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Dr Stankface

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Ok so i'm writing a comparative paper for English 101. What am I comparing/contrasting?

The StingRay 4 and the American Fender Jazz.

So name any and every difference and likeness between the two. From everything bluntly obvious to things so minute.

You guys rock. :D
 

adouglas

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I'm sure there's a lot more, but here's a start. Do we get credit?

Major similarities:

- 4 strings
- Trussrods
- Bolt-on necks w/neckplates
- Body shapes loosely based on Leo Fender's original electric bass (asymmetrical, contoured, rounded (instead of pointy), lower bout slightly larger than upper bout, with two similar horns projecting towards the headstock...contrast w/Gibson EB, LP; Rickenbackers; Danelectros; Vox "Flintstones" bass; Hofner "Beatle" bass; Steinberger)
- Asymmetrical tuner layout (as opposed to Gibson symmetrical style)
- Pickguards
- Maple necks
- Tuner style (large, open-backed)
- String trees
- Plastic nuts
- Ball end of strings in bridge, not through body


Major differences:

- Active/passive
- Number of EQ bands
- Neck dimensions
- Tuner layout
- Number of pickups
- Type of pickup
- Super-duper magic best-thing-since-the-paper-napkin trussrod wheel thingie
- Cosmetic design differences (body shape, pickguard shape, headstock layout)
- Bridge design (MM bridge has two large bolts that affect the basic acoustic sound of the instrument)
- Musician perception (Fenders are popular in large part because they're popular, MMs are usually chosen because they sound good)
- Distinctive voicing
 

Aragorn35016

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Preamp gnomes have built a magical kingdom in the control cavity of the SR to be near a plentiful food source of Duracell 9 volt batteries. Hence the ethereal sound of the SR. They passed on the jazz cavity, being a desert devoid of any food source


no really!
 
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adouglas

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Preamp gnomes have built a magical kingdom in the control cavity of the SR to be near a plentiful food source of Duracell 9 volt batteries. Hence the ethereal sound of the SR.


no really!

Are they by any chance related to the colony of elves that EBMM has recruited to stomp olives in order to get the paint pigment for the DD instruments?

That's why the DDs are taking a long time. There's only so much green in each olive, y'know.....

:D
 

Aragorn35016

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Are they by any chance related to the colony of elves that EBMM has recruited to stomp olives in order to get the paint pigment for the DD instruments?

That's why the DDs are taking a long time. There's only so much green in each olive, y'know.....

:D

They are in fact the dead beat distant cousins of the preamp gnomes. It takes so long because they spend the day huffing paint which gives them the munchies and they eat most of the olives before getting a chance to stomp them.
 
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GassieBall

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IMHO, if you're writing for a typical English class, may consider taking a different approach to this essay. Your grader (probably a grad student type TA) will probably not understand the the minute details of the specifications of one versus the other (unless this is a technical writing class). If s/he's a more artsy-fartsy type of a TA, then you will have to focus more on how they feel to play using metaphors, hyperbole, descriptive comparisons. The emotion you get from a SR vs. a Jazz: aggressive, mean, growl, attacking, viscious, smooth, mellow, sparkly, thumping, singing, etc. may mean more in the reader's mind than 9 volt, 18 volt, neodynium, nut string spacing, etc.

I could be totally wrong, but just a thought to consider (before putting more down on paper) from someone tortured for 4 years at an Ivy League school.

Ed
 

mrpackerguy

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Can you draw any conclusions about the players behind the two axes or the styles of music lending themselves to the two axes or the "image" of playing a Fender vs. a MM??
 

DKWilkins

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IMHO, if you're writing for a typical English class, may consider taking a different approach to this essay. Your grader (probably a grad student type TA) will probably not understand the the minute details of the specifications of one versus the other (unless this is a technical writing class). If s/he's a more artsy-fartsy type of a TA, then you will have to focus more on how they feel to play using metaphors, hyperbole, descriptive comparisons. The emotion you get from a SR vs. a Jazz: aggressive, mean, growl, attacking, viscious, smooth, mellow, sparkly, thumping, singing, etc. may mean more in the reader's mind than 9 volt, 18 volt, neodynium, nut string spacing, etc.

I could be totally wrong, but just a thought to consider (before putting more down on paper) from someone tortured for 4 years at an Ivy League school.

Ed

I went to a state school and tend to agree :D
 

adouglas

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Ernie B. folks are pleasant to talk to over the phone. Calling Fender is like calling the cable company! :mad:

Hmmm...yeah. EBMM is run by people who GET IT. (Can you IMAGINE Fender's CEO having an Internet presence? HAH! Or Fender doing something like the DD? Pish! Not to mention the Open House or Jack's Birthday Bash.)

But that has nothing to do with the issue at hand, does it?
 

Dr Stankface

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Many thanks to everyone's input. Your help made writing this paper a snap. You guys rock!!!


Of course, I did a little bit of persuasion that the StingRay was the better bass.





OK. OK. I did alot of that. :D
 
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