Difference between Sterling and Musicman?

SMILEYSIXX · #1 02-14-2011, 01:47 PM

Sterlings are clearly cheaper, but what are the exact differences? Is Sterling to Musicman like Squier is to Fender or what? I just want a little clarification on what the difference is.

jmattbassplaya · #2 02-14-2011, 01:56 PM

Let's clear this up first.

Sterling is a model of MusicMan basses, just like the StingRay, Bongo, and Big Al.

Sterling by MusicMan basses are the Indonesian models of the US made StingRay and Sterling. The best company and brand to compare them to would be the Lakland Skylines. They (Sterling by MM) basses are very high quality basses that are simply manufactured over seas, but setup here in the US. I owned a SBMM bass for a while as a backup to my US Ray and it was an incredibly nice bass for the price. I wouldn't hesitate to get another one if my US Ray gets 'sick' again.

rappa29 · #3 02-14-2011, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SMILEYSIXX

Sterlings are clearly cheaper, but what are the exact differences? Is Sterling to Musicman like Squier is to Fender or what? I just want a little clarification on what the difference is.

Essentially yes. Manufactured in Indonesia, to EBMM specs, IIRC.
BTW, the brand name is Sterling By Musicman. Sterling is the model name of an EBMM bass, made by EBMM in St. Luis Obispo, CA, USA. I know, they kind of screwed the pooch on the naming convention by using the name 'Sterling' for both their offshore basses and their USA Sterling bass. Easy to confuse.

FWIW, I owned an SBMM (Sterling By Musicman) Ray35 (5 string) for a little while. It was good enough for me to satisfy my want for "Stingray tone" in a 5 string, without spending $1500 on another EBMM (already have an EBMM Classic Stingray 4). I returned it because I never warmed up to 5 string.

SMILEYSIXX · #4 02-14-2011, 02:01 PM

So SBMM is just an overseas made Musicman? They knock $1000 dollars off the cost for *that*?

Din Of Win · #5 02-14-2011, 02:15 PM

Just to clarify... for my own peace of mind...

Where does OLP fit in? Is it just a completely different brand? Do they make non-MM style basses?

...in almost every thread about SBMM there's someone who goes, "...better off just getting an OLP.".

/confused.

honeyiscool · #6 02-14-2011, 02:38 PM

OLP is defunct and they were very affordable instruments.

Caca de Kick · #7 02-14-2011, 02:50 PM

EBMM is an american company building their instruments in California. They do not own or build any off-shore companies/products.

SBMM is a different company, owned by different people. They build a licensed copy (and a very good one) of the orignal Musicman products. EBMM didn't want junky copies of thier stuff out there, so they made sure the components were quite close.

OLP was also a company who used to make a licensed copy, but only looked like one from 10 feet away. Nothing matched up, nothing smiliar. OLP also made copies of Spectors for a while too.
I never found OLP's ever to be anything like a Musicman.

whitedk57 · #8 02-14-2011, 02:53 PM

Music Man Sterling

is not

Sterling by Music Man

SMILEYSIXX · #9 02-14-2011, 08:26 PM

Someone really should have picked a different name for their brand.

king_biscuit · #10 02-14-2011, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SMILEYSIXX

Someone really should have picked a different name for their brand.

That horse got beaten to death when the brand was first announced!

I agree with you, btw.

Jimmy Stump · #11 02-16-2011, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SMILEYSIXX

So SBMM is just an overseas made Musicman? They knock $1000 dollars off the cost for *that*?

Not exactly, but close.

A USA made Music Man Sterling has natural wood and translucent finish options for the body, as well as maple fretboard options. The offshore models do not.

arsie · #12 02-16-2011, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stump

Not exactly, but close.

A USA made Music Man Sterling has natural wood and translucent finish options for the body, as well as maple fretboard options. The offshore models do not.

http://www.sterlingbymusicman.com/ray34
http://www.sterlingbymusicman.com/ray34ca

Yes they do.

In all fairness, the SBMMs are not cheap either. They are definitely not in the same price bracket as Squiers. Twice as expensive, in fact.

