Ok, so give me a reason why a Stingray.....

[drTStingray]

And then there are USA Sub Sterlings (for confused newcomers - these are not the Sterling by Musicman Sub range) - very very rare but I seem to recall they have a 3 band EQ but no coil selector switch and the same fit and finish as the Sub 4 - don't think I've ever seen one apart from in photos or on EBay. Is it possible these have the standard Sterling ceramic series wired pick up?

McNach thanks for clarifying yours - and I had forgotten the Sub 4 Ray has the 2 band EQ so is no doubt nice with a series wired pick up. Does anyone remember how much these retailed for? I seem to remember the old Bass Cellar having a job lot of them at around £400 apiece?

They seem to be on the secondhand market for just under that now!

Edited December 25, 2013 by drTStingray

[DiMarco]

The naming scheme used is very confusing.
I own a 1998 USA Music Man Sterling bass which has a 3 way pickup mode switch and 3 band EQ. Very nice bass with huuuge low end and snap.

[dlloyd]

[quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1387962143' post='2317496']
And then there are USA Sub Sterlings (for confused newcomers - these are not the Sterling by Musicman Sub range) - very very rare but I seem to recall they have a 3 band EQ but no coil selector switch and the same fit and finish as the Sub 4 - don't think I've ever seen one apart from in photos or on EBay. Is it possible these have the standard Sterling ceramic series wired pick up?
[/quote]

I'm not sure of the magnets in the SUB Sterling, but the pickup as a whole isn't the same as the Sterling. The regular Sterling pickup is ceramic with an additional phantom coil for coil splitting. The SUB Sterling pickup doesn't have this feature.

As to whether it's ceramic or alnico, I would have thought it more likely that they would have stuck to the already existing alnico SUB pickup rather than building a new model, but who knows?