8th of September, 2021, was the day my beloved white 1978 Stingray arrived. I love it! It felt a little blocky for a dude with small hands but I can't complain! It's the best bass ever! the knobs tho, a little uneven but i have to look into it. Cheers!
Can't believe Hawkins demo a MusicMan Stingray 5 HP and throwing the Piezo bridge pickup under the bus. The Piezo adds a whole other dimension to this bass. Mine is a January '08 Rosewood ceramic and for most of my shows it is the go to bass. A lot of my tone is the ceramic with the Piezo added to taste. It's like a steroids control- or maybe like running an Apex Aural Exciter or BBE 442 Maximixer in the circuit. To me, the ceramic has more character than later Alnico; and dialing 25% Piezo in Series position on the ceramic is VOG. Majestic. I also have a '76 sunburst Maple neck Pre Ernie Ball and an '88 Rosewood Ernie Ball which have that bumpy tone w crispy highs. The treble and bass on the early models need taming at times but cut through well. Again, the Piezo on Any MM is an asset.
I have a Sterling Ray34 natural ash. I absolutely love it. The roasted maple neck and fretboard are just a joy to play. It’s my favorite bass I’ve ever had, better than the American Fender Jazz or the Rickenbacker basses I had. I love that the sound is aggressive, but it is also full and warm.
Hey Dan, I can see why you gig with that 5 string. I was listening on my phone and still blown away with the assortment of tones you got. Kind of the best of a P bass plus the sting ray to my ears. I definitely will look into ground round on my 77 p bass next time I change strings.
You cant beat a Stingray for a live band setting. My US Stingray 5 sits in any band mix perfectly....super clear, super powerful and the B string is one of the best. If I had to go down to one bass, the Stingray 5 would be it! My second favourite is my US G&L L2500. Similar sound in parallel active mode, but many more tone options. 2 classic Leo Fender designs. Thanks Dan.
I picked up a slightly used sterling sub ray4 on consignment for $235, slapped in a new aguilar pickup and WOW. It's now my favorite bass to play and I own a 77 P bass and a 2021 G&L clf L-1000. i'm going to add an aguilar 2 band pre-amp and probably upgrade the tuners and bridge at some point. This experience has really turned my head around the whole value concept of basses given the quality of lower priced builds combined with aftermarket hardware.
I have a Sterling Stingray Subray5HH model. So it is a 5-string with two humbucker pickups. 22-frets on the finger board. I love it. It feels grate. It has the two band EQ of Bass and Treble. So there is on onboard mids. But with a bit adjustments to the eq on your amp or mixing device as well as adjustments to your technique, you can play anything from slow ballads all the way to extreme technical death metal and it can fit in the mix very well. Especially with technical death metal when you throw in things like power chords, octave chords, tritones, major and minor thirds, and all kinds of doublestops and tripplestops that you can think of that would fatten up the sound in a mix of guitars, drums and vocals.. Sometimes we think of using a bass for a certain type of music only like a stingray for pop, funk, and basic rock music. But like I said, that is not all that a sting ray is good for. And the same can be said for just about any other type of bass.
I have a Sterling Stingray HH 4 string and I love tyhe way it sounds. I have tryed a lot of different basses looking for one to give me that deep rich tone that I love, most of my favorite bassists played a P bass or the Stingray and of course the “Rick”. I cant afford a Rick and being a newbie to the bass the Stingray felt like a great place to start for the price and the sound it gives. I deffinently feel that ypou cant go wrong with any of these basses, plus you can change out tyhe pre-amp and the pickups for a completely different range of tones. I’m currently looking into my next Sterling but a highrer end version.
I agree. I have a great mm sterling. The US sterling not the “sterling” brand. It’s an amazing bass with a great neck and feel. We play some Motown and I still take my p bass with flats but I’m tempted to try the Mm on those songs to see if I can get a “good enough” tone for the Motown stuff. Seems like you have managed to pull it off.
I've a 4 string 2002 Ernie Ball MM Sterling and it's my gigging bass as it's so versatile, and unlike the Stingray, and my Fender Jazz, a lot lighter and more practical.
