(Why) do Stingrays sound killer in the mix?

saucypebble

saucypebble

May 1, 2021
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#1
Hi all,
a couple years ago I switched from playing mainly blues and funk to heavier rock stuff and am still experimenting to get the perfect live sound. Recently went from my passiv J to a P which helped a lot.

Still, whenever I hear a recording (mostly studio, some live) and think "wow that is a killer sound", I go and check what basses they are playing. 80% it is a Stingray or similar. Some recent examples are Smooth by Santana and on the heavier side this one with an ATK:

In the heavier rock context I find P basses often blending in instead of cutting through. I really dislike the frizzy highs of Musicmans but hey, in the mix they are so amazing to my ears. Does that translate to live FOH sound or is it a studio sculpting thing? Is it the humbuckers,pickup position or the active electronics?

I had a G&L L2500 a while ago and remember being super happy with that live too.

Happy for any opinion, experience and/or comment:)
 
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#2
Frequency slotting. You typically want something a bit honky (like a Stingray) to stand out in a heavy rock/metal mix. Low mids are often heavily congested. Sans a Stingray, favoring the bridge pickup does the trick.

The only the only P-style pickup I like for those genres is the Delano PMVC FE because it delivers more clarity than a typical P. I actually slightly favor the Delano reverse P on my P/MM Sandberg because it gets that hollow P grind without sounding muddy.
 
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#5
I don't think there's a more disparate set of opinions than what "sounds great in the mix". I mean, those opinions are all over hell and Creation.

My main basses include a Stingray Special, a Lull Jazz-style bass, and a Lull Precision-style bass. I've been told by our sound guy that they all sound good and set well in a mix. As well as two producers at the studio where I work.

I think how a bass "sits in the mix" depends on several things, the player's technique being one of those things, as well as the listeners' tastes.

EDIT: I didn't listen to the posted video until now and just a few bars of it once the bass comes in. Kinda what I expected, it's not really my taste in music and I didn't get much from the bass on the song.

My tastes in how Stingrays sit well in mixes runs along the lines of Paul Denman with Sade and Bernard Edwards with Chic and Sister Sledge. Tim Commerford is another one, not real familiar with the band he plays with and don't own any albums, but what little I've heard, I like his tone. And, OF COURSE, Louis Johnson.
 
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#10
Beauty is always in the eye of the beer holder, but they do sound great in the mix to my ears, too. Hofners are the same way in my experience - maybe not awesome playing one unaccompanied, but get it up there with the band and magic happens.

As mentioned above, it really seems to be about frequency slotting. The overall tone on the ‘Ray sits a bit higher in your average ensemble mix than a Precision or even other basses with active electronics. This adds to the note definition and upper harmonic perception, while still supplying lows.
 
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#11
I find Stingrays and G&Ls sound great in heavy music mixes. The reasson I found from my own recordings is that the (ambiguous) Stingray and G&L L2K "sound/tone" don't color the guitars at all or very little. A few years back, I was doing a metal project and tried all kinds of basses. A Peavey T-40 sounded great isolated but it made the guitars sound like they were from the 70s lol. A Fender Jazz sounded good, and it worked, but there was something about G&L and Rays that were transparent in those heavier mixes and the bass could be finely tuned all kinds of ways without affecting the guitar wall...IMO and $.02
 
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#12
saucypebble said:
Hi all,
a couple years ago I switched from playing mainly blues and funk to heavier rock stuff and am still experimenting to get the perfect live sound. Recently went from my passiv J to a P which helped a lot.

Still, whenever I hear a recording (mostly studio, some live) and think "wow that is a killer sound", I go and check what basses they are playing. 80% it is a Stingray or similar. Some recent examples are Smooth by Santana and on the heavier side this one with an ATK: The thing my SR5 has going for it is 1) exceptional growl and 2) built in high pass that keeps it out of the kick drum. I had another bass player comment on my bass tone saying that it was never too loud but never got buried either. I also play an Ibanez ATK805 that does the StingRay tone really well.

In the heavier rock context I find P basses often blending in instead of cutting through. I really dislike the frizzy highs of Musicmans but hey, in the mix they are so amazing to my ears. Does that translate to live FOH sound or is it a studio sculpting thing? Is it the humbuckers,pickup position or the active electronics?

I had a G&L L2500 a while ago and remember being super happy with that live too.

Happy for any opinion, experience and/or comment:)
Click to expand...
 
#15
Windreaper said:
Frequency slotting. You typically want something a bit honky (like a Stingray) to stand out in a heavy rock/metal mix. Low mids are often heavily congested. Sans a Stingray, favoring the bridge pickup does the trick.

The only the only P-style pickup I like for those genres is the Delano PMVC FE because it delivers more clarity than a typical P. I actually slightly favor the Delano reverse P on my P/MM Sandberg because it gets that hollow P grind without sounding muddy.
Click to expand...

Agreed on this. My Warwick Corvette has a similar growly profile that absolutely rips through the mix. I love it, but I hate the neck profile and the string spacing. LOL.
 
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#17
Rib 13 said:
I find Stingrays and G&Ls sound great in heavy music mixes. The reasson I found from my own recordings is that the (ambiguous) Stingray and G&L L2K "sound/tone" don't color the guitars at all or very little. A few years back, I was doing a metal project and tried all kinds of basses. A Peavey T-40 sounded great isolated but it made the guitars sound like they were from the 70s lol. A Fender Jazz sounded good, and it worked, but there was something about G&L and Rays that were transparent in those heavier mixes and the bass could be finely tuned all kinds of ways without affecting the guitar wall...IMO and $.02
Click to expand...

G&L is on my GAS list...I would love to get one of these one day. I had a Stingray and regret selling it pretty much all the time.
 
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