kyuuga Posted December 10, 2018 Share Posted December 10, 2018 5 hours ago, danny-79 said: Sorry, I meant generally the quality of new stuff in general not Musicman, there new stuff just keeps getting better and warrants the extra $€£. In my opinion they are about the only one that does Ah yes, you're completely right there. In my opinion once you pay more than 2000$ you're paying for the brand only and not the product. There's nothing else you can add at that price point that genuinely makes a difference. So I feel like the Stingray Specials are priced somewhat accordingly although, of course, we're still paying for the MusicMan brand which has become more and more valuable. On the other hand cheaper instruments have become better and better at lower price points. Squier, Epiphone, Sire, Ibanez - all of these are making AMAZING instruments for just a few hundred dollars. It's a very strange market at the moment because I feel like the midrange price point (700$-1200$) is being severely overlooked by companies and that's where most people would spend their money if they could imo. Just look at Mexican Fenders as the prime example. Musicman is also being very naïve because they understimate how much people value the brand's name on their guitar. If they renamed the Ray34 into a Musicman Stingray (even if it was made in Indonesia) they'd see its sales go up through the roof. But of course they highly regard quality and they want every Stingray to be through safe QC and I respect that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoo Posted December 10, 2018 Share Posted December 10, 2018 2 hours ago, kyuuga said: Musicman is also being very naïve because they understimate how much people value the brand's name on their guitar. If they renamed the Ray34 into a Musicman Stingray (even if it was made in Indonesia) they'd see its sales go up through the roof. But of course they highly regard quality and they want every Stingray to be through safe QC and I respect that. The Ray 34 has already had its headstock logo changed to StingRay... https://sterlingbymusicman.com/pages/stingray-ray34 They've still got the Sterling by Musicman logo though, which is the bit that makes the least sense to me..... but then Sterling (the person) said that no-one would get Sterling (the company) confused with Sterling (the model), so no need to worry. 🙄 I'd love one of the new Stingrays but the price point puts me out of the running.... It wasn't that long ago they were knocking out those 133 series 2EQ rays for under a grand.... you'd think the new ones would be cheaper seeing as they're saving the cost of a screw for each neck joint 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyuuga Posted December 10, 2018 Share Posted December 10, 2018 3 minutes ago, stoo said: The Ray 34 has already had its headstock logo changed to StingRay... https://sterlingbymusicman.com/pages/stingray-ray34 They've still got the Sterling by Musicman logo though, which is the bit that makes the least sense to me..... but then Sterling (the person) said that no-one would get Sterling (the company) confused with Sterling (the model), so no need to worry. 🙄 I'd love one of the new Stingrays but the price point puts me out of the running.... It wasn't that long ago they were knocking out those 133 series 2EQ rays for under a grand.... you'd think the new ones would be cheaper seeing as they're saving the cost of a screw for each neck joint Yeah, the whole "Sterling by MusicMan" company is just insanely poor branding. I have no idea which advertising company they work with but someone has to tell them at some point... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted December 11, 2018 Share Posted December 11, 2018 The quality of EBMM is right up there. But, considering I bought a brand new untouched from the dealer Musicman Stingray HH guitar (not bass) for around £1150 about 6 months ago, and they are now £2400+ (although they do now have a lovely roasted neck) I really struggle with new pricing, and that applies to Fender. and Gibson! Bongos are now £1000+ more than a few years ago. They are excellent premium instruments, no doubt about it. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grenadillabama Posted December 11, 2018 Share Posted December 11, 2018 The newer Rays are great. But I would add the new Ray 25 for $500 and $550 for a 5 are good-playing basses. I played a blonde-colored one at the local shop and was impressed with the neck and the sound. They have a 2-band e.q. and ceramic pickup. The Ray 34 is nearly as good as my 2017 US Ray. The blue Ray 34 in the pictures was made in S.Korea. It has a mahogany back and quilted maple top. It sounds the same as a regular ash body to me. The 2018 Stingray is great and maybe I can buy one if I save up. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machines Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 (edited) Sorry for reviving the thread. I tried a new Stingray 4HH today (sparkly blue one) in GuitarGuitar and it was underwhelming. Sounded nice and all that, but I really didn't feel £2200 in my hands. Setup wasn't great which is surprising but I'll blame the shop. My OLP MM22 honestly sounds just as good and was 12% of the cost. Edited March 16, 2019 by Machines Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deedee Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 Finally got hold of a Charcoal Sparkle 4HH. This is the model that I wanted last year but my impatience wouldn't allow me to wait the quoted 9-12 months for this model in this colour, so I opted for a 4H instead. After a random search on Friday I managed to find somewhere with stock. It arrived today, plays great and I'm very impressed with the range of tones available. Very, very pleased with it. 