green Posted April 7, 2010 Share Posted April 7, 2010 hi. since i bought my stingray, i know that there actually are basses out there, that have lots of high end without EQing... which is what i like. now, i'm looking for a second bass, that can do that, but didn't find one yet. i like active electronics... warwicks are fine basses, but they are better on the low end than they are on the high end. fenders are not my cup of tea... but i'd play a fender copy, like sandberg, sadowsky, etc... (if it has the sound i'm looking for). the thing about the stingray is, that it sounds bright enough, even with dead strings. i had basses before, that were made of the same woods as my stingray, that didn't sound as bright with new strings, as my stingray does with old strings... it's really a myth to me... so, what would you recommend ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theosd Posted April 7, 2010 Share Posted April 7, 2010 A guitar? Rickenbackers have a lot of high end IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutToPlayJazz Posted April 7, 2010 Share Posted April 7, 2010 (edited) I know exactly what you mean. I like the grittier high-end sound as well. Your best options would be another MusicMan, a Status, Warwick Corvette $$, or a Yamaha TRB series bass. These all have a lot of treble available in the sweeter frequencies. Some actives do sound very harsh in a nasty sense when you give the treble some serious boost due to differing frequencies used on the preamps. All the basses listed above sound quite sweet in this situation, but the nasty harsh treble category [for me] consists of active Fenders, Spector Euros, Jackson CMG's, Yamaha BB's & Ibanezes. That isn't to say I don't like any of the above basses - It's just my own personal experience. Hope this helps Rich. Edited April 7, 2010 by OutToPlayJazz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted April 7, 2010 Share Posted April 7, 2010 Well, one of the things I like about the Peavey T-40 is the nice top-end range it has. It has good low-end grunt too. Just takes a bit of fiddling with the controls to find what you like. Mind you, I play with a pick, but I dunno if that's the same for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutToPlayJazz Posted April 7, 2010 Share Posted April 7, 2010 (edited) [quote]Mind you, I play with a pick, but I dunno if that's the same for you.[/quote] You play with a "pick"???! Edited April 7, 2010 by OutToPlayJazz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
green Posted April 7, 2010 Author Share Posted April 7, 2010 well, since i play with fingers, i want really a lot of high end. i guess, the stingray would be treble heaven played with a pick.... rich, thanks for your tips ! another musicman... that sounds nice, haha. i played a warwick corvette $$ neck-through with a bubinga body and maple neck. that one was really nice. but the bolt-on $$ isn't that nice sounding if you like stingray-like sounds... i also had a lakland, made of ash, with maple/maple neck. it didn't sound like a stingray at all, althouth it had a humbucker. and it was not the bartolini version, but the one with the lakland pickups. just to make sure you get me right: it's not just the very high end that i'm looking for. the musicmen have also lots of high mids or low highs (don't know how to call it). dead strings never sound really dead, like they would on a warwick thumb or something... and i'm not talking about boosting the high end, i'm talking about leaving the preamp flat ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted April 7, 2010 Share Posted April 7, 2010 I've never played on myself, but from what I've heard of Vigiers on recordings I would put them in the category you are looking at... There are a few guys on here that own these French masterpieces, so I'm sure they will correct me if I'm wrong!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted April 7, 2010 Share Posted April 7, 2010 There's one clear contender in my experience, the Parker Fly bass. So much high end it was uncomfortable to listen to, especially with the piezo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
green Posted April 7, 2010 Author Share Posted April 7, 2010 funny you talk about the vigier basses... i had one myself, passion III (maple neck with carbon bars). it was quite the opposite of the stingray: it had quite little high end, and quite little low end. but loads of mids... but it was very light weight and comfortable, i got to admit... the parker fly may be nice, but hard to test or buy one.... aren't there some more "normal" basses, perhaps ESPs with emg pickups or something like that ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted April 7, 2010 Share Posted April 7, 2010 [quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='799138' date='Apr 7 2010, 07:50 PM']You play with a "pick"???! [/quote] Yes - thankyou, pedant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandelion Posted April 7, 2010 Share Posted April 7, 2010 ATK300 clips on youtube sound quite trebley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allihts Posted April 7, 2010 Share Posted April 7, 2010 If your looking for something cheap i'd recommend cort gb-series, jazz/stingray hybrids. I've got one and it's easy to get harsh high tones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted April 7, 2010 Share Posted April 7, 2010 Kramer metal necked basses like the 450B, the strings always sound new! They don't cost the earth either. The stock pickups are a bit weak but you could get them re wound for not a lot.