newtley
Well-known member
well shucks..I contend that the Sterling burps like a sailor
switch @ middle position
mids dimed
bass mostly boosted
treble mostly cut
- Thread starter Beaver Felton
- Start date
well shucks..I contend that the Sterling burps like a sailor
switch @ middle position
mids dimed
bass mostly boosted
treble mostly cut
Big Poppa
Well-known member
Beaver...no chance...we like the sweet spot of the single h bongo and stringray. I would recommend that you try the HS bongo first and concentrate on the limitless subtlties of the upper mid and lower mid. Start flat and cut ten percent then boost...
Goofball Jones
Well-known member
Let's say you WERE in an average cover band where you have to worry about copping a P bass tone and a J bass tone and a Stingray tone....which one bass would you get to get "in the same neighborhood without having to buy the house on the corner" as you would say. Bongo HH? Bongo HS? SR4 HS? Sterling HS?
My theory (I don't own one, so it's only theory) is a Stingray HS with the neck PUP selected and the highs turned down and the bass turned up to drive to P Bass town....or at least the outskirts of P-bass town.
Also, how different are the pre-amps in the Rays in comparison to the Sterlings? Or should I not even both and go to Bongo-land?
bovinehost
Administrator
Let's say you WERE in an average cover band where you have to worry about copping a P bass tone and a J bass tone and a Stingray tone....which one bass would you get to get "in the same neighborhood without having to buy the house on the corner" as you would say. Bongo HH? Bongo HS? SR4 HS? Sterling HS?
My theory (I don't own one, so it's only theory) is a Stingray HS with the neck PUP selected and the highs turned down and the bass turned up to drive to P Bass town....or at least the outskirts of P-bass town.
Also, how different are the pre-amps in the Rays in comparison to the Sterlings? Or should I not even both and go to Bongo-land?
If you asked ten people on this board how to get to P or J neighborhood, you'd get ten different answers, I think. I look at it this way. The Stingray. SR5, Sterling and Bongo all sound different, but there is an underlying similarity - a Music Man Family Tone, I guess. Call it growl, maybe. Call it Ferdinand. Call it whatever you want, but I think most of us recognize that it's there and that it's hard (read: impossible) to get it from other basses.
The MM tone is there in all the MM basses.
All this talk about the difference between a Stingray 4 and a Sterling (choose your model) is interesting but hard to put into words. Someone says the Sterling isn't as aggressive, someone else says it's more aggressive, another person says the SR5 is woodier than a SR4 - it's hard to quantify these things without getting a set of ears on 'em.
So any opinion I give you is subject to argument, and I'm willing to submit that the other guy just might be right. Or more right, anyway. Righter.
If I played in a cover band and had to approximate P and J territory, I'd grab my Bongo HH. The bridge pickup alone has a mid-bumped aggressiveness that puts it on the street where the Jazz bass lives. Now it doesn't sound like a Jazz TO ME, but it's close enough for me. For a P bass thump, roll the blend knob toward the neck pickup. Again, not exact, but if I wanted a P bass, I'd buy one.
I still play my Bongo HS, too, but I haven't played WITH it as much as I have the HH.
At rehearsal the other night, I was fooling around with my SR5 HH and copped a perfect tonal imitation of my friend Bob Nyswonger, who plays those MIJ Jazz Specials from the 80s. Go figure.
Maybe the overarching truth is this. The dual pickup MM basses, in conjunction with a very flexible preamp, the right strings, the right hand placement, the right head/cabinet, can do just about anything you want to do. Just play with your knobs! And men love to do that anyway.
The preamps in the SRs and Bongos are different. Very different. (Open up the hood on a Bongo if you don't believe me. Holy sh!t!) And it's not just 9v versus 18v, although that's a good place to start.
The only way to know is to play both. I'm convinced that the Bongo - for ME - does everything I've ever wanted a bass to do, aside from play itself while I chat up the girlies. Stanky has the same thing going with Stingray 5s.
It's awfully subjective, but it's also hard to go wrong.
Jack
Goofball Jones
Well-known member
Thanks Jack for the input. I guess it all does come down to being subjective about things like this. And I doubt when playing live at a gig no one is going to come up to you and say "dude, that song called for a p-bass and you're playing a stingray?".
Is EB working on that though? So it can play itself while you can chat up the girlies? Count me in!
Is EB working on that though? So it can play itself while you can chat up the girlies? Count me in!
newtley
Well-known member
ultimately, my MM's sound like ME..
..only LOUDER..
..which is why I really like them, cause I can't sing or dance..
..only LOUDER..
..which is why I really like them, cause I can't sing or dance..
Psycho Ward
Well-known member
All the configurations have their own special voice, but the fundamental difference is that the left handed versions all sound better! I don’t know why and I can’t explain it, maybe it’s the reverse polarity of the batteries or the reverse wiring of the electronics.
But all I know is when I pick up a right handed bass I don’t sound as good… that’s observational science right there!
