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Best Stringray type copies


la bam

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Hi all,

A new change of direction and band and I find my self in a dance / disco set up where I'm kind of at the front (rest of band is keys/technical and drums - so I'm the only one stood up!).

So, on one hand I want a stingray for that tight funky groove, and I want it to be outrageous and eye catching. 

But, eye catching apart - the virus situation has hit my finances extremely hard. So I'm wondering what my options are for a good stingray ish bass at a budget price. If it's a crazy colour or style even better!

I've also never played a stingray, and struggled with pick up placement on jazzes and a g&l m2000 (....actually as I wrote that, it just dawned on me a g&l with the stingray pickguard may be a good option!!) so I'm thinking low budget in case I simply cant play it!

I'm open to straight buys, or budget then upgrades - any ideas really.

Any help appreciated.

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Might be worth considering an Ibanez ATK.

There have been various versions and models down the years, available second hand from around £300 upwards depending on which model.

Tends to be aesthetically quite divisive,  especially the huge bridge/pickup plate but generally regarded as one of the better stingray inspired basses out there.

 

 

Edited by Cato
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3 hours ago, Grahambythesea said:

Vintage do a range for under £400.  Should be able to pick one up second hand quite cheaply.

New £296 on eBay.

Given how good their Precision range is I’d expect these also to be very good, would certainly be where I’d start looking.

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I had one of the OLP 5-strings for a while, and it was a very good bass. The only reason I moved it on was that the string spacing at 16.5mm was a bit tight for me.

 They're a good starting point for upgrades: the John East pre-amp will fit and Nordstrand make a 16.5mm spacing 5-string pickup.

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17 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

Given how good their Precision range is I’d expect these also to be very good, would certainly be where I’d start looking.

I have the EST96a and it’s really good - punches way above its weight 

Edited by Geek99
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Thanks for your help all.

It's looking like I'll eventually go for a sub if I can find one at the right price. I had considered the cheap hatley Benton as well, but with thomann being abroad and this current situation I decided against it.

However, I'm very impulsive.....

I did see this. I've always wanted a Sire v7, but being in a tribute act i had to play what my counterpart did, but now i can play whatever i want. When i saw this, i simply had to get it. It will give me more tonal range than the standard p basses I've been using, and looks amazing (to me anyway!).

Matching headstock. Active and passive switch. 3 band eq. Tone and mixable pick up control. And it's the modified version 2 v7.

Hopefully (couriers aside) it should arrive tomorrow.

 

 

Screenshot_20200322-110527_Chrome.jpg

Edited by la bam
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On 20/03/2020 at 21:46, Cato said:

Might be worth considering an Ibanez ATK.

There have been various versions and models down the years, available second hand from around £300 upwards depending on which model.

Tends to be aesthetically quite divisive,  especially the huge bridge/pickup plate but generally regarded as one of the better stingray inspired basses out there.

 

 

 

They're nice (I owned one for a while) but they're often quite heavy and it doesn't do the Stingray thing very well... although I do like what it does.

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Atk didn't really do the stingray thing imo of previous owning one think it was a 400, plus working on a couple more. Lower and Higher end versions. Certainly doesn't feel like a ray either.

Sub ray 4 electrics in old versions are not great imo, due to clipping issue. You have to lower the pickup extremely low or mod electrics for eq to be fully useable. I've played an older one and a newer one. Other than that there alright, lovely slim neck, tone isn't bad, looks and feels like a ray. Seek out later China ones or newer versions with sterling on headstock and not large sub lettering if possible. These are ones with the better electrics. Might be best option if on budget.

The original Ebmm USA sub stingrays are pretty much the real thing, made in same factory, made with many of the same parts sounds like any other modern 2 band eq ray. Prices range from 300 to 500. Although people are trying to get as much as possible for them these days, might be a bargain still to be found. 

Used sterling 24 or 34 models of course too.

You could mod any number of ray copies with the exact same pickup position,style electronically to get that sound. 

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I like the Vintage - played several and they do a nice 5 string as well. 

If you want an affordable Stingray-type bass, the SBMM Sub does it very well indeed. This young lady seems to manage well with one.

Bear in mind the newer ones are even better - I read somewhere that the Ray 24 and Sub have an EQ based more around the Okd Smoothie version. 

http://youtu.be/iK1LEt7wr5g

Edited by drTStingray
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I'd say they do reflect the 2 band sound - the full fat MM can be smoother and probably has more versatility, dependent on how you play. There is some good technique there (including muting and note length) but it does sound good IMO. 

However a 3 band Stingray, although more versatile, can get very close to the 2 band sound with the treble and bass boosted a touch and the mid cut say 50% from centre detent - the major difference is the lack of the high pass filter on the 2 band - removes boomy frequencies from the 3 band. Go and try a Stingray Special if you want to hear major bass boost - much more in the realms of a Bongo in that context. 

Edited by drTStingray
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10 hours ago, Wolverinebass said:

What mod is that? Just curious.

It was posted on Talkbass by a guy who used to work for Sterling (I think).

The mod uses a 250k volume pot and a change of wiring to the preamp. It looks quite simple, and I hope to get round to it soon. Also on Talkbass folks recommend cheap Chinese Alnico MM style pickups as a substitute. The lower output sounds better. The SUB Ray 4 seems to be a popular modding platform over there.

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