Ozzy555 Posted November 19, 2020 Share Posted November 19, 2020 Hi Everyone! New to this site and so I thought I'd start by sharing a purchase I made back in June this year. The 2020 Sterling by Musicman Stingray 34 with swamp Ash Black body and roasted maple neck. This is my first Stingray Bass as I usually play Jazz Basses. Had seen this on the official Sterling site and was blown away with how great it looked. A 'BFR' inspired design they say on the site. Purchased it from a site called Project Music who had only one due in so snapped it up pretty quickly. As I say, my first Stingray so other than a 1990 USA Stingray I borrowed and played for a couple of week's I don't have much to compare it with. I'll start by saying it's loud, very loud although I do usually play passive Basses and one other active Jazz which has nothing on this things volume. 3 band EQ seems fine, plenty of tones can be dialed in easily. Not sure whether the bass boost lacks in the real boomy end. The body looks great with the white grain showing through and is well finished. This is a lump of a bass! May remove the clear scratch plate as after cleaning the bass after use there is quite a bit of dust build up underneath which can become visible. The roasted maple neck is lovely and plays really well. Had to file down the nut edges as they weren't particularly well finished and sharp to touch. I guess that's the real difference when it comes to Indonesian made vs USA made Musicmans. And of course love the all black hardware. Been very pleased with it so far. Not had the opportunity to gig with it as yet due to you know what but have used for online recordings and jamming at home and really feels great to play. Any Stingray players out there recommend any mods at all? I've read that people tend to swap out the standard preamp for something a bit hotter like Aguilars OBP 3. Anyone ever done so and felt the benefits? Have added some pics 😊 Let me know your thoughts, Q's etc Ozzy 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jassbass Posted November 19, 2020 Share Posted November 19, 2020 Looks amazing 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnDaBass Posted November 20, 2020 Share Posted November 20, 2020 That colour combination is fantastic, congrats, enjoy it for a while before considering any changes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartelby Posted November 20, 2020 Share Posted November 20, 2020 Oof! That's a good looking bass! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martthebass Posted November 20, 2020 Share Posted November 20, 2020 I'd get it out and gig it before you even considered swapping any of the tronics. I've had a few and generally found that the solo'd and band mix sound can be very different so you need to do both before you decide the stock sounds work or don't work for you. IMHO I find my Starry Night PDN 4H a bit aggressive solo'd but sits just fine in the mix. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodwind Posted November 20, 2020 Share Posted November 20, 2020 Great bass!! I'm a fan of the onboard the three band eq. The mid in particular is very useful to get the bass to sit in a live mix. (I use a fretless Ray34). I don't think you'd gain much by swapping the pre until you've tried it in context. If you want to try some variables in the meantime and have cash burning a hole in your wallet buy a load of different strings and see how differently the bass reacts to them all. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy555 Posted November 20, 2020 Author Share Posted November 20, 2020 5 hours ago, JohnDaBass said: That colour combination is fantastic, congrats, enjoy it for a while before considering any changes. Yeah it's a great combination. Thanks, shall defo wait until I've had it sat in the band mix. 👍🏻 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy555 Posted November 20, 2020 Author Share Posted November 20, 2020 1 hour ago, Woodwind said: Great bass!! I'm a fan of the onboard the three band eq. The mid in particular is very useful to get the bass to sit in a live mix. (I use a fretless Ray34). I don't think you'd gain much by swapping the pre until you've tried it in context. If you want to try some variables in the meantime and have cash burning a hole in your wallet buy a load of different strings and see how differently the bass reacts to them all. Yes agreed, the mid boost/cut is brilliant and very much looking forward to trying it in the band mix. Funny you mentioned strings I have just ordered a couple of different sets to try I bet the fretless sounds amazing, do you use flats or rounds? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy555 Posted November 20, 2020 Author Share Posted November 20, 2020 4 hours ago, martthebass said: I'd get it out and gig it before you even considered swapping any of the tronics. I've had a few and generally found that the solo'd and band mix sound can be very different so you need to do both before you decide the stock sounds work or don't work for you. IMHO I find my Starry Night PDN 4H a bit aggressive solo'd but sits just fine in the mix. Yes agreed, it'll probably be a completely different animal in the band mix. Looking forward to that day believe me! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodwind Posted November 20, 2020 Share Posted November 20, 2020 2 hours ago, Ozzy555 said: I bet the fretless sounds amazing, do you use flats or rounds? currently strung with super dead Status groundwounds 40-100. I like very light strings so would like something a bit lower tension than these ideally 😃 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassAdder60 Posted July 21 Share Posted July 21 I’ve just got one of these coming my way .. I’m a Ray34 convert ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted July 21 Share Posted July 21 1 minute ago, BassAdder60 said: I’ve just got one of these coming my way .. I’m a Ray34 convert ! eBay?? I was watching that one and chatting with seller too, came close to pulling the trigger but the weight put me off. Interested how you get on with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassAdder60 Posted July 21 Share Posted July 21 It was off Reverb not EBay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted July 21 Share Posted July 21 Just now, BassAdder60 said: It was off Reverb not EBay I think he has it on both, this one?? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/166846804370?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=UGGjUc5fTxO&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=4-FplGrJRAe&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassAdder60 Posted July 21 Share Posted July 21 Yep same one .. do you know the weight ? My Ray34 Flame Top Teal is just under 10lbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted July 21 Share Posted July 21 11lb 6oz...or at least that's what he told me! From researching it, I think generally this particular model is pretty weighty, but yeah a tad too much for me, at least without trying it first. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassAdder60 Posted July 21 Share Posted July 21 It’s swamp ash so I think that’s probably about right. I should be ok as my other Ray is 10lbs and I’m ok with that for several hours ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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