I appreciate that you take stingray models that are, let’s say not perfect enough, so you can justify modding. I can’t mod my 2005 stingray because it’s the classic tone.
Another great series - thanks for doing this! There's not a lot of people doing side-by-side comparisons of different pickups on the same bass setup, as it's time and labor intensive to do. This is a real help to folks either looking to improve the sound of their current bass or considering getting a custom bass built.
Excellent and unexpected video Mr Lobster. Getting to listen to an assortment of boutique pickups and preamp is brilliant and very helpful as I look to spend money I don't have on equipment I don't need - but want!
Thank you for making helpful videos like this. Typically when you ask Stingray owners about replacement parts, they just give you the good ol boomer take "why would you want to change anything"
I think that is because when talking about EBMM Stingrays, most anything you do is going to be a side grade at best. Unless you are talking about the John East preamps.
@@57precision People like to tinker, I love the Stingray tone but different humbucker voicings are out there. Plus spare EBMM parts aren't always readily available
Excellent, EXCELLENT idea Lobster, thanks a big lot. Can't wait for the rest of the pickups to be tested. In my main bass (I set aside the Cort and made a custom bass with moveable pickups) I have a noiseless Nordstrand '51 Precision and the Nordstrand 4-coil MM. It's a beast but there's always room for improvement.
Thank you for making these videos. I’ve been wanting to see something like this for months. This will really help me decide on a pickup upgrade for my sub.
Absolutely loving your mod series, it's giving me the confidence to mod my redsub coliseum with darkglass tone capsule. I'd like to pick your brain about configuration please.
Excellent Crustation man, just what I wanted to see. I have a HB MJ 4-eb that needs a bridge pup and a better preamp. I don't want to spend all too much money on it. Funny thing about this bass is that is sounds dark but played it a few weeks ago in a band setting and it was kind of good.
Tomorrow I'm getting a Warmoth kit minus all the electronics so this is great. I will have 3 places for pots, 1 side-mount for the output jack. That doesn't leave must room but that DiMarzio will be great if I go with this preamp, which I most likely will since it is mostly solderless. I won't have a control plate, opting for rear-route so unless I want to drill another hole (don't want to), I guess my set up will be like yours: active only. Gonna be a big project for me.
Loving this series so far, Lobster! I was wondering, have you ever considered doing a video comparing the tonal differences of different magnet types in the same passive pickup? For instance taking a P pickup, and swapping out the pole pieces to see how the tone changes (all other construction variables remaining the same)? I saw something like that done on Darrell Braun Guitar’s channel a while back where he got A2, A3, A4, A5, A8 and Ceramic bar magnets and swapped them in the same pickup. Lots of tonal variation per magnet type. Would be cool to see if a similar comparison could be done on a bass.
Great video and great Rush 2112 shirt. But I have too say its the wrong shirt for the stingray pickup video. Geddy never played a Stingray. Don't recall Geddy ever mentioning MM basses. Was always curious about that. He doesn't mention them in his Big Beautiful Book of Bass either from what I remember. None the less good video. Thumbs up.
I think one of the main secret ingredients of the Stingray sound is missing here. There should be a 2.2 nF cap connected directly to the pickup between the pickup’s hot and ground wires. This trick was used on the original ebmm 3 band eq stingrays. It rolls off the glass-like highs and shifts the pickup’s resonance peak to somewhere around 3-4kHz.
As far as I know 250k pots are recommended to use with MM pickup. 500k shows up more high frequencies and we can hear how much shrill string noise is in this demo. Correct me if I'm wrong or that was in specs for this preamp, anyways great video!
You can try to make a hi cut roll-off in post production but I don't think this will be needed that much. It's up to you ofc and it still doesn't ruin value of the video! ;)
Looking more into it, some pickups prefer 500k, some prefer 250k. Stock stingray is 250k as you said. Fear not, the other pickups sound great with this pot, though one does sound a bit too bright because of this.
@@LowEndLobster You can make a comparision video with different value pots or their combinations like 250k and 500k in one wiring. Just another cheap way to fine-tune sound of the passive bass. I like the idea from this video with MM pickup in series wiring and 500k pot. Big and chunky mids + retained lively highs
Have you considered adding a Lakland LH3 system to a stingray? I've never seen it done, but they do offer the pickups out of the 44-94 series as stand-alone parts. Peace!
I personally would have added a football plate for side mounting the output jack and installed a passive tone with a coiltap as well as the active passive mini switch just to get the maximum amount of versatility out of it
When demonstrating, as a baseline, suggest that all controls are at 100% full on, then 50%, then off before you demonstrate EQ of jump around between series \ parallel. Keep the audience in mind. Thx for the review.
Very cool video idea LEL .For a long time there has been quite a few pickup choices for the Stingray. Another cool pickup is "Howard Ulyate pickups".. (His website is terrible though).
My SUB did not have the 4 conductor option and had to replace pickup. This sounds great in parallel and the factory would fix so many issues with this bass if they made this the stock option.
Great question Chance. Yes! It's stock wired in parallel with a separate vol for each coil. You'd probably lose the V/V functionality with a series/paralllel, but TBH doing Vol/Switch/Tone would be a solid setup for that bass.
