Sterling by Music Man SUB Ray4 and Ray5

[Tupac]

Originally Posted by ARITOSOUL

Yes, center dentents indicates the position 0 where there is no boost or cut.
Mine came with the bass potentiometer broken. Pin 1 of potentiometer was lifted from the board. The track was cut so I had to solder a jumper wire.

I played three days without bass! only with the treble control, I thought the bass lacked absolutely bass, until I discovered the problem.

On the other hand my bass (RAY5) did not have the bridge grounded. It;s have the routing, but no the wire!
*
A very bad quality control. I have the inspection card just here! But lived in Argentina I would like to talk to the person who reviewed the electronics.

Sorry for my bad english.

Your English is good! That's pretty a pretty bad scenario though. I also noticed that the knobs on mine are slightly tilted, offset. Bah.

[SBMM]

Originally Posted by jlepre

NAMM didnt happen yet

Here's a link to a quick video that I shot around our section of the booth at NAMM:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151379960677302

[SBMM]

Originally Posted by Joe 1956

Have I missed something? 14 pages and no mention of their even considering a left hand model?

No lefty for the SUB Series for 2013, sorry

[3234718]

Originally Posted by SBMM

No lefty for the SUB Series for 2013, sorry

SBMM, when's the fretless sub coming out?

[SBMM]

Originally Posted by neo land

Any change we, in Europe, ever will see the Ray4 Honeyburst version?

YES!!!
Our European Distributors were in town a few weeks ago for NAMM, and they will be getting in the Ray4-HBS.

Will probably start showing up in Europe around May/June

[SBMM]

Originally Posted by 3234718

SBMM, when's the fretless sub coming out?

YIKES!!!

At the low price that the SUB's are, it might be a good weekend project to buy one, yank the frets out, and then fill the lines in???

No, we won't be doing a fretless in the SUB Series, but the new Ray34CAFL is available in 5 colors!

[3234718]

I thought that was a sub. That's kinda disappointing.

The whole budget line of the budget line of the high end line thing threw me off.

Maybe you can tell your boss you have 1 guaranteed sale if you make a fretless at $279?

[neo land]

Originally Posted by SBMM

YES!!!
Our European Distributors were in town a few weeks ago for NAMM, and they will be getting in the Ray4-HBS.

Will probably start showing up in Europe around May/June

Great! Thanks for the info, I'll wait impatiently

[SBMM]

We're happy to announce the all new Sterling By Music Man "Elite Dealer Network"

EDN Dealers in the USA and Canada carry our full line of Sterling By Music Man and SUB Series instruments.

All of the New for 2013 instruments are available through the EDN, including the highly anticipated addition to our John Petrucci Signature Series, the JP70 Seven String! Pre-order the instrument of your choice today through the EDN.

SPECIAL OFFER:
Anybody who purchases through the EDN and emails me a picture of their receipt for any of the new instruments will get a Sterling By Music Man T-Shirt and Hat (while supplies last!). This offer expires 4/1/2013

EDN Dealers - USA
Alto Music
Middletown, NY
sales@altomusic.com
845-692-6922

Bass Central
Casselberry, FL
sales@basscentral.com
800-545-8813

Bill’s Music House
Catonsville, MD
www.billsmusiconline.com
410-788-8900

Boogie Man Music
Ellensburg, WA
boogieman@elltel.net
509-925-7975

Capital City Guitars
Olympia, WA
www.capitalcityguitars.com
360-956-7097

Castellano’s House Of Music
Staten Island, NY
www.castellanoshouseofmusic.com
718-982-8548

