Question StingRay Classic/Special weight question

[DrMatthewCross]

Hi,
I own an EBMM Caprice which weights 3.86 kilos and a Fender Am. Pro P which weights around 3.90 kilos. Both are very light and comfortable to play, especially the Caprice which is my #1 bass.
After a little bit of research I was able to get some precise infos about both the SR Special and SR Classic exact weight.
The Special weights 4.22 kilos (I've found 3.86 kilos on a couple of websites but I guess it's wrong? ), while the Classic weights 4.65 kilos.
Since I tend to prefer the Classic's features but I don't have any of them to make a weight comparison, I ask you if the difference in weight is noticeable when playing standing up. last time I played both a Special and a Classic at the shop I wasn't standing up for the most part, I was just testing the EQ and general features of the basses. I recently came back to the same shop to do some tests but one of them was sold, unfortunately. I remember that the difference in weight wasn't huge, but one thing is to play standing up for half an hour, another thing is to gig for two hours.
When switching from my Caprice to my P I have no problems, but like I said both are almost identical in weight and super lightweight.
Thanks!

 

[five7]

Getting use to the slab body takes longer than getting use to a little more weight. I have owned several and the extra weight isn't noticeable when playing because they sound so good.
And there is no exact weight when it comes to an instrument, lol.

 

[jones4tone]

As five7 alluded to, a species of wood doesn’t have uniform density, so two basses made on the same line from same body/neck woods can vary in weight to a noticeable degree. So you have to look at the weight of a particular bass, not a model. Many retailers list the weight of each in-stock instrument.

 

[DrMatthewCross]

I know, each instrument is different and that's normal. I just wanted to say that I was able to find the "official" reference weight after some research. EBMM website doesn't show the weight in their models pages, unless you change your location. I changed from US to Italy and it appeared, I don't know why. I also took some time to compare that infos with other websites to see if the (approximate) weight was correct. I've found some discrepancy here and there but the numbers should be correct.
Thanks for the replies.

 

[Daniel]

I know, each instrument is different and that's normal. I just wanted to say that I was able to find the "official" reference weight after some research. EBMM website doesn't show the weight in their models pages, unless you change your location. I changed from US to Italy and it appeared, I don't know why. I also took some time to compare that infos with other websites to see if the (approximate) weight was correct. I've found some discrepancy here and there but the numbers should be correct.
Thanks for the replies.

Hi Matthew,
There actually is no "official" weight of our instruments. The number found on our Italian sites are not accurate and are being removed. Our guitars and basses can vary in weight from instrument to instrument in the same model line. Your best bet to find an instrument in an approximate weight is to contact the dealer for that particular instrument and have them weigh it before sending it to you.

 

[DrMatthewCross]

...or, even better, play the instrument in person and see if its weight is ok, without going into numbers that much. That's what I normally do when looking for an instrument.
I'll wait until the end of the summer and see what I can find in local shops. I'm intersted about getting a Ray but it must be one that I really like, so I'll take my time. I didn't like the Special that much for a number of reasons, I liked the Classic but I wanted a satin finish on the neck (which it doesn't have of course), so I'll keep trying other Rays until I find the one, if I can. In the meanwhile I'm gonna keep playing my Caprice.

 

[mouth]

I'll wait until the end of the summer and see what I can find in local shops. I'm intersted about getting a Ray but it must be one that I really like, so I'll take my time. I didn't like the Special that much for a number of reasons, I liked the Classic but I wanted a satin finish on the neck (which it doesn't have of course), so I'll keep trying other Rays until I find the one, if I can. In the meanwhile I'm gonna keep playing my Caprice.

If you prefer the tone of the Classic, but want the oil/wax finish that the Special (and previous standard) Rays have, a good option would be to grab an older 2 band standard Stingray. You get the classic 2 band tone, but without the slab body and glossy finish. Another plus for me is no string through body bridge, as I'm not a fan of those. I'm very happy with mine and mine weights around 9.4 lbs. I've put a set of EB Group III flats on it and it's absolutely killer for that old school Stingray tone.

 

[DrMatthewCross]

Slab bodies don't bother me that much usually, but all the basses I have and regularly play have contoured bodies. When I switched from the Special to the Classic at the shop, the body didn't bother me at all but like I said before, one thing is to play an intrument at a shop for half an hour, another thing is to rehearse/gig with it. Unfortunately, some aspects can't be evaluated until you own an instrument and play with it for some time, imho.
Thanks for the help, I'll keep looking, as I said.

PS: In all honesty, I'm not even sure I NEED a StingRay. I started as a P w/flats guy (Fender Am Pro P with 9050Ls) and recently started to explore new sounds. I thought about a Jazz bass, but before going so "far from home" I wanted to try a good P/J bass with a more modern vibe, J neck, possibly a noiseless bridge J pickup, lightweight and with a good balanced tone, with clarity and articulation.
I just described the Caprice, right? Because that's what I ended up buying, and that's probably the best overall passive bass I ever played, hands down. You already know what it is an what it does, so I will not bother you further.
So... I suspect that the main reason why I want a Ray is because I'm a huge fan of EBMM stuff and I want another EBMM bass. Of all the models they produce at the moment, the StingRay is the only one that really interests me.
That said, it doesn't have the kind of tone I usually seek and is needed for the kind of music I personally play, but it's an iconic great sounding bass. We'll see what happens.
Thanks again.