drTStingray

I use the unison riff in Sir Duke sometimes to test sound, playability, comfort across the whole neck. This had found two vintage basses on sale at quite high price to be inoperable (didn't work) above 14th fret owing to neck issues. Well having learned it years ago there's precious little chance there'll be other use for it!!!

Well I must be the exception to the rule here - every band I've played in in the last 10 yrs has had at least one person using a stand (the lead vocalist) - ive occassionally used one if depping and reading chord charts or parts. There's often precious little room to do this - once the drummers set up (I well recall a certain dep drummer turning up at a small country pub gig and filling the entire space for the band with drums) and each guitarist having set their amp, multiple guitar stands. And particularly pedals, which take an area the size and shape of a spiv's opened suitcase, there's sometimes precious little room for the bass player and their mini stack let alone music stands. I played in a tribute band at one time and the leader was so OCD he bought everyone drinks holders to fix on Mike stands but more to the point, everyone was required to use a music stand with no paper on the floor. The lead guitarist found a great mini stand which fixed on the side of a Mike stand as well - I shared this if I needed sheets (sometimes obscure instrumentals were added to the set which required precise playing - and which weren't recently rehearsed). So music stands are fine but bear in mind there's rarely room and also the light available only renders them legible with v large writing or a lamp!! Best bet is to learn everything but it's not always possible. And major artists often use autocue!!!

[quote name='Pinball' timestamp='1417784044' post='2623970'] I think it was some of the early 5 stringers that had issues. [/quote] It was designed in 1976 - I think to overcome issues with dead spots. And judging by the cunning positions some of my favourite artists have played their bass lines on Precisions (and Jazzes) in the past I can only assume they did it to avoid 5th and 6th frets on the G string. As for Musicman and specifically G string on Stingray string to string balance, I have seven such instruments and don't have the problem. I have a problem if I'm playing in a band with heavy guitars in the same sonic area, or heavy left hand keyboard. Sometimes you need to turn up - consider playing in a different position or if playing with a scooped sound, maybe boost the mids. This is no different from any other bass I've played - it's a bass player's issue I think - hearing yourself can be an issue in some bands.

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1417693471' post='2623071'] Yeah, but come on. They are features that can be found on Stingray's quite easily, but not necessarily in the same place. I could live without the roasted neck to be honest, but you try finding a white maple board SLO. They would have to make it to order anyway and I really don't think the extra couple of details is asking too much. Price was never discussed, not that they are going to get any more of my money anyway. Fender, for all their faults, will actually build what you ask for. [/quote] I don't think they've ever offered a bass with roasted maple neck and painted headstock. And the gold bits are pretty rare - just thought of another of those - 2006 limited edition - black with gold hardware! Hiram K - my beef with Fender is they offer very limited colours on standard instruments so you have to go custom shop even for a sensible set of colour options (unless for instance you're willing to buy a Squier instead of s US standard to get the colour you want). I guess you make your choice - mine usually falls with EBMM - largely cos I got the bug in 1979 and they've created GAS with me ever since. One day I might buy a CS or a vintage Fender, who knows.

Ah roasted neck as well - that's also not available except on special runs I think.

All of what you want is available to standard order EXCEPT the gold plumbing. IIRC they have only offered this on certain runs like that white PDN stingray and a couple of runs for Guitar Centre (pace car blue and Indian ivory - both on certain configurations of SR4 and SR5). My guess is that gold bits are uneconomic unless done in some sort of minimum quantity bulk run and this is probably the sticking point. You could order the bass and get the bits gold plated by some aftermarket firm!! Put this another way around, I once lusted after a new Fender Jazz in lake placid blue. I found that one the most ubiquitous basses in the business was available to buy in about four colours with precious little other option - despite the nice Fender catalogue of the day having a full page of colour chips including LPB. So I timidly asked whether I could order one - big sharp intake of breath - ooo no sir, not unless you're a very famous artist!!!! I later found out this was code for we're not a custom shop dealer and I'm buggered if im going to send you in their direction of there's a glimmer of chance I can twist your arm to buy a sunburst one. But what if I had found out the custom shop option? No doubt I could have ordered one but it would have cost an arm and a leg also - now that is what I really call crap with a capital C. Anyway I digress - clearly unlike Fender who try to be all things to all people and fail abysmally a lot of the time, EBMM have carved out a market niche which is a different model and don't run a custom shop. A bummer if that's what you want but I sure know who I'd much rather deal with!! As I said, you can always add bells and whistles later, a bit like LED markers etc.

What a shame - that's a really nice looking bass. I would be well pissed off. I would tend to agree with Howiebass. However I would wonder also what the dealer thought they were up to letting an instrument go to a customer in such a state - or perhaps Fender are as bad with their dealers as one hears they are with customers. You could ask for your money back and buy a different make with more certainty of quality control. What is it with Fender? It seems to rely on the name alone and from what one hears has a disregard for customer focus, has fluctuating quality control, and poor after service. This type of attitude has seen whole industries go to the wall in the past ( British car manufacturers and motor bike manufacturers spring to mind).

