I used to play a Stingray for about 6 to 8 months in my old band and despite the fact they are superb in terms of playability, I found it extremely difficult to maintain a consistent sound. Obviously the acoustics of any room you happen to be playing is a huge variable in this respect but I had have to spend a ridiculous amount of time trying to dial in a decent setting everytime I used the Stingray at practise or at a gig. One of the main problems I found was some of the lower register notes didn't resinate as much as the rest and no amount of tampering with EQ on both my amp and the instrument itself seemed to help. I had mine set up for heavy guage strings as I played in C#, G#, C#, F#. I played with a pick and went through a Boss ODB 3 into the dedicated active instument input on my Mesa 400+ head, which powered an Ampeg 8x10. I concluded that the seperate EQ's on the head, pedal and instrument collectively over-complicated everything and was probably the main reason for the lack of consistency in sound. Not only that but I don't really think Stingrays are really made for the style of music I play and are probably more suited to those who play with their fingers (ie. funk, jazz, etc). I would also add that due to their active circuitry they would probably be more at home with a solidstate amplifier instead of something with valves. I ended up selling it and bought a Fender USA jazz bass, which has yet to disappoint. A good example of the differences between the two is Joe from Fugazi. He used a Stingray for most of their earlier albums but then changed to a jazz from Red Medicine onwards, which I believe is a far superior instrument in serving their sound. My two cents.