- Thread starter pshep68
- Start date
bovinehost
Administrator
Are you a knob-twiddler? Do you like to have slightly different settings for different tunes? Get the HH and go to town!
Are you more likely to get one big fat tone and live with it for the night? Get the H and make your life easier.
I have both and have no complaints, but I find I play the dual pickup basses more at home alone and just fooling around. At the gig or at rehearsal (painfully seldom these days), I like to just plug it in and know it's going to be great without a lot of twiddling.
Hard to go wrong, really.
Are you more likely to get one big fat tone and live with it for the night? Get the H and make your life easier.
I have both and have no complaints, but I find I play the dual pickup basses more at home alone and just fooling around. At the gig or at rehearsal (painfully seldom these days), I like to just plug it in and know it's going to be great without a lot of twiddling.
Hard to go wrong, really.
MK Bass Weed
Well-known member
I started with a SR5 back in 88, the one pickup wonder...I'm now in the HH camp and don't think I'll go back.
I would have NO complaints with either...But, for me the HH is a no Brainer.
The versitility of the bass is insane.
You want the Ray sound? - Hit the switch and ride it out all night like our Lord Bongo suggested...
You want pretty much anything else you'd be looking for to fill the requirement of ANY gig and keep your tone jones polished and happy...flip the switch, tweak a knob and you'll have it...
And there is a big control factor with regards to my own sound that I want in very close proximity (those knobs and switches on the bass thank you very much)
The gig I have requires me to supply the tone and sounds of the basses everyone is familiar with, one right after the other.
For a live situation, again, this is just me, I ain't gonna get the characteristic passive instrument tone, with all the subtleties, to the ear of the audience without overplaying the PA or using some major pre-amping out to the PA, and with all the clubs we play, the sound guy is always the big crapshoot and I just love all the control I can get. So rather than haul a bunch of passive basses that you couldn't tell what the hell it was anyways, I bring one: My SR4HH, and what a difference a battery makes
No matter what the backline is...I can keep the consistency of my bass sound pretty constant, tweek my EQ, so when the volume creep happens by the 3rd song, and it always does...I still get to hear myself over the ridiculous Marshalls and Vox's my guitarists use. I also don't have to crank my volume to get more..usually just a little push on the MIDs or switch to the out two coils gets me more bark.
HH is All RAY...flip the switch, it can be Anything Else..it's friggin' amazing.
MK
I would have NO complaints with either...But, for me the HH is a no Brainer.
The versitility of the bass is insane.
You want the Ray sound? - Hit the switch and ride it out all night like our Lord Bongo suggested...
You want pretty much anything else you'd be looking for to fill the requirement of ANY gig and keep your tone jones polished and happy...flip the switch, tweak a knob and you'll have it...
And there is a big control factor with regards to my own sound that I want in very close proximity (those knobs and switches on the bass thank you very much)
The gig I have requires me to supply the tone and sounds of the basses everyone is familiar with, one right after the other.
For a live situation, again, this is just me, I ain't gonna get the characteristic passive instrument tone, with all the subtleties, to the ear of the audience without overplaying the PA or using some major pre-amping out to the PA, and with all the clubs we play, the sound guy is always the big crapshoot and I just love all the control I can get. So rather than haul a bunch of passive basses that you couldn't tell what the hell it was anyways, I bring one: My SR4HH, and what a difference a battery makes
No matter what the backline is...I can keep the consistency of my bass sound pretty constant, tweek my EQ, so when the volume creep happens by the 3rd song, and it always does...I still get to hear myself over the ridiculous Marshalls and Vox's my guitarists use. I also don't have to crank my volume to get more..usually just a little push on the MIDs or switch to the out two coils gets me more bark.
HH is All RAY...flip the switch, it can be Anything Else..it's friggin' amazing.
MK
Last edited:
I'm playing Ampeg gear right now... cabs & head. I like the big bottom end. I use a Fender Jazz 4 and have trouble getting it to cut through. When I use both pickups & more treble everything is more lively, but I play heavy ... a fair amount of buzz etc. A never ending battle. I'm not very happy with my sound these days so I have been pondering a H or HH to change my sound a little. I was just looking for a little input. Thanks.
Duarte
Well-known member
I say this every time...get the first thing you see and you wont be disappointed!
MK Bass Weed
Well-known member
My main rig for years...have fun, go try the Ray...your battles will be over..unless it's Battle of the Bands...
Cheers,
m
Rano Bass
Well-known member
This man knows what hes talking about
I have an HH but after a while i decided i like single H's a bit more
oli@bass
Well-known member
I totally love the single H, and acutally you can get a ton of useful sounds by just moving your picking position and tweaking the EQ.
However, the SR4 HS I recently acquired has many more tonal options, additional to the classic StingRay sound can give me some Jazz and Precision vibes in positions 4 and 5. All of the available combinations still have a hint of the MM "family tone".
If you can, try a H and HS and HH side by side.
However, the SR4 HS I recently acquired has many more tonal options, additional to the classic StingRay sound can give me some Jazz and Precision vibes in positions 4 and 5. All of the available combinations still have a hint of the MM "family tone".
If you can, try a H and HS and HH side by side.
mynan
Well-known member
Technically, yes. Some will try to tell you that they don't sound the same.
oli@bass
Well-known member
Yes.
No two StingRays sound exactly the same anyways. So if you compare the bridge H of HH to a single H model, it's hard to tell whether the difference is from the strings, the wood, the pickups or the electronics. E.g. my 2007 DD SR4 H and my 2006 SR4 HS sound closer than, say, the DD SR4 H and the 30th SR4. But they all sound like a 'Ray is supposed to sound, just variations on a theme.
The important question here is: Does it make a difference in a live situation? My personal answer to self is: As long as it cuts like a knife, I don't care about the subtleties!!!
shastaband
Well-known member
Before this year, I would have to say "technically, no." Single H pickups were wired in parallel, the HH models were all wired in series, so even with just the bridge pickup on, the sound was different because of the series vs. parallel wiring. (I confirmed this with an SR5 H and an SR5 HH which I owned.) The 20th Anniversary SR5 muddied the waters, as it was the first HH model with the pickups wired in series. I'm not certain if this year's production HH models are wired in series or parallel, but if they are still wired in series, they WILL sound different than a single H model, even if just the bridge pickup is engaged.
Perhaps someone at Ernie Ball can confirm if 2008 HH models are wired in series or parallel.
(FWIW, having owned both H and HH models, I am firmly in the single H camp. I find the sound more focused and direct, less diffuse. I could always hear phase cancellation effects between the two HH pickups as I went up the neck. Not so with the single H models. They sound more "solid" to me. YMMV)
Last edited:
mynan
Well-known member
True for the SR5s (although the switch on the H SR5s gives you both series and parallel capability), but I believe that the OP was talking about the SR4. SR4s are all (H, HS, HH) wired parallel.
Last edited:
shastaband
Well-known member
If so, then they should sound pretty much the same. As pointed out, though, the differences in wood density can also cause tonal differences. I have several SR4 H's, all natural finish, all maple neck, all have slightly different tonal characteristics. Same for my SR5 H's--they are all individuals, but definitely from the same family. (I'm not including 20th SR5 or 30th SR4, as those are quite different beasts.)
whynotgooffalot
New member
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2015
- Messages
- 2
its all personal preference,i luv the old school musicman the 4hh is a bit overrated,ive had both,to many sounds unwarranted
whynotgooffalot
New member
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2015
- Messages
- 2
it all depends on what you want in sound and as a player, musicman has and always will,have produced the worlds best basses,the best advice i can offer is just listen if you like what you hear between the two then its up to you,i say there a no flaws in there basses/,every thing is great in all aspects
Mu5icM@n
Well-known member
The only difference I've found is that the HH has an extra pickup under the strings, exerting extra pull on the strings and it does affect the tone and sustain a little bit. However the extra tonal options you get in return may be worth it. My SR4 and SR5 are both single H models and I love them, but I've always wanted to fool more with the HH and especially the HS configurations.
Tom
Tom
