Musicman / Stingray help please

[ead]

I'm sure that I have seen a thread on here that explains the pecking order of Stingrays, Sterlings, SUBs etc but I can't seem to find it. Could anybody please point me in the right direction?

Cheers

[NJE]

It gets confusing as there are some double ups name wise but I will have a bash:

MusicMan Stingray - USA Made top of the range (apart from ball family reserve and limited models)
'Sterling by MusicMan' - These are the next level down in terms of cost, really good basses made in the far east as far as I know.
MusicMan Sterling - A USA made bass similar to the Stingray but with slimmer neck and smaller body and slightly different pickup.
MusicMan SUB - A now discontinued USA made 'budget' Stingray with textured body finish, black painted necks with USA electronics. Basically a normal stingray with no polished finish and no wood on show.
S.U.B Series - The cheapest of the far east made budget MusicMan basses.

[ead]

Cheers NJE, really helpful.

[cloudburst]

The MusicMan Sterling does not fit in this list.
And to put it beneath the 'Sterling by MusicMan' entries makes no sense at all.
The Sterling is a different instrument to the StingRay - smaller body, thinner neck, different electronics and actually more expensive than the StingRay, so I don't know what that does to your 'pecking order'.

In any case - pecking order schmecking order - I was playing an Ibanez bass in a store this afternoon and for about £250 it played far better than many £1000+ instruments I've played - and on a par with my US MusicMan instruments!

CB

Edited April 23, 2013 by cloudburst

[Black Coffee]

[quote name='cloudburst' timestamp='1366487484' post='2053216']
The MusicMan Sterling does not fit in this list.
And to put it beneath the 'Sterling by MusicMan' entries makes no sense at all.
The Sterling is a different instrument to the StingRay - smaller body, thinner neck, different electronics and actually more expensive than the StringRay, so I don't know what that does to your 'pecking order'.

In any case - pecking order schmecking order - I was playing an Ibanez bass in a store this afternoon and for about £250 it played far better than many £1000+ instruments I've played.

CB
[/quote]

What Ibanez model was it ?? If you don't mind.

[cloudburst]

[quote name='bassman344' timestamp='1366487915' post='2053223']
What Ibanez model was it ?? If you don't mind.
[/quote]

I think it was an SR300.

CB

[Lfalex v1.1]

And try an Ibanez ATK if you can find one.
Very 'Ray-esque for a lot less money..

[mike257]

Proper Stingrays are wonderful basses. The discontinued USA made SUB models are great though and can occasionally be had for a steal second hand. I tried one out shortly after I first bought my Musicman and was a little shocked at how close it came!

[wally8]

I agree re the USA sterlings. They were more expensive that the standard stingrays and head and shoulders above the sterling by musicman. They sorta decided to bring out a musicman "jazz" with a slimmer neck than the stingray and gave more pickup sound options with the 3 way switch, which was incorporated in the stingray 5.

If you want a stingray sound with a little more sound variety and prefer the slimmer jazz neck (and can afford it) go for the usa sterling. They are wonderful. i love mine and would never swap it with anything

ps - the usa sterlings dont seem to hold their value very well 2nd hand. a few have been sold on here around the £600 mark which is a steal for a bass back in the day of around £1400 ish +

Edited April 23, 2013 by wally8

[Myke]

The Ernie Ball Musicman basses are fantastic. I played one my tutor has and it was gorgeous!

[Kobra11]

Dont get 'Sterling by Musicman' and 'Musicman Sterling' mixed up and you'll be alright

[ead]

They don't make it easy for the average Joe, do they

[Sean]

[quote name='ead' timestamp='1366751553' post='2056977']
They don't make it easy for the average Joe, do they
[/quote]

D'uh!
Obviously they do. It's a big company with a big marketing budget that knows exactly what it's doing and are super savvy to forums and how they work as well as a thorough understanding of sub-branding. As someone who is a marketing and product management specialist I see that they are very calculating, clever and set a great precedent. Good on them but please don't be so naive.

[ead]

Oh, sorry, pardon me for daring to express an opinion.

However as I'm the punter not the marketing department I demand the right not to be confused. Many books have been written about marketing, most of them cheque books.

[hamfist]

[quote name='ead' timestamp='1366753395' post='2057024']
Oh, sorry, pardon me for daring to express an opinion.
[/quote]

I suspect that Sean's tongue was well and truly stuffed deep into his cheek for his comment.

Edited April 24, 2013 by hamfist

[ead]

[quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1366780402' post='2057153']
I suspect that Sean's tongue was well and truly stuffed deep into his cheek for his comment.
[/quote]

OK fair enough, toys back in pram now. Didn't read that way though imho.

[charic]

[quote name='ead' timestamp='1366785354' post='2057173']
OK fair enough, toys back in pram now. Didn't read that way though imho.
[/quote]

This was the give-away for me

[quote name='Sean' timestamp='1366752467' post='2057003']
D'uh!
Obviously they do. It's a big company with a big marketing budget that knows exactly what it's doing and are [b]super savvy to forums [/b]and how they work as well as a thorough understanding of sub-branding. As someone who is a marketing and product management specialist I see that they are very calculating, clever and set a great precedent. Good on them but please don't be so naive.
[/quote]