Help! Need advice for pick-up and pre-amp replacement in '79 Stingray

[Horsehead67]

Hello All,

I purchased a 1979 Stingray bass several years ago, however, the pickup and pre-amp are not original. Plus the bass pot was removed to include a toggle switch. I'm looking to restore the bass to as close to original as I can using non-musicman parts. Can someone suggest the best after-market pickup, pre-amp and bass pot for that year of stingray bass. Also, is it possible to still get a bass knob that will match the others? Thanks very much.

 

[Golem]

Hello All,

I purchased a 1979 Stingray bass several years ago,
however, the pickup and pre-amp are not original. ...
I'm looking to restore the bass to as close to original
as I can using non-musicman parts. Can someone
suggest the best after-market pickup, pre-amp and
bass pot for that year of stingray bass. .......

I have various EBMM SRs, and the differences amongst
them are not huge, but are audible. No two have the
same strings, and one of them came to me converted
to all Seymour Duncan BassLines [PU & 3band]. I'm not
a purist or a tone geek, but I think the BassLines Ray
is still well within the "family sound".

Mine is the ceramic PU Basslines system. I bleeb there's
also an alnico version. The ceramic version claims to be
closer to the pre-EB sound than to the EB Ray sound.
IIRC, a '79 Ray is pre-EB. This system is in a 2band EB
Ray and it still has the front jack on the chrome banana.
The 3band uses a stack pot to fit everything into the
existing four holes.





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[MattOfSweden]

I'd fall in the tone geek category probably. I've had or played SR's with Basslines and Bartolini and to me they were both off the mark compared to the vibe of a pre-EB SR. (Both had the stock pre.) The Basslines one has since got an original PU off of eBay, and that made a real difference. Both brands sounded good though, but only the real deal is the real deal. Between the two after-market brands I clearly preferred the Bartolini, but given a similar scenario today I'd scout eBay waiting for an Original PU/pre to come my way. To us tone geeks there's no other way to fly.

 

[Freddels]

Since you can't get the originals, the next best thing is the Nordstrand pickup and the John East preamp (at least the one's that I played in Basswave's SBMM Ray).

 

[lovechick]

I agree with Matt. Wait for the real thing on eBay OR (crossing the dreaded pre-EB vs. EB line!!!) scout eBay/Craigslist for an active SUB and harvest the electronics. You can then slap the stuff currently in your Ray into the SUB. I think that gets you closer to the tone of the '79 than the aftermarket route.

 

[Horsehead67]

Thanks Everyone for the good information. Since I'm pretty sure I have a '79 Sting Ray (based on neck date, bridge serial number, etc.) with a slight body mod (contour on the backside), and some minor routing to fit an EMG pickup, plus pots dated from '84, I know it's not fully original. In light of that, I'll go with after-market stuff. If it were clean I'd definitely hunt for original parts. Thanks again for your help.

 

[Rick Auricchio]

At the risk of sounding like a wise guy:

If you want the Stingray sound and authenticity, sell the instrument you have and buy a Stingray.

 

[Horsehead67]

I have too many sob stories about great, vintage instruments I sold in the past for next to nothing (major regret). I'll hold onto this one for the rest of my life. It won't be original, but I still love the look and playability. Just the same, I'm sure I'll pick up a new Stingray sometime anyway.

 

[oli@bass]

Someone on TB once mentined that G&L MFDs would be a good replacement for the original Sabre PUs. Given their smaller size and great sound and output, I'd try that. I'd also go for the John East preamp.

 

[Golem]

I have too many sob stories about great, vintage instruments I sold
in the past for next to nothing (major regret). I'll hold onto this one
for the rest of my life. It won't be original, but I still love the look
and playability. Just the same, I'm sure I'll pick up a new Stingray
sometime anyway.

+1 ..... on your 'philosophy'. Vintage stuff can be great, and the
best bargain in vintage are those examples whose originality has
been violated. Somehow there's a whole bunch of collectors who
prize total originality, but originality is NOT synonymous with the
player value of vintage stuff. Let the collectors have their fun, at
the price of their folly they're certainly entitled to it.

Build you a great player and play it.

And +1 on getting a new-ish StingRay as well. A good band will
often be multi-generational ... not all geezers and not all kiddies.
Same applies to stable of basses.


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