😁 The 4H is obviously now surplus and will very shortly be listed in the Basses for Sale section. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danny-79 Posted October 2, 2019 Share Posted October 2, 2019 (edited) On 11/12/2018 at 12:17, Musicman20 said: The quality of EBMM is right up there. But, considering I bought a brand new untouched from the dealer Musicman Stingray HH guitar (not bass) for around £1150 about 6 months ago, and they are now £2400+ (although they do now have a lovely roasted neck) I really struggle with new pricing, and that applies to Fender. and Gibson! Bongos are now £1000+ more than a few years ago. They are excellent premium instruments, no doubt about it. I paid £1050 in late 2006 for a brand new 2005 L.E In buttercream. It was simply old stock. It’s new pre order price was over twice that if you wanted on the day it was released. The only options I had with though were take it or leave it, not that I’m complaining in the slightest, still got it and in daily use Edited October 2, 2019 by danny-79 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted October 2, 2019 Share Posted October 2, 2019 18 hours ago, Deedee said: Finally got hold of a Charcoal Sparkle 4HH. This is the model that I wanted last year but my impatience wouldn't allow me to wait the quoted 9-12 months for this model in this colour, so I opted for a 4H instead. After a random search on Friday I managed to find somewhere with stock. It arrived today, plays great and I'm very impressed with the range of tones available. Very, very pleased with it. 😁 The 4H is obviously now surplus and will very shortly be listed in the Basses for Sale section. Why do you favour the HH over the single H? I tried a single H in that finish in PMT Leeds - it was awesome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deedee Posted October 2, 2019 Share Posted October 2, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, LukeFRC said: Why do you favour the HH over the single H? I tried a single H in that finish in PMT Leeds - it was awesome Purely for the addditonal variety of different tone options available. I love the standard H sound and In position 1 the HH will do exactly that, but then you have 4 other options on top. EDIT - Exactly as @hiram.k.hackenbacker said above EDIT 2 - Apologies for the tautology 😂 Edited October 2, 2019 by Deedee 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyJohnson Posted October 2, 2019 Share Posted October 2, 2019 2 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said: Don’t want to speak for @Deedee, but I would imagine more tonal variation against minimal addition in weight. Mine sounds thunderous with both pick-up’s. I'd concur with Brains here. I'd always go with a twinned pickup bass over a single pickup one; it's just my preferred start point. While my preference is for Thunderbird reverse/non-reverse shaped basses (well, OK I'd also swing for a Kubicki if I could find one), I just think the new breed of Stingrays with the sparkly bodies and the toasted necks look sublime. Tonally, I don't give a rats to be honest, I can tweak my gear so that everything sounds more or less the same. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted October 2, 2019 Share Posted October 2, 2019 1 hour ago, LukeFRC said: Why do you favour the HH over the single H? I tried a single H in that finish in PMT Leeds - it was awesome That H looks great. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danny-79 Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 The last bass I brought was a 2006 HH StingRay , really love the tone of position 2 , (outer coils) but all my others are single H (2x stingray and a Bongo) (got a Jazz but that’s something totally different) lovely matching pair you have there btw 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deedee Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 1 minute ago, danny-79 said: The last bass I brought was a 2006 HH StingRay , really love the tone of position 2 , (outer coils) but all my others are single H (2x stingray and a Bongo) (got a Jazz but that’s something totally different) lovely matching pair you have there btw Yes position 2 sounds superb. Hopefully they won't be a pair for too much longer. It needs a new home! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danny-79 Posted October 10, 2019 Share Posted October 10, 2019 23 hours ago, Deedee said: Yes position 2 sounds superb. Hopefully they won't be a pair for too much longer. It needs a new home! Oh no how come ? Shame to split them up lol 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deedee Posted October 10, 2019 Share Posted October 10, 2019 12 minutes ago, danny-79 said: Oh no how come ? Shame to split them up lol 😂 As stated earlier in the thread, the HH in position 1 does what the H does. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebenezer Posted October 16, 2019 Share Posted October 16, 2019 love the new lighter weight stingrays, however, listening to the clips/reviews on youtube i much prefer the tone of the old models there seems more definition in the lower end and sound crisper all round...all subjective though....one mans meat and all that!! sorry, one person's meat. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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