Musicman Stingray Vs Reflex

[LewisW]

Hey guys, just wanted to ask some opinions on tone feel between these guitars.

Last Saturday I played my first valentine which i really loved the feel of (and couldnt believe how thin it was) but the tone wasnt quite what I hoped for.. Then I saw a BFR stingray and thought 'why not' ... man alive. Every position was just great, thicker neck which was just really comfy. I think I would wait for an RS to get the roasted neck over the satin feel but was very impressed, and as always a great trem.

However im aware the necks between a reflex and a stingray should be closer than say a silhouette/axis (I have both).

Also tone wise the stingray had lots of clarity and chime - does the reflex do this sort of thing or it more rock/mid focused? Pretty hard to find a reflex around in the UK so cant easily go and try one

Any and all input would be appreciated!

 

[LewisW]

Nobody has owned both??

 

[edhalen]

Sorry Lewis - been busy and just saw this. I have a Stingray (your description is perfect) and I also have a 25th anniversary which became the Reflex. The neck profile on the Reflex is a shallow C as compared to the more round and beefy Stingray neck. VERY comfy to play though - not a bad thing by any means. It takes less effort to play the 25th/Reflex because of this imo. As for the sound, the Reflex can do it all - chimey cleans when needed and it can also be more mid focused because of the chambered basswood along with the Mahogany tone block and the EBMM Axis pickups. With 10 different settings when combining the 5 position switch and the series/parallel option it really is the swiss army knife of EBMM guitars as far as I'm concerned. It can do it all.

I hope this helps.

 

[BUC]

I think the standard reflex has a much thinner neck than the 25th anniversary. At least my Gamechanger does.

The Reflex is my go-to axe so I'm clearly biased. But I played a Stingray at GC and loved it, wish I'd taken it home.

My opinion is that the reflex is a little more of a tone chameleon than the Stingray. You have the series/parallel switch and very usable tone knobs and a 5 way pickup selector. The basswood body is going to give it more low mids vs the mid-focus typical of mahogany like the Stingray has.

I'm still dumbfounded the Reflex didn't really sell well. What a great guitar.

 

[LewisW]

Thanks for the reviews guys, really helpful - need to get my hands on a reflex asap...