Whenever I want to drool at Basses, I usually visit this page.
I've always been blown away by the beauty of MM Basses. I don't even play Bass, but have always had a deep respect for the players and the wonderful spectrum of sounds that have been blasted out of these big planks and one day I will own one.
The Point of the thread, oh yes, I noticed with the 2 versions of the Stingray (theeeeee most gorgeous looking Bass ever to be created) - and by versions I mean Classic and Modern, not 4,5,6 string etc.
The Classic has a 7.5 inch radius and the other has an 11 inch radius.
WHY THE BIG DIFFERENCE???
If I was itching to be a Slap Bass player, which radius does that style suit best?
I understand 6 string Guitar specs very well, I'm very anal about them(no surprise there), and by that you would think that understanding Bass specs would simply follow suit, but it doesn't and I don't know what styles of playing suit which specs on a Bass.
ie: A nippy shredder guitarist is going to want a far less severe radius than a old school bluesy type of guy. Massive generalization I know but you get the gist.
Also I know exactly what the pick up positions, quantities, configs on a 6 string guitar would give me, but what do Bass players look for in pick up configs etc. I know the bridge pick up is sharper/Brighter and neck pick up is fuller/rounder etc, but what applications do Bass players use these configs, even middle pick ups on a Bass must have a "Genre" they are mostly used in.
Sorry for the rough arse generalization of all things holy and the crap way I try to explain myself, but I think you grab the meaning of this thread.
Take it away Bassists, edumacate me.
:-D
Only a Fool Would Say That.
Comments
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
It's not that the 3 band sounds bad (I have a sub with the 3 band active and it's fantastic) but the 2 band seems to work better unless you want really really growly mids, which is an awesome sound but not for everyone. Very nice to scoop mids out for slap, too, but the 2 band seems happy in most positions with less dialling.
Radius on bass is more for comfort. I like a more rounded one where I prefer flatter guitar necks because I've got diddy hands.
Other than that, you know that either are going to be amazing instruments.
That's interesting that the 2EQ version sounds better. Some places have deals on those "special edition" (still USA-made) 2EQ ones, were they any good? I'm always sceptical about cheaper models but sometimes they are near enough the same thing without the bling.
Also how badly do you need the neck pickup? I know most bass guitars, if they only have the one pickup, normally have a neck (more like "middle" on a guitar) pickup, but the MMs generally only have the one bridge pickup? I'm guessing because being a massive humbucker it sounds ok there? I'm guessing they know what they're doing. ) Obviously they have two pickup versions as options but for far more money...
It's been gigged extensively - funk, pop, blues once and hard rock. Previous owner was in a death metal band.
It was excellent at all of them. I can't recommend any other bass more - subs are brilliant (this is the USA model). Bit ugly unless you get the black of white ones... Mine is blue.
The 'proper' sterling's are going to be made from pretty wood (ash, alder etc) whereas this is poplar. The necks are all stunning, though - mine is a satin black, and is stupidly comfy which is the same on every mm bass I've tried.
And the proper mm basses are, in my opinion, perfect. I would never need another bass, regardless of style. My mate has a passive USA sub, and it plays just as well and truly sounds great. He dreams of owning a sterling, and said they are generally lighter in weight than the SUB models, which is nice.
But I do prefer the 2 band eq. Love the 3 band, and dialling the mids up was awesome in the rock outfit, but the 2 band seems easier to set and more intuitive. I guess what I'm saying is if you see a SUB made in USA going cheap, get it. I paid £300 for mine from a local auction, scraped the grime off the board and it's been solid since, despite being loaned out to a few mates for gigs.
http://www.knightonmusiccentre.com/bass-guitars/musicman/music-man-stingray-2eq/prod_376.html
That's the one there (several shops have them), it says it's a limited run model. I mean it's probably academic, odds are I'll chicken out, but fantasy GAS is still fun )
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I noticed in a GAK video of that Musicman that the guy testing it said it only had boost on the onboard EQ, not cut. Is that right? It doesn't sound right to me, but I'm no bassist... )
Mine has cut and boost, and an indent on the knobs for +/-0db.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I normal roll the bass up, mids just rolled down a bit and treble slap bang on the indent, and it suits most styles.
The pickups and positions do have different tonal characteristics, but I still think you can EQ most of them to do much the same job! The original reason for Fender mounting the pickups nearer the bridge was to deliberately roll off the low fundamentals, which the speakers of the time wouldn't handle properly. But your ear/brain 'fills in' the missing fundamental so you still hear the note correctly. You really need a very bright-sounding pickup very close to the bridge before you start to hear it as a lot less bassy - the Jazz Bass bridge pickup for example. The Stingray pickup is so full-sounding that the position doesn't stop it having plenty of low-end. Usually a pickup under it - the original reason was as an electrical shield (it's in contact with the shielding under the pickguard via the screws), but some people like them as a hand rest… there are a *very* few basses which have them in positions other than over a pickup or the bridge.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
My mate did a really interesting test between a Peavey milestone (!), which is his main gigging bass, and a musicman SUB USA with passive pickup.
They both sounded totally different. Somehow, both worked just as brilliantly in context. You wouldn't know which was the super cheap Chinese knock off and which was a made in USA bass, because they both sounded really good.
I think bass tone is *less* important than guitar tone - not just because I'm primarily a guitarist, but because it carries well, and all our ears need is the low thudding sound that suits what the rest of the band is playing. That's not to say it is less important in a mix - if you compare my bedroom tone to my old rehearsal tone, you'd be amazed at how much treble and mids I had to add relative to mix with the bass nicely. It'd sound horrible on its own!
I find its quite important to tune drums, particularly bass drum - when the bass drum is thudding out a low c and the bass is playing mostly in keys that have c as quite a prominent note, it can help a tight riff really come together. Strange (or not?) but true.
Of course, players like John Entwistle could still make a bass sound shrill, bright and horrible, but I think they were trying for that at the time
I'm guessing those ones you listed would be the "classic" basses? I'm kind of new to this (and possibly thinking too much like a guitarist) but that's what it looks like to me.
I mean my Vigier is frigging awesome, and I'd tend to agree with you, I haven't come across any tone I can't do yet (and I agree with you, I tend to just have both pickups on all the time and the onboard EQ flat and then adjust the tone by where I hit the string or by using a pick). I tend to stick to a very basic warm-but-cleanish type of tone. Problem is being a guitarist first I'm already a lost cause when it comes to irrational GAS and am already thinking up ways to get all the "classics"... )
Thanks for the info about the schematics of the preamps. I thought that didn't sound right in the video (though the cheaper model may well use a different preamp I suppose), boosting is the thing which requires more (active) circuitry, cutting is normally the easy bit.