Always enjoy your straight forward informative videos. Sort of an off topic question- what do you think about 5 string precision basses? Has the B string ever sounded useable to you? One of those (with a jazz pickup at the bridge as well) was my main bass until I bought a sterling ray 35. Thanks.
i'm not big on the trebly sound but i love that more bassy sound around the 4 minute mark, every demo i heard sounded really like uhh trebley and i didn't like that and as you said i probably won't be able to get your exact tone but this does make me wanna buy a stingray
Hi Dan loved the video, I have a 78 MM and I have been struggling with the tone. Just ordered some Elites from your link. Usually use EB mediums to try and get that poppy funk sound, not quite there. I use an Ampeg Portaflex 500 with a 4x10. I have 2003 EB MM too but doesn’t sound as good as the 78. Thanks again for the videos. Robin
my little "studio" resonates in C tone. When I watch bass players on yt (tutorial, lessons, showing off) no matter who, major league bassist like M Miller or no name bass players, when they hit c note on the A string it is all over the place. not in your case. in case of 4 string music man. every note sounded even, clear, really nice, no matter how you tweaked it, the c note on the A string did not go all over the place. well that was not the case with the 5 string, the C tone was much louder than the other notes, just like on the videos i have mentioned writing this text... :)
I'm playing with a loud drummer. It's just bass and drums right now. We play fusion, world, etc...i was using precision but my drummer prefers the Stingray sound.
As a Sting Ray user, this is very helpful and a longtime coming. I'll soon be playing the 5-string Sting Ray a month from now, talk about good timing. Is it true that studio bassists from 1978 through the 1980's use the Sting Ray because the sound that carry out through out the sessions for good tone for engineering and so forth? Again thanks for the video.
Hi. Congrats for the video, you are really Good at explain music. I have a question: do u think the stingray is good in order to play new wave style music (like Joy Division or interpol). Thank u
I don’t see why not! If a bass plays and sounds good to you, use it. Otherwise, research what basses the players you want to emulate use (e.g. Yamaha for Peter Hook).
Hey Dan! GREAT VIDEO!!!! Thanks for the Stingray tones! Closest I have to a '78 are two Stingray Classics! If you have a Stingray with two humbuckers can you do a tone video on that?
Question. I’ve got a 99 musicman, Always felt like the g string was weak . Tried lots of things over the years to combat it slighty, Any way I’ve now damaged the wiring to the pick up . Going to get it repaired at Charlie chandlers in London. My question is should I just get a new pick up , But I want to keep the tone it had when bought it , I’m worried it will lose its unique tone if I put a modern pick up in . Would love you input , Cheers
Dominic. Firstly, use flatwound strings. The G string will have a little more fundamental to the tone and will make a big difference to how the bass sounds overall. Secondly, lower the pickup pole pieces on the A and D string so they're equal with those for the E and the G. You'll end up with a flatter profile, rather than one following the slightly curved radius of the fingerboard. Thirdly, raise the G string side of the pickup so it's closer to the string. I solved the weak G on my 3-bander ('04) doing this.
Charlie will be able to advise you well. You can usually get a pickup rewound and you can say what tone you love and want. It could be damaged if it’s weak on the G side but, again, an expert can advise.
sterling ones are ALL wired in series, which kinda sucks lol infact leo fender would never put an humbucker into that bass unless it was in parallel, mm are all in parallel Series: more midrange, more output, less bass, less top end, less hi-fi, less clarity Parallel: original stingray amazing sound
I have the music man sub 4. It's not an Ernie Ball it's one of the originals I believe. It says made in America in Corona CA. so I assume it's one of the originals
I bought this one years ago from Andy Baxter, a UK based vintage bass seller. They occasionally pop up on his website and Reverb. It’s good to be able to try one out before you buy, though.
Being a double bassist for many, many years who also plays bass guitar. You CANNOT get a double bass tone from a bass guitar, it's not possible I'm sorry. You can reduce the highs and get some punch but then lose the sustain. It's simply not possible no matter what you do
I don’t think I said you could and I’ve certainly mentioned what you say in many videos. You can get somewhere closer but, you’re right; it’ll never sound like an upright. 👍🙏
Hi Dan ... love your lessons. Could you do one on the Roy Ayers song Running away.. The base is great and runs without any variation through the whole song. Thanks
Sounds like the late-great Bass Legend Bernard Edwards ( one of my favorites of all time ). Great tones.