Jimmy Stump · #13 02-16-2011, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arsie

http://www.sterlingbymusicman.com/ray34
http://www.sterlingbymusicman.com/ray34ca

Yes they do.

In all fairness, the SBMMs are not cheap either. They are definitely not in the same price bracket as Squiers. Twice as expensive, in fact.

I meant the SB14 in comparison to the EBMM Sterling, and not Ray34 to Stingray, but I see that the SB14 now also come with a natural finish and maple board. I don't think they had those options 1 or 2 years ago. Thanks for this.

IMO, this would make the decision harder. I'd grab a SBMM to be honest. Tonally, they are very similar if not identical.

spufman · #14 02-16-2011, 10:12 AM

I love my EBMM Sterlings. I played an SBMM 'Sterling' in the shop and it actually felt great, I was shocked at how nice it was. I didn't plug it in, so I can't comment on amplified tone. Yeah, they're along the lines of Skyline or G&L Tribute - US pickups and US Design in hardware, but not the actual US hardware/preamp, I don't think. And that wonderful oiled neck I think is absent on the SBMM (don't quite remember for sure). Selection of wood is likely less... uh... selective.

Bobster · #15 02-16-2011, 11:02 AM

SBMM uses a satin finish for their necks. Pickups and preamps are made offshore. US parts (magnets?) are used in the pickups.

SBMM SB14 (EBMM Sterling equivalent) - Basswood body/Maple neck/Rosewood fretboard

SBMM Ray34 + Ray35 (EBMM Stingray, Stingray 5 equivalent) - Ash body/Maple neck/Rosewood or Maple fretboard.

It's easiest to just go to the SBMM website for more detail.

Bob

BigOldHarry · #16 02-16-2011, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SMILEYSIXX

So SBMM is just an overseas made Musicman? They knock $1000 dollars off the cost for *that*?

You apparently don't understand just how much money you can save by leveraging low cost labor and lax (or non-existent) environmental laws. EBMMs are made in California, which means higher labor costs and strict environmental rules (very costly).

SMILEYSIXX · #17 02-26-2011, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigOldHarry

You apparently don't understand just how much money you can save by leveraging low cost labor and lax (or non-existent) environmental laws. EBMMs are made in California, which means higher labor costs and strict environmental rules (very costly).

Touche Harry. Never really considered the cost of labor when considering it. But if EBMM and SBMM have almost identical specs, I'll take the overseas made bass any day. I like buying American, but if it's $700 vs. $1700, it's not too practical.

arsie · #18 02-26-2011, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stump

IMO, this would make the decision harder. I'd grab a SBMM to be honest. Tonally, they are very similar if not identical.

When I was testing two SBMM Ray34s, I also had a parallel track of testing a more expensive used 1996 EBMM SR4. And quite frankly, it was a pretty tough choice.

In the end, I was sold by the birdeye maple neck/fretboard of the EBMM, and being used, its resale value.

I am not sure about SB14 vs EBMM Sterling, but both the SBMM Ray34 I tried were appreciably heavier than the EBMM at 9lbs. So that might factor into your consideration.

SMILEYSIXX · #19 03-06-2011, 10:24 PM

Sorry to revive this, but it had to be brought back up. Tonight, I wwas in GC and decided I'd do a little test of my own and compared two identical basses, one EBMM, the other SBMM. I was blown away. I honestly believe the SBMM sounded better, though that could have been the relatively pint sized price tag on it. If I had the choice between the two, though, and money not as issue, I still think I would take the SBMM. It just felt better all around. Of course, you'd get the occasional pesky gear snob, but what do they know? I may have never gotten such an amazing slap tone out of a bass in my life.

Whatever miniscule differences there may be, when I compared the finished products side by side, SBMM was a better (and not to mention cheaper!) option.

denchiq · #20 03-07-2011, 09:15 AM

to the extent of my knowledge, SbMM is only close to Skyline and Tribute from the point of view of place of origin. SbMM do not share the same pickups and preamps with the US counterparts; while Skylines and Tributes do.
That said, I would definitely love to give a rush to a SbMM. If they are as good in make as Skylines and Tributes, they are definitely worth the money and beyond that. After all, pickup(-s) and preamp are not so expensive to change