Hi, Lobster! I have a Rogue Violin Bass that I want to replace the pickups but it seems like there are virtually no people who make replacements/modifications for Hofner-esque pickups that I could find. Do you think you could make a video similar to this for violin basses? (If possible?)
She sounded amazing!!! Wow!! Any plans for a 5er Ray?!? Would love to see you mod a 5 string! It had such a killer classic stingray tone! As always great job and video lobb!!
Of all the mods you've done on Ray4 SUB, what is in your opinion the best value upgrade? What mod gave the most improvement for the lowest cost? What is the easiest mod for a beginner to perform?
how do I remove the string noise without turning down my gain/volume? I got the same levels in the video. As soon as I press the string, there is this noise, like the ones shown in the demo.
The Ray4 stock pickup (in parallel) sounds as good as the Seymour Duncan SMB-4a. It also sounds good without an preamp. ua-cam.com/video/fVKgGUs8gY0/v-deo.html
I appreciate that you take stingray models that are, let’s say not perfect enough, so you can justify modding. I can’t mod my 2005 stingray because it’s the classic tone.
Another great series - thanks for doing this! There's not a lot of people doing side-by-side comparisons of different pickups on the same bass setup, as it's time and labor intensive to do. This is a real help to folks either looking to improve the sound of their current bass or considering getting a custom bass built.
Excellent and unexpected video Mr Lobster. Getting to listen to an assortment of boutique pickups and preamp is brilliant and very helpful as I look to spend money I don't have on equipment I don't need - but want!
Can't wait to hear all the other pickups!
Thank you for making helpful videos like this. Typically when you ask Stingray owners about replacement parts, they just give you the good ol boomer take "why would you want to change anything"
I think that is because when talking about EBMM Stingrays, most anything you do is going to be a side grade at best. Unless you are talking about the John East preamps.
@@57precision People like to tinker, I love the Stingray tone but different humbucker voicings are out there. Plus spare EBMM parts aren't always readily available
Excellent, EXCELLENT idea Lobster, thanks a big lot. Can't wait for the rest of the pickups to be tested. In my main bass (I set aside the Cort and made a custom bass with moveable pickups) I have a noiseless Nordstrand '51 Precision and the Nordstrand 4-coil MM. It's a beast but there's always room for improvement.
Best sounding Stingray i've ever heard..makes a big difference
Thank you for making these videos. I’ve been wanting to see something like this for months. This will really help me decide on a pickup upgrade for my sub.
Series/parallel and the narrower “Jazz bass” neck width, is why I love the Sterling more.
Absolutely loving your mod series, it's giving me the confidence to mod my redsub coliseum with darkglass tone capsule. I'd like to pick your brain about configuration please.
Awesome shirt. I knew you had to be a rush fan!
This is the content we've been waiting for.
Excellent Crustation man, just what I wanted to see. I have a HB MJ 4-eb that needs a bridge pup and a better preamp. I don't want to spend all too much money on it. Funny thing about this bass is that is sounds dark but played it a few weeks ago in a band setting and it was kind of good.
Tomorrow I'm getting a Warmoth kit minus all the electronics so this is great. I will have 3 places for pots, 1 side-mount for the output jack. That doesn't leave must room but that DiMarzio will be great if I go with this preamp, which I most likely will since it is mostly solderless. I won't have a control plate, opting for rear-route so unless I want to drill another hole (don't want to), I guess my set up will be like yours: active only. Gonna be a big project for me.
Trickfish sounds great!
Don't mind me, I'm just here for the badass shirt!!! Very nice video!!!
Trickfish IPA preamp is Fantastic!
Loving this series so far, Lobster!
I was wondering, have you ever considered doing a video comparing the tonal differences of different magnet types in the same passive pickup? For instance taking a P pickup, and swapping out the pole pieces to see how the tone changes (all other construction variables remaining the same)? I saw something like that done on Darrell Braun Guitar’s channel a while back where he got A2, A3, A4, A5, A8 and Ceramic bar magnets and swapped them in the same pickup. Lots of tonal variation per magnet type. Would be cool to see if a similar comparison could be done on a bass.
I can't wait to see the comparisons 🥳
Great video and great Rush 2112 shirt. But I have too say its the wrong shirt for the stingray pickup video. Geddy never played a Stingray. Don't recall Geddy ever mentioning MM basses. Was always curious about that. He doesn't mention them in his Big Beautiful Book of Bass either from what I remember.
None the less good video. Thumbs up.
lobster the stingray guru!
Great lobster, I really love your SUB mods !!
that really is a Ultimate guide👍
Those big blademans are fantastic! Have a maruszczyk on order with 2 of those beasts in it.
Been patiently waiting for those albridge MM style bridges to come back in stock.
I love em.
I think one of the main secret ingredients of the Stingray sound is missing here. There should be a 2.2 nF cap connected directly to the pickup between the pickup’s hot and ground wires. This trick was used on the original ebmm 3 band eq stingrays. It rolls off the glass-like highs and shifts the pickup’s resonance peak to somewhere around 3-4kHz.
Thanks for this little tidbit of info! Very helpful!
