Does Anyone Besides Me Get Tired of...

[Chris C]

Does anyone besides me get tired of reading (on other forums) that the Stingray bass absolutely, positively will not work for XXXXX kind of music because it's too clanky or in-your-face or bright? And then 90% of the time, after reading on, we learn that all the EQ nobs on the amp are maxed and the EQ knobs on the bass are maxed... AND that they are plucking the string right over the middle of the pickup and they are using the brightest stainless steel strings they can find...


WELL DUH!!!


Why do these folks not get the idea of actually adjusting the controls on the amp and on the bass to get the sound they are after? Don't they get that if you pluck up towards the neck, that "clankiness" goes away for the most part? It gets all round and mellow and tubby? Sheesh! I actually like the biting Stingray tone for most stuff, but I can easily "turn it off" by adjusting the EQ, adjusting where I pluck the string (closer to the neck), adjusting how hard I pluck the strings/my attack, or by chosing a mellower set of strings. It's really not rocket science.

Anyway, sorry, just venting. I read a post on another forum that made me want to whack the guy over the head with his Stingray that "wouldn't work" for smoother sorts of music or more "traditional" stuff. Has the guy never heard Paul S Denman on his Stingray? Does that Stingray not work for what he's doing? It DOESN'T GET ANY SMOOTHER THAN THAT!!! And for crying out loud, I've seen many, many country bassists and smooth jazzers using Stingrays. And not a one of them sounded like a chain saw. Ahhhh! Now where are my stress pills...

 

[Holdsg]

very well said, Chris

The one-trick pony thing is SO insanely incorrect its laughable.

 

[five7]

I like it when they say it, then they can sell it to me for next to nothing.

 

[epitaph04]

Most people have no idea what EQ is. Those little knobs on the bass and the amp? Yep not a clue.

 

[Chris C]

I like it when they say it, then they can sell it to me for next to nothing.

Hadn't thought of that!

I guess the proper response would be, "Yeah man, that thing sounds completely lame. Tell you what, I'll give you a couple hundred bucks for it and you can go buy something that will expand your horizons. I just hate seeing a talented man such as yourself stifled because of a one trick pony. See how nice I am?"

I'll have to give that a try next time.

 

[tbonesullivan]

I can't believe people say that. i was even at a Gig and some guy was asking me about my gear, and i mentioned I was playing an SR5. Then he goes on about how they are only made for slap, and slap players helped make them, and how the sound is too bright for rock or anything else, blah blah blah. I mention the EQ and he says he's never been able to dial out the high end. At this point I was thinking he just didn't know how to work an EQ. Thankfully my drummer saved me from going off on him.

John Deacon played a stingray on another one bites the dust. Not hearing a ton of high end on that. There are plenty of demo videos out there of showing what the stingray can do. There are also plenty of pro musicians out there using stingrays for just about EVERY genre of music.

Just peeves me off. Of course I don't use stainless steel rotosounds.. I just use the standard EBMM strings on most, sometimes la bella, depending on what i've got lying around.

 

[bovinehost]

It's a bad carpenter who blames his tools.

 

[rutgart]

+1

 

[koogie2k]

Yeah, one of the best selling basses on the planet can't do "insert genre here" is a complete joke. With the bass you also have to learn the amp. EQ, EQ, EQ.

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

I agree that it's important to know how to EQ and dial in a good sound, but I do believe that the Stingray does have a high end voicing/character that is still inherent despite how you EQ on the bass. Some people like it, some people don't. Why would you buy a bass that you would want to dial out the inherent character of it all the time?

That being said, the Stingray can and does work in a multitude of situations.

One pickup basses often get the characterization that they are a one trick pony. The P-Bass often gets this treatment as well as does the single H Stingray. Their limitations are the players.

 

[Big Poppa]

welcome to my world.

 

[lpdeluxe]

As the recent purchaser of a StingRay 5, I have to say that it's a versatile beast. I've been playing Ps for the last few years, but I wanted something that would punch a little more. I installed Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flats on the SR, and I now have the best of all worlds: mellow when I want mellow, and aggressive when I want that. Coming from a P, I intuitively change right hand position for different material. I think there's an advantage to not expecting the gear to get all the sound, and when you play a bass with one pickup and two knobs, you learn how to do do that.

For what it's worth, I bought my '99 from a friend who plays his Anniversary SR5 with a jazz band (and, they are always asking him to "turn it up. Some one-trick pony.

 

[tbonesullivan]

I think it mostly has to do with people being ignorant, or just lazy. These are the same people who think guitar A sucks because they plugged it into the same amp as guitar B, and it didn't sound as good. It doesn't matter that they had adjusted all the knobs for Guitar B. Often it seems like people just don't know how to "dial in" anything. Or they go around asking for people's "settings" on their amp, as if somehow setting their amp up just like that will give them that magical tone.

