Pino Palladino Signature Stingray

[Terry M.]

28 minutes ago, Misdee said:

The expensive version was a cheap bass masquerading as something extraordinary.

Perfectly describes many basses I've tried in stores from many different brands 👌

[cetera]

To be honest, the price of the basses should only matter to someone who is SERIOUSLY considering buying one. It is their call whether to indulge.

Otherwise, all the opinions of people who were never gonna buy one anyway, no matter what the price (over £2k knocks most people out) is just noise....

[Terry M.]

43 minutes ago, cetera said:

To be honest, the price of the basses should only matter to someone who is SERIOUSLY considering buying one. It is their call whether to indulge.

Otherwise, all the opinions of people who were never gonna buy one anyway, no matter what the price (over £2k knocks most people out) is just noise....

I've been a part of threads that may have gone in a direction I don't agree with also and in those instances I simply unfollowed. Every opinion is valid though,you can't stop that.

[Stub Mandrel]

It's no different to me saying that I find the more ornate Alembic basses ugly. I'd never want to buy one, but that doesn't stop me having a view.

[drTStingray]

7 hours ago, Misdee said:

I notice that EBMM's ernest committment to authenticity on these PIno basses doesn't extend to equipping them with Rotosound RS66 strings gauged ,40/60/75/95. That's the set PIno used on all those classic recordings and, last I heard, still his choice for roundwound strings. PIno never did the Stingray with flats thing until now, as far as I know.

 

That said, I also know that his original Stingray has had at least three different fingerboards on it due to wear from roundwounds strings, so maybe flats is a sensible choice in respect of that.

 

When I started gigging seriously at the end of the 70s, the guitar shops (in the U.K.) I frequented stocked ONLY Rotosound Bass strings. They tended to be on view only in single strings. I never had enough money to buy more than single strings anyway - I’m guessing they sold a lot of Gs!! 
 

I remember, when I was playing in a touring disco/funk band in the early 80s, breaking a D string on my Stingray (which I bought new around 1980), about half way through the set - playing octave bass lines created somewhat of a problem leading to some improvised positions and techniques….. and a trip to the guitar shop for a Rotosound bass D string at the next opportunity.

 

Bear in mind I asked for ‘a bass string’ of whatever position I wanted (almost always G) and got given a Rotosound of whatever was the standard gauge - I got the impression that’s what everyone used. 
 

In those far off days no one used flatwounds and there was little choice for bass players. Of course, it was a different time, when even players at the pinnacle (eg Pino) generally only played one bass - and mere mortals certainly did. The days of dentists and other professionals storing and displaying multiple high end instruments were unheard of dreams yet to be thought up - mind you I recently asked my dentist, a very pleasant young lady, how many guitars she has……… she looked rather strangely at me so maybe it’s one of those musician tall tales that’s a complete fantasy 🤣🤣

Edited 5 hours ago by drTStingray

[Mrbigstuff]

40 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

It's no different to me saying that I find the more ornate Alembic basses ugly. I'd never want to buy one, but that doesn't stop me having a view.

It certainly doesn’t. But it renders your view irrelevant in an argument of whether they’re worth the money or not because you’re not their market.

[Stub Mandrel]

40 minutes ago, Mrbigstuff said:

It certainly doesn’t. But it renders your view irrelevant in an argument of whether they’re worth the money or not because you’re not their market.

 

Absolutely.  If I were to buy a Musicman, it would be a candy apple red Bongo regardless of price considerations. 

[Misdee]

1 hour ago, drTStingray said:

When I started gigging seriously at the end of the 70s, the guitar shops (in the U.K.) I frequented stocked ONLY Rotosound Bass strings. They tended to be on view only in single strings. I never had enough money to buy more than single strings anyway - I’m guessing they sold a lot of Gs!! 
 

I remember, when I was playing in a touring disco/funk band in the early 80s, breaking a D string on my Stingray (which I bought new around 1980), about half way through the set - playing octave bass lines created somewhat of a problem leading to some improvised positions and techniques….. and a trip to the guitar shop for a Rotosound bass D string at the next opportunity.

 

Bear in mind I asked for ‘a bass string’ of whatever position I wanted (almost always G) and got given a Rotosound of whatever was the standard gauge - I got the impression that’s what everyone used. 
 

