Beedster

Yep, I used to feel short changed if I didn't have bass and treble at least most of the way up for that very hifi scoop reason. As was also been said above, flats can also really change/improve the vibe of a 'ray (or a Flea, oddly enough my first Flea came strung with flats, I took them off with a look of disgust and replaced them with zingy rounds, found that the latter were way too bright for the instrument and slowly worked my way back to the flats which stayed on for a few years), although I still think flats find their most effective home on a Precision 👍 Big thing for me which I had to learn to get over was my habit of playing certain types of bass a certain way. I might be overstating what were some relatively minor differences but I know that for many years I approached basses as follows: Precision: Dull and uninspiring workhorse, sits in the mix and gets the job done in a reliable and safe manner. Jazz: For those gigs when I wanted to stand out a bit from the band, show some some chops, hit a few chords and get up the dusty end, and find tonal nirvana wherever possible Stingray/Flea/Hammer: Wouldn't go on stage with it unless I really meant business and was gonna be front of stage foot on monitor giving it large. No ballads, no root notes Of course, I got over it and realised as per the post above that you can do pretty much anything on any bass, but even then it often felt more 'right' to play a Jaco line on a fretless Jazz than a fretless Precision (even with a J-PUP at the bridge), and even mid-gig I would occasionally look down at a Precision and think "I shouldn't be slapping this, where's my Flea"

My '80 was oddly Precision-like for a 'Ray, very different to all the later models I played, much mellower and woody

Dangerous talk my friend, dangerous talk 🤣

Fair enough, missed the tongue in cheek element, and there’s of course a whole lot of truth in the Nashville thing, although it was as much about ‘that’ C&W Precision tone and the ease of achieving it without messing about as the instrument itself. The Precision I was referring was a pretty outstanding and modified instrument by comparison with some, but I stand by my original comment; setup, strings, EQ, amplification and technique account for a substantial if not definitive percentage of how a bass sounds in a noisy band mix, the SR was too brittle even when tamed and the Flea just a bit too prominent and unforgiving, I just think the Precision was the best bass for the job - maple board, lively rounds, Badass, very low action, P-Retro and IIRC a Nordy PUP all helped for sure. Like the O/P I always wanted a Stingray to do the job and I certainly tried more than a few, the one I loved the most was a Pre EB with a rosewood board, very mellow and toneful but capable of really monstrous tone when needed. And don’t even ask about the Sonic Hammer 🤔

‘Fine for C&W’, you’re a funny guy 🤔

I've dabbled over the years. Rays, Jazzes, Rics and others are essentially means by which people avoid the inevitable truth of bass playing which is that all you need is a Precision (or two Precisions if you play fretless). Big lesson for me was that even playing RHCP tracks back in the day a Precision setup, played and EQ'd nicely did the job just as well as my Modulus Flea and Stingrays. YMMV 👍

Not exactly a vote of confidence this thread is it. Explains why I’ve never seen anyone using one 🤔

That’s the science of it

44 years old to be precise and yes, that's pretty much the truth of it. People were saying much the same of late 60's Fenders ten years ago, and look at the prices of those now. If you don't get the reality of the seller's market that defines vintage Fender prices it's best to stay away from eBay and Reverb, as I do 🤔

I’m keen to hear answers to the same question, although I’m 99% decided to buy one, Yamaha rarely get things wrong after all 👍

Where are they playing?

I'll be interested in the answer to this question as well. My concerns around the band centre on the fact I don't think I've ever seen anyone using one, but that might just be luck..... Re pre-amp, that will depend to a degree on what amp you're using but I've yet to find a DB PUP that didn't sound better with a preamp, even those that reportedly don't need one 👍

Not sure I'm getting what you mean there? EDIT: Got it, mind was elsewhere when I read it first time around 👍

Yep my Sonic Hammer was far from sterile for sure 👍

Fleas are great instruments irrespective of which PUP/pre combo is installed 👍

Yep, I had a similar experience when I briefly returned to fretted, found I had to work so much harder to play everything. Jaco always said frets slowed him down, I guess the trade off for precise intonation is effort, at least if you’re used to playing fretless