Stingray 5 vs Sterling 4 (2000's Edition)

[Jibudo]

Hi, first post here!

Two year ago I brought an American Sterling 4 from 2002 and fell in love with is tone. Two months ago I brought a Stingray 5 from 2001 because I need the fifth string.

I was hoping to get the exact same tone but in a five string format. Ceramic pickup, three band eq, electronic wise, everything the same. Guess what?.. They sound quite different. The Sterling sounds waaaay hotter and waaaay brighter than the stingray. Both have new batteries, the only differences I see is the rosewood fingerboard on the sterling and maple on the stingray and the extra string on the stingray.

I can live with the stingray 5 tone, but the sterling.. it's quite unique.

Do you have an experience like me? Is this normal?

Thank You!

 

[tbonesullivan]

What strings are on the bass? How close is the pickup? Differences in FB material are pretty minor IMHO.

 

[Jibudo]

The Stingray has DR Hi beams and the sterling has Fenders Nickel, both the same gauge and both old. The distance from pickup to string is the same and action wise, the sterling has it strings a hair lower. Acousticaly the sterling is a lot more trebly.

I made a video with both basses. Paralel, no eq, straight to interface.

 

[mynan]

My guess is that it's the strings. Do the same thing with the same strings on both basses and they may not sound the same, but I would bet that they'll sound more similar to each other.

The only other thing that might be making a difference, and some of the more expert-types around hear could answer this, is that the preamp on the Stingray5 may be voiced differently to make the B-string sound better.

 

[Golem]

Hi, first post here!

Two year ago I brought an American Sterling 4 from 2002 and fell in love with is tone. Two months ago I brought a Stingray 5 from 2001 because I need the fifth string.

I was hoping to get the exact same tone but in a five string format. Ceramic pickup, three band eq, electronic wise, everything the same. Guess what?.. They sound quite different. The Sterling sounds waaaay hotter and waaaay brighter than the stingray. Both have new batteries, the only differences I see is the rosewood fingerboard on the sterling and maple on the stingray and the extra string on the stingray.

I can live with the stingray 5 tone, but the sterling.. it's quite unique.

Do you have an experience like me? Is this normal?

Thank You!

Quite normal. Even two identically spec'd same model basses made on the same day will not sound alike. And your pair is not same models. The neck is heavier on the five. Usually, maple FBs are brighter. But in your case its the reverse. Its all normal. And dont overlook that these things are made of wood ! Your basses have opaque finishes. You dont even know whether both bodies are made of the same species of wood. The weights of two "matching" MMs can have a difference of up to 20%.

 

[kompressaur]

I have had a number of USA Sterling basses as well as ceramic equipped StingRay 5s. I always found the Sterling a bit hotter with more pronounced mids.

The StingRay 5 felt more polite for want of a better term but always, always sat great with everything. StingRay 5 for me is the ultimate ensemble bass. It just works in a mix whether recording or live.

Your Sterling sounds fantastic. I'm on the lookout for one again lately (amongst a couple of other EBMM models) and hearing yours just reinforces my reasons for wanting another.

 

[Mu5icM@n]

I’ve got two USA Sterlings (fretted and fretless) and both are hotter than my ceramic SR5. Matter of fact they are super hot. Put Cobalt rounds on them and run them in series, that combination is amazing on both the Sterling and SR 5 models—but definitely the Sterling is hotter.

 

[7broccos]

I have bought and sold many basses in my 58 years of playing, but my 2008 Sterling 4HH it is the "one" !

 

[Jibudo]

I think there's a lesson to be learn here. Don't trust numbers, specs, or other internet gimmicks. Go out and play the instruments and fall in love (or hate) with them.

I tough I was getting the same tone on a five string package, just because the pickups used the same magnets, the preamp was the same and the woods were almost all the same. I was wrong. Now I have two basses that share the same dna but with a different flavour on top of that. The Stingray 5 is a super workhorse that fits everything and the sterling is a super bright hifi bass with an addictive tone but less versatile than the former.

Well... I'm happy with the journey!

 

[lowendrachel]

I’d say it’s the pickup height and what type of strings you got on. I have two Stingrays and the newer one has hotter output.