Stingray Weak G?

#41
It's real, and it can be fixed with setup. My Stingray had it. There's a window of adjustment between the pickup height and string height where it comes up to regular strength. It'll never bark out like a P bass where it can almost sound louder than the other strings, but it can be made to hold its own.
 
#42
dustinymichaels said:
Next year will be 30 years of primarily playing a Stingray. Some, like me, don't seem to have noticed a weak G.
.......
How much do we think the appearance of the weak G is actually affected by the player?
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I think you've summed it up.
Many seem to have noticed the weak G, including many old boys like me who've been there, done that. So there has to be an element of truth here.

If I was exclusively playing Stingers, my EQ would aim to get the best from it. But the problem is when you use other basses IME.
I just found the Stingray demanded quite a different EQ from my passive basses, simply to get an even volume across the 4 strings.

So to your question;
Definitely it is. But it's relative to your style, aims and tone goals. It's not an experience or skill related issue IMO.
 
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#44
dustinymichaels said:
I have a suspicion that this will get crushed and it has probably been a discussion before. My response to another thread inspired me to bring up this topic. Please be pleasant and this is the first time I'm starting a discussion. Here is my original response:

"I've never had a problem with a weak G string on my Stingrays but this is something people mention all the time. What's the reality of this complaint? Or is it more of a grievance that people like to subscribe to?"

Are there eras where the weak G is often a concern? Is it an alnico vs. ceramic thing? It would be beneficial if people can support their perspective with data. i.e. "When Ernie Ball took over..." or, "With the contours back in..." Thanks!
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I absolutely had this issue. My first real bass that I bought new years ago, and I still play, was a 96 Stingray 3 band….yes I was listening to a lot of RHCP at the time:). Any note on the G string was essentially non existent, I tried everything I could think of pre-internet. Finally when the SD Basslines pickup and preamp came out, I swapped out both with the alnico pup and 3 band preamp and the issue was fixed. I remember reading that the issue was related to the preamp voicing on the 3 bands, and in hindsight I probably only needed to replace the preamp, but this was before talkbass:) My 2018 Special does not have this issue at all, and my 96 sounds and plays fantastic , it’s everything “Stingray” you always wanted.
 
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#45
IMG_3434.jpeg
 
#46
I had a sterling ray sb-14 with a weak G. No set up, pick up adjustment, or string change would help it. I didn’t own any other basses at the time, so my pf500 was dialed with only that bass in mind.

Live three piece band, had trouble breaking through, and recording in studio was rough.
Eventually went to a j, then to a pj. Now im into 5 strings, so i picked up a sterling ray5 hh. It’s been perfectly balanced so far, I haven’t found any dead spots or anything. The second pickup really resolves any issues I’ve previously had.
 
#48
I have a 2022 Stingray Special 4H. It seems the general conclusion is that the specials do not have this issue. I would agree that the G sting volume is in line with the others when playing the bass by itself. However, when playing in a mix, the G can get lost and does not cut through like the others, especially when playing up the neck. I can correct by boosting mids, cutting some lows and generally tweaking the amp eq. This causes the rest of the bass to sound harsh and not pleasant especially when slapping. So I guess its a tradeoff. I have also found when playing festivals with an outside sound company, they always highly scoop the bass sound, this really buries the G string and most of all high notes, kinda frustrating. Its a shame we cant get that stingray zing AND have the high notes cut and sustain like the "Boston" P bass sounds... Has anyone found a "magical" frequency to boost the help the highs cut through without adding "honk" ? I have played around extensively with the parametric mid eq on my WD-800 but havent had much luck...I guess its the nature of the beast......
 
#49
On my '07 I had to not only angle the pickup but also I took the pickup apart and pushed the G pole pieces up. Quite uncomfortable on the picking fingers if you got sloppy but it made the weak G tolerable. On my '97 I have a custom wound series pickup and a John East MMSR, even then the pickup is still quite angled. I'd like to angle it more but if the E went down I'd have nowhere to put my thumb and if the G went up I'd be back to hitting my fingers.

The only thing I can think of is that it's something to do with how we use them. You get people saying they've had 50 million rays and never noticed, and then people who have noticed it on every single ray they've picked up (like me). It's not a technique thing or an eq thing, my '97 has seen me through GK, Ashdown, picks, fingers, rock bands and pop bands, tubes and solid state. I'm the soundman in my band, I could fix it with eq or compression if it could be fixed. To me it doesn't ruin the Stingray. Not only have people won Grammys and played MSG with them (so they can't be THAT bad) but it's never stopped me enjoying the other wonderful traits my Stringrays have had. I certainly do find myself going up on the D rather than on to the G a lot though.
 
#52
FirewalZ said:
I absolutely had this issue. My first real bass that I bought new years ago, and I still play, was a 96 Stingray 3 band….yes I was listening to a lot of RHCP at the time:). Any note on the G string was essentially non existent, I tried everything I could think of pre-internet. Finally when the SD Basslines pickup and preamp came out, I swapped out both with the alnico pup and 3 band preamp and the issue was fixed. I remember reading that the issue was related to the preamp voicing on the 3 bands, and in hindsight I probably only needed to replace the preamp, but this was before talkbass:) My 2018 Special does not have this issue at all, and my 96 sounds and plays fantastic , it’s everything “Stingray” you always wanted.
Click to expand...
"...I swapped out both with the alnico pup and 3 band preamp and the issue was fixed.I swapped out both with the alnico pup and 3 band preamp and the issue was fixed." I tend to forget that that I did the same thing to my main, and later bought one with this same update. I should break out one of my closet queens from the same era and see what's up.
 
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