Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

NBD Stingray Special 5H, the new great all rounder?


Pinball
 Share

Recommended Posts

I love Stingrays but as my band aren't playing live I am playing a much wider range of music than in the past and while my old SR5 could do most things well it wasn't my first pick for everything.

I wasn't really aware of the Stingray Special but spotted one when looking around PMT in Bristol.(see pic below).

First impressions were that it was cool but maybe too bling for me. This one is a Jan 2020 model and had been in store for a while so it was still at the old price.

I gave it a try and was blown away and suddenly the "blingyiness" didn't matter so much. Note: It had looked silver as it was catching the lights but is actually Ghostwood, a green, silvery/grey.😂

Impression? It was a stingray played like one, was lightweight and made the right stingray noises but there were loads of tonal variations. The sound of the 18V electronics combined with the switches and EQ is phenomenal. I could dial in all sorts of warm sounds that hadn't been there on my old ray and it just seemed to have more power under the bonnet. I was there for about an hour and remember thinking to myself "all these sounds from a bass with 1 pickup? Incredible".

Now it is mine!

Earlier this week I was having fun going through some of the old stuff from my defunct heavy prog band and it was like chopped beef and yesterday was learning some bass lines for a reggae audition and it was like beef stew with a rich gravy.

What a machine.

I may have found "the one", I feel blessed!

91539-307094-Music-Man-StingRay5-Special-5-String-Bass-Ghostwood-1_1.jpg.ee3c21235d9b8b481730ccfba9b127af.jpg

PMT in Bristol were brilliant BTW!

Edited by Pinball
  • Like 11
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmm. Interesting. I bought a 5HH from Thomann before Christmas and although it sounded great acoustically, plugged in I really didn’t like it. I’d had Stingrays and Sterlings before but every setting and sound just felt like there were no mids, and little definition. I put new Slinkies on and changed batteries, checked there were no wiring issues etc but it had to go back. I’ve since bought a 5HH Sterling (US model), which sounds great. I can only assume that either my amp didn’t like the Stingray pickups and EQ or it’s just not to my taste. Back it went (just in time too - arrived in Germany on 31 December!)

Well done with the choice and glad you like it - nice colour combo.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, FDC484950 said:

Hmm. Interesting. I bought a 5HH from Thomann before Christmas and although it sounded great acoustically, plugged in I really didn’t like it. I’d had Stingrays and Sterlings before but every setting and sound just felt like there were no mids, and little definition. I put new Slinkies on and changed batteries, checked there were no wiring issues etc but it had to go back. I’ve since bought a 5HH Sterling (US model), which sounds great. I can only assume that either my amp didn’t like the Stingray pickups and EQ or it’s just not to my taste. Back it went (just in time too - arrived in Germany on 31 December!)

Sounds like it may have been a fault but maybe it just isn't right for you. You know where you are with the older ones. I find that more care is needed to dial in on this one.

I was a little concerned that there wasn't enough "zing".  I did find zing by boosting the treble and a touch of mids. I never needed to do that before. Boosting the bass warms the sound up but can also be scarey...so much power there.

Note: I believe that the pickup design has some "Bongo" derived. They are beasts that need to calmed in the mix

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Pinball said:

Sounds like it may have been a fault but maybe it just isn't right for you. You know where you are with the older ones. I find that more care is needed to dial in on this one.

I was a little concerned that there wasn't enough "zing".  I did find zing by boosting the treble and a touch of mids. I never needed to do that before. Boosting the bass warms the sound up but can also be scarey...so much power there.

Note: I believe that the pickup design has some "Bongo" derived. They are beasts that need to calmed in the mix

Yeah, maybe it was a dud. I wouldn’t be the first to get a MM bass from Thomann with issues (not necessarily their fault). It was beautifully made. I have an inkling that it could be the neo humbuckers and perhaps the 18v circuit as I played a Bongo a while back and didn’t really like it that much, whereas older Stingrays are fine, as is the Sterling.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If we're looking at "the new great all rounder" then I would suggest that the ingredients for bass would have the SimS system, giving owners the choice of H/P/J pups in any shape bass they want. Add any preamp you like for the seasoning. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...