That was well written, @Stando . . . 
Cheers, Joe
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Only a few more bits 
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Made me laugh lol
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Yeah, I even found some other differences.
There is another neck that is in between what I call the Stingray (1.6875 at nut) neck and Sterling or SLO neck (1.5" at nut), and for lack of any reason not to, I am gonna call it the Old Smoothie neck, it is 1.625 at the nut.
Another reason I will call it the Old Smoothie is because, it is a model that is very distinct from other StingRay models.
History is it was the #26 in the R&D of Stingrays, and was made for and tested pretty exclusively buy Sterling Ball. they do BFR Old Smoothies once in a while, they did it for the 20th and 40th anniversary Stingray’s.
aside that, there is very noticeable feature on these basses. the first time I saw one, and noticed it, it was for sale on Offer Up as a 40th Anniversary made in 2017 for $1500. I thought in the condition it was in which was super Mint to brand new, with the OHSC for only $1500. That seemed like a steal to me, and since it had this one feature, I almost thought it was a fake, but after researching a little, I found it to be anatomically correct for this model of stingray. The feature requires a special pick guard, so there are Old Smoothie Pick Gurads for sale on sites like Reverb.
The Old Smoothie uses a pick up that looks like a 5 string pick up, and although they say it is a custom wound pick up, I am betting it is just a 5 string pick up. The pick up is longer, thus the custom pick guard, and the 10 poles (5 sets) are on either side of each string instead of directly under it.
I believe it iwas Originally a 2 band eq andI have read somewhere that the current Sterling Ray24CA was made as a tribute to the Old Smoothie, however, the pick up is just a standard Ray 4 string pick up. i could be wrong with some of the Old Smoothie facts, but the pick up is a big difference on it.
It also has, what was historically correct for the time, that Mute Bridge. This one does not have the little foam mute blocks loaded in the bridge, but it has the clamps for it. I will find a picture of the mute bridge with the blocks.
Here is an example on a BEAUTIFUL 1994 Trans Blue EBMM Stingray 4H.
This one has the foam MUTE blocks under the E,A and D strings, there is an open space under the G string, probably just for the photos so you can see it better.
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interesting. this 5-string pickup on a 4-string bass must bring a less “direct” attack. the original PB (single coil / '51 design) was hard to manage regarding dynamics, and that’s the reason why Leo Fender made the JB and PB (split coil / '57 design) pickups this way, with two poles on each side of each string.
this should sound a bit less punchy (/agressive), and more woofy (/deep), in theory. anyway it’s funny and I like how it looks.
otherwise, the 2-band and the 3-band MM preamps sound different, that’s not at all the same circuitry.
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Wow what a brilliant write up! I honestly didn’t know any of that and you have sent me on a deep google dive. I only got curious about the stingray after I realised how many bass players play them from the bands I listen to and wanted to experiment a bit since I got the bug again.
The five pickup on a four looks really interesting and aftermarket pickups and eq is something that I’m looking to maybe add to the hornet in the near future. Although what I would really like atm,along some actual time to play, is a black control panel instead of the chrome…and maybe a black bridge too.
Thank you again and I’m of to google to find out a bit more about the stingray ,sterling and the bongo( of which I had no clue).
Awesome post!
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Hey guys,
Here’s my Harley Benton P bass. I changed the pickups for some Wilkinson’s and all good. Sods law I signed up for the B2B course and one of the wires on jack has come loose so I need to get the soldering iron out !!!
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Wow. Great collection. How do you decide which one to play
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I bought a Peavey Cirrus and was happy to see Josh also plays one! One of my favorite bass players, John Taylor of Duran Duran, plays them as well, which was one reason I got one.
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I’m jealous 
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Dayyy-ummm @robertcoble68 , that’s beautiful. I am a lover of natural finishes, and that is a lovely instrument 
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Very nice!
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Yeah, I prefer the natural wood finish over a painted finish.
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This is my first and only bass: Squier Affinity Precision Bass PJ.
I was totally clueless about what makes a good bass and how it’s supposed to sound and during the lockdown, there wasn’t much chance to go and try some out. This one came in a pack with an amp and I just loved the look of it, the reviews were really good for the price, so I just went for it. I have no regrets because as soon as I had it unpacked I felt like we’re a very good fit and would become great friends.
Now Josh taught me that I should get a proper setup and I actually started looking more into the details of all the parts and how it works. I can’t wait for my tools to arrive and getting even more fun out of it. 
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Great bass with which to start.
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Nice looking bass, @Regina
I have the exact same model in sunburst. They set up quite nicely.
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