But all I know is when I pick up a right handed bass I don’t sound as good… that’s observational science right there!
timmy5strings
Well-known member
timmy5strings
Well-known member
My SR5 has tons of Ferdinand !
Ole Man Blues
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2006
- Messages
- 482
Me Bongo too has mucho Ferdinand........My SR5 has tons of Ferdinand !
tadawson
Well-known member
Me Bongo too has mucho Ferdinand........
Just don't bust out into "Fernando", or we may have to find a large blunt object to silence you with . . . .
- Tim
Ole Man Blues
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2006
- Messages
- 482
You mean Siesta time..........no?Just don't bust out into "Fernando", or we may have to find a large blunt object to silence you with . . . .
- Tim
I swapped a SR5/Piezo for the SR5/HH I got from you a few days ago. Loving it, worth the swap. Arrived in half the time you said, and it looks stunning in person--can hardly wait to see it with the pickguard. :^)
I thought the piezo offered something more than just the single H pickup, but the HH config offers more of what I really want in an electric bass sound. Favorite is all 4 coils, next fave as a different tone option is the two inner coils setting. I am glad it does not have a pickup blend knob, and the EQ seems to adjust more to my liking.
HH = Strong, defined, full range, just great, with options. The single H seemed kind of limited to me--sounded good but I seemed to fiddle with the EQ a lot with it. HH is leave it flat, maybe push the bass or mid up a little for a variation sometimes--like it obediently does what I ask it to. I have seen a lot of folks ask about whether the neck pickup is in the way, and for me it's not at all.
Using it with some Eden XST's--but what's a bigger factor--strings, amp/cabs, pickup config?
I thought the piezo offered something more than just the single H pickup, but the HH config offers more of what I really want in an electric bass sound. Favorite is all 4 coils, next fave as a different tone option is the two inner coils setting. I am glad it does not have a pickup blend knob, and the EQ seems to adjust more to my liking.
HH = Strong, defined, full range, just great, with options. The single H seemed kind of limited to me--sounded good but I seemed to fiddle with the EQ a lot with it. HH is leave it flat, maybe push the bass or mid up a little for a variation sometimes--like it obediently does what I ask it to. I have seen a lot of folks ask about whether the neck pickup is in the way, and for me it's not at all.
Using it with some Eden XST's--but what's a bigger factor--strings, amp/cabs, pickup config?
silverburst
Well-known member
Hey Beaver
I've tried the different configurations on Stingrays, and always get back to the Single H.
I like having one pick-up and working around it to get the sound I like.
I've tried the different configurations on Stingrays, and always get back to the Single H.
I like having one pick-up and working around it to get the sound I like.
Rano Bass
Well-known member
After tryng a few of each:
Sterling H
Stingray 5 H
Stingray HS
Bongo HH
I don't know why but to me those are the ones that sound the best.
IMO.
Sterling H
Stingray 5 H
Stingray HS
Bongo HH
I don't know why but to me those are the ones that sound the best.
IMO.
Thanks Jack for the input. I guess it all does come down to being subjective about things like this. And I doubt when playing live at a gig no one is going to come up to you and say "dude, that song called for a p-bass and you're playing a stingray?".
Is EB working on that though? So it can play itself while you can chat up the girlies? Count me in!
The Bongo is actually chatting up the girlies while you're messing with your amp...
SteveB
Well-known member
Is EB working on that though? So it can play itself while you can chat up the girlies? Count me in!
The 18-volt system in the Bongo is partly used to power that double-secret feature!
Goofball Jones
Well-known member
The Bongo is actually chatting up the girlies while you're messing with your amp...
So THAT'S where my Bongo went! All I get now is receipts from hotels and bars with lipstick all over it and the imprint of the Bongo headstock for the signatures.
It is SO grounded when it gets home.
Fretless Bill
Member
I've had a Bongo5 HH and liked it but I still have a Bongo5 HS so I guess I liked it better.
I got my first SR5 about 10yr. ago and loved it. I currently have five SR5's. two are H and two are HS and one is a HH. I'm currently playing one of the HS the most but all in all I think the sound of the HH is the most versable. One I've never tried and ott to is a piezo. I would think that would be a desirable feature on a fretless.
I got my first SR5 about 10yr. ago and loved it. I currently have five SR5's. two are H and two are HS and one is a HH. I'm currently playing one of the HS the most but all in all I think the sound of the HH is the most versable. One I've never tried and ott to is a piezo. I would think that would be a desirable feature on a fretless.
RobertB
Well-known member
Ahhh, was looking for just such a chance to talk about how much I love the sound of my '07 LE SR4 HH ... LOVE it. While I honestly dig the sound of all 5 positions/configs, the tone in position 3 (all 4 barrels) is the best I've ever heard a Stingray sound. For slap, I even like it more than my 30th, honestly. It's absolutely perfect. I'm glad I tried one ... the SR's were about to take a backseat, after having played Bongos recently. I do love the Bongo thang too. So that's where I'm headed .... an SR4 HH and Bongo4 HH ... and everything gwine be ayre.
