Hi Deano here,
I mentioned before about what got me hooked on Stingrays, however, I thought I'd have a chat about my experience with Stingray Basses. See I have a couple of them. My first Stingray was a 91 Ernie Ball. A nice orange number with a great sound. I mentioned to you that one of the reasons I got into Stingrays was that I liked "Flee's" Bass playing and his sound.
It was about a year or so later that I found my gem. And I still can't believe the guy was going to sell her. It was a classic case of the girlfriend wanting to settle down and the "other woman" (a classic vintage sunburst pre Ernie Ball Stingray) had to go.
A friend of a friend told me about Danny's dilemma. Now, most of us muso types are always strapped for cash, and to swoop in and pick up a bargain when they present themselves can be challenging. In my case the timing couldn't have been more perfect.
You see, I was in a long distance relationship. My girlfriend lived in Vancouver Canada, and I lived on the Gold Coast of Australia. I had saved up enough money for an airfare to visit her, but not quite enough to survive once I arrived. To cut a long story short... I used the cash reserved for the airfare to buy the Stingray. Yeh, insane or what... but it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. What about the girlfriend?
My girlfriend was a total champion about it... So much so that, we are still together 16 years later.
I said all that to say this... The old original Stingray has an awesome sound. It is far richer and has a much fatter bottom end. Sure it only has the two tone adjustments but there is just something wonderful about the instrument. The through the body strings seem to ad a more earthy tone too.
Obviously this instrument became my main one. I used it for nearly all of my recording sessions, (except for when a Jazz Bass sound was required). Other musicians (keyboard dudes) have sampled the sound of my bass and used it in recordings of their own.
Now, I'm not bagging the Ernie Ball Bass. They are awesome, but if you can find an old one, and it sounds cool, do yourself a massive favor and buy it.
Deano