kyuuga

4 hours ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

Mmm. Doesn't sound very clean which leads me to wonder how that is being achieved. I assume it's not from within the instrument itself?

Sounds exactly like how a passive Musicman Stingray would sound in Joe Dart's hands to be honest.

3-3-0-0

Can't go wrong with a Power Trio, all the decisions are democratic and there's always a consensus since it's an odd number.

I was wondering the same a while ago...it's probably the most sold bass I've seen here on BC and it's one of the most expensive out there.

To me there's no way a Precision bass is ever worth that much. I mean, the Precision is the epitome of SIMPLE design. One pickup, two simple knobs (or even one in some cases) and it's plug & play. No active electronics, no fancy stuff, nothing. Just THE BASS.

I don't ever see how such a simple design could be worth 4000€. And I have no doubt in my mind that it is a fine bass with top quality - but you're surely paying 2 or 3k more than what it's really worth. And I guess most owners just come to that conclusion and end up selling it.

That sounded good! Everyone on the band sounds good and I love your tone but gotta give props to the drummer - he sounded so damn good and it must be a dream playing Rock with a drummer who doesn't just bash on his kit endlessly and can instead use proper dynamics to achieve amazing sounds (yes, I have traumatic experiences...).

As said before in the thread, I'd swap your place with the singer. Vocalist should always be in the middle/spotlight because it's the one most folks will be looking at. You and the guitarist on her side, drums in the back and keyboard player can go wherever the keyboard player wants to be. 🤣

Keep it up and best of luck with your gigs! Better than most cover bands I've seen around.

Stingray HH has got to be one of the most versatile basses ever! Dual Humbucker with 5 switching options AND an active 3-band EQ...

I mean, if you can't make it sing, then it's your fault only - can't blame the bass at that point. 😄

Congratulations on the purchase and enjoy it mate!

Bass Direct is amazing. I recently bought a bass from them and everything was super smooth. The customer service is amazing (I sent a mail and they answered me in like 5 minutes - in the morning), the packaging was the best I've ever seen and the prices are quite good.

It's awesome to have such a dedicated bass-only store with the best products and great service. I've never been to the physical shop but my experience from their online services was top notch.

2 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Yes it's a bumble bee. One of the most successful colour schemes on the planet. Just saying 😂

Here's my previous 'fugly' (well according to some) combo. Which just happened to knock any other combo I've come across out of the park!! Has more headroom than St Pauls (500W RMS through it's single 1x12 speaker without an extension cab). Weighed just 37 lbs.

Arguably the best gigging combo available. That worked for me! 

 

That one looks good though. Obviously tastes are personal but I don't think the yellow/black scheme is the problem. That's fine.

it's those ugly greens and the green/yellow combo that irks me. and also that "gold" colour they have on their basses is so...boring and unappealing. to me at least.

26 minutes ago, ped said:

The most offensive though is another P bass, ffs... but I guess session pros will need one

Fresh. Well played sir. 😂

5 minutes ago, wateroftyne said:

They're in a race to the bottom with Ashdown.

You're trying to tell me they paid someone to make THIS logo for them?

How do you like the OLP neck? Does it feel comfortable in your hands and do you like it? 

OLP MM's have a really thick neck, very baseball-like. I have an OLP MM and a Ray34 and although they're similar the OLP is even chunkier so if you're comfortable with it and it feels good I won't recommend a Jazz Bass-like neck - it'll feel like holding a toy. You can try it but you'll notice a huge difference.

If you like the Stingray sound, looks and feels then I definitely recommend going for one. Don't go ham on new basses, stick with what you know & love and get a proper one at a lower cost (an used Stingray for less than 1k is ideal). 

Check out some used Stingrays and see if there's one you like near you. Go try it out and make sure everything works. Used Stingrays are some of the best used basses you can find because their quality is usually pretty solid and as long as the electronics work properly it's a hell of a bass.

Honestly, no offense to the company, but Markbass art has always looked hideous to me. Most of it seems done by a 15-year old who's just starting on Photoshop and wants to be an artist.

The colour scheme is horrible (especially on those Ninja amps, yellow + green makes me puke - and it literally reminds me of puke).

These new basses also look awful to me, both aesthetically and pratically. Way too overloaded, tons of features that have been done before and probably way better by other brands. No originality, nothing new, just rehashing used concepts and painting the ugly Markbass logo in there.

No offense to them but they always seemed like such a generic company. I know some people like their sound & visuals. Even though the sound isn't my cup of tea I can respect people who like it but I have no idea how people put up with their visuals.

Seriously, how can anyone look at THIS and think it looks "cool" ? Looks like something I'd do in art class in the 5th grade.

14 hours ago, Radchenko said:

Hi, thanks for your help. He wants 1625 libras 😞

Hell no...for that money might as well add up 400 more and get a new 2018 Special.

Quickest change of mind I've ever seen! 

3 minutes ago, stoo said:

The Ray 34  has already had its headstock logo changed to StingRay... https://sterlingbymusicman.com/pages/stingray-ray34 

They've still got the Sterling by Musicman logo though, which is the bit that makes the least sense to me..... but then Sterling (the person) said that no-one would get Sterling (the company) confused with Sterling (the model), so no need to worry. 🙄

 

I'd love one of the new Stingrays but the price point puts me out of the running.... It wasn't that long ago they were knocking out those 133 series 2EQ rays for under a grand.... you'd think the new ones would be cheaper seeing as they're saving the cost of a screw for each neck joint

 

Yeah, the whole "Sterling by MusicMan" company is just insanely poor branding. I have no idea which advertising company they work with but someone has to tell them at some point...

