I am emotionally attached to a bass that's taking up space and I don't want any more

[kwmlondon]

1 hour ago, HeadlessBassist said:

 

I find the same with my '95 ash Stingray with Aguilar pickups/preamp. For a simple 9v bass it sounds huge with sustain for days. It actually leaves my 2023 18v Stingray Special 5 in the dust tone-wise. I think I used to be an 'eq-hooligan' once upon a time as well. Now with the Rays I tend to boost the treble and bass about 30-40%. That gives me all the shove and sparkle I need. The other little known thing about the Stingray preamps is that when you back off the treble a little from your 'sizzle point', the sound thickens considerably. Yes, the Jazz is a more polite and even-tempered beast, but the Stingray's chewy thickness and sparkle is hard to beat with anything this side of a Status.

Interesting. I have always maintained that the 2EQ 9v circuit is magical. It's not like any other preamp... 

[HeadlessBassist]

7 minutes ago, kwmlondon said:

Interesting. I have always maintained that the 2EQ 9v circuit is magical. It's not like any other preamp... 

 

Agreed. I don't know how much of it is the 30+ year old ash/maple, or how different the OBP-2 and Aguilar pickup is (I know they modeled it tonally on a late 70's model), but my 2eq 9v is probably the best Stingray I've ever heard.

[kwmlondon]

1 hour ago, HeadlessBassist said:

 

Agreed. I don't know how much of it is the 30+ year old ash/maple, or how different the OBP-2 and Aguilar pickup is (I know they modeled it tonally on a late 70's model), but my 2eq 9v is probably the best Stingray I've ever heard.

I know that 'Rays are really hard to get to sit in a mix - tough live, even harder in the studio - but I've used mine in loads of recordings and it's been a joy. I've often just plugged straight into a desk and the results have been fantastic, but I know a lot of people who get eye-rolling from the sound person when rocking up with a 3EQ Musicman. I never got that with mine and I don't think it's down to the wood so much as the electrics. That's just opinion. I've no evidence!

[Jack]

20 minutes ago, kwmlondon said:

I know that 'Rays are really hard to get to sit in a mix - tough live, even harder in the studio - but I've used mine in loads of recordings and it's been a joy. I've often just plugged straight into a desk and the results have been fantastic, but I know a lot of people who get eye-rolling from the sound person when rocking up with a 3EQ Musicman. I never got that with mine and I don't think it's down to the wood so much as the electrics. That's just opinion. I've no evidence!

I think it depends how much you want to sit 'in' the mix vs being distinct. IME the pre-special Stingrays have a definite lack of subtlety, especially in what I hear as a very artificial top end. When people say "the active bass sound" I think of Rays whereas something like a Sadowsky sounds like a passive bass with more eq control.

[HeadlessBassist]

10 hours ago, Jack said:

I think it depends how much you want to sit 'in' the mix vs being distinct. IME the pre-special Stingrays have a definite lack of subtlety, especially in what I hear as a very artificial top end. When people say "the active bass sound" I think of Rays whereas something like a Sadowsky sounds like a passive bass with more eq control.

 

Very true - I've often found that Sound Engineers fall into two categories; Those who want to bury you at the bottom of the mix, and those who want to give you equal footing with everything else going on. I had one engineer who I worked with long term who constantly claimed he couldn't "place" my Status sound, whereas others love it, as it can't be buried, so it becomes a feature. I haven't really done many jobs with my current Stingray crop, but I can tell you that mid way through one job with the 95 2EQ Stingray, a gentleman remarked how pleasant it was to be able to hear all the individual bass notes, instead of a woofly mess. So result, I guess.

 

The lack of subtlety is why I don't use a Status or Stingray for the live tribute show. Here, the Jazz basses come into their element, even the powerful active Elite. I can boost out the parts with the preamp in fast walking bass lines, or I can run passive and gently palm mute for sparser, more subtle ballads.

 

There is definitely a difference between instruments where you 'hear' too much preamp, as opposed to those that quietly get on with boosting the actual sound of the pickups and the wood.