Sterling ray 34 history

[la bam]

Hi all, 

 

I know the sterling ray34s are held in high regard now, but it looks like theyve been out for years.

 

Does anyone know the history of these - ie are the 10 year old ones the same as the current ones in regard to hardware etc?

 

Thanks.

[dub_junkie]

I had a couple of Ray 35s - a sunburst Made in Korea one from 2011 and the other, a black cherryburst made in Indonesia in 2016. The earlier Korean one had an ash body and a thin gloss coat on the neck whereas the other was mahogany with a satin finished neck. Both were very similar in feel though the Indonesian was a bit lighter. 

I also had a Ray34CA which had the 2EQ preamp and slab body and was made in Indonesia and that one one was imo a higher build quality than the two five strings. The one I had was every bit as good as the Classic StingRay that replaced it, save for the fancier woods. It was in some ways a better fit for me (Jazz profile neck). A Stingray with a J neck is a great combination imo. 

This year I had a Ray34HH, again from Indonesia and the quality was up there. Roasted neck was lovely and in retrospect I should have kept it. 

 

Not too sure that the electronics and hardware have changed much. They all sounded like StingRays to my cloth ears though I liked the 2EQ of the CA Classic Active best of all. 

[Lozz196]

I had one of the Ray34s when they came out about 10 years ago. I bought it as backup to an EBMM Stingray, and aside from its newness and (very) slightly toppier sound it was difficult to tell them apart playing wise.

[la bam]

Cheers, did the ones from 10 years ago use the same US hardware / pickups as the 'proper' stingrays, like the new ones do?

[dub_junkie]

The tuners have never been the same quality as the USA ones afaik. They do the job though. 
 

 

[ezbass]

9 minutes ago, dub_junkie said:

The tuners have never been the same quality as the USA ones afaik. They do the job though. 
 

 

The tuners on my ‘Ray SS had quite a bit of slop in them, held tune OK but slack to be annoying when tuning. Fitted some Hipshots, all good, as you’d expect. 
 

I remember the preamp in my original run, ‘Ray34 being a bit brittle and it was a bit weighty too IIRC. 

[grenadillabama]

I have one Korean Ray with a figured blue maple top . It looks great and sounds exactly like the Indonesian ash Rays. No complaints . US Ray "feels" better to play.

[la bam]

Daft question - do all new ray 34s say "sterling - ray 34" on the headstock, or do some say "sterling - stingray"?

[BassAdder60]

On 07/06/2022 at 19:56, la bam said:

Daft question - do all new ray 34s say "sterling - ray 34" on the headstock, or do some say "sterling - stingray"?

My new Ray 34 headstock 

[Lozz196]

My old one from the initial run said Sterling Ray 34

[la bam]

Cheers.

 

I've caved and bought a new style ray34. Ash natural.

 

I am missing something or do these only run off stereo cables? My usual lead doesnt work, but my little stereo patch cables do?

[BassAdder60]

Normal mono guitar leads 

[la bam]

Thats weird.

 

I'll check again later.

[BassAdder60]

Check the battery perhaps ?

 

Although mine ( new bass ) was a good 9V so it should be ok 

[la bam]

Weird.

 

It had a new battery in.

 

Wont work with my usual bass leads, but will work with shieled / 2 stripe connector leads....

[BassAdder60]

1 hour ago, la bam said:

Weird.

 

It had a new battery in.

 

Wont work with my usual bass leads, but will work with shieled / 2 stripe connector leads....

That’s most odd .. sounds like a Jack fault perhaps ? 

[grenadillabama]

18 hours ago, BassAdder27 said:

That’s most odd .. sounds like a Jack fault perhaps ? 

Maybe . With most active basses you have two "clicks" when you plug in all the way. I have made that mistake several times by not pushing the plug all the way in. Or a fault with Jack ??

[la bam]

1 hour ago, grenadillabama said:

Maybe . With most active basses you have two "clicks" when you plug in all the way. I have made that mistake several times by not pushing the plug all the way in. Or a fault with Jack ??

 

Its pushed all the way in. But it only works with shielded cables. I've never had this before.

 

Sounds awesome though. Just a weird thing to be happening.

[Waddycall]

I have an older one I’ve tweaked a lot with different pickups and pre-amps. Got it how I want it now with the Delano hybrid MM/J set up and 2 band eq. Does active MM, passive J or active J. It’s a bit on the heavy side but I love the neck on this. Can’t get on with p bass necks but this one is ace.v

[uk_lefty]

8 hours ago, Waddycall said:

I have an older one I’ve tweaked a lot with different pickups and pre-amps. Got it how I want it now with the Delano hybrid MM/J set up and 2 band eq. Does active MM, passive J or active J. It’s a bit on the heavy side but I love the neck on this. Can’t get on with p bass necks but this one is ace.v

That is almost every bass you'd ever need in one. Love it!

[Thunderpaws]

Do all of the Classic Active have narrower neck with at the nut?