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1417567243' post='2621943'] i just don't get it.. its almost like a cult. anything that is said against Music Man is blaspheme. its very odd.. even Fender die hards don't do this.. I'm not going to give you a link to the thread for fear of reprisals. Does Ernie give out some sort of drugs with his basses that indoctrinates you.? its actually quite annoying. [/quote] Bubinga - I sometimes take issue with people and am a Musicman fan and player - the problem I have is when people blame the bass when it is very likely the way they're either playing it, the way they've chosen to set it up (or someone else has) or the way they're Eq ing their amp or the bass - but insist its a design fault. I find I'm able to recreate the exact issue but don't see it as a design issue more a user limitation/issue. So yes, I have been known to argue with people over such things when I can be bothered! I suppose it's not liking something you hold quite dearly slagged off, possibly unfairly and in a way to give the wrong impression. On the other hand if someone just doesn't like them then fine - their choice! To use an analogy - if someone told me they thought front wheel drive cars burn front tyres at a ridiculous rate and they then tell me they turn off the traction control and spin the wheels all the time I might form a certain view!!!

I have very tempted to buy a Sub several times. However once you've had the best dressed US version (especially the Classic version), then the whole experience is different - they're gorgeous basses. I don't begrudge paying full whack for my new Classic Ray ) in 2010) - I would have had to wait at least 12 months to get a secondhand one and even then I've only ever seen one in the same colour for sale secondhand in the UK. Three of my EB Rays are currently worth more 2nd hand than they were new - and a couple of others are getting there - so not bad eh 😉

I risked it - and it's usually ok. However there's currently a thread with several indignant posts - concerning Limelight guitars .......

Crikey - have the men in White coats released you guys yet? Come to think if it today's and my last couple of gigs involved no Stingray .............. but they did involve a SABRE - so I must still be ok!!!

[quote name='DunRockin' timestamp='1415911146' post='2605242'] So - they be dark ('royal') blue silk at both ends with ball ends plain/uncoloured. I'm not at all familiar with flats, but the flat windings are very, very close and strings feel completely sheer. And the tension is clearly no more than rounds. If anything slightly flappier. [/quote] The strings on my fretless Stingray match this description exactly - they are Ernie Ball group 3 flatwounds. Can't upload pics from phone unfortunately. Re another reply in this thread - I've also had green wrapped strings - they were Rotosound Solo bass (half wound - mid way between flats and rounds).

To the subject of the venerable old Precision bass - in some cases less venerable. The real cheap ones such as JHS, Squier or Encore can certainly get a nice P bass sound at lower volumes and recorded. However these are entry level basses although Squier make the slightly better CV and VM. My view is the Mexican P bass sounds rather good of the genre and reasonably priced. I once tried loads of new and used ones back to back and the best of the bunch (nice and woody sounding) was a new 50th Anniversary one. It was certainly better than a couple of old 70s ones to my ears. I guess a good used American Standard or if you want to spend more money, Custom Shop would be good also - but entirely depends how much money you want to spend. If it was me I'd go Mexican or used American standard.

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1415102409' post='2596620'] They are 30p but if you are in a hurry and don't have the correct change you can go for free by just pulling the turnstile towards you just enough to pass through (and I'm not small)! [/quote] That could be a little dangerous in my case - invariably offloading 30p for a P at a major terminal is absolute desperation so the thought of squeezing through in such circumstances is unthinkable .........

[quote name='cameltoe' timestamp='1415023121' post='2595717'] +1 for CV [/quote] Oh yes agreed - Carol is still gorgeous in spite of minor flirtation with the Conservative Party....... Rachel Riley's not bad as well ............. note to self - must get out a little more, especially in the afternoons!

Another benchmark - and very difficult to do IMHO - strange accents http://youtu.be/JbNx7HDZDY8

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1415405836' post='2600143'] I often think that someone slapping down the pub thinking he's Larry Graham is similar to the bloke who plays football on Sunday mornings and thinks he's Ronaldo. Two are legends in their own lifetime while the other two are legends in their own bath-time. [/quote] That's a very funny analogy - to make it a little more inclusive surely someone playing Come Together thinking they're Paul McCartney or All Roght Now thinking they're Andy Fraser fall into the same category - or indeed anything a bit flash on any instrument in a cover band! I often think that slap bass gets a bad press largely from bass players (some of whom haven't learned to do it) - nice to see Guy Pratt play 2 of 3 numbers with Bryan Ferry tonight on Jools playing slap bass - what a rebel he is!!!!

Burgundy mist 64 with EMGs I think. But yes agreed - excellent. Bryan Ferry seems to be one of the few these days who has a band with a 'proper' bass sound rather than something from 50-60 yrs ago!!

Excellent stuff. V interesting. The funny thing about slap bass used sparingly is audiences love it! V powerful technique - not to be played in sunshine of your love but great used sparingly in R and B and other genres.

