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Monahan

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Dec 25, 2013
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Olympia, WA.
Woohoo!
Just made a deal for what is believed to be a New Old Stock Stingray Classic (2010s), which should be delivered next week.

Looking at the photos, I assumed it was strung with flatwounds based on the fabric wrapped strings at the headstock. However, the seller believes they are the stock strings. Anyone have a guess at what the stock EB strings were for the Classic line back then? I know the current stock sets are Super Slinky...

Here's a shot of the headstock, and one of the body-- listed as a rare black cherry burst, which I've never heard of, but I like it :D

Thanks guys!

*Update* As I dig around the net, the finish appears it might actually be "Retroburst" 2011-2013...
 

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Rod Trussbroken

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The colour is "Retro Burst" available from Jan 2011 - Jan 2013. I have one...great finish.

They came from the factory with "Super Slinky" 2834 Round Wound strings (and still do). 45-65-80-100 with no silk windings either end.
 
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Monahan

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Dec 25, 2013
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Olympia, WA.
Thanks for the info!

The more I look at the photos, the more I'm convinced it's wearing flats. Maybe he restrung it after the photos...? Only time will tell.

My hope is that it does indeed have flats-- I've only ever played flats on a P-bass, never a Stingray, and I'd like to try that out. Who knows, this may be a flavor I really go for.

I've found buying instruments online to be a stressful adventure, though I've had a few successes; hopefully this is one of those successes. Photos and the short story when she arrives later this week ;)

Wish me luck!
 

danny-79

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From the photos it looks like it’s wearing flats, (EB silk flats are blue). If you’re a flat wound fan try a set of the Cobalt flats on it when you get it
 

Monahan

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Dec 25, 2013
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Olympia, WA.
Yeah, I’ve got a Slinky set ready to go... and if it doesn’t have flats when delivered, I’ll pick up some Chromes. Tomorrow I collect it from UPS :D
 

Monahan

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Dec 25, 2013
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Olympia, WA.
Thursday evening I collected the bass from our local UPS center, got home and spent a few hours with it. I loved everything about it: lots of resonance unplugged, perfect balance, weight, action, a wonderfully rich looking rosewood fingerboard, the neck feels full while being easy to get around on...

The strings however, didn't sound good at all: dull, flat, lifeless. They were flats of unknown origin.

Dropped it off with my local tech who actually took a step back after opening the case, and smiled ear to ear. While I've seen a handful of Maple-necked "retro burst" Classics, there appears to be very few with rosewood necks; four days searching the internet and I've found only two others.

After my bad experience with the flats, I asked him to install a Slinky set in the stock gauge. Got the call las night that she was ready, and spent a few hours of quality time together. Wow-- this is quite the Ray. Naturally the new strings brought her to life. To be fair to the flats, they were probably 9 years old and were my first experience with them on a Ray. Still however, I didn't like them. I was going to try it out with our band this morning, but a weekend power outage spoiled my plans. Really looking forward to getting it on stage soon!

According to the SN search engine, this bass was born in mid April 2011, so an earlier example in the two year run of the finish. This one is certainly a keeper!
 

mouth

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Red silks - they might have been TI flats. If they were very low tension and pliable - they were most likely TI flats. Very popular and respected flats, but quite unique. Anyways, I love my 2 bander with EB traditional Group III flats, TI flats were too floppy and low tension for my taste, although they did sound great. It's a great 70s old school tone when you pair a classic 2 bander Stingray with flats.

I hope you didn't bring your Ray to your tech just for restringing though. :O
 

Monahan

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Dec 25, 2013
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Olympia, WA.
Red silks - they might have been TI flats. If they were very low tension and pliable - they were most likely TI flats. Very popular and respected flats, but quite unique. Anyways, I love my 2 bander with EB traditional Group III flats, TI flats were too floppy and low tension for my taste, although they did sound great. It's a great 70s old school tone when you pair a classic 2 bander Stingray with flats.

I hope you didn't bring your Ray to your tech just for restringing though. :O

One of these days I'll try another set of flats, as I did like the feel, but the sound was just too dark for my liking. It's probably just one of those things where I would have to live with them for a few months to give flats a fair chance. The main reason I left it with my tech was to give it a good inspection since I acquired it from an online seller, and the pots were pretty stiff. Since it was there and I like to support our shop (it's a little mom & pop shop) I had him install a new set of rounds. After 30 years of playing I've gotten good at changing strings, but it's nice to have them do it from time to time :)

Great! You'll have to post some more pics :cool:

Here are a few photos taken this morning. Used a few different light sources to try capturing an accurate example of the "retro burst," and tried showing where it gets used while at home ;)
 

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danny-79

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Wow that is nice !
I can see the logic in trying flats on it especially with the mute bridge but they are something that I’ve personally never got on with try as I might

Enjoy your new bass !
 

Monahan

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Dec 25, 2013
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Olympia, WA.
The neck has a lot of birdseye, and nearly each of the 'eyes' has a bit of flame/3D effect. It's tough to photograph, but here are a few. The neck looks so much better in person, but these will give you an idea what it looks like:

neck1 by Monahan Tm, on Flickr

neck2 by Monahan Tm, on Flickr
 

danny-79

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This bass just keeps getting nicer !
That Birdseye is amazing. Just wish I could get on with lacquered necks ! :(
 
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