In the “What’s your next guitar?” thread, I mentioned wanting to get a bass guitar, in particular, a Stingray. Well, after many months of looking at them online, I found a really great deal when GuitarCenter had a President’s Day Sale, and this was one of the items on sale, the Sterling by Music Man Stingray Ray4HH. (We all know George Washington really slapped on his electric bass, hence the sale.)
For those who are curious but not familiar, Sterling by Music Man is the cheaper brand of instruments by Ernie Ball Music Man instruments, like Squier is to Fender. Also, if you’re thinking that Stingray basses look very Fender-y, that’s because Leo Fender designed it after his non-compete contract ended after leaving Fender. Sitting it on a stand next to my Strat, it looks like a 'roided out version of my Strat in many ways.
Guitar is still my main focus (you can’t get rid of me that easily). I’ve just had this desire to try out bass guitar as well, and just had to scratch the itch when I saw this deal. So far, I am very happy with my purchase.
Glad to hear that you like it! I am very happy so far, but am a total novice at bass. They get very good reviews!
I must admit, I fell in love with Stingrays because some of my favorite bassists play them. In fact, one of my favorites has a Signature Edition Music Man Stingray… but I cannot afford it. So, I went with the much cheaper version.
I have watched many videos, and, generally, people say the body and neck are very good, so, maybe someday if I am really into bass I may upgrade the electronics and other components. For now, I believe it is a great instrument for a beginner like me.
Personally, I think the electronics on mine are fine.
It has been my experience that bass players don’t tend to get overly caught up in the minutiae of “tone chasing”.
Many favour simple class-D amplifiers that most guitar players would eschew, and DI recording with no amp is pretty commonplace.
Obviously, it’s a different instrument and operates in a different range, so has different characteristics, and there is still a fair bit of “high-end” gear around.
But stuff like changing the electronics is a lot rarer in my experience.
Oh, I agree. And, that reminds me of a rumor I heard, that in an interview, someone asked Paul McCartney what strings he used, and he said “long silvery ones” or something like that.
Overall, I think you are totally right. There is really no reason for me to contemplate replacing anything. Have you watched a YouTuber named LowEndLobster? He does bass reviews and other bass content. He does like to modify his basses. He took a bass like ours and replaced the pickups and preamp… and everything else. That may have influenced my thinking.
The only mod I ever considered on my bass was in an earlier bass I had. This was a cheap Redwood bass that I picked up second hand for ÂŁ40, and was my first bass guitar.
When I got it, it was a mess: rusty parts, disgusting gunk all over the fretboard and body, worn frets, incorrectly strung, and the action wasn’t great. But for £40 it was always going to be a “project”.
I cleaned it up, mostly de-rusted it, and changed the strings that looked about 5 years old.
I came to the conclusion that the dodgy way the previous owner had set up the bridge and saddles, and how he had strung it was to try to solve the neck issues which were causing the action to be too high, even with the saddles on their lowest setting.
In the end, after doing some research, I decided the proper way to fix it was to shim the neck, which I did using a business card.
Congratulations, Todd. What a colour!
I get what David means about futuristic, but more of what folk in the 60’s thought the future would be like- almost pop-art
Of course, it’s not real till we hear it
There are places, like Stewmac, which make special shim wedges of different sizes and angles, which is the best way to do this. But for a ÂŁ40 bass, a bit of card did the trick.
Thanks, all! Ya know, I didn’t think about it, but, it does have a futuristic look. It’s also a nice “Science Blue” from Star Trek, which I didnt think about until now. As someone who has a Sciences division Star Trek Wallet and a Star Trek: Next Gen badge tattooed on my arm… I may like this bass even more now.
This is the main bassist that inspired me to try bass, Mike Herrera, bassist/lead singer of MxPx and current bassist for Goldfinger. That gives me an idea, I think I’ll have to learn the bass part from “Chick Magnet,” one of their popular songs from my high school years.
I probably won’t look quite this cool, but I can try:
