tom1946 Posted February 6, 2015 Posted February 6, 2015 (edited) Dunno if this has been done but never mind. I recently tried out a black Musicman that was almost a grand and didn't buy it so I wondered how much different the SUB 4 would be. Same setup ie' black with a maple board. I ordered this from Musik Produktiv in Germany and it arrived today, excellent service. It was playable out of the box but I like a very low action so I gave the neck a quarter turn and dropped the saddles a tad (might have been a midges?) The result is a powerful sound but the preamp is not the best. It now has a very low choke and rattle free action. Only other thing was the fret edges which were quite rough in places so I spent time filing them because the rest of the bass was so good it's a keeper. Apart from the bits mentioned there's not £800 of difference imo. Have I read somewhere that I can buy a new active preamp for this that'll improve it? Oh and the cost of this loveliness? [center][size=8]£225[/size][/center] [center][size=8][size=4]delivered free.[/size][/size][/center] [center][size=8][size=4]Pics:[/size][/size][/center] [url="http://s185.photobucket.com/user/Peasmold/media/IMG_0315_zps5225a0b3.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s185.photobucket.com/user/Peasmold/media/IMG_0316_zps03de80eb.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s185.photobucket.com/user/Peasmold/media/IMG_0317_zpsc4d40ec1.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s185.photobucket.com/user/Peasmold/media/IMG_0318_zps86aee0c5.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s185.photobucket.com/user/Peasmold/media/IMG_0320_zps24525eb9.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s185.photobucket.com/user/Peasmold/media/IMG_0321_zpsa4b3c04f.jpg.html"][/url] Hope y'all happy now Edited February 10, 2015 by tom1946 Quote
Raslee Posted February 6, 2015 Posted February 6, 2015 Great basses aren't they? I changed my preamp for the retro vibe Stinger (basically a pre EB clone) £40 ish and I'm happy. Great thin neck too...bargain at £225 Quote
Bassman Sam Posted February 6, 2015 Posted February 6, 2015 Come on Tom, you know the score. Pictures please. Quote
Funky Dunky Posted February 6, 2015 Posted February 6, 2015 I got one from Thomann in Trans Blue Satin, and after a silly bit of deliberating (was almost going to send it back and get a 5 instead) I have opted to keep it. I will have a NBD thread up, with pics, as soon as poss. Congrats on the bass, and the astounding price dude! Quote
dumelow Posted February 6, 2015 Posted February 6, 2015 forgive me if im being daft but what does NBD stand for? Any linkage? Quote
Bassman Sam Posted February 6, 2015 Posted February 6, 2015 [quote name='dumelow' timestamp='1423258154' post='2683002'] forgive me if im being daft but what does NBD stand for? Any linkage? [/quote] NBD=New Bass Day. Quote
tom1946 Posted February 7, 2015 Author Posted February 7, 2015 [quote name='Bassman Sam' timestamp='1423256227' post='2682977'] Come on Tom, you know the score. Pictures please. [/quote] oops, thought I'd got away with that I'll take some today. Is the stinger a straight swap Raslee? Quote
Raslee Posted February 7, 2015 Posted February 7, 2015 (edited) [quote name='tom1946' timestamp='1423290965' post='2683145'] Is the stinger a straight swap Raslee? [/quote] Yes, just solder the pick up , connect the battery wires, and that's it Edited February 7, 2015 by Raslee Quote
ColinB Posted February 7, 2015 Posted February 7, 2015 Congrats - I've got one of these and they're great basses. I did the volume fix described towards the bottom of [url="http://www.talkbass.com/threads/sterling-by-music-man-sub-ray4-and-ray5.871370/page-17"]this[/url] thread page - starting at post #340. It made a big difference and I haven't felt the need for the stinger pre-amp. However - I swapped the Pick-up for a GFS MM pro plus ([url="http://www.guitarfetish.com/GFS-MM-Pro-Plus-Alnico-Music-Man-style-pickup-INCREDIBLE-tone_p_323.html"]here[/url]) and I felt that was a big improvement. I'll post up some piccies of mine next week now I've got it in it's final form. Quote
