stingrays..pre ernie ball or not

[patrikmarky]

I'm getting a hankering for another stingray..I's it a myth that the old ones are the best..only ever had new...and I've had a few....

[Ou7shined]

Worms? ... can? ...

But whichever you plump for one thing's for sure it will sound like a 'ray.

[neepheid]

I'll say it - yes it's a myth.

[Kev]

The best Stingrays for looks and sound that i have seen were made by Ernie Ball in the late eighties/early nineties. Not played so couldn't comment on feel.

[Dingus]

Wow , big question . I can see a ruck developing over this one .

Well , the old ones sound a little bit different in absolute terms , but how different depends on how old you are talking about . Music Man tweaked and changed the preamp in the original basses between1976 and 1984 when EBMM took over , so the earlier ones sound slightly different to the later original ones . Allegedly . An early original one and a brand new EBMM one will both sound charactaristically like a Stingray i.e far more similar than they are different . Both will , more likely than not , be quite heavy , too . To my own personal tastes , the newer EBMM ones with the bridge without mutes don't look right , but that's just me .

[Kev]

I would struggle to understand why anyone would pay silly amounts for a pre-ernie ball Musicman over the new Musicman Classic series, unless they were a collector.

[size=2](may as well start the ruck )[/size]

[patrikmarky]

Yep would be 5 string classic I think...did they do a fiver back then....so may have started a pointless ruck!..

[discreet]

Fenders... pre CBS or not..? *Runs away*

[Ou7shined]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1374262224' post='2147064']
Fenders... pre CBS or not..? *Runs away*
[/quote]

G&L... pre BBE or not?

Obviously as a proud owner of one of the very first L-1000's I'm gonna say pre.... (even my home made main player is largely based on one)

Let's face it, anything directly Leo Fender (pre CBS, pre EB, pre BBE) roolz.


edit : I love my '97 'ray btw

Edited July 19, 2013 by Ou7shined

[JTUK]

I had a MM in the early 80's and it was one of the very best basses I've had.
I moved on from the sound so swapped out the pre amp and pickups but the
bass was so solid and playable.
I've not found an EB MM anywhere near as good but then again the sound is not what
I am after either, so it would have to be total knock-out for me to want to play one much..
I'm pretty good at sizing up a bass quickly, IMO, as to whether it will work for me... and all the new MM's
I've picked up have come up short. But...as I say, they aren't what I am looking for anyway
but a good bass is good enough to want to play around on one...
Whether than means they aren't as good as they used to be or they aren't for me, ..?
it isn't a question I really bother with.

But, finally, I had one dropped round my house the other day for one reason or another...
and I thought it was pretty awful and needed a lot of work to get anywhere near decently set-up.
Apart from trying the action, nothing made me want to even play it.
Now...that to me...is not a good bass.

[dlloyd]

I can honestly say that the only Stingray I've played that was a disappointment was a pre-EB MM. And I've played a lot of Stingrays.

[cocco]

The best looking rays are the Birdseye necked ones.

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='dlloyd' timestamp='1374271335' post='2147189']
I can honestly say that the only Stingray I've played that was a disappointment was a pre-EB MM. And I've played a lot of Stingrays.
[/quote]
Where as I own three ebmm ones right now and I had another before plus two pre eb rays, both the pre eb ones played and sounded better than all the ebmm ones I have owned or played. My Classic 5 is the best as far build quality goes but I have had to fit a john east 2 band preamp in it as the factory one was naff even though its meant to be just like a pre eb one, its still not perfect though and might end up with a new pickup too!

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1374261748' post='2147055']
I would struggle to understand why anyone would pay silly amounts for a pre-ernie ball Musicman over the new Musicman Classic series, unless they were a collector.

[size=2](may as well start the ruck )[/size]
[/quote]
There isn't much in them price wise but the pre eb will at least hold its value or maybe go up, the new ones have not got the thump of the old ones which may be down to the pickup pole piece lengths or the windings?

[risingson]

The best MM I ever played was pre-EB, 1979 dated. I doubt very much that it was anything to do with it's age, it just sounded the best to me. I've played and owned excellent EB MM's too.

Point being that no one is going to notice the difference in sound apart from you. Your audience sure won't.

[martthebass]

Down to one Ray now, a 2001 fretless. It's got more Birdseye than the 1990 one I used to have and it is built flawlessly. The 2EQ suits the fretless perfectly. Would I change it for a preeb, no.
Having said that I tend to agree with Pete, on fretted the preebs seem to have a bit more smooth punch? If I had the cash I'd have the one Nick's currently selling but I know that the audience would be hard pushed to tell the difference between it and a brand new 2EQ model....

