shug

[quote name='urbanx' post='631529' date='Oct 20 2009, 04:05 PM']I obviously love it, probably too much, phworr!! [/quote] Absolutely the coolest bass in Fenders current range though only with the matching headstock

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='168291' date='Apr 2 2008, 10:55 AM'] [i]Features:[/i] This 34” scale instrument was originally bought off Ebay in a mutilated state. The original body had been hacked into an approximation of a Warwick Thumb shape, painted in blue emulsion and then an original airbrushed sci-fi nude on plastic had been laminated onto the front of it. Apart from the body, the rest of the bass was intact and I planned to transplant a EB 93 body onto the bass temporarily. Eventually I found a worn but nicely mojo’d 1977 body on Ebay which I bought at a silly (ie. expensive) price but I still had a pre EB Stingray at a very good overall cost. It also wasn’t unknown for bodies and necks to be up to a year apart in dates as well so the bass still retains a lot of integrity. The bass is active and features a 2 band baxandale eq plus volume running off a 9v battery. The pickup is an original Musicman twin coil humbucker with fat pole pieces in a position about 4 inches from the bridge. The body is made from ash and the neck is a single piece of maple with 21 frets (which could probably do with a bit of stoning) The bass is finished in a nitro finish and is very worn and checked. The body style is a typical double cutaway with a 3 bolt neck joint. The bridge is a substantial affair and fixed to the body with two substantial anchor bolts that screw into ferrules inset into the body. The bridge itself made from steel with two dimensions of movement and through body stringing. There were sponge mutes still on the bridge but the foam was turning into sticky gunk so had to go. A bit of white spirit took care of any residue. The tuners are open geared Musicman cloverleaf tuners typically of the design associated with vintage fenders. The neck dimensions are probably best described as a cross between a jazz and a precision bass. The neck feels very similar to many modern basses in terms of its playability and super low action is possible thanks to the microtilt feature in the heel of the bass. This makes fine tuning possible without completely removing the neck. [i]Sound:[/i] Probably the most striking thing about the sound of a Stingray is the very prominent lower mids and the coarse sounding top end. This is primarily due to a combination of the pickup placement and the Baxendale preamp although the neck and body woods undoubtedly provide the basic growl and attack. With this particular bass, the vintage disco vibe is immediately apparent, particularly the growl on the lower strings. Some people have claimed that on their stingrays, the D and G strings are quieter, I have to admit I’ve never encountered this on the Stingrays I’ve played. When I fitted the 77 body, the bass was a little dead sounding for about 6 months but the bass kind of settled in and now it sounds as growly as it did with the 93 body. At the moment I use the bass with Gallien Krueger and Trace valve amps through Gallien Krueger and EBS neo 2x12 cabs. I’ve found that stingrays and valve heads generally suit each other very nicely whereas super clean amps like the GK can make the ‘ray sound a little brittle unless the tweeter is turned down. But any amp with a warm mid-low emphasis and clean highs will compliment a stingray. [i]Action Fit and Finish:[/i] The action is fairly low but the neck could do with a stoning or, better yet, a bit of a clean up. I think the neck has been refinished at some point judging by the scratches around the headstock, but that’s OK. I have a spare 1978 neck which needs a new trussrod but could do the same job. The fit is great for an old bass, but the finish is very worn and cracked. Overall it’s a bit of a beater but looks great from all the player wear. [i]Reliability/Durability:[/i] The battery seems to last about 3 months with weekly gigging and I’ve not had any problems with the bass so far. Its proven to be a very reliable instrument. [i] Customer Support:[/i] None. Ernie Ball don’t stock pre EB parts or have any pre EB information on basses prior to the change in ownership. The only source for preEB parts is secondhand through somewhere like Ebay (sometimes at a price). [i]Overall Rating:[/i] I own a range of other bass gear including Smiths, an Alembic, Celinders and a Pedulla, plus more stuff I’ve sold on. I’ve been very satisfied with the bass since owning it, its managed to hit the right spot every time I’ve used it. Generally this is my bass of choice for funky 70’s disco type bass sounds. The instrument is probably replaceable in terms of sound but the mojo it has probably isn’t. [/quote] Very nice. Ibought one the dead spit of this 2nd hand in '78 for £285. I sold it in '83 for about £350 and considered myself on the winning side! It was bloody heavy, mind and the pre-amp (a first I believe) a bit brutal - I could never afford an amp that could handle it. Bet it looks handsome now. Serial no. B008133 if anybody out there...

[quote name='SS73' post='743556' date='Feb 12 2010, 10:27 PM']I had heard that the VR was a direct as, copy of the original, so I tried one a few years ago and it only took minutes before I switched the thing off. The problem was I had a 1970 SVT in the 80's, you never forget the way they sound and the VR didn't sound like it. They are a great bass amp and streets ahead of most, but if you want the sound of the original, it's just not going to get there. Can you not buy yours back?.[/quote] I don't think the guy'd want to sell and anyhow I'm using a marshall vba400 now and it's great. I guess my issue with the vr is one of honesty. It's being touted as one thing when in fact it's another. And, as for it being streets ahead of most I'm not so sure. Both amps I've used in recent years (the aforementioned Marshall and a Trace) have blown it away and through the same cab. I dunno, it seems a bit 'emporers new clothes' to me. Anyway, after all that, to cheer meself up I've just ordered a nice new Barefaced Vintage 2x15. Hope to God I'm not whinging about that in a coupla weeks!

First time posting for me and I'd be interested in any feedback. A few weeks ago I bought an SVT-vr, on e-bay, b-stock(ex-demo) at the very reasonable price of £999. Up until about 3 years ago I'd owned a 72 svt for about 20 years and had always regretted moving it on as it sounded fantastic. As Ampeg themselves market this as a faithful repro of my old flame, and it was about £700 below rrp I thought ' what the hell' and 2 days later it arrived. Now, I have to say that it was completely immaculate in every way, not a mark, original packaging, manual etc so I was prepared to have me a real good time. I spent the next 3 days trying and failing to get a decent sound out of it. I used it with an Ampeg 8x10, so it can't have been cab compatability issues. I tried the manuals recommended settings- all ghastly. I used 2 Fender basses, both excellent, but could not coax anything but a hard edged, fizzy and deeply unmusical tone out of it. I didn't take the thing to pieces, but i took the back off and had a good poke around and (now I'm prepared to be wrong about this) there don't appear to be any pre-amp valves. The pre amp on the svt is mounted in the top of the cab with the exposed valves pointing down whilst the power section is mounted on the base with a wiring loom conncting the two. Going off Ampegs own website (and my clear memeories of the original) it appeared to be several pre amp valves short ! Can this be why the sound was so distinctly SS - and poor SS at that? I might add that the seller (whybuynew,com) was absolutely on the button with the refund and covered the return postage without question, so I couldn't fault them at all. Anybody any thoughts on this (Ampeg, perhaps)?