Sterling SUB ray 4 by musicman

[Froggy]

So I know it's basically a budget version of an EB musicman, but does anyone have any info on these? I haven't had a chance to have a play with it yet but I've fallen in love with the look of it. So before I do go down to have a noodle with it, can anyone offer any good points, bad points, or things to look out for?

Thanks in advance.

[Cato]

I played a couple in a shop recently & was quite impressed.

Sound & playability wise they're not really in the same league as a full blooded Stingray (unsurprisingly) but they're not a million miles away from the classic ray sound either.

A couple of years ago there were a lot of complaints about the on board preamp being too 'hot' or producing too much gain, but the ones I played seemed okay, so maybe that problem has been fixed, or maybe I'm too cloth eared to notice.

Edited December 17, 2015 by Cato

[Machines]

Good points - gets the Stingray sound and looks like one too, great price
Bad points - Narrower nut, oversized bridge plate, limited colour options.

[NancyJohnson]

At some stage I think I'll need to use a Stingray of some sort and these new SUBs are what, under £300? Mental. If they did a black one with a rosewood board, I think I'd pull the trigger.
P

[ColinB]

I've got one..... and it's great. I've 'passified' mine with a GFS MM pro-plus alnico p/up ([url="http://www.guitarfetish.com/GFS-MM-Pro-Plus-Alnico-Music-Man-style-pickup-INCREDIBLE-tone_p_323.html"]here[/url]) with a 3-way switch for series/split/resistor-reduced and I'm very happy with it. Using the 3-way switch and a home-brew barbershop I can get clean, touch of hair, bit of grit.

[dannybuoy]

[quote name='Machines' timestamp='1450353746' post='2931915']
Good points - gets the Stingray sound and looks like one too, great price
Bad points - Narrower nut, oversized bridge plate, limited colour options.
[/quote]

The narrower nut is a plus for some, myself included! I had one, sounded, felt and played great. Good fretwork and sounded very lively. Only downside is the preamp is too hot, but that can be modded (there is a megathread on these basses on Talkbass where the main man at SBMM posted the instructions). It's only really an issue if you want to use it with certain overdrive / distortion / fuzz pedals though, most amps can pad the signal down to prevent any unwanted distortion.

[Lozz196]

I tried one at the London Bass Guitar Show. Was rather impressed with it - I`ve had a couple of "real" Stingrays, and this one sounded much like those.

[Froggy]

Thanks for all the replies guys, it seems that for the money it's a damn good option! Can't wait til after Christmas now.

[Machines]

I'd go for the black/maple ones. The white is OK but only with a maple neck (not an option) but the satin finish ones look a bit cheap and expose the poor wood underneath in my mind.

[Froggy]

Ahh that's annoying, the one Im going for is the walnut satin.

[Machines]

[quote name='Froggy' timestamp='1450450597' post='2932979']
Ahh that's annoying, the one Im going for is the walnut satin.
[/quote]

Well, not all of them, just some i've seen. I personally dislike satin finishes as with regular usage they tend to polish to a gloss around the arm contour whilst the rest stays flat.

[Froggy]

Well see? That's something that I, aa someone who hasn't been playing long, didn't know, so thanks for that. If I want the black I may have to go for the 5 string but I don't think I'm ready for that yet. I'll just have to see what I think when I go down to the store. Budget is going to be around 300 but possibly I could push it to 400 for something worth it. I'm never going to be playing a top spec fender, or a real stingray lol

[ezbass]

They are becoming rarer in the for sale section, but keep an eye out for the original US MM SUB. Great basses, which tend to go for around the £350-£400 mark.

Of the Sterling SUB, I like the look of the Sea Foam Green one.

[gafbass02]

I tried a few of the walnut ones in shops and was very disappointed. Then I bought unseen a brand new 'mint green' one, and it's utterly fantastic. One if the finest instruments I've played at any price point. (I've owned over a hundred basses alone, many 'boutique' including several stingrays)

The hardware has the cheap 'n shiny thing going on, but works fine, the neck is FAR more stable than the EBMM necks I've owned.

comparing the sound to a ray is interesting. Alone it sounds like a stingray. But when directly compared with my current 2band stingray the Sub has far less treble and a much more present mid range. Making it in many ways a more practical sound! Just lacking in some top end bite from the onboard eq.

