Can I get a Stingray Sound 5 with a Sterling S.U.B?

[Lesfunk]

Another "problem" is that the SUB pickup has only two wires...
Apparently it is a little impossible to know if it is a Pickup That Is in Series or Parallel, Probably this is defined in the construction of the Coils!

the Ray 5 pickup is series.
As long as you have the money, your solution is simple.
Replace everything . The pickup, the preamp...everything.
It doesn’t matter which brand you choose to replace it with. (It’s your choice) They are all an improvement. Your best option is to find properly sized electronics and pickup that will fit the routs without having to remove wood.

 

[JoaoSalles]

If the cover can be removed, you might be able see the coil wires and determine series or parallel. Also, a multimeter might uncover the mystery. If the pickup reads closer to 4K, it might be parallel, if it reads closer to 10K, it might be series. Musicman doesn't use really hot wound pickups since the preamp boosts the gain up.

That's good to know, thank you very much.

 

[JoaoSalles]

the Ray 5 pickup is series.
As long as you have the money, your solution is simple.
Replace everything . The pickup, the preamp...everything.
It doesn’t matter which brand you choose to replace it with. (It’s your choice) They are all an improvement. Your best option is to find properly sized electronics and pickup that will fit the routs without having to remove wood.

Thank you very much, you are very nice!

 

[BassNugget]

I actually prefer the sound of my SUB stock over the Stingray 5. The reason I do is that it is a fatter, mellower sound which is what I want for the slowish ballards. Now, for most music I play a USA Stingray 4 string because it has that bite that cuts through the mix.

In a dense band setting, I would prefer the US Stingray sound. In a more open setting, I actually prefer the SUB sound.

I also preferred the sound of your sub in your recordings.

 

[JoaoSalles]

I actually prefer the sound of my SUB stock over the Stingray 5. The reason I do is that it is a fatter, mellower sound which is what I want for the slowish ballards. Now, for most music I play a USA Stingray 4 string because it has that bite that cuts through the mix.

In a dense band setting, I would prefer the US Stingray sound. In a more open setting, I actually prefer the SUB sound.

I also preferred the sound of your sub in your recordings.

Uauuuuuu

 

[skycruiser]

Hi - I have the same bass with the large "SUB" on the headstock. As someone said above, it is likely wired in series. I have heard that newer ones are in parallel.

I replaced my pickup with a 4-wire Seymour Duncan, and installed switches that let you switch series/parallel/single coil. Of the 3 coil options, I like single the best and series the least (parallel in the middle). So I would say the pickup configuration of your bass is the worst option. I also didn't like the sound of my stock pickup, and I think it is because of the series wiring.

Also the stock pickup is very heavy. You will reduce the weight by switching to a Seymour Duncan or a similar alnico magnet pickup.

There are some DIY preamp options out there - take a look at this thread:
PCBs for DIY clone 2-band Preamps

 

[JoaoSalles]

Hi - I have the same bass with the large "SUB" on the headstock. As someone said above, it is likely wired in series. I have heard that newer ones are in parallel.

I replaced my pickup with a 4-wire Seymour Duncan, and installed switches that let you switch series/parallel/single coil. Of the 3 coil options, I like single the best and series the least (parallel in the middle). So I would say the pickup configuration of your bass is the worst option. I also didn't like the sound of my stock pickup, and I think it is because of the series wiring.

Also the stock pickup is very heavy. You will reduce the weight by switching to a Seymour Duncan or a similar alnico magnet pickup.

There are some DIY preamp options out there - take a look at this thread:
PCBs for DIY clone 2-band Preamps

Can the PreAmp DIY sound better than the Sub Fabrica PreAmp? Sometimes I get confused trying to understand how this can be possible!

 

[skycruiser]

Can the PreAmp DIY sound better than the Sub Fabrica PreAmp? Sometimes I get confused trying to understand how this can be possible!

