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Stingray confusion


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On 01/12/2021 at 12:04, Ricky Rioli said:

Recently a nice but not mint 2 band EBMM Stingray from shortly before the Classic / Special branding was introduced was on sale here for £1100. It tempted me a lot more than a new SBMM Ray34 ever could. 

 

Obviously, I wrote that before seeing this sub-9lb Ray34 for sale at £700 

 

T2.jpg

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I am, by nature, unwilling to pay top whack for the sound I want. I don’t like the nut width on standard 4 string Stingrays either. So I made my own ‘Classic Stingray’ from an SBMM Ray4, the lowest bass from the range. I’m delighted with it. About £600 all in. 
 

 

Edited by funkle
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  • 1 month later...
On 04/12/2021 at 22:53, Ricky Rioli said:

 

Obviously, I wrote that before seeing this sub-9lb Ray34 for sale at £700 

 

T2.jpg

 

On 05/12/2021 at 11:27, Ricky Rioli said:

 

I think the temptation is past the worst, but the patient is still vulnerable.....

 

Thank goodness I hadn't realised how unusual sub-9lb is for a Ray34 - getting on for 11lbs is more common, it seems?

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  • 2 years later...
On 02/12/2021 at 20:23, Eldon Tyrell said:

SUB apparently stood for "Sports Utility Bass". Not really sure what that's supposed to mean though. 


Think you’ll find it was ‘Stingray Utility Bass’ 👍

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3 hours ago, Beedster said:


Think you’ll find it was ‘Stingray Utility Bass’ 👍

Unfortunately, SUB really stood for Sport Utility Bass as confirmed by the man himself, BP/Big Poppa/Sterling Ball in this thread from 2005:

https://forums.ernieball.com/threads/did-we-ever-find-out-what-sub-stood-for.9598/ 

 

Enjoneer:

"Yes, the SUB Bass was the first to appear and was dubbed the Sport Utility Bass. BP actually announced that the bass was going to be called the "SUB" and let everyone at EB/MM stew and struggle trying to figure out what it meant until it was released at NAMM.

Next came the SUB5, which still made sense. But when the SUB1 Guitar was born SUB took on a new meaning and the word BASS was added to the SUB and SUB5 headstocks."

 

Big Poppa:

"Thanks Enjoneer."

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59 minutes ago, Eldon Tyrell said:

Unfortunately, SUB really stood for Sport Utility Bass as confirmed by the man himself, BP/Big Poppa/Sterling Ball in this thread from 2005:

https://forums.ernieball.com/threads/did-we-ever-find-out-what-sub-stood-for.9598/ 

 

Enjoneer:

"Yes, the SUB Bass was the first to appear and was dubbed the Sport Utility Bass. BP actually announced that the bass was going to be called the "SUB" and let everyone at EB/MM stew and struggle trying to figure out what it meant until it was released at NAMM.

Next came the SUB5, which still made sense. But when the SUB1 Guitar was born SUB took on a new meaning and the word BASS was added to the SUB and SUB5 headstocks."

 

Big Poppa:

"Thanks Enjoneer."


Ha ha, you live and learn 👍

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Yeah I remember reading something about then when they came out and someone on the factory floor suggested Sport Utility Bass as a goof, as SUV's were a new phenomenon in the auto industry and causing a commotion over CO2 emissions -basically the category was created to re-classify new bulkier cars as light trucks to meet emissions standards, or summit' like that...

 

I absolutely adore my teal one. it has 'that' Ray sound and I love the neck.

I had a red one for a bit around 20ish years ago and I couldn't seem to gel with it. But I know that's cause young, skinny me was all about passive P tone and nowt else!

 

Anyways, if you evergrtthe chance to puck them up reasonably cheap (both of mine were lucky finds at the time), grab one. They are epic!

 

 

Screenshot_20240823_100057_Facebook.jpg

Screenshot_20240823_100120_Facebook.jpg

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7 hours ago, basshead56 said:

Yeah I remember reading something about then when they came out and someone on the factory floor suggested Sport Utility Bass as a goof, as SUV's were a new phenomenon in the auto industry and causing a commotion over CO2 emissions -basically the category was created to re-classify new bulkier cars as light trucks to meet emissions standards, or summit' like that...

 

I absolutely adore my teal one. it has 'that' Ray sound and I love the neck.

I had a red one for a bit around 20ish years ago and I couldn't seem to gel with it. But I know that's cause young, skinny me was all about passive P tone and nowt else!

 

Anyways, if you evergrtthe chance to puck them up reasonably cheap (both of mine were lucky finds at the time), grab one. They are epic!

 

 

Screenshot_20240823_100057_Facebook.jpg

Screenshot_20240823_100120_Facebook.jpg

 

Totally agree, I picked up a five-string SUB for stupid money on eBay in 2004/5 I suspect because a) no-one in the UK knew what it was and b) it was a competition prize with a custom goth paint-job. I played it for a year or so and then fell into the stupid trap of thinking along the lines "If the SUB is THIS good, an SR5 will be even better", sold the SUB, bought and SR5, and probably have experienced fewer greater disappointments with a bass purchase. The SR5 was a completely different and a far more polite/tame beast (and had the fugly pickguard that I still find offensive whenever I see one)!. SUBs were built for the gigging musician, no frills, no hint of coffee table finishes, tone woods or any of the other factors that allow manufacturers/marketers to push instrument prices through the roof, just a well-specified, well-built instrument at what was then a very decent price. The SUB was very much in the spirit of Leo Fender, who I guess was ultimately its designer 👍    

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Apparently SBMM made a loss on the USA SUB’s, even though the concept was a great one and the instruments are little gems. It probably explains the quite short production run at the time.

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4 minutes ago, BlueMoon said:

Apparently SBMM made a loss on the USA SUB’s, even though the concept was a great one and the instruments are little gems. It probably explains the quite short production run at the time.

 

They stated the loss was over $100 per instrument at the time 👍

 

But before you feel sorry for them, I suspect they're clawing it back with all the numerous Joe Dart sigs :) 

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On 23/08/2024 at 07:58, BlueMoon said:

Apparently SBMM made a loss on the USA SUB’s, even though the concept was a great one and the instruments are little gems. It probably explains the quite short production run at the time.

 

EBMM, not SBMM :)

 

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