Sterling by Musicman Ray 34 Options

[OutToPlayJazz]

Well, here it is - A freshly minted Stingray not from California, but Indonesia. Well, it passed through the American factory on it's way over here for inspection & setup, all of which are fine for an off the peg instrument, but bear in mind that this is no OLP.

Now we all know the OLP basses had their ups and downs. Some were fab (especially the last of run MM22/23 models with their twin humbuckers and active preamps) and some were dogs. But at the end of the day, the range was never priced any higher than Squier territory. These new "Sterling by MusicMan" basses are in a different league altogether. The range starts at around £550 (rrp) for the SB-14 basswood "Sterling" model & the Ray 34 we're dealing with here (essentially a standard swamp ash bodied Stingray) is priced around £599. All Sterling by MM basses are supplied in a very nice tapered oblong, thickly padded & fur lined gigbag with the Sterling logo on the front pocket.

So these basses aren't exactly cheap like their forebears, but instead fall squarely into the Fender MIM price bracket (a new MIM Jazz retails at over £600 these days!) So the expected quality is going to have to be very good & doesn't disappoint. Quality, fit & finish & playability are all more comparable to Skyline series Laklands & Tribute series G&L's.

Sterling is an official MusicMan brand and not an instrument "made under licence" like the old OLP (Officially Licensed Product), so essentially these instruments are MusicMan basses made in another location where labour rates are obviously cheaper.



The bass we have here is the aforementioned Ray 34. Essentially a Stingray. The differences between this and the American version are minimal and don't seem to make a whole lot of difference to the overall instrument. Finish is a lustrous thick gloss black for the body & headstock, with a nicely figured rosewood fingerboard & pleasantly figured maple neck. The back of the headstock is glossed nicely with a neat line dividing this finish from the satin finish neck. The neck is smooth with good edges & never feels rough to the touch.







Fretwork is smooth and excellent. I swapped over to some 45-105 DR Sunbeams for test settings & dropped the action to a very low setting and no buzz or flat spots presented themselves at all. It's also possible to run the neck almost straight, with just the smallest bit of relief to it. The neck pocket fit is excellent & sports a six-bolt neck plate for added stability.

Playing wise, this instrument sounds like a Stingray! What else did you expect? The 3-band eq is extremely powerful, giving a huge range of tones & everything from thumping lows to seriously sizzling highs. I find the best overall setting is just a little added treble, full bass boost & the mid control in the centre detent. This gives a really nice compromise sound with plenty of bass & just that bit of sparkle on the top. Having the mid control centred is no hardship, though. There's still plenty of mid presence in this position. Overall output is huge and by no means is this an underpowered preamp or pickup.

Even on such thick strings, with the action down low, there's still plenty of speed and sparkle to be had out of the Ray 34 & all the traditional Stingray sounds we know and love, the rasping top end, amazingly clear slap sound & the huge thump/growl these basses are known for.

All in all, this new "Sterling" bass looks like a MM Stingray. It plays like a MM Stingray & it sounds like a MM Stingray. They just happened to make it in a different factory!





This post has been edited by OutToPlayJazz: Oct 23 2009, 04:43 PM

[jezzaboy]

Very nice. I like the black headstock with the white writing. If I didn`t have the real thing I would definatley be looking at one of these. Glad to hear that the quality is on a par with the overpriced Lakland`s. If EB can do these for £600 why can`t Lakland.

Jez

[bigjohn]

Nice.

Are they doing maple as well as rosewood?

[OutToPlayJazz]

Yes, you can have maple fingerboards on all of the "Ray" models. Only the SB-14 is rosewood only.

[doctor_of_the_ba...]

Rich!

You should start a bass magazine mate - another superb review!

Well done Brother.

Nick

[MB1]

MB1.
...Whos Musicman Ray?
...and does he believe in Black Man Ray?
Sorry! I'll Get me Coat!

...China Crisis!.....Whatever happened to?

Great Review Rich!

