A Stingray over a Jazz????

[bubinga5]

So what can i expect..I have a SR5,but i suspect its not like playing a SR4...What can i expect, thats different from a Jazz..I love the honk i get from my Jazz, its the funkiest tone ive heard this side of Meshell on her Celinder...i could fall in love with the growl of a Jazz.....

What can a SR4 Give me that the Jazz doesnt??Im talking String tension(most important), weight, tone, ??

Thanks for the opinions in advance..

[Lfalex v1.1]

Can't comment on the string tension! It's too variable by string choice IMO!
Otherwise, expect more a more "upfront" sound than the SR5 gives (I have one, too)
The 2EQ seems to be more favoured hereabouts, but I reckon the best I've played is a 3EQ that was knocking about in Stringsdirect!
Bear in mind also that the pick-ups are different (depending on the age of the various instruments) with regards to the magnet material- My 1990 SR5 has an AlNiCo magnet. I do believe they changed to Ceramic in about '92.
I think the SR4 and Sterling are different, too. This can help to contribute to tonal differences, too.
Bodies vary, too.
Trans finishes are invariably Ash.
Solid colours are Alder, and potentially Poplar under darker finishes.
As for sunbursts, I'm sure Ive seen both Ash and Alder, but couldn't swear to it.

What does it give that a J doesn't?

That "simple", "direct" sound that all single pickup designs share, presumably caused by the lack of phase-cancellation that 2 pickup designs introduce (it's not necessarily a bad thing, as you can find that "sweet spot" on a Jazz by adjusting the two volumes)

A bit more flexiblity arising from the EQ section (I'm not familiar with all your jazzes, are any active?)

A lack of hum and buzz! It's a Humbucker, after all!!

[mathewsanchez]

I couldn't live without my stingray or my jazz. They both wiegh roughly the same but the stingray has much better balance.

Tonally they are completely different, the ray being very punchy in the mids and at very low frequencies, great for cutting through in a band situation. The jazz gives a tone which natuarlly lends itself to slap with both pickups on (a sort of boosted bass and treble sound) and a fingerstyle 'ducky' sound with just the bridge pup (a mid rich sound but sharper than the ray). For those reasons I generally use my stingray for disco and rock stuff, and my jazz for funk and jazz.

I'm not an expert on string tension but i'd say the ray feels slightly tighter which personally I like but the looser feel of the jazz lends itself to faster playing.

As far as choosing between the two i'm not sure what to say but you could try musicman sterlings and bongos, particularly with the HS pickup configuration. I think that's the best way of getting somewhere between a jazz and a stingray.

[dlloyd]

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='501488' date='May 30 2009, 11:02 AM']Bodies vary, too.
Trans finishes are invariably Ash.
Solid colours are Alder, and potentially Poplar under darker finishes.[/quote]

It's not that clear cut.

It was the case at one point that you'd find different woods under opaque finishes, but more recently it's been ash on everything.

Scott Ball said on the Ernie Ball forum a few years ago that they'd used ash on 99.9% of Stingrays for the last ten years...

[url="http://www.ernieball.com/forums/music-man-basses/6353-select-hardwoods.html"]http://www.ernieball.com/forums/music-man-...-hardwoods.html[/url]

Of course, that doesn't include SUBs, which were poplar.

[henry norton]

[quote name='bubinga5' post='501396' date='May 30 2009, 07:21 AM']So what can i expect..I have a SR5,but i suspect its not like playing a SR4...What can i expect, thats different from a Jazz..I love the honk i get from my Jazz, its the funkiest tone ive heard this side of Meshell on her Celinder...i could fall in love with the growl of a Jazz.....

What can a SR4 Give me that the Jazz doesnt??Im talking String tension(most important), weight, tone, ??

Thanks for the opinions in advance..[/quote]

String tension is a product of the total length under tension and the gauge. Both the MMs I've had, a pre EB 4 and a SR5 have had string anchors on the bridge (ie. not thro body) so other than the slightly lighter tension on the G because of the 3+1 headstock, there shouldn't be much difference. I remember the SR4 felt easier and nicer to play than the early 80s Tokai Jazz I had at the time - despite the fact the Jazz was better made. Best to go out and try a few, there's a big difference between the pre and post EB 4s and the range they have now just beggars belief. What about one of the new ones with a HJ configuration - you might get a bass that'll do both....

[martthebass]

Being the last owner of your SR5 Andrew and also having a SR4 of nearly the same age, the main difference between these 2 was string spacing and tone. The weight was also as expected about half a pound less. The SR5 tone was much less 'in your face' than the SR4 - smoother if you like. String tension was about the same E-G with the MM super slinkies that I used.

Having been a big MIA Jazz user in the past, the main difference between my old 1999 MIA Jazz and the SR4H IMHO is that I feel the SR4 is more out and out rock, growl and spit - more top end and more punch/cut through in the mix. However the Jazz was more subtle and could give the honk that I've never been able to get (nor tried to really) from the SR4. The recent MIA jazzes I think are also about a pound lighter than the typical EB SR4's.

To be honest If you want a Jazz sound don't get a SR4 and vice versa.