Best Stingray basses?

[sanderhermans]

Yup. Ment string tru. I'm sure the pre-amp isnt the only thing adding warmth. I often play my basses and guitars not plugged in and even then the classic gives me the best sound. I was thinking for the upcharge they sell for, mayebe musicman uses some "better" or larger pieces of ash for these basses. I'm not sure as my bass is painted with a opaque finish so cant tell if it's a 1-2 or 3 piece body.... but the sound to me is way sweeter than anny other bass i have.

 

[Octaviafuzz]

Definitely. The biggest difference when I tried the basses was when I played it unplugged. The classic compared to the others had a much more responsive and warmer tone. For me the 7.25 radius felt better too. I think the body is 1 piece because I can't see any joints.

 

[metalarch]

I love the classics, I have only played one once in a guitar center NY, and it was awesome. Dont forget that now there is the neck thru stingray

 

[MrMusashi]

i love all stingrays

but im a probably one of those fanbois

MrM

 

[danny-79]

i love all stingrays

but im a probably one of those fanbois

MrM

+1 and a smiley face !

 

[Mu5icM@n]

I've got a '94 Stingray with the Flea Bridge and a 3-band eq...I love that thing. It's got the fastest neck of all my basses and it makes me smile every time I play it. I really like the Classics too, except I'm not such a fan of the glossy neck. I think the chunky slab body is really cool--perfect combination of old-school construction with new-school features.

Tom

 

[Meypelnek]

Hi Tom,

What is a "Flea Bridge"?

 

[sanderhermans]

Hi Tom,

What is a "Flea Bridge"?

The pre-flea bridge design had the strings going over the sadles at a angle. Just check out pre eb musicman bridges.
Flea (red hot chilly peppers) has a verry agressive playing style and at the time he worked closely togheter with musicman. He sugested a new design where the strings going acros the sadles in a straight line so he wouldnt pull the strings off of them. Since somewhere in the early 90's musicman changed the design with offset intonation screws and straight string pull off. It hasn't changed since because its a much better design.

 

[Mothra]

Same here. My 2010 classic stingray is by far my warmest sounding bass. While i would have expected a laquered maple neck would sound harsher. But i gues the neck-tru design really helps along with the 2 band eq.... there is just something magical abouth the classic series in my opinion. Best basses ever built.

^^^ THIS

I snagged a 2010 Classic 5 in Mint Green ... what a special bass!

 

[Golem]

Funniest thing - My all-time-favorite StingRay Sound is the SR5 with ceramic PUs - what is actually a Sterling.
So does that make me a StingRay or a Sterling-Guy?

Sterling’s are among the best StingRays. I was in a shop playing the coolest Ray I’d ever touched. Acoarst I bought it ! And then I discovered I’d just bought my very first Sterling

 

[Golem]

The best sounding MM bass I ever heard was the 30th Anniversary Stingray.

Think mebbe it’s the mahogany body ? Pretty much alike to other SR4s other than that.

My SR30th was sidelined a few years ago ... by an EB SUB. Does that mean that, to my ears, the SUB is the best Ray of all ? And could that be the poplar body ? It’s the only sonic element that differs from most other SR4s.

 

[bovinehost]

I have a SUB like that.

I'm mostly a 5er guy but of course every few years I'll buy a Stingray 4 because those are just cool basses. Then it sits around and I don't play it and I think, "Well, I'll sell this and get another 5er" which is generally just what happens.

And I've had a LOT of SR4s.

But this SUB....it's a run of the mill USA SUB, the sort of teal color finish, black painted neck and headstock and I certainly haven't altered it (okay, nicer pickguard, but that's the law, innit?). Friend of mine in Cinci owned it and I think he bought it at GC. I was visiting one weekend and he had it on a stand and so I strapped it on and just walked around his living room, playing it unplugged. It was immediately obvious that I might have to kill him.

After some time had passed, I did finally end up with it. This was years ago. Guess what 4 string bass I still have?

Just one of those basses, you know? Most of those SUBs were just great basses, especially for the price, but this one just somehow has magical qualities.

Luck of the draw.

Jack