The stock preamp in the SUB has some design issues that causes it to clip when you turn up the volume to a high level. It can cause distortion. So yes, a DIY preamp can easily sound better than the stock one if it fixes this distortion problem.

 

[JoaoSalles]

The stock preamp in the SUB has some design issues that causes it to clip when you turn up the volume to a high level. It can cause distortion. So yes, a DIY preamp can easily sound better than the stock one if it fixes this distortion problem.

The sound was distorted because I hadn't set the input correctly on my interface, forgive me the problem!
But I notice that the tonal controls on this bass are horrible, the treble control, it's actually kind of like a duck voice Hahaha "QUENQUENQUENQUEN"

 

[JoaoSalles]

Speaking of PreAmp, I will now perform the following test:

- I'm going to remove the S.U.B circuit, making the S.U.B temporarily passive.

- That way, I'm obviously going to lose gain because of the PreAmp that I just turned off.

- I'm going to try using some preamp plug-in like "NEVE, SSL" or something like that, just to see if what's ruining part of the bass sound might be happening because of the factory preamp!



I'm going to do the autopsy on Baixo and Jajá right now. I'm back with the exam report!

hahahahaha

 

[skycruiser]

The sound was distorted because I hadn't set the input correctly on my interface, forgive me the problem!
But I notice that the tonal controls on this bass are horrible, the treble control, it's actually kind of like a duck voice Hahaha "QUENQUENQUENQUEN"

That may be true, but many other people have reported that the stock preamp distorts when the volume is high. I experienced this problem with my SUB Ray4 too.

 

[Vanheusen77]

I made this comparison between the stock Ray4 pickup and the Seymour Duncan. Big difference and much closer to a real Ray I think:

 

[skycruiser]

I made this comparison between the stock Ray4 pickup and the Seymour Duncan. Big difference and much closer to a real Ray I think:

Nice video! How did you wire the SD pickup?

 

[hvymetallurgist]

100% same experience with my SUB Ray4 - I didn’t really notice until I upgraded away from a dirt cheap practice amp into a “real” amp. Maxing volume pot on the bass and taking pre-settings to extremes gave me some very unpleasant results. Swapping electronics to address it cost me as much as the bass itself (got the bass on sale to be a backup to be fair) but was worth every penny and the net result was still a screaming deal.

Seriously contemplating selling what used to be my main 4str bass, buying another SUB and identical mods, and pocketing the $500 difference. Nothing wrong with twins.

That may be true, but many other people have reported that the stock preamp distorts when the volume is high. I experienced this problem with my SUB Ray4 too.

 

[Vanheusen77]

Nice video! How did you wire the SD pickup?

Parallel!

 

[JoaoSalles]

Speaking of PreAmp, I will now perform the following test:

- I'm going to remove the S.U.B circuit, making the S.U.B temporarily passive.

- That way, I'm obviously going to lose gain because of the PreAmp that I just turned off.

- I'm going to try using some preamp plug-in like "NEVE, SSL" or something like that, just to see if what's ruining part of the bass sound might be happening because of the factory preamp!



I'm going to do the autopsy on Baixo and Jajá right now. I'm back with the exam report!

hahahahaha

I went back
Removed PreAmp, making SUB passive.
Below is the example of passive SUB audio without effects with the name (Sterling ByPass)

Now listen to Sub Passive with plug-in effects with the name (Sterling With FX)

 

[phillipkregg]

He told me that he turned on the built-in bass in the audio interface, which only used a Logic Pro X compressor plug-in.
Would it be possible to improve my sound with a new PreAmp (Circuit)?

You can absolutely improve your sound with just a preamp.

Might want to consider getting an outboard preamp that you can put on a pedal board and use on any bass - both live and in the studio.

Darkglass makes some great ones: Alpha·Omega Ultra v2 (AUX-IN) – Darkglass Electronics

If you don't care about having overdrive/distortion options, there's also the Nordstrand Starlifter:

StarLifter Bass Preamp/DI