Thanks.
I own a MM stingray 5 and I absolutely love it. best bass I've ever owned. I will only buy MM stingrays from now on.
Oh man a black 78 is my dream bass!! ❤😍😍 such a killer bass!
8th of September, 2021, was the day my beloved white 1978 Stingray arrived. I love it! It felt a little blocky for a dude with small hands but I can't complain! It's the best bass ever! the knobs tho, a little uneven but i have to look into it. Cheers!
They sound great Dan.I especially like the 78'.
Can't believe Hawkins demo a MusicMan Stingray 5 HP and throwing the Piezo bridge pickup under the bus. The Piezo adds a whole
other dimension to this bass. Mine is a January '08 Rosewood ceramic and for most of my shows it is the go to bass. A lot of my tone is the
ceramic with the Piezo added to taste. It's like a steroids control- or maybe like running an Apex Aural Exciter or BBE 442 Maximixer
in the circuit. To me, the ceramic has more character than later Alnico; and dialing 25% Piezo in Series position on the ceramic is VOG. Majestic.
I also have a '76 sunburst Maple neck Pre Ernie Ball and an '88 Rosewood Ernie Ball which have that bumpy tone w crispy highs. The treble and
bass on the early models need taming at times but cut through well. Again, the Piezo on Any MM is an asset.
I have a Sterling Ray34 natural ash. I absolutely love it. The roasted maple neck and fretboard are just a joy to play. It’s my favorite bass I’ve ever had, better than the American Fender Jazz or the Rickenbacker basses I had. I love that the sound is aggressive, but it is also full and warm.
Hey Dan, I can see why you gig with that 5 string. I was listening on my phone and still blown away with the assortment of tones you got. Kind of the best of a P bass plus the sting ray to my ears. I definitely will look into ground round on my 77 p bass next time I change strings.
You cant beat a Stingray for a live band setting. My US Stingray 5 sits in any band mix perfectly....super clear, super powerful and the B string is one of the best. If I had to go down to one bass, the Stingray 5 would be it! My second favourite is my US G&L L2500. Similar sound in parallel active mode, but many more tone options. 2 classic Leo Fender designs. Thanks Dan.
I have a 78 fretless that I bought new that year. Perfect
With LaBella gold white nylon ❤️
Amazing bass!
Excellent Dan! A fav bass for so many.
I picked up a slightly used sterling sub ray4 on consignment for $235, slapped in a new aguilar pickup and WOW. It's now my favorite bass to play and I own a 77 P bass and a 2021 G&L clf L-1000. i'm going to add an aguilar 2 band pre-amp and probably upgrade the tuners and bridge at some point. This experience has really turned my head around the whole value concept of basses given the quality of lower priced builds combined with aftermarket hardware.
That’s a good lead - I might have to check one out!
I have a Sterling Stingray Subray5HH model. So it is a 5-string with two humbucker pickups. 22-frets on the finger board. I love it. It feels grate. It has the two band EQ of Bass and Treble. So there is on onboard mids. But with a bit adjustments to the eq on your amp or mixing device as well as adjustments to your technique, you can play anything from slow ballads all the way to extreme technical death metal and it can fit in the mix very well. Especially with technical death metal when you throw in things like power chords, octave chords, tritones, major and minor thirds, and all kinds of doublestops and tripplestops that you can think of that would fatten up the sound in a mix of guitars, drums and vocals.. Sometimes we think of using a bass for a certain type of music only like a stingray for pop, funk, and basic rock music. But like I said, that is not all that a sting ray is good for. And the same can be said for just about any other type of bass.
Another interesting video and that '78 Pre-EB MM also sounds great.
I have a Sterling Stingray HH 4 string and I love tyhe way it sounds. I have tryed a lot of different basses looking for one to give me that deep rich tone that I love, most of my favorite bassists played a P bass or the Stingray and of course the “Rick”. I cant afford a Rick and being a newbie to the bass the Stingray felt like a great place to start for the price and the sound it gives. I deffinently feel that ypou cant go wrong with any of these basses, plus you can change out tyhe pre-amp and the pickups for a completely different range of tones. I’m currently looking into my next Sterling but a highrer end version.
The SR5 sounds awesome. Want one now
Get one! They’re great.
