Stingray 5 not warm/fat enough

[Johnebass]

I have a Stingray 5H, probably 10 years old, that I've been using exclusively for the past 4 years through an Aguilar AG500 and although I'm happy with the overall sound (nice and controllable) I sometimes feel that it lacks the warmth of a Fender and in some situations can be a little 'hard' and too defined.

The obvious thing would be to get a Fender but I don't really want to change the bass as it feels so good to play. I was looking into maybe a 'warmer' amp in particular the TC Electronic RH450.

Would be interested in any comments that you guys may have.

 

[todddlur]

i feel the same way about my 4 string stingray. my "other bass" sounds alot better. shouldn't have to change amps to get a good sound.

 

[r goldsmith]

Nothing that can't be resolved by some EQ tweaks, IMO. Give the bass pot a nudge and roll off the treble slightly. On the other hand, you could get a 7end3r and wait for your sound to get lost in the mix, you will then crave that "too defined" sound once more.

 

[Manfloozy]

Put EB Group II flats on it and call me in the morning.

 

[Bart B]

Maybe you shoud have a quiet sunday afternoon, put the settings on your amp and bass flat, and start by checking out each twist of a knob. Probably you'll end up by discovering whole new sounds and hopefully the warm sound that you dig

I don't think buying a Fender will give you instant access to a warm sound. (Certainly not with a J-bass)

Just my 2 cents!

 

[Johnebass]

Nothing that can't be resolved by some EQ tweaks, IMO. Give the bass pot a nudge and roll off the treble slightly. On the other hand, you could get a 7end3r and wait for your sound to get lost in the mix, you will then crave that "too defined" sound once more.

Your probably right, I've had Fenders before and I suppose you have to ask yourself why I haven't got one now!! Bass players, never happy!!

 

[bovinehost]

Put EB Group II flats on it and call me in the morning.

This may or may not work, but certainly strings are the easiest and cheapest BIG change to your sound you can make.

I mean, guys use stainless rounds and say "There's too much treble" and I think, "Well, what did you expect?"

 

[todddlur]

everyone should have a fender in thier arsenal. i like the stingrays but i liks lots of other basses too. almost bought a warwick yesterday.

 

[MK Bass Weed]

What is warmth?

Play up near the Neck for balads...scoop the mids...Run it in series, use a pick and palm mute...get a SansAmp VT...etc...Lot's of things you can do. I have all the basses too....so some are more forgiving when it comes to technique. With the VT pedal..man, you can reduce the heavy outlay of cash to drastically change your sound!

Also, what does the FOH sound like as opposed to you getting the full hit of your amp at the back of your legs?

 

[MattOfSweden]

What is warmth?

Play up near the Neck for balads...scoop the mids...Run it in series, use a pick and palm mute...get a SansAmp VT...etc...Lot's of things you can do. I have all the basses too....so some are more forgiving when it comes to technique. With the VT pedal..man, you can reduce the heavy outlay of cash to drastically change your sound!

Also, what does the FOH sound like as opposed to you getting the full hit of your amp at the back of your legs?

+1 on the VT Bass, good stuff.

 

[cyoungnashville]

just about the first thing i do when rockin the stingray is dump the treble pot, and i mean almost all the way off. quite often in fact, igoes ALL the way off. that bass was in part designed by a beautiful soul that couldnt hear for crap, but LOVED HIM SOME SPARKLY TREBLE!!! "hey sterling, stick one end of this screwdriver in my eardrum, and the flat metal part on the bridge so i hear what she sounds like!" hahaha. no joke. u cant dime everything and expect it to be everything to all tracks. that being said, when fiddled with just the right amount, usually all of about 10seconds, unless im really drunk, then about 11 seconds, its the warmest clear as a bell sound i ever heard. how do u usually set ur onboard eg brother???

 

[OldSchool Noob]

Agreed about the EQ-ing but as someone mentioned, the biggest cheap change you can make is strings. I know there are a lot of fans of Ernie Ball flats and there are other fans of TI (Thomastik-Infeld) flats. I've tried them both and they're excellent strings.

My personal favorite however is LaBella Deep-Talkin' Flats. Deep, round, warm tone and they feel smooth as silk from day one and as they wear in, they just get warmer. I have a set on a G&L Tribute 2500 which is a bass that is NOTORIOUSLY hard to "warm up" and they sound great. (Makes the Tribby sounds remarkably like a P-Bass.) I'm about to put a set of these strings on my Sterling HS and I'm confident it's gonna smoke!

FYI, you can buy them from juststrings.com

 

[cheezewiz]

What Craig said. Cut your treble.

On the other hand, it could be an amp problem. I had an Aggie AG500 I couldn't make that thing sound good no matter what bass or cabs I used.

 

[strummer]

I went from AG500 to RH450, and I couldn't be happier. I like some zing, so I basically just boost the bass a wee bit and that's it. The speaker boxes that come with the RH450 have a pretty shy tweeter compared to the ones found in my old GS112 boxes.

 

[Freddels]

Strings are definitely a good part of it. You don't have to switch to flats but nickle rounds would be better than steel. A good set up helps too. Then EQ your amp and bass, cut the treble is most definite, and maybe a decent compressor to round off the top a bit. I can make just about any bass I own sound clanky and not warm if I twist the knobs too much.

 

[Johnebass]

All good sound advice, I have been around the block as far as strings are concerned but always go back to EB nickels. The funny thing is I always play through a big rig so my stage amp is purely for my benefit but you play so much better when yer happy with your sound.

 

[cyoungnashville]

What Craig said. Cut your treble.

On the other hand, it could be an amp problem. I had an Aggie AG500 I couldn't make that thing sound good no matter what bass or cabs I used.

did we just agree??? hold me.

 

[cheezewiz]

did we just agree??? hold me.

It all depends. Did you shower this morning?

 

[Freddels]

All good sound advice, I have been around the block as far as strings are concerned but always go back to EB nickels. The funny thing is I always play through a big rig so my stage amp is purely for my benefit but you play so much better when yer happy with your sound.

I just put some super slinky's back on my Bongo b/c I wasn't digging the tone of the strings that I had on it. Now it's back to the tone that I like with that bass.

 

[cyoungnashville]

It all depends. Did you shower this morning?

no, but its still my thurs night, so its cool.