Which Stingray Neck is Most Similar to a Wide P Bass Neck

[jcidulka]

Looking to get a Stingray and want to get your thoughts on the “feel” of the different necks on:

1) Classic Stingray
2) Stingray Special
3) Old Smoothie

4 string bass.

No dealer near me has any decent Stingray inventory. Boo.

I’ve grown up on p bass necks, preferring the 1.70 - 1.75” width at nut. Also, don’t like necks to be too thin - I like a fuller neck. Give me beef!

Which of the three stingray Basses do you think would be best? 4 string only.

Thanks.

 

[Golem]

You should ask CS which one of the current three trade names for SRs represents the original version from before any mutants were introduced. And I would not assume that the answer is “Classic” ... could be, but ask, don’t assume.

Anywho all my SRs are original pre-mutant type and they come semi-close to my P-bass. I also have Sterlings and those are NOT like a P. IIRC, one or more of the current mutant SRs has a Sterling type neck.

BTW I think most players would say the original SR neck is meaty, and so you might like it. But a real P-bass neck feels definitely bigger.

There might be some boutique clones of the P with full size P necks but when it comes to production models I think the P-bass stands alone as bigger than any other big ones.

You mentioned nut width. The nut is not what makes a P-bass neck so big. It’s the whole thing, all around and up and down.

The P was the first bass guitar. Everyone who played them back when it was still the ONLY electric bass came from playing double bass. To those players the P neck was small !

 

[danny-79]

The necks on all my SRs are the same and from same time frame (see signature) they are pretty close in feel to a P neck, a tiny bit slimmer.
As far as new stuff goes, as mentioned contact customer service for full specifics if trying before buying is not an option

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

.
IMO "Old Smoothie". I haven't tried the Stingray Special.

 

[brash47]

I have a few different models and have had various P Basses before.

My choice for you:
The Cutlass

That neck feels about as close to a P bass of all the EBMM basses I've owned. I'm not sure of the specs....but it just has that feel. The sound will blow you away.

Cutlass Bass | Basses | Ernie Ball Music Man

Brash

Sent from my SM-G988U using Tapatalk

 

[five7]

I play musicman because I don't like the feel of a precision neck. So, in my opinion there aren't any that have that baseball bat feel.

 

[strummer]

The Old Smoothie is imho a lot like 70:s P basses in feel, if not in actual dimensions.

 

[Monahan]

Adding my $.02 to what's already been written here, if you're looking for a "large" neck (a very subjective target) on a Stingray I'm happy to share my experience with you

Of the three I currently own (Special, Old Smoothie, Classic), the Classic has what I would describe as a fuller feeling neck. Does it compare to a P-bass? With so many different shapes of P-bass necks throughout the years it's not apples to apples... however, I will say that the Classic neck does feel in the ballpark of the larger P necks I've played.

Also keep in mind that over the last 10 or 20 years the width of most Fender necks is only an 8th of an inch different between a J at 1.5" and a P at 1 5/8." Yes there have been special builds along the way, but the days of a standard P neck being 1 3/4" wide are long past. Fender also offered different/smaller sizes for much of it's "vintage" years. AND as has already been pointed out, the width is only one of several reasons a neck feels how it does.

Best advice is to play as many Stingrays as you can get your hands on and see what you like. You may find that the "wide P-bass neck" was an inadequate point of reference. Or not

Best of luck!

 

[mouth]

I play musicman because I don't like the feel of a precision neck. So, in my opinion there aren't any that have that baseball bat feel.

I play Stingrays because I like P bass necks, and dislike thin J bass necks. I do prefer B neck width to C neck width on P basses (1.625" vs 1.75"), which is basically how Stingray necks are like. So I'd definitely say that Ray necks are similar to modern P bass necks, if anything.