This post has been edited by MB1: Oct 18 2009, 09:37 PM

[Wil]

Oh lord. GAS. For a bass.

I thought I was a reformed bassist!

[OutToPlayJazz]

Oh lord. GAS. For a bass.

I thought I was a reformed bassist!

Heh! I know what you mean - It's a terrible addiction/affliction!

[ezbass]

I've demoed one of these bad boys and although the 5 string was very good, it was not as good as my old 'Ray5, but I wouldn't expect it to be. However, I thought the 4 string was actually better sounding than my old 3 band 4 string 'Ray and now I'm very much in the market for one of those in honeyburst

[GreeneKing]

MB1.
...Whos Musicman Ray?
...and does he believe in Black Man Ray?
Sorry! I'll Get me Coat!

...China Crisis!.....Whatever happened to?

Great Review Rich!

Nice review Rich, enjoyable reading.

MB1 you are completely potty!

Enjoying the G&L?

Peter

[dub_junkie]

what a great looking bass! I'm keen on trying out an SB14 myself after seeing Ed Friedlands video

afaik they are shipped to California for final set up/inspection but not at the ebmm factory but at Praxis Music in Orange County

[OutToPlayJazz]

Thanks for the info, DJ. However they do it all, the quality is easily up to Lakland Skyline/G&L Tribute standard. Huge differential in pricing on these as well. Looked on Thomann last night & they want over £800 for the same bass! Glad I paid significantly under 5!

Update: I've now set it up on 40-100 DR Fatbeams. Lovely bendability now with massive bottom end shove as well as the usual top end sparkle. These are rapidly becoming my favourite strings for headed basses.

[teaser360]

This is the second bass i have purchased from Rich this year, I must say the first a classic vibes 60s precision was probabally the best bass ive ever owned, and to this day i regretted selling her. Rich dropped this of for me on Sunday morning and i still havnt put her down, this is truly a magnificent bass, THIS IS THE ONE FOR ME, thanks rich
YOU ARE A LEGEND!

[sk8]

Thanks for the info, DJ. However they do it all, the quality is easily up to Lakland Skyline/G&L Tribute standard. Huge differential in pricing on these as well. Looked on Thomann last night & they want over £800 for the same bass! Glad I paid significantly under 5!

Update: I've now set it up on 40-100 DR Fatbeams. Lovely bendability now with massive bottom end shove as well as the usual top end sparkle. These are rapidly becoming my favourite strings for headed basses.

where did you get yours from?

[thedontcarebear]

Soundslive has them for £519.

[Protium]

Oh man, I was tempted by one of these on eBay when they first came out but lack of reviews put me off - they were priced at £340

[thedontcarebear]

Are you sure? They haven't been around for long.

[Moos3h]

Played one of these today and have to say I wasn't particularly blown away.

The single thing that irked me most about the build, however (and you could see this as a good thing, as I was being picky) is that ridiculous line between the glossy headstock and matte finished neck.

That just looks poor, and feels weird to the touch too.

I think if I were in the market for a 'ray, there's no way I'd get one of these when for a couple of hundred more (sometimes slightly less), a slightly battered 2nd hand example could be had.

They aren't bad instruments, far from it, but they don't do enough to shine at the price they retail for in my opinion.

Cheers,
James

[OutToPlayJazz]

That's an interesting viewpoint, James. Why is that so different from the MusicMan finish change between headstock and neck, which on my Stingray 5 is satin to bare wood? Admittedly on my Stingray piezo, there's no divider as such, as the neck has been refinished in satin lacquer.

[martthebass]

That's an interesting viewpoint, James. Why is that so different from the MusicMan finish change between headstock and neck, which on my Stingray 5 is satin to bare wood? Admittedly on my Stingray piezo, there's no divider as such, as the neck has been refinished in satin lacquer.

It's the price you pay for the body finished headstock Rich. My SLO Ray5 with body coloured HS was the same as the Ray34 in this respect.