Their absolutely amazing!!!
I agree. I have a great mm sterling. The US sterling not the “sterling” brand. It’s an amazing bass with a great neck and feel. We play some Motown and I still take my p bass with flats but I’m tempted to try the Mm on those songs to see if I can get a “good enough” tone for the Motown stuff. Seems like you have managed to pull it off.
I've a 4 string 2002 Ernie Ball MM Sterling and it's my gigging bass as it's so versatile, and unlike the Stingray, and my Fender Jazz, a lot lighter and more practical.
Who ever calls the StingRay a “One Trick Pony” clearly doesn’t know what they are talking about.
Always enjoy your straight forward informative videos. Sort of an off topic question- what do you think about 5 string precision basses? Has the B string ever sounded useable to you? One of those (with a jazz pickup at the bridge as well) was my main bass until I bought a sterling ray 35. Thanks.
It really does depend on the bass. I used to have a P bass 5 string with a humbucker bridge pickup. It was great! They’re not all the same though.
@@OnlineBassCourses This makes alot of sense to me now. Thanks!
i'm not big on the trebly sound but i love that more bassy sound around the 4 minute mark, every demo i heard sounded really like uhh trebley and i didn't like that and as you said i probably won't be able to get your exact tone but this does make me wanna buy a stingray
Hi Dan loved the video, I have a 78 MM and I have been struggling with the tone. Just ordered some Elites from your link. Usually use EB mediums to try and get that poppy funk sound, not quite there. I use an Ampeg Portaflex 500 with a 4x10. I have 2003 EB MM too but doesn’t sound as good as the 78. Thanks again for the videos. Robin
Hi Robin, try Render flats 9050, I went through lots of strings and this sounds very close to Dan's 4 string.
RIDE - Leave them all Behind clearly shows the tones of the MusicMan Bass
my little "studio" resonates in C tone. When I watch bass players on yt (tutorial, lessons, showing off) no matter who, major league bassist like M Miller or no name bass players, when they hit c note on the A string it is all over the place. not in your case. in case of 4 string music man. every note sounded even, clear, really nice, no matter how you tweaked it, the c note on the A string did not go all over the place. well that was not the case with the 5 string, the C tone was much louder than the other notes, just like on the videos i have mentioned writing this text... :)
Great tone. One day for me maybe!
I have sterling SUB series 5 strings sound pretty good.
Fun video!
Hi nice video as usual.
What is the first line you play at the start of the video ? Thanks.
That’s just something I was improvising. 🙏🙏
I'm playing with a loud drummer. It's just bass and drums right now. We play fusion, world, etc...i was using precision but my drummer prefers the Stingray sound.
Perfect epizod.
As a Sting Ray user, this is very helpful and a longtime coming. I'll soon be playing the 5-string Sting Ray a month from now, talk about good timing. Is it true that studio bassists from 1978 through the 1980's use the Sting Ray because the sound that carry out through out the sessions for good tone for engineering and so forth? Again thanks for the video.
I’m not sure about that but they definitely had a tone that some players loved.
If you were choosing from currently-available models, which would likely provide the best match to "The Stingray Sound" of pre-Ernie ball models?
I must admit I haven’t tried many StingRays. I think the Classic might be closest though. Some of the BFRs too but they are $$$.
Hi. Congrats for the video, you are really Good at explain music. I have a question: do u think the stingray is good in order to play new wave style music (like Joy Division or interpol). Thank u
I don’t see why not! If a bass plays and sounds good to you, use it. Otherwise, research what basses the players you want to emulate use (e.g. Yamaha for Peter Hook).
“STRINGS MATTER”! I’m a Witness!😂
Hi Dan. How much does your black Pre EB Stingray weigh? Are they heavy? 10 -11 lbs?
Hi, Ian. That’s a great question and I’m not quite sure! But, it doesn’t feel that heavy at all to me.
Hey Dan! GREAT VIDEO!!!! Thanks for the Stingray tones! Closest I have to a '78 are two Stingray Classics! If you have a Stingray with two humbuckers can you do a tone video on that?
Thanks! I’d love to do that video but, unfortunately, I don’t own an HH (yet…).
Question.
I’ve got a 99 musicman,
Always felt like the g string was weak . Tried lots of things over the years to combat it slighty,
Any way I’ve now damaged the wiring to the pick up .