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1415200517' post='2597799'] Sounds like the bass solo could well be Demonterious Lawrence (aka Detoxxx). He has played bass for Kendrick Lamar on previous recordings as had Stephen 'Thundercat' Bruner. Both are top bass players in Hip Hop. Not bad bad for an old fella eh? Why don't 'the kids' on here know this stuff? [/quote] Hip hop drums and bass often have great groove. As for youngsters - haven't got a clue - my children have always opened my mind to new music - unfortunately so great is the groundswell of general pop muso centricity towards 60s and late 60s/early 70s rock music that seeing under 30 year olds basing their entire musical style around it is very common. Free rarely gets past All Right Now - Deep Purple, Black Knight etc. Extremely sad. That music is great but is 40 - 50 yrs old.

Loved it except for the guys voice - bass solo was excellent - I would have been shocked if I'd heard that on radio 1 as well!! Cool change when the sequence changes on the breakdown. Sounds a bit Jaco-esque - possibly a fretless - if it's a keyboard it doesn't sound like one!! Too many bass guitarisms in there - I've heard that bass sound before - Gerald Veasley/Jimmy Haslip? Who's that guy you're on about - Paul Rogers? Oo I remember now - he fronted a band I went to see in 1971 - fabulous 3 piece with an upfront bass sound - so impressed was I that I went to see them another 4 times!!

I blame that fella whose name rhymes with a UK music genre of the 90s - has the acronym to U Know I'm Pissed - spookily had to be filmed with an ice cream rather than a pint recently not far from here as he would have breached the no drinking alcohol in the street by law - anyway it's a shame she got sent back and missed the wondrous Level 42 - I've seen them 3 times and can vouch for their brilliance by totally unscientifically based opinion 😀

[quote name='Bolo' timestamp='1413729009' post='2581278'] IF bodywood matters in this way, the finish and treatment of parts matter too. Your example can in no way be connected to solely the wood genus. You may believe what you want ofcourse, but feedback from punters at a live band situation on a limited run specimen is unscientific. Cool to get positive comments on a collector's item like that though [/quote] Cheers Bolo. I wasn't suggesting anything I was saying bore any relation to a scientific approach - it's purely an anecdotal view of someone who has a few MM instruments and gigs them all regularly (including the rare Sabre)! But this really is the point - I don't buy the scientific arguments - I don't know if any of the rest of you have been around long enough to remember the early 70s tele ads claiming 9 out of 10 people couldn't taste the difference between xyz margarine and butter in a blind taste test!!! That was allegedly a scientific result (although they probably didn't tell you the sample had all been treated to a vesta curry (remember them bwahahaha) not long before - or perhaps they all had colds. I haven't concluded or articulated what I think the difference between my sabre and an ash one is but the wood looks denser - it's also one piece - suffice it to say it is quite different sounding to my ears - all I'll say for now is it sounds less compressed and has more sustain - aesthetics and playability are top notch - it's s beautiful bass.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1413671309' post='2580872'] The one fly in the ointment is the mahogany Stingray 30th anniversary model, everyone has agreed that it sounds different to every other Stingray made of the more usual,ash,alder or poplar. More punchy comes up everytime? [/quote] I have a brand new MM Sabre with a mahogany body and roasted maple neck. As it may be the only one in existence there's unlikely to be anyone to back up my view on the sound. I'm told by gig listeners who are bass players it sounds very focussed (more so than the ash bodied variant), nicely bassy sounding, but still sounds recognisably Musicman. It has phenomenal sustain - probably the best of all my Musicman basses. I've also noticed it can be more bassy. And another thing, in a hot, sweaty gig, the neck gives off a fine maple syrup smell. So yes, I believe the wood of both the neck and body makes more than an aesthetic difference. Pete, you could email EBMM for details of your solid coloured MMs. However unless trans red, they're likely to be ash if post late 90s. People always say good things about the 2003-2005 ish USA Sub Rays - these have poplar bodies. I have a 93 blueburst Ray which is either poplar or alder but most likely poplar. It sounds different from the ash bodied ones also. And particularly in the upper register.

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1412152528' post='2566081'] Not played a 'Classic', if I was buying a new 'Ray and had enough money I'd be looking at those first (although if I had that sort of money I'm sure I'd be looking for another Pre-EB!). I don't think they have any magic, they just suit me perfectly. The neck is quite wide (top to bottom) but also fabulously slim (front to back). Not sure I'd notice the board radius but I'm sure that adds to the feel. Do the maple Classic 'Rays have one piece necks (i.e. no separate fingerboard)? [/quote] The radius change reduces the depth front to back of the neck I think. The neck and fingerboard are made from the same piece of wood (for maple fingerboard basses) - the fingerboard is fitted to the neck after the truss rod has been fitted. It's a glued joint and extremely strong making for a rigid structure - it's very difficult to see the join as they match the woods. As you know, the pre EBs use a walnut insert (skunk stripe) as do the EBMMs up to the early 90s, with the truss rod adjuster at the headstock end - More recent MM basses have the wheel truss rod adjuster at the body end, as do all SR5s (from the start of production in 1987) The Classics generally have a varnished finish which is very slick to play (unless you get an LE like my new Sabre - it has an unfinished roasted maple neck which is even slicker than the regular one). You should try one - mine pushes all the classic Stingray buttons for me.