CB Perkins Music
San Jose, CA
www.cbperkins.com
408-578-3428

DPS Music
Newbury Park, CA
www.go-dps.com
888-355-4377

DuBaldo Music
Manchester, CT
www.dubaldomusic.com
860-649-6205

Fountain Valley Music
Fountain Valley, CA
www.fvmusic.com
714-963-2010

Fretworks!
Yuma, AZ
www.fretworksmusic.com
928-248-4048

Hero Music
El Paso, TX
www.heromusicusa.com
915-594-4999

Island Music Co.
La Plata, MD
www.islandmusicco.com
866-416-8670

Kenny’s Music
Dana Point, CA
www.kennysmusicstore.com
949-661-3984

Meredith Music/Bass Place
Peoria, AZ
www.thebassplace.com
623-583-2911

Music Man
Anchorage, AK
info@musicmanstore.com
800-478-PLAY

Northeast Music Center
Dickson City, PA
www.nemusiccenter.com
570-483-4184

Portman’s Music
Savannah/Augusta, GA
www.portmansmusic.com
800-241-0101

Pro Audio Land
L.A., CA
www.ProAudioLand.com
877-671-2200

Pritchard Music
Gaithersburg, MD
www.pritchardmusic.com
301-355-8079

Riff City Guitar
St. Joseph, MO
www.riffcityguitaroutlet.com
877-260-7301

Sounds Cheap Music
Pleasant Hill, MO
www.soundscheapmusic.com
816-987-2030

The Perfect Guitar
Baton Rouge, LA
www.theperfectguitar.com
877-751-4339

Total Music Source
Cape Coral, FL
www.totalmusicsource.com
877-386-6471

TrueTone Music
Santa Monica, CA
www.truetonemusic.com
310-393-8232

Woodsy’s Music
Kent, OH
www.woodsys.com
800-468-1525

EDN DEALERS - CANADA

Steve’s Music
Montreal, QC Canada
www.stevesmusic.com
877-978-3837

MSP Musique
St. Nicolas, QC Canada
www.mspmusique.com
418-831-9010

L.A. Music
Mississauga, ON
www.lamusic.ca
877-744-6832

Wentworth Music
Kelowna, BC
www.wentworthmusic.ca
888-860-2751

[laneline]

Congrats on a successful show. I sold my Black Ray 35 and
honestly was thinking of another Leo lineage import to get two pickups, but I had some concerns. Soon realized that I have absolutely no concerns with the Ray 35 so my deposit is in with TPB. I'm looking forward to a new Ray. I was thinking Natural
but have to say the White Blond is growing on me big time.
All the best, Rick

[SBMM]

Originally Posted by laneline

Congrats on a successful show. I sold my Black Ray 35 and
honestly was thinking of another Leo lineage import to get two pickups, but I had some concerns. Soon realized that I have absolutely no concerns with the Ray 35 so my deposit is in with TPB. I'm looking forward to a new Ray. I was thinking Natural
but have to say the White Blond is growing on me big time.
All the best, Rick

Seriously take my word for it, the TWB finish is probably the best we've ever done.

[ARITOSOUL]

Originally Posted by Tupac

Your English is good! That's pretty a pretty bad scenario though. I also noticed that the knobs on mine are slightly tilted, offset. Bah.

Same situation on my bass.. anyway i love this bass.. soon i will try to change te prezmp to a diy stingray 2bands

[Makatak]

Im wrapped with my [ White ] Sub Ray 4 , the only gripe I have is the control cavity is routed so the jackplate screws- screw into little moulded bosses , not the solid body , the last guy who owned mine must have overtightened of the screws and split the bosses . I had to epoxy them back on . small issue I know but a wee bit better design could have been called for , I thought it would have been cheaper for them to mould one Banana shaped rout than machine the bosses for the screws . Aside from that is sounds killer and definately gives a Stingray bite, even more so than my Pre EB Ray .

Real hot preamp tho , im running the pre gain on my amp 1/3 less than my G&L JB2 with an Aguilar outboard !

[ARITOSOUL]

Originally Posted by Makatak

Im wrapped with my [ White ] Sub Ray 4 , the only gripe I have is the control cavity is routed so the jackplate screws- screw into little moulded bosses , not the solid body , the last guy who owned mine must have overtightened of the screws and split the bosses . I had to epoxy them back on . small issue I know but a wee bit better design could have been called for , I thought it would have been cheaper for them to mould one Banana shaped rout than machine the bosses for the screws . Aside from that is sounds killer and definately gives a Stingray bite, even more so than my Pre EB Ray .

Real hot preamp tho , im running the pre gain on my amp 1/3 less than my G&L JB2 with an Aguilar outboard !

in my Sub Ray5 the screw of the pickguguard are half into te control cavity half into solid wood..

If fhey polish this little things is the best budget bass ever

[DWBass]

Knowing my tech, he'll probably install ferrules for the screws to go into. He's just like that. I'm planning to upgrade the preamp and pickup soon.

[Makatak]

Originally Posted by DWBass

Knowing my tech, he'll probably install ferrules for the screws to go into. He's just like that. I'm planning to