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best StingRay lines of all time

Psychicpet

Psychicpet

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Aug 16, 2003
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Sylvan Lake, Alberta, Canada
Hi everyone, I had asked a while back about some help with compiling a list of StingRay lines through out recorded history and am asking again for help. What are the best basslines of all time recorded with a StingRay or StingRay5 or Sterling or..... you get the idea.
Thanks everyone!
 
Sledgehammer by Tony Levin on a Fretless SR4 with some major engineer intervention for the Peter Gabriel "So" Album 1986.

Off the same album, Red Rain, Big Time and Don't Give Up.

Off the 1991 Peter Gabriel "US" album, the track "Secret World", Levin using a SR with his own strap on Funk Fingers - cut down drum sticks for tapping the strings.
 
Don't forget about the countless King Crimson recordings/concerts that TL played his "beat up" yellow SR4.

"Don't Give Up" is one of my favorite TL/PG songs. Great bass work on the whole "So" album.
 
Levin should have a lot of nominations.

One of the first songs that comes to my mind would be "Strawberry Letter 22".

I don't know if it's a Sting-Ray for sure, I'm just assuming? It is Louis Johnson afterall.

That would have to be one of the earliest bass parts recorded with a Sting-Ray.
 
There are so many to list. Here are some of my personal favourites where the sound of a Stingray is unmistakable and right up in the mix :

Kim Clarke, Defunkt "Smooth Love"
Huge bass sound with chorus effect - highly noticeable Stingray growl

Louis Johnson, The Brother Johnson "Ain't we funkin' now"
I could pick any track from the Blam album - they're all equally good. Great slap tone, funky intro, clever fills. You can hear every note.

Michael McEvoy, Ian Dury "Very Personal"
Interesting changing bass line. Very good example of the range in sounds from a 'ray as he switches from slow sliding fingerstyle, to bright slapping and deep reggae and most of important - it all works !

Pino Palladino, Gary Numan "Music for Chameleons"
One of Pino's early sessions. Upfront fluid fretless line really adding to the song with some tasty fretless slapping.

Gary Grainger, John Scofield "Otay"
Bright crisp tone which is both fat and dynamic. Blending well with the drums of the superb Dennis Chambers.

Cheer, K
 
Thanks everyone so far, you're giving me alot to work with and some obvious players I had brainfarts about and forget that they're StingRay guys... like Flea(atleast live he was).
Cheers, and keep 'em coming.... please :D
 
cgworkman said:


"Don't Give Up" is one of my favorite TL/PG songs. Great bass work on the whole "So" album.
Click to expand...

Don't Give Up is one of MY favs too. Tony Levin - Yes! In fact I was just looking at the "Shaking The Tree" CD liner notes. He played the Ray on "Solsbury Hill", "Sledgehammer", "Red Rain, "Don't Give Up" and Funk-Fingers Ray on "Big Time".

He gets the coolest sounds and makes it look so easy:cool:

ALSO: From the band "Third Day", Tai Anderson plays some cool stuff on his Sterling on "Consuming Fire".
http://www.thirdday.com/wtai.htm
 
dont yell at me, but the guy from MxPx, mike herera, uses stingrays all the time. and the guy from blink182, mark hoppus uses on every now and then.
 
spectorbassguy said:
Don't Give Up is one of MY favs too. Tony Levin - Yes! In fact I was just looking at the "Shaking The Tree" CD liner notes. He played the Ray on "Solsbury Hill", "Sledgehammer", "Red Rain, "Don't Give Up" and Funk-Fingers Ray on "Big Time".

He gets the coolest sounds and makes it look so easy:cool:

ALSO: From the band "Third Day", Tai Anderson plays some cool stuff on his Sterling on "Consuming Fire".
http://www.thirdday.com/wtai.htm
Click to expand...

Not nit pickin, but just on a point of clarity, on Big Time, the Funk Fingers had not yet been invented. The bass line was fingered on the neck of the bass by TL, but the drummer, not sure if it was Manu Katche or Jerry Marotta on that track, played the strings with two normal drum sticks to get that brilliant effect.

When they went on tour TL was trying to come up with a way of getting the same effect by using one drum stick to hit the strings but could not refine it to sound anywhere like the record. Apparently PG then came up with the idea of taping two sawn off drum sticks to TL's fingers. TL's Bass Tech then messed about with it and then the Funk Fingers were born.

Where I am in awe is how he uses them on the track Secret World on the "US" album. At first hearing I didn't realise the higher notes were actually a bass. - Check it out.

Liam
 
LeftyLB said:
Not nit pickin, but just on a point of clarity, on Big Time, the Funk Fingers had not yet been invented. The bass line was fingered on the neck of the bass by TL, but the drummer, not sure if it was Manu Katche or Jerry Marotta on that track, played the strings with two normal drum sticks to get that brilliant effect.

When they went on tour TL was trying to come up with a way of getting the same effect by using one drum stick to hit the strings but could not refine it to sound anywhere like the record. Apparently PG then came up with the idea of taping two sawn off drum sticks to TL's fingers. TL's Bass Tech then messed about with it and then the Funk Fingers were born.

Where I am in awe is how he uses them on the track Secret World on the "US" album. At first hearing I didn't realise the higher notes were actually a bass. - Check it out.

Liam
Click to expand...

I looked at the liner notes and assumed (ass-u-me'd) that drumstick bass meant funk-fingers. And no it's not nit-picking; that is a VERY interesting factoid.
Wow, two corrections in one thread. I believe I'll shut my pie-hole now.:rolleyes:
 
spectorbassguy said:
I looked at the liner notes and assumed (ass-u-me'd) that drumstick bass meant funk-fingers. And no it's not nit-picking; that is a VERY interesting factoid.
Wow, two corrections in one thread. I believe I'll shut my pie-hole now.:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

It's alright.........
 
No one has mentioned Tony Kanal from No Doubt. Awsome Player!
Tony played Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay 5-strings on “Ex-Girlfriend,” “Simple Kind of Life,” and “Too Late.” Check it out!
 
Sade..... "Paradise" Paul Denman's line is so solid it hurts. Others that his Stingray just smokes on are; "Nothing Can Come Between Us", "Hang on To Your Love" and and and

Brothers Johnson (Louis) "Stomp"

Pino on the Paul Young CD's but certainly "Come Back and Stay"
 
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