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime_BASS Posted April 7, 2010 Share Posted April 7, 2010 My fender power jazz has loads of high end, not the bad kind. I think it's part the electronics and hardware, the TBX is a 500k pot, do more high freq come through and the graphite in the neck. IMO you should try one of them before you count fenders out. I'm trying to trade it for something as I prefer a deeper full fat milk tone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman69 Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 Kinda pricey but the last Alembic I played had loads of top, and then some more.. unreal! Dirty, worn out old strings on it too and it still sparkled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 MM basses can be unbelievably harsh in the wrong hands, IMV... that treble control is +-15 or so....IIRC..isn't it? Depends what your budget is... but most basses with a decent pre should be able to sizzle way more than you'd able to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doddy Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 Without mentioning any bass in particular,it's worth trying something with EMG pickups. They have a lot of high end in them. Most decent preamps will also give you a good treble boost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 [quote name='green' post='799197' date='Apr 7 2010, 07:41 PM']the parker fly may be nice, but hard to test or buy one....[/quote] The Bass Centre couldn't sell theirs for love nor money when they still had a shop. Seriously brittle sounding bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
green Posted April 8, 2010 Author Share Posted April 8, 2010 (edited) alembic sounds nice. it's just hard to buy one. i don't have the money for a new one, and you can't find them used that often... kramer basses are cool, but i heard that sometimes, the neck warps. plus, the neck pickup is directly near the neck. that's an ugly thing for slapping.... like i said: i don't really like fenders... don't really know why. the neck of the ATK is too big. the whole bass is. it feels like something that's not finished yet. it might sound good, but it feels like the production has been stopped 2 days before the bass was finished, then painted and delivered... don't you think ? EMG pickups sounds good. like i said: i don't need a bass that can boost the treble. i want one that has lots of high end with the EQ set flat. there is a HUGE difference between my stingray set flat, and a warwick with the treble boostet. boosting treble gives you a narrow frequency range, while the stingray has a broad range of high frequencies boosted even when set flat. so, until now, alembic and sadowsky are on my list. and some ESPs with EMG pickups, and also the parker fly. too bad that alembic and sadowsky cost multiple times as much as my car... ;-) Edited April 8, 2010 by green Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 (edited) My Thumb (stock MEC everything) has a lot of treble content flat. More than my old Stingray ever did. Switching it into passive mode still gives a ton of treble. Edited April 8, 2010 by thisnameistaken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
green Posted April 8, 2010 Author Share Posted April 8, 2010 is it a BO or NT thumb ? my NT thumb sounds quite.... dull. it has really nice low end, and slapping is good, too. but on my stingray, when i pluck the strings hard enough fingerstyle, it can sound like slap. on my thumb, it's different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grambo Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 Rickie? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4 Strings Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 Jaydee. Roadie or Mark King, matters not, they can bite your head off. Stick it through a Hartke rig and you can use it to shave. Mine was criticised during the last recording in which I was involved as being too bright. I bought a Stingray so I can have the bite but with lots of bottom too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
green Posted April 8, 2010 Author Share Posted April 8, 2010 ok then, alembic, jaydee, parker fly, sadowsky. i don't like rickenbackers. they have a huge body, and the neck pickup is right where i would slap. will make the amp clip all the time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mokl Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 A modulus Flea (now Funk Unlimited), would give you what you want, I think. I had one at the same time as a Stingray so was able to compare them. The modulus could really cut in the high end (mine was SD pup / Aguilar pre). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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