In those far off days no one used flatwounds and there was little choice for bass players. Of course, it was a different time, when even players at the pinnacle (eg Pino) generally only played one bass - and mere mortals certainly did. The days of dentists and other professionals storing and displaying multiple high end instruments were unheard of dreams yet to be thought up - mind you I recently asked my dentist, a very pleasant young lady, how many guitars she has……… she looked rather strangely at me so maybe it’s one of those musician tall tales that’s a complete fantasy 🤣🤣

The epoch you describe is exactly when I started playing the bass and yes, Rotosound was the default bass string. My first set of strings were Swing Bass in the plastic pack with a picture of John Entwistle on the back. I do also remember Superwound and occasionally Ernie Ball bass strings being available locally, but Rotos reigned supreme. Fresh out of the box still the best tone of any roundwounds strings in my opinion. It's a shame they die off so quick and then sound not so special.

 

 Flatwounds are for hipsters nowadays. Back on the early '80's they were for old men who liked arm wrestling. I still feel subversive playing a bass with flats nowadays because it was drilled into me by my bass teacher back then that they were to be avoided at all cost because you couldn't slap on them. And slapping was essential. 

 

Such a great era for playing bass. Someone please invent a time machine.

Edited 4 hours ago by Misdee

[Beedster]

53 minutes ago, Misdee said:

Flatwounds are for hipsters nowadays. Back on the early '80's they were for old men who liked arm wrestling. I still feel subversive playing a bass with flats nowadays because it was drilled into me by my bass teacher back then that they were to be avoided at all cost because you couldn't slap on them. And slapping was essential. 

You can’t slap flats 🤔

[Misdee]

18 minutes ago, Beedster said:

You can’t slap flats 🤔

It was a different world in those days. It's easy to forget in the age of the internet how much received wisdom about bass playing was supposition, rumour, assumption and just plain good old fashioned stupidity and ignorance.

 

Nowadays it's easy to find out Larry Graham used tapewound strings on the super-funky Sly and Betty Davis stuff. Back thenmost people in the UK didn't have  easy access to that music, let alone definitive insight into how it was done.

 

FWIW, I used to(and still do) go for a more midrangey slap tone without the exaggerated treble that so many people still think is essential to that style. Slap equals top end was the basic equation at that point in time.

 

Pino's Stingray tone always had more mids than a typical 'Ray, and it's interesting he mentions that when he's introducing these new basses.

[Stub Mandrel]

My first electric guitar came with flatwound strings fitted.

 

Stuck with them for a little while, but they were like hen's teeth even in the late 70s. Nowadays the province of serious jazz guitarists. 

[Stub Mandrel]

4 minutes ago, Misdee said:

FWIW, I used to(and still do) go for a more midrangey slap tone without the exaggerated treble that so many people still think is essential to that style. Slap equals top end was the basic equation at that point in time.

 

Pino's Stingray tone always had more mids than a typical 'Ray, and it's interesting he mentions that when he's introducing these new basses.

 

That was the first thing I noticed about his Live Aid sound, a bit throatier than a nasal 'funk' sound, but definitely not scooped.

[snorkie635]

2 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

My first electric guitar came with flatwound strings fitted.

 

Stuck with them for a little while, but they were like hen's teeth even in the late 70s. Nowadays the province of serious jazz guitarists. 

I had no idea you played geetar in the Sooty Braden Showband.

[ezbass]

12 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

That was the first thing I noticed about his Live Aid sound, a bit throatier than a nasal 'funk' sound, but definitely not scooped.

One assumes that Pino just didn’t crank the bass and treble all the way up (far too tasteful a player for any full on shenanigans), thus the ‘Ray’s natural midrange remained front and centre. 

[Beedster]

26 minutes ago, Misdee said:

It was a different world in those days. It's easy to forget in the age of the internet how much received wisdom about bass playing was supposition, rumour, assumption and just plain good old fashioned stupidity and ignorance.

 

Nowadays it's easy to find out Larry Graham used tapewound strings on the super-funky Sly and Betty Davis stuff. Back thenmost people in the UK didn't have  easy access to that music, let alone definitive insight into how it was done.

 

FWIW, I used to(and still do) go for a more midrangey slap tone without the exaggerated treble that so many people still think is essential to that style. Slap equals top end was the basic equation at that point in time.

 

Pino's Stingray tone always had more mids than a typical 'Ray, and it's interesting he mentions that when he's introducing these new basses.

 

Yep I get where you're coming from 👍

[Stub Mandrel]

2 hours ago, ezbass said:

One assumes that Pino just didn’t crank the bass and treble all the way up (far too tasteful a player for any full on shenanigans), thus the ‘Ray’s natural midrange remained front and centre. 

 

Maybe <gasp> he didn't switch in the pre-shape!