Sterling by Musicman Ray35H v OLP mm32 5 vs MM Stingray 5HH

[shadyru]

I'm reading a lot of good things about the new line sterling by musicman 35. Really want my first 5 string bass (for nickelback, breaking benjamin, disturbed, etc.) I see they all use MM Stingray 5 HH in the studio which is my main purpose. I hear the new Ray35 is close in sound to the Stingray 5 H but am I sacrificing a lot of the tone if I was to buy a single H instead of HH?

[oli@bass]

yes

[miliouz]

But the historic sound of SR is the single H...

[MingusBASS]

Save up and get the HH, I almost always play my Ray 5 with both humbuckers on full.

[adouglas]

I wouldn't say "sacrificing."

While I don't have an SR5 and haven't seen an SBMM yet, I do have both HH and H MusicMan basses.

The two are different. One is not a "sacrifice" vs. the other.

If the H gives you the sound you want, you're good. If you require an HH to get what you're looking for, then you need one.

Sine the SR5 HH has its bridge pickup in the same location as the H (unlike the Bongo, where the HH bridge pickup is closer to the bridge) it does give you more versatility because you can nail the H tone as well as going beyond it.

BTW, on my HHp I leave both pickups on full all the time too. Just sounds better that way to me.

As with all questions like this, you won't get a valid answer by asking us. You need to hear both and decide for yourself.

[MK Bass Weed]

but am I sacrificing a lot of the tone if I was to buy a single H instead of HH?

I bought the SR5 back in '90 and now use the HH SR4 pretty much for everything.

I don't think 'sacrificing alot of tone' is the way to think about it.

To me, the single H is THE tone to get the job done. And it does that job better than any bass and any other trying to copy that design (IMHO)

Yes, the HH configuration DOES give you a much wider palette of tones. When I got mine, I thought "wow, the "Stingray" sound means something else now"

I'm always using the switch to dial in sounds when I'm recording.

However: Live...my Fave setting is either the Bridge Pickup, or the Outer Coil setting, and for live, I'm thinking about the Single H bongo....

You can't go wrong ever with a Single H. It's where it started anyways.

MK

[adouglas]

Well said, Dr. Weed.

The other day I was learning some new material on my HHp and was thinking that it'd be really great to have the tone I was getting out of it when playing live...

...but to be honest, experience tells me that it wouldn't matter. Subtlety of tone is largely lost in a live setting IMHO. Sitting in my living room I can really hear the difference when I tweak the knobs just a little bit, live...nah. I've got two basic tone settings I use live on that bass. One is "old school" and the other is "funk/modern." Neither one is all that precise.

Live, you want to cut through the mix, get a consistent, powerful, usable sound and have a bass that's light enough to wear all night without wearing you out.

My H scores on all points.

[MK Bass Weed]

Live, you want to cut through the mix, get a consistent, powerful, usable sound and have a bass that's light enough to wear all night without wearing you out.

Well, to me, this simple argument you put forth is the very reason that I don't strap on the passive instrument to do live. For me...you have to pump the volume up so damn loud to GET the tone, and then, the soundman is pissed and takes you out of the mix cuz the people in the front row need diapers now as I loosened fillings and all.

Your key point above in your quote: Cut Through/Useable Sound.

Yes...A sound that I LIKE and can be heard..You can actually put in clever fills instead of dumbing down the line, cuz you can hear it.

Then again, if my guitarist buddies would just embrace modeling stuff, they could get the tone AND turn down, we wouldn't have such a problem would we?..but that's another kind of blasphemy, cuz you know...'it's just not the same'...

[laneline]

Yes , the HH SR5 just gives more tonal variation while still having
the best bridge pickup out there, which in itself still has tonal variation with the great EQ.

[strummer]

I don't understand what the ppl are telling the op

I have a SR5 with just the one pick up, and I've never felt like another pick up was needed