Chiliwailer

Ah man, this little anti-GAS circle is perfect, I can almost feel my shoulders relaxing already. I’m sure you’ll agree, it’s been great to have bought and sold loads of basses to check out and jam on, but sometimes a cycle needs a break...or dare I say it...an end

I agree with Gaz above, especially regarding the updated EQ and lack of raspy tones. I’m kind of on the fence to be honest, though I think the Specials are excellent and much more refined I still love the attitude of my 2015 3 band EQ Stingray too. I couldn’t call either ‘better’ than the other. Ideally I’d have both, but only one can stay so it’s the Special as it’s lighter and is an HH. Edit - the Special can still do attitude, but there’s something more ‘punky’ about the old one that I still like. YMMV.

I’m with you, 100%. I would like the purchase of my Stingray Special to be my last bass related purchase for at least a year. I think I’ve used up my lifetime quota of basses to own I told my wife that I’d give £100 to charity if I buy anything in the next calendar year, she reminded me that giving £100 to charity may give me a ‘feel good’ factor that helps me justify it. So, I’ve had to add a weekend away for her too.

If anyone is interested in how these are with flats, I've put some Chromes on and I doubt I'll be able to take them off now. Even with rounds I found all pickup positions very usable, but with the flats I've managed to make the neck pickup sound closer to a P Bass, whilst backing off the bass and treble a touch. Doesn't sound as P like as my Fender P, but it's passable and great in the mix. Great slap sound too with both pickups on. Very happy bunny

Nice one! I saw that bass’s twin there yesterday and had a little play, it was gorgeous. There is something so stylish and classic about a single H Ray, they look so much better. 👍

Wow, £2699, that’s much much more than anywhere else isn’t it? You’re right to wait, they are so nice that I’d have possibly walked away with an H if I clicked with one and the HH wasn’t there, lucky I didn’t as I love some of the other pickup positions. The Ying Yang vibe is pretty cool. I’m selling my Old Smoothie to clear a bit of debt and because I didn’t feel like I needed two Rays, so instead Yesterday I get into more debt and buy more Rays!!!! So time will tell if it stays or not, it won’t be a hasty decision.

Another shout out for Andertons, and particularly Dave. All the the staff I spoke to were spot on, however Dave was the guy who sorted me out, getting me some scales, basses from the warehouse, and all with a 'absolutely no problem' type vibe. Super helpful and great bloke, cheers for the help and Stingray Dave, was a pleasure

Right you are, it’s definitely a kick yourself type of bass if I sold it.

Oh my gosh, that neck!!!! It’s hands down the nicest neck I’ve had, it instantly felt like home. I thought my old Lull’s had the nicest necks, but this one tops them. Yes, the EQ is pretty much as you described on mine, it feels more ‘usable’ in that with my old Ray is mostly set and forget, but this one seems to dial in more options.The mid is like you said earlier, the centre point is like the old one dialled down some, and the maximum on mine is like the old one on about 80%-ish at a guess. It’s early days though, and I mostly played the bridge pickup tooay and some position 4, which I think is inner coils. I’ve got two days on it before I go away for a couple of weeks, so best get some playing in this weekend! I was hoping to sell my white Ray, as part of my payback plan. But like you said, I’m not sure this replaces it, and that white one is special (it must be, as I don’t like owning white basses ) so the jury is out right now.

There was a sunburst HH on display, that’s all I can tell ya. I think their site is pretty up to date though.

Exactly that mate, I hadn’t even considered this colour until I got there and had it stare at me. The other colours are really nice, but I didn’t feel like any were in my dull comfort zone

Haha, you mean the ‘coach of doom’ surely?! Its super comfy, nice and versatile, and very different to my other Ray. Would be nice if I’m not touting it to you in the future 😂 I think the colours need to be seen in the flesh, so to speak. The Burnt Apple has a lot more sparkle than I presumed, and the charcoal sparkle looked seriously sparkly in the shop. The two blue ones looked different to me too, and even the stealth hardware looked different to me close up. What colours were you after?

Please ignore all my other posts above about not being in the market for one...after a bit of curiosity, ‘clever accounting’ and a trip to Andertons I came away with one The purist in me wanted a single H, but having had a HH 5’er before I was interested again, and after clicking with this HH I had to have it so got the old plastic out. I was honestly quite prepared to come away empty handed, and almost expected to because I already have a killer Ray, but they really are fine instruments and 8.6 is a nice weight. . The new colours are great, the charcoal and burnt apple really sparkle in the light nicely. The stealth black hardware was cool, though surprisingly it didn’t call out to me like I thought it would the more time I spent with it. The older Rays in the Shop didn’t sound good at all next to the Specials, however my 2015 Ray is an exceptionally good one and next to my new Special they kind of compliment each other. I wouldn’t say either was better, just different. The 2015 sounds like it has more growl, ring and roughness, whereas the Special sounds like a Ray that’s been smoothed off a little. It took a while to get used to the tone controls as they of course react differently to the old style, but the results are great and I like it.

For those of you asking about weIght, I’ve just been to Andertons, and weighed about 4 of them there. They were between 8.6 to 9.6 lbs, even a regular H was 9.6, and I saw a similar one that weight at GAK.

I still reckon its 3:1 odds on

It seems silly for you not to have one pal, you have some absolutely stunning Ray's and you owe it to them to add the new kid on the block to the family. Can't wait to see what you get...

Get yer sampler out! 😁 Lovely looking bass...

Quite glad I’m not buying a Special at the moment, each day I have a different colour preference!

I'd love the natural / maple H. If i had the cash, I'd be more than happy to splash out. My only other concern is that I'm very fond of my current Ray... and you know all about me and getting rid of 'excess' basses 😄

@hiram.k.hackenbacker you’re suspiciously quiet in this thread right now...