@@LowEndLobster btw RobbieK (Rob Mods) has a lot of knowledge on it.
As far as I know 250k pots are recommended to use with MM pickup. 500k shows up more high frequencies and we can hear how much shrill string noise is in this demo. Correct me if I'm wrong or that was in specs for this preamp, anyways great video!
I think you might be right, and I see DiMarzio makes a 250k stack... Oof :( hahaha oh well, all the content is coming with 500k pots.
@@LowEndLobster No problem, that's a subtle difference though
You can try to make a hi cut roll-off in post production but I don't think this will be needed that much. It's up to you ofc and it still doesn't ruin value of the video! ;)
Looking more into it, some pickups prefer 500k, some prefer 250k. Stock stingray is 250k as you said. Fear not, the other pickups sound great with this pot, though one does sound a bit too bright because of this.
@@LowEndLobster You can make a comparision video with different value pots or their combinations like 250k and 500k in one wiring. Just another cheap way to fine-tune sound of the passive bass. I like the idea from this video with MM pickup in series wiring and 500k pot. Big and chunky mids + retained lively highs
Have you considered adding a Lakland LH3 system to a stingray? I've never seen it done, but they do offer the pickups out of the 44-94 series as stand-alone parts.
Peace!
I personally would have added a football plate for side mounting the output jack and installed a passive tone with a coiltap as well as the active passive mini switch just to get the maximum amount of versatility out of it
This was my first bass, and I’ve just been wanting to put a new pickup in it!
Great vidéo. What is that bridge? Rétrofit ? No need to drill new hole, fit originals holes?
Albridge, I had a separate video that was going to go before this that I had to cut because there's no room
When demonstrating, as a baseline, suggest that all controls are at 100% full on, then 50%, then off before you demonstrate EQ of jump around between series \ parallel. Keep the audience in mind. Thx for the review.
Who the hell leaves an active preamp at 100%?
Very cool video idea LEL .For a long time there has been quite a few pickup choices for the Stingray. Another cool pickup is "Howard Ulyate pickups".. (His website is terrible though).
Congrats!! you passed 30K.
My SUB did not have the 4 conductor option and had to replace pickup. This sounds great in parallel and the factory would fix so many issues with this bass if they made this the stock option.
Catchy bassline!
I would have been tempted to use some sort of quick connector for the pickup connections to the volume pot.
Awesome. Quick question? Can my Harley Benton MB-4 stock pickup be ran in series/parallel? I was wanting to buy the DiMarzio push/pull pot.
Great question Chance. Yes! It's stock wired in parallel with a separate vol for each coil. You'd probably lose the V/V functionality with a series/paralllel, but TBH doing Vol/Switch/Tone would be a solid setup for that bass.
@@LowEndLobster Awesome! Thanks for the quick response. Congratulations on 30k subs!
I missed the point on Jonny knobs approval... I usually watch his videos. Can't remember if you are referring to one of them.
What's the bridge on the bass? Did I miss that episode?? Looking for a plug&play swap-out for mine...
Hi, Lobster! I have a Rogue Violin Bass that I want to replace the pickups but it seems like there are virtually no people who make replacements/modifications for Hofner-esque pickups that I could find. Do you think you could make a video similar to this for violin basses? (If possible?)
Is this the original Bridge or already modified?
Albridge bridge... I had to cut that video because MODcember is so saturated with content lol.
Yes I'm do excited for this!! I want to mod my stingray! :) 🤘🏻
Thanks Zachary! This is going to be a great week :)
It sounds much better with the mids lower and the bass and treble boosted, I'm not a big fan of mids anyway. It does sound great though.
She sounded amazing!!! Wow!! Any plans for a 5er Ray?!? Would love to see you mod a 5 string! It had such a killer classic stingray tone! As always great job and video lobb!!
After trying all these pups, would you swap out the pickup on an American stingray? If so, which one?
I did! Vid is coming, you'll have to see which one I picked ;P. What's your guess?
I'm meh over MM style, but The Turner Gordo Solo pickup is incredible.
Of all the mods you've done on Ray4 SUB, what is in your opinion the best value upgrade? What mod gave the most improvement for the lowest cost? What is the easiest mod for a beginner to perform?
Have you ever tried Seymour Duncan SMB-4A? Really enjoying these mod vids, thanks Lobster
how do I remove the string noise without turning down my gain/volume? I got the same levels in the video. As soon as I press the string, there is this noise, like the ones shown in the demo.
It's the pickup, it really picks up a LOT of string noise. You'll see all this week with the other pickups how different and less noisy they are.
Oh yeah.
running to check if my ray 4 has 4 wires 🏃🏿♂️💨 brb
K N O B S
Hmmm...a lobster installing a fish in a stingray
Shame you don't get a nice free bottle of IPA, with the pre-amp to celebrate finishing the build🍺
Route the entire body so you can put all the pickups in. 👍
Hmmm.. A Science Asylum fan.
The Ray4 stock pickup (in parallel) sounds as good as the Seymour Duncan SMB-4a. It also sounds good without an preamp.
ua-cam.com/video/fVKgGUs8gY0/v-deo.html
'Bass line base-lines'.