My Stingray Classic LE (gilded white/gold hardware) just arrived earlier today. What a classy instrument! Looks killer. Plays like butter. Sounds incredible. Love the look with gold hardware and the white-with-gold-sparkle finish.
I was a pleasantly surprised by the neck! A couple of years ago, I had a Stingray Classic and it too was a wonderful instrument. But... I have ridiculously small hands and the neck (although I could play it just fine) never felt completely comfortable to me. It always seemed just slightly too chunky for my taste. But, THIS neck, although it's the same width, seems like a flatter profile to me. Super comfortable. It feels like an old favorite T-Shirt that you love to wear. I typically like a 1.5 inch width neck, but this one feels wonderful even though it's of the wider variety. I also love the feel of the painted neck. Maybe I'm just having false memory syndrome, but this neck certainly feels faster and sleeker to me.
I like the passive switch/tone control as well... although it wasn't what I expected. Set full open, I get a nice tone that I will probably be using quite often--it's nice how there is no huge change in gain when going to passive. Nice touch. But rolling back the tone does something that I didn't really expect. On most all of my passive basses, the tone rolls back to a big, woolly, bottom-heavy sound. Great for old stuff, Motown, or reggae. With this Stingray, rolling the tone back does cut the high end (which is expected), but it doesn't really go "woolly" or "woofy" like a typical tone control. It seems to cut some highs and kind of emphasize a certain midrange frequency. I think that could be useful for certain things, but it was quite unexpected. Is that by design? Or is it just a consequence of the big humbucking pickup? Like I said, it isn't that I don't like it, it's just kind of .... different. Minor point and I'm sure I'll find a use for it.
Anyway, love this bass!!! Anyone else out there have one? How do you like it?
As a side note... I know I'm going to be afraid to take it anywhere (practice and gigs)! It's so perfect and such a work of art, I'll be gritting my teeth the whole time it's exposed to "the world."
I was a pleasantly surprised by the neck! A couple of years ago, I had a Stingray Classic and it too was a wonderful instrument. But... I have ridiculously small hands and the neck (although I could play it just fine) never felt completely comfortable to me. It always seemed just slightly too chunky for my taste. But, THIS neck, although it's the same width, seems like a flatter profile to me. Super comfortable. It feels like an old favorite T-Shirt that you love to wear. I typically like a 1.5 inch width neck, but this one feels wonderful even though it's of the wider variety. I also love the feel of the painted neck. Maybe I'm just having false memory syndrome, but this neck certainly feels faster and sleeker to me.
I like the passive switch/tone control as well... although it wasn't what I expected. Set full open, I get a nice tone that I will probably be using quite often--it's nice how there is no huge change in gain when going to passive. Nice touch. But rolling back the tone does something that I didn't really expect. On most all of my passive basses, the tone rolls back to a big, woolly, bottom-heavy sound. Great for old stuff, Motown, or reggae. With this Stingray, rolling the tone back does cut the high end (which is expected), but it doesn't really go "woolly" or "woofy" like a typical tone control. It seems to cut some highs and kind of emphasize a certain midrange frequency. I think that could be useful for certain things, but it was quite unexpected. Is that by design? Or is it just a consequence of the big humbucking pickup? Like I said, it isn't that I don't like it, it's just kind of .... different. Minor point and I'm sure I'll find a use for it.
Anyway, love this bass!!! Anyone else out there have one? How do you like it?
As a side note... I know I'm going to be afraid to take it anywhere (practice and gigs)! It's so perfect and such a work of art, I'll be gritting my teeth the whole time it's exposed to "the world."
