what makes a stingray sound like a stingray ?

[green]

hi folks.

i played a lot of basses, that were inspired, or nearly copies of the stingray.
and after some years, i finally got the real stingray, and it sounds unique.

i never played a bass before, that sounded like it.

i'm not one of those who can hear the difference between maple and rosewood fingerboard.
but i surely hear the difference between a stingray and an ATK.
there are several basses with humbuckers in the typical stingray position, but none of those have that stingray sizzle and upper mid bite.

what do you think makes a stingray sound like a stingray ?
(some are made of poplar, some are made of ash, some have alder bodies. but all do have that sound)

is it the electronics ?

[Kiwi]

In my experience, pickup design and pickup placement mostly with a little extra from the preamp when the eq is in extreme boost or cut positions. Apart from that, its pretty much like a jazz or precision in terms of materials.

[Musicman20]

It's definitely the pickup and eq, hence why they don't sell them separate. A ray sounds unique

Edited February 17, 2010 by Musicman20

[Huw Foster]

It's obviously witchcraft.

[Darkstrike]

The pickup being wired in parallel, rather than the standard series humbucker wiring, and a boost from the pre-amp has a lot to do with it.

[Al Heeley]

never come across a more potent preamp - i think combination of the MM preamp and the HB pickup account for 80% of the unique tone quality, the rest is witchcraft

[OutToPlayJazz]

Yes, it is pretty unique. The Stingray 4 with the original alnico magnets does have a sound pretty much of it's own. The most impressive thing about mine is the tone. It is a ten year old instrument, but it has a really thick tone underlying that huge snarl.

They really are a unique and special bass.

[Duarte]

Sterling ball is convinced that the bridge as a huge impact on the tone. It is quite a meaty bridge...

[Kiwi]

The bridge on musicman basses has changed quite a bit since the 70's and is now less substantial than its ever been, particularly on EB designed models. Not sure what Sterling Ball is getting at but the bridge is also another part that EB don't sell separately.

[green]

well, an example for a stingray-copy is the lakland 55-02.
it has the exact same woods like my stingray.
it has a massive bridge, the bridge pickup can be wired in parallel mode, too (just like the pickup on the stingray), the pickup even is a very little closer to the bridge like on the stingray, and still it doesn't have that aggressive snarl of the stingray (that's not a bad thing, but makes the lakland sound totally different).

i find the EBMM sterling (the original one, not the cheap copy) to have that musicman sound, too.

it really seems to be witchcraft ;-)

so, it really seems like it is the electronics and the pickup... right ?

[Kiwi]

The Laklands I've played tend to favour the jazz sound over the stingray sound. The pickup design is such that you can't really have both worlds unfortunately.

[green]

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='750320' date='Feb 18 2010, 11:47 PM']The Laklands I've played tend to favour the jazz sound over the stingray sound. The pickup design is such that you can't really have both worlds unfortunately.[/quote]

well, that could be the explanation why the lakland sounds so much different.

has anybody ever played a bass that comes close to the stingray sound ?
i mean, having that aggressive high frequencies (even with old strings) ?

[Kiwi]

Sure, there are some instruments out there which are MORE aggressive than a stingray...like a Modulus [s]Flea[/s] Funk Unlimited.

You could also consider the following:

Aria SB1000 (doesn't have as much warmth)


Modulus Funk Unlimited/Formerly Known As Flea (very aggressive)


Modulus Sonic Hammer (precursor to the Modulus FKAF)


Sandberg Basic (very close)


Tobias Growler (never played one plugged in so can't really comment on how similar)


Warwick Pro-M (never played one plugged in so can't really comment on how similar)


There are other single pickup contenders (like the Alembic Excel and Modulus Quantum SweetSpot) that don't really sound similar to a Stingray

[warwickhunt]

The tone of the Stingray is to a greater extent the pup/preamp combination and by that I mean the interaction between the two parts, which is funny as I always tend to consider that with the NT Warwick basses it is the combination of woods and neck/body construction that give them their signature sound! You can swap out the pup on an Ray and it will still retain a similar tone, you can swap out the preamp and again it'll retain much of the tone BUT of the different combinations that I've heard it is the EB/MM pup AND EB/MM preamp that tends to give that classic tone. Don't get me wrong, fitting different pups and preamps doesn't always alter the tone significantly but I've tended to think that the original tends to be the one sure fire way of hitting that classic sound.

[Duarte]

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='749368' date='Feb 18 2010, 10:23 AM']The bridge on musicman basses has changed quite a bit since the 70's and is now less substantial than its ever been, particularly on EB designed models. Not sure what Sterling Ball is getting at but the bridge is also another part that EB don't sell separately.[/quote]
The bridge has changed, but not that significantly really - as you can see from these pictures of my old Rays, one is an older and one is more modern. The bridge on the more modern one is shorter in length, because the mutes have been removed. The structure of it is otherwise exactly the same, it just has the top bit cut off. The mutes are cool, but apparently they took them off because they can be sharp and quite dangerous on your fingers...

Both have the same base plate (although one is half the size), the same saddles, the same massive bolts on the sides - maybe it does help in making THAT tone.

Edited February 20, 2010 by Duarte

[Dr.Dave]

In my mind I like to imagine that M M went up to Leo Fender and said 'OK - if you could design the Precision again what changes would you make?' and he said 'Let's have rid of the lightweight bridge , let's go a step further than the split pup , let's have a bit more tone control and let's make the truss rod adjustable without needing a trained ferret'.

I love Stingrays even though I don't currently have one.

It's a cliche but if you're a died in the wool Precision lover it's the obvious next step.

I read somewhere that a guitarist can make any noise/do any job he wants with 4 guitars - a tele , a strat , a les paul and a 335.

I reckon we can do it in 3 - a Precision , a Jazz and a Stingray (in fretted 4 terms anyway)

[deaver]

[quote name='Dr.Dave' post='751661' date='Feb 20 2010, 11:24 AM']It's a cliche but if you're a died in the wool Precision lover it's the obvious next step.[/quote]

Uh oh, I can feel myself getting drawn to light, powerless to resist, again...

[alanbass1]

I prefer the sound of the two band pre-amp.

[Dr.Dave]

[quote name='deaver' post='751684' date='Feb 20 2010, 11:56 AM']Uh oh, I can feel myself getting drawn to light, powerless to resist, again...[/quote]

oops - sorry mate....er....

if you're a died in the wool Precision lover you'll f****g hate a Stingray !!!

(Hope that helps)

[Duarte]

You would have a P bass with another pickup essentially...

[danny-79]

Cause there Stingrays .... :snob: You can spot/hear one a mile away !!

Edited February 20, 2010 by danny-79

[deaver]

[quote name='Dr.Dave' post='751692' date='Feb 20 2010, 12:04 PM']oops - sorry mate....er....

if you're a died in the wool Precision lover you'll f****g hate a Stingray !!!

(Hope that helps) [/quote]

Thanks, I needed that

[alanbass1]

Umm....I love my Stingray



and I also love my P Basses....