I hate to tell them, but you could have the same EVERYTHING setup like Claptop, EVH, etc, and you still wouldn't get that sound.

 

[Lynottfan]

This is a bug bear of mine to, the Ray is mighty fine all round instrument, very versatile,all you have to do it just engage the brain.....ahh now I see why some people can't get it!

 

[MK Bass Weed]

To me...it's the platform of message boards. Opinions, no matter how right or wrong RULE the forums.

Everyone..and I mean EVERY One with any kind of opinion whether educated or completely made up, can find an audience that will listen on the 'other' forum.

Alot of the negative stuff is just made up, and when you look at the looooong bashing strings..it's usually the same 4 people in an internet circle jerk conversation of stupid glee. Not that there's anything wrong with that because opinions matter.
I always look for "I Tried my friends XXX brand"...."I played one in a store and", "I bought it and sold it the same day".
You know, fantastical things that make no sense.

You can shut them up by asking them to let you know when their next gig is so you can show them what a MM Bass can do...

 

[Golem]

.................................
I hate to tell them, but you could have the same EVERYTHING setup like Claptop, EVH, etc, and you still wouldn't get that sound.

Sheeeeee-it. Even those idjits know THAT. They KNOW you gotta cop the matching paint scheme too, from your hero's ax, if you wanna cop the tone [and licks ... and body language .... ickee-yukkee-sukkee ... ]

 

[Chris C]

And another interesting thing about this "syndrome" is that there are many, many counter-examples out there.

Someone mentioned some of John Deacon's stuff with Queen. I mentioned Paul Denman with Sade (it DOESN'T get any smother than that). How about Pino? I believe some of the bassist who have played on Incognito's music used Stingrays. And Bernard Edwards--I've never heard a line from him that was "zingy." Just tight, punchy, creamy goodness. Even Louis Johnson in his "brightest" toned moments of slap, still had a ballzy sound with plenty of beef. It was not this tinny, hi-fi, fork-on-plate slap tones you hear from some basses/bassists combinations.

I have my opinion on some brands of basses that ARE much more tinny, brash, harsh, and in-your-face with their tone. But the Music Man Stingray is not one of them. I've never had trouble getting creamy punch when I need it. The basses/bassists that strike me as way too harsh are generally from the companies/bands that market to the heavy metal crowd. Nothing wrong with that, but in my opinion, Music Man basses (although they can certainly handle metal) are about ten steps above those sorts of basses as far as versatility.

It's too bad that many folks think a Stingray is going to automatically sound like Flea in his wildest slapping moments. Don't get me wrong, I can definitely appreciate Flea's talent and slap lines, but the Stingray is so much broader than that. It's the driver, not the vehicle, that decides which side of road to drive on. The Stingray can drive on any side of the road you want to take it.

As was said earlier... a poor carpenter blames his tools.

 

[Soulkeeper]

EQ nobs on the amp are maxed and the EQ knobs on the bass are maxed... AND that they are plucking the string right over the middle of the pickup and they are using the brightest stainless steel strings they can find...


WELL DUH!!!

Reminds me of the TDPRI forum: "My Telecaster bridge pickup is too bright when both knobs are dimed." Fezz Parka made this epic video (Note: Slightly NSFW language) about how to solve problems like this.

 

[Britbonic]

I haven't run into this so far but I'm still fairly new the world of Musicman and Stingray. Being mostly a P and J bass guy, I bought an SR5 H in Nov last year cause it was by far the best playing and sounding 5 string I had found. I sold 4 other basses including 2 nice 5s to buy it and have never looked back. I feel like I'm only beginning to understand the tone options. I especially like it when someone else plays it since I'll always hear something new.

Never understood why so many players never explore the options available on any bass to change the tone, mainly moving you hand around! At this point, my thumb is almost never anchored on the pickup on any bass. Why limit your options?

 

[lpdeluxe]

Some players don't understand that the knobs serve a purpose. For example, my favorite (far and away) bass amp is a Mesa/Boogie Walkabout, either with one 15 or two 10s. It has a wonderfully intuitive and effective EQ system, designed about a passive midrange combined with a mild mid boost and active bass and treble controls in conjunction with a parametric EQ. In other words, you can get a lot out of it if you understand how it works. One time I left it at our rehearsal space and returned the following week. I plugged in my bass, and was confronted with the worst sound I had heard. "That's not right," I thought to myself, and checked the knobs. They had all been "dimed" as the guitarists say, turned fully clockwise. I learned later that another band had come in and the bass player tried it out. This was a guy in his fifties, at that. He probably tells everybody that he tried an M/B once, "and I'll never make THAT mistake again!"

I played my SR5 at a three hour gig Saturday, with a wide variety of material, and it sang. I'm keeping this one.