Going to get it repaired at Charlie chandlers in London.
My question is should I just get a new pick up ,
But I want to keep the tone it had when bought it ,
I’m worried it will lose its unique tone if I put a modern pick up in .
Would love you input ,
Cheers
Dominic. Firstly, use flatwound strings. The G string will have a little more fundamental to the tone and will make a big difference to how the bass sounds overall. Secondly, lower the pickup pole pieces on the A and D string so they're equal with those for the E and the G. You'll end up with a flatter profile, rather than one following the slightly curved radius of the fingerboard. Thirdly, raise the G string side of the pickup so it's closer to the string. I solved the weak G on my 3-bander ('04) doing this.
@@ToddBrittain1963 hi mate cheers for this info much appreciated. Will be doing all above 👍👍
@@dominicdurso3672 no worries mate...hope you get the results you're after
Charlie will be able to advise you well. You can usually get a pickup rewound and you can say what tone you love and want.
It could be damaged if it’s weak on the G side but, again, an expert can advise.
@@OnlineBassCourses thanks Dan
Diferencias de sonido Sterling VS StingRay?
Not sure!
sterling ones are ALL wired in series, which kinda sucks lol infact leo fender would never put an humbucker into that bass unless it was in parallel, mm are all in parallel
Series: more midrange, more output, less bass, less top end, less hi-fi, less clarity
Parallel: original stingray amazing sound
Hi! Wich strings do you use on the pre ernie ball?
Hi! Elites Players 45-105
I have the music man sub 4. It's not an Ernie Ball it's one of the originals I believe. It says made in America in Corona CA. so I assume it's one of the originals
I'm probably blind but i don't see the link to the live version of 'everywhere i lay my hat' you mention?
Sorry! Forgot to add it: ruclips.net/video/1BkGCkwJCWE/видео.html
@@OnlineBassCourses thank you, Dan!
Any recommendations for flat-wounds string sets for a stingray?
Not really - any decent set will sound good.
I used D'Addario Chromes on my Stingray for a long time. Really good sound.
Try the Ernie Ball Group Flats! They fit a Stingray like a glove. I have a video on my channel comparing them to La Bellas.
I just put thomastik infeld jazz flats 5 string set on my stingray classic and they sound and feel perfect.
Hello! What's the signal chain you're using? Thanks!
This is it: ruclips.net/video/70FYURah5nU/видео.htmlsi=-R0-BEVI-J97dOJE
How and where did you snag a 78 Stingray? Talk about rare...
I bought this one years ago from Andy Baxter, a UK based vintage bass seller. They occasionally pop up on his website and Reverb. It’s good to be able to try one out before you buy, though.
Cliff Williams plays all down strokes, and palm muted most of the time.
tone is in the fingers :)
It’s definitely a part of it, for sure.
I want to have 1 bass 5 strings
I prefer the 2 band. I can control the mid range at the amp
2 band is the best. Much more natural sound and feel. Mids can be raised by lowering the bass and treble and raising the volume.
Sir...please give me one of your bass. I want learning bass
No problem. Which one do you want? (Only joking. There are some extremely cheap second hand basses around. Have a look for one).
You're the first
Can’t stand the glossy fingerboard, but understand it’s vintage.
Why doesn’t Sting play a Stingray? I mean, come on!
This is true…
Being a double bassist for many, many years who also plays bass guitar. You CANNOT get a double bass tone from a bass guitar, it's not possible I'm sorry. You can reduce the highs and get some punch but then lose the sustain. It's simply not possible no matter what you do
I don’t think I said you could and I’ve certainly mentioned what you say in many videos. You can get somewhere closer but, you’re right; it’ll never sound like an upright. 👍🙏
Fretless is close
Fretless U-bass is probably as close as you can get
6:55 this tone i hate. the worst of the low and the worst of the highs.
Perhaps not the most useable tone…
@@OnlineBassCourses nah....
you're a big lad ! smart girl!
but only the second bass is more deaf.
he is not very suitable for the Slap...
Hi Dan ... love your lessons. Could you do one on the Roy Ayers song Running away.. The base is great and runs without any variation through the whole song. Thanks
Thanks! I’ll check it out.
StingRay is super P