5 hours ago, danny-79 said:

Sorry, I meant generally the quality of new stuff in general not Musicman, there new stuff just keeps getting better and warrants the extra $€£. In my opinion they are about the only one that does

Ah yes, you're completely right there. In my opinion once you pay more than 2000$ you're paying for the brand only and not the product. There's nothing else you can add at that price point that genuinely makes a difference. So I feel like the Stingray Specials are priced somewhat accordingly although, of course, we're still paying for the MusicMan brand which has become more and more valuable.

On the other hand cheaper instruments have become better and better at lower price points. Squier, Epiphone, Sire, Ibanez - all of these are making AMAZING instruments for just a few hundred dollars.

It's a very strange market at the moment because I feel like the midrange price point (700$-1200$) is being severely overlooked by companies and that's where most people would spend their money if they could imo. Just look at Mexican Fenders as the prime example.

Musicman is also being very naïve because they understimate how much people value the brand's name on their guitar. If they renamed the Ray34 into a Musicman Stingray (even if it was made in Indonesia) they'd see its sales go up through the roof. But of course they highly regard quality and they want every Stingray to be through safe QC and I respect that.

4 minutes ago, danny-79 said:

I’m a huge Musicman fan so I’m biased, possibly hated by fellow MM owners cause mine weren’t doing what I wanted so modified them to suit. 

Regarding prices of new basses/guitars I honestly don’t know what’s happened over the last decade. The quality has in a lot of cases gone down and the price tags over doubled?!?! 

Why do you say the quality has gone down?

If anything the new 2018 Stingray Specials are being praised for having extreme high quality and being boutique-level instruments.

So it seems like these basses are already available on Thomann and some other websites...what's up with that? How is Fender so slow in actually revealing their product and creating some hype? 

Either they ship the guitars to stores after they've done their promo videos or they don't. Obviously stores wanna sell them asap, I don't blame them.

Michael Shuman (Queens of the Stone Age)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9OfBcjyxKY

Kevin Baird (Two Door Cinema Club)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXwYJyrKK5A

Chris Edwards (Kasabian) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk5iMgG-WJI

Kevin Parker (Tame Impala)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnKUD_OztRE

Cole Whittle (DNCE) - not really Rock, it's more like Funk-Pop but still a hell of a bassline, very fun to play

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myaN5jTh79o

-------------

These aren't really obscure hits or anything (in fact, all of them are mainstream hits) but it's just some modern Rock songs & bands with some great bass playing. There's also great bassists from other genres like Bruno Mars' bassist, Jamareo Artis, Thundercat, etc. Lots of great new bass players out there.

26 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

Yeah, that black pickguard makes no sense...also, what's up with the truss rod whole near the end of the neck? Will they finally implement the best truss rod adjusment system on all their basses? Or is it just a fake spot in the pickguard?

I've been gazing over a Spector EuroLX4 for a while now! Let me know how those are playability wise...and sound-wise obviously.

Also, what do you mean by "narrow" nut? They definitely don't look they have a narrow nut width.

59 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

Annoying that they’ve plonked a jazz pickup in there - a single coil in a slightly larger strat style housing would work visually...

Other models (a jazz and a p/j)

Am I the only one that thinks black pickguards on light colour basses look absolutely awful? Jesus christ, I think those Seafoam/Blue PJ basses would look MUCH better with a white pearl pickguard.

14 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

Have to say i like it. Vocalist has an unusual voice but then again so did Geddy. For me his voice quite suits the music. Def a bit of Plant in that.

Dave

Geddy was/is a lot more warm and smoother though. This one really tries to go as high as possible and ends up shrieking. Just my 2 cents though.

2 hours ago, thebigyin said:

Good band musically but the vocalist leaves me cold....sorry just a poor mans Robert Plant.

Exactly how I feel. The band is good, the musicians are all quite proficient and the "sound" is there - even if it's not really an innovation, it's still quite good.

But the singer man...I don't know, I just feel like he tries too hard. His voice pierces through my ears. To each his own, his singing is just not my cup of tea. 

He sounds like Plant without the "low-end".

4 minutes ago, ped said:

I always think that if you like your gear you are inspired to play  more and have more fun doing it, so yes I think it matters from that point of view. As mentioned elsewhere, I buy gear for me and my enjoyment, not for the audience, my band, or anyone else - though everyone benefits when I feel comfortable with what I'm playing. That said, it has little to do with how much that piece of equipment cost.

Precisely this. Most of the audience won't even be able to distinguish a Precision's tone from a Jazz's tone so it doesn't really matter to them what you play.

HOWEVER, I play much much better when I actually enjoy my tone and I like hearing the sounds I make. It may be a psychological issue but if I'm enjoying the sound I put out then I'm more likely to play better and enjoy the experience. That happens with most, if not all, musicians - unless they're completely oblivious.

Excellent bass but I just wanna say that those are some sick pictures. They'd look perfect in a catalog!