[Raslee]

[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1450457365' post='2933067']
They are becoming rarer in the for sale section, but keep an eye out for the original US MM SUB. Great basses, which tend to go for around the £350-£400 mark.
[/quote]
Big +1 for the USA Sub, recently got one and it is obviously a very different bass to the Sterling Subs. I had a nice red stain Sterling Sub and quite liked it....but I love the USA Sub as its a beast of a Stingray

[Froggy]

Unfortunately for me the money is tied to the shop due to a large part of it being in gift vouchers. I'll try the sub, after all I might just like it lol. Otherwise I'll just have to see what else they have available. Thanks again for the help folks.

[JakobT]

The SBMM SUB is a great bass, especially for the money. Good points: crazy cheap, great build quality, superb neck, looks like a Stingray, and sounds pretty close. Bad points: preamp too hot for some, a little heavy, volume control a little abrupt.

[R.I.P.]

[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1450457365' post='2933067']
They are becoming rarer in the for sale section, but keep an eye out for the original US MM SUB. Great basses, which tend to go for around the £350-£400 mark.

Of the Sterling SUB, I like the look of the Sea Foam Green one.
[/quote]
+1....if you can afford a few more bucks this would be the way to go. Or look at used Ray34's

But for the money, the Sterling SUB's are great basses. You won't be disappointed

Edited December 20, 2015 by R.I.P.

[KingChrome]

I have 2 MM Sterling(USA) and one SUB Sterling(USA).
You get a used SUB for 400-500€ and it´s almost in the same ballpark.
The same electronics, hardware(without name), only the wood is different.
Soundwise i like my Sub very much, it sounds very "open".

[BrunoBass]

I spent 20 minutes with one in GuitarGuitar Birmingham a few weeks ago and was really impressed. I've never played an EB Stingray so I can't directly compare. However with Bass Direct doing the 2 band EQ EB Singray for £899 I'd probably head in that direction.

[Machines]

Just to add confusion, I got an Ibanez ATK for Xmas and it makes a Stingray look boring.

[gjones]

[i]heard a guy playing a Vintage V96 and it had a great sound. Very Stingray like. I'm sure you could pick one up cheaply on ebay secondhand. [url="http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Vintage-V96-Active-Bass-Gloss-Black/T3X"]http://www.gear4musi...Gloss-Black/T3X[/url][/i]

[i]Edit - In fact this was the guy. Great band and the bass player is fantastic, despite the fact he looks about twelve. [url="https://youtu.be/AW1jJTVpvZQ"]https://youtu.be/AW1jJTVpvZQ[/url][/i]


[i]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW1jJTVpvZQ[/i]

Edited December 27, 2015 by gjones

[mcnach]

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1451250645' post='2939130']
[i]heard a guy playing a Vintage V96 and it had a great sound. Very Stingray like. I'm sure you could pick one up cheaply on ebay secondhand. [url="http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Vintage-V96-Active-Bass-Gloss-Black/T3X"]http://www.gear4musi...Gloss-Black/T3X[/url][/i]

[i]Edit - In fact this was the guy. Great band and the bass player is fantastic, despite the fact he looks about twelve. [url="https://youtu.be/AW1jJTVpvZQ"]https://youtu.be/AW1jJTVpvZQ[/url][/i]


[i][media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW1jJTVpvZQ[/media][/i]
[/quote]

Offtopic:

That's Ruaridh. I love his playing. Check out his other band Triptych and Flo

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J43LNjfc2-I[/media]

[Beer of the Bass]

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1451253158' post='2939151']
Offtopic:

That's Ruaridh. I love his playing. Check out his other band Triptych and Flo
[/quote]

Yeah, I always like hearing Ruaridh and he's a bit of a stalwart of the Edinburgh scene at the moment. Is he on here, by the way?

[dannybuoy]

[quote name='JakobT' timestamp='1450574640' post='2934055']
Bad points: a little heavy
[/quote]

Not all of them, mine was so light that I suspected it was made out of balsa wood!