[stingrayPete1977]

The audience are of no importance to me regarding my personal bass though, if the OP has a hankering for a pre EB then no amount of EBMMs will cure the hankering, that unfortunatley is the nature of hankering

I had an occasion where the jumped up kids from another band were laughing at my [i]Stingray copy[/i] (as they had obviously lusted over EBMM ones online or in shops and recognised the wrong logo etc) after the gig one of their older friends who knew me walked right past them in the green room straight over to me "f***ing hell is that a proper pre Ernie Ball Stingray!" the look on the bass players face was priceless when the rest of his band looked at him after they had listened to him rant on all night with his expert knowledge on my fake Stingray

Edited July 20, 2013 by stingrayPete1977

[Telebass]

No matter the brand, the new vs vintage debate is just that. A debate. There's no big deal, and there never was. Your MIM precision will be vintage in 25 years. It will still be a MIM precision.

[JTUK]

But the best basses are always the best basses.
The rest are firewood.... well, not so much now, as people think any bass over 15 years will mature in terms of value
but they should be...

I do think basses can mature... whether that be by the woods or just that there was better quality control
in the parts before they shipped manufacturing out east, but maturing alone will not make up for poor joints
and parts.

I guess it is possible that a £250 bass will be a great bass in 25 years... but I only know a few guys using their 25 year old Tokai gtrs and I don't know anyone using the basses. Not picking out Tokai at all... just that people will spend £250 today on a new bass rather than have one of that sort of 'vintage'.
Not sure I call 25 years vintage anyway.

[White Cloud]

Only ever owned one...bought it new in 87...it was an absolute peach! Gorgeous sound (made some nice recordings with it) and feel. Honestly cannot remember what happened to that bass - my bass purchasing history is becoming extremely blurry as my age progresses.

[Telebass]

The whole idea that vintage is somehow better is pure myth. Sticking with Fender because I know it best, we hear about the amount of handcrafting there was. This was mainly because there were no machines to do it better/faster then. Had such been available, Leo would have used them. To some extent, the nice thing about Fenders these days is the amount of handcrafting STILL being carried out.
Sure, wood dries with time, and this may affect tone. But only MAY affect it. And not necessarily in a positive way.
The reason a pristine bass or guitar from the 60s is pristine is that it may well have been an utter dog!

[Dingus]

Cue my predicted ruck ...

[Musicman20]

My 2010/11 whatever it is Musicman HH Stingray has the best 'single H' Musicman bass tone I've ever heard. It is EVERYTHING I craved with a Musicman, and more. 3EQ as well.

Pete - I'm shocked you've had to go for a different pre....

My Musicman 5 HS has such a good tight low B its unreal...and for the price I paid a few years back I'm very happy.

You could go all out and get a Bongo. It will blow your mind.

[Dingus]

Seeing as the gloves are off , my two pence worth would be that pre - EBMM 'Rays do sound a little bit different , particulaly the [u]very [/u]early ones ( to my ears , the treble control and the preamp on those basses is centered on a very slightly higher frequency that sounds a bit better than the recent EBMM basses and , for whatever reason , the early basses seem to have a bit more " grunt " overall ) , but the overwhelming sonic charactaristic of both the old and new EBMM ones is that scooped - out Stingray tone we all know and many of us love . They are far more similar than they are different . I much prefer the styling on the original Stingrays , too . I had an early 1980's pre - EBMM Stingray and it was a good bass , but neither that or any other original Musicman or EBMM Stingray I have ever played had a sound that could compete with the Stingray - style tone I can get with the rear humbucker on my EBMM Reflex Bass , and I prefer my Bongo to either a Reflex or a Stingray . Both the Reflex and Bongo have a richness and definition in the tone that a Stingray can't really compete with , to my ears at least . Maybe I'm just not a Stingray guy, when all is said and done .

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1374421554' post='2148519']
My 2010/11 whatever it is Musicman HH Stingray has the best 'single H' Musicman bass tone I've ever heard. It is EVERYTHING I craved with a Musicman, and more. 3EQ as well.

Pete - I'm shocked you've had to go for a different pre....

My Musicman 5 HS has such a good tight low B its unreal...and for the price I paid a few years back I'm very happy.

You could go all out and get a Bongo. It will blow your mind.
[/quote]

The 79 I had would blow away any new Ray I have tried, much more thump on the bottom end but with much more cutting bite on the treble pot if needed, the standard 2 band in my classic was as dull as dish water.