standard oblong type without lettering or not, a bit like the Fender cases. if I can't find one i'll have to get the "letterbox" type. Thanks for your reply. [/quote] Some useful info here - basically as per similar era Stingray - where the guy mentions other makers of the basses after CLF it means Jackson, and subsequently Ernie Ball. Musicman and CLF fell out big time over instrument manufacturing quality issues. It seems relatively rare to find pre EBMMs in original cases. The teardrop ones seem to command quite a price without a bass in them!! http://forums.ernieball.com/music-man-basses/61373-what-correct-case-78-sting-ray.html

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1446681423' post='2901508'] LOL, . I'm not really into funk and groove, stuff like that. [/quote] No problem!!