Stingray tone question??

[russjm]

I rehearsed with my new ray last night, but I had trouble finding a sound I liked. A couple of days ago I fitted a new set of EB Super Slinkys because these were recommended to me, but last night it was so zingy and bright, that I ended up with the treble pot on the amp rolled right off, and the treble pot on the bass rolled back by half just to try and control this mad top end. In fact I ended up using the jazz because it was bugging me that much.

Can anyone give me some pointers on how they have theirs set tone wise?

I'm aware that my little Roland DB500 could be a problem with it only having a 12" speaker, but it's been great with all my other basses.

I might try the TI flats I had on the Lakland, but I dunno, I thought I'd ask other owners how they'd got on with theirs? Maybe when the strings have gone off a bit it'll calm down?

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

Perhaps a larger guage.

I restrung my 30th Anni with Regular Slinky's (50, 70, 85 & 105) and gave them a good stretch.

 

[russjm]

Yeah maybe, but I reckon once the strings have dulled down a bit, the tone should settle down a bit.

I've got a Yamaha NE-1 mid EQ box, maybe I should try mixing that in somewhere.

 

[cdb]

I rehearsed with my new ray last night, but I had trouble finding a sound I liked. A couple of days ago I fitted a new set of EB Super Slinkys because these were recommended to me, but last night it was so zingy and bright, that I ended up with the treble pot on the amp rolled right off, and the treble pot on the bass rolled back by half just to try and control this mad top end. In fact I ended up using the jazz because it was bugging me that much.

Can anyone give me some pointers on how they have theirs set tone wise?

I'm aware that my little Roland DB500 could be a problem with it only having a 12" speaker, but it's been great with all my other basses.

I might try the TI flats I had on the Lakland, but I dunno, I thought I'd ask other owners how they'd got on with theirs? Maybe when the strings have gone off a bit it'll calm down?

It's the damn tweeter in the DB500. Harsh highs. But the amp is pretty nice once you eq it properly. Make sure you engage that 15" emulation thingy. I always had to roll the treb off when I had my DB500.

 

[russjm]

Yeah, I think you could be right, I need to play with the amp settings some more.

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

Yeah maybe, but I reckon once the strings have dulled down a bit, the tone should settle down a bit....

The zinginess will go after a while. I don't particularly like it but others do. That's why I stretch them

 

[Big Poppa]

The horn in that amp to to give presence to passive basses...see if you can roll it off a bit or disable completely.

 

[russjm]

Thanks BP, I'm gonna spend some time EQing the amp, and see what I can do, while the strings dull off a bit, I hate new strings.

 

[Rano Bass]

last night it was so zingy and bright, that I ended up with the treble pot on the amp rolled right off, and the treble pot on the bass rolled back by half just to try and control this mad top end. In fact I ended up using the jazz because it was bugging me that much.

Can anyone give me some pointers on how they have theirs set tone wise?

I see you have a 2 band preamp, if you roll the treble back all the way it's flat so i think you're boosting the treble way too much.
When i had my 2 band Ray i would boost the bass about midway and add just a touch of treble, less than a quarter of it and it sounded great.

 

[Micolao]

Personally I strung a bass with new strings about 10 day before a gig, I think that's the right time to make it sound at their best.
Maybe they were too new.

 

[russjm]

I see you have a 2 band preamp, if you roll the treble back all the way it's flat so i think you're boosting the treble way too much.
When i had my 2 band Ray i would boost the bass about midway and add just a touch of treble, less than a quarter of it and it sounded great.

Funny you should say that, I played it last night with the settings almost exactly how you've described, and it sounded just fantastic.

However, that was through my Tascam CD-BT1, so now I have to transfer that sound to a live setting on my amp.

 

[PocketGroove82]

I feel like the awesome EBMM preamp is meant for heavy tweaking.
When you have new roundwound/steel strings on one the zing factor can be huge, so do what you have to do EQ-wise while you play the hell outta the strings to break them in.
I've never run an EBMM flat (or any other bass) or an amp flat and it's not a bad thing.

One has to search for their tone. It's not something that is just given to ya.
Good luck finding it!

 

[Rano Bass]

Funny you should say that, I played it last night with the settings almost exactly how you've described, and it sounded just fantastic.

However, that was through my Tascam CD-BT1, so now I have to transfer that sound to a live setting on my amp.

Now all you have to do is start with your amp flat and tweak from there.

 

[russjm]

Man, I just got off the Tascam with the ray again, and it's just getting better and better, I just love this thing to death, I should have bought one years ago. The sound through the headphones is absolutely perfect.

So yes, as far as the amp sound goes, I'm going to start flat and work up, and see where I get.

 

[soniq]

Try out a set of EB Group III flats.

 

[russjm]

Yeah if the slinkys don't die off enough for me, then I'll be looking at flats, but I'm going to give the slinkys some time first.