tom1946 Posted February 7, 2015 Author Posted February 7, 2015 Thanks for the advice guys, it is hellish hot! volume & gain down by half so I've ordered the stinger pre-amp to hopefully tame it a bit..... Quote
Funky Dunky Posted February 7, 2015 Posted February 7, 2015 Can any of you fine gentlemen post soundclips to your modded Subs if you have the means, please? I'm interested in the Stinger but I dunno how much a shop would take to swap the preamps. Would love to hear it to hear if the difference is worth the expense. Quote
ColinB Posted February 8, 2015 Posted February 8, 2015 No real way of posting any meaning full sound clips, I'm afraid. The expense of the volume mod is just a 25K log pot and, with the GFS pick-up, I don't feel the need to upgrade to a stinger pre-amp. The pre-amp before the mod was useless. Quote
Funky Dunky Posted February 8, 2015 Posted February 8, 2015 Colin, did the mod alter the tone in any way? Quote
ColinB Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 [quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1423436313' post='2684854'] Colin, did the mod alter the tone in any way? [/quote] It made the volume pot far more useable and made the tone 'less harsh' to my ears. I don't know if you've seen [url="http://www.talkbass.com/threads/sterling-by-music-man-sub-ray4-and-ray5-part-2.1039748/page-19#post-16936704"]this[/url], but it contains quite a bit of info about various mods and replacements. Quote
Funky Dunky Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 (edited) Thanks Colin, some good reading there. If I was to mod my Sub, I think I'd plump for this as I think it sounds absolutely awesome: http://youtu.be/WwsDqprJzio Edited February 9, 2015 by Funky Dunky Quote
ColinB Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 [quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1423473693' post='2685058'] Thanks Colin, some good reading there. If I was to mod my Sub, I think I'd plump for this as I think it sounds absolutely awesome: [/quote] mmmm - It'd be good if he held onto a note for longer than a millisecond so one could hear the tone 'develop'! Quote
Funky Dunky Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 (edited) That's got the Aguilar preamp mod as well as the pickup. That's very close to the tone I crave. The Ag pickup comes in at around £90 but goodness knows how much the preamp is. I think, however, I may do this upgrade to my Sub and keep it forever :-). Edited February 9, 2015 by Funky Dunky Quote
ColinB Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 [quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1423499855' post='2685566'] That's got the Aguilar preamp mod as well as the pickup. That's very close to the tone I crave. The Ag pickup comes in at around £90 but goodness knows how much the preamp is. I think, however, I may do this upgrade to my Sub and keep it forever :-). [/quote] The Ag pre-amps seem to start at about $170 [url="http://www.bestbassgear.com/aguilar-preamp.htm"]here[/url], depending on the configuration you want. Quote
Funky Dunky Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 That's pretty steep, but I guess I only paid £250 for the bass and it's not bad if it makes it sound like a dream. Like I say, that would be my main bass so I reckon it'd be money well spent. Sincere apologies to the OP for hijacking the thread somewhat. Quote
tom1946 Posted February 10, 2015 Author Posted February 10, 2015 No worries Dunky, I've put a load of pics in the 1st thread.... Quote
Bassman Sam Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 Very nice Tom, enjoy your new bass. Quote
Funky Dunky Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 Congrats Tom, that looks beautiful! I really like the black, and I'll wager the tone is great with that maple board :-) Quote
EBS_freak Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 Nice bass at a crazy price. That Aguilar modded MM... wow Quote
Funky Dunky Posted February 10, 2015 Posted February 10, 2015 [quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1423572504' post='2686428'] Nice bass at a crazy price. That Aguilar modded MM... wow [/quote] I know, right? £230 buys that upgrade. Almost what I paid for the bass!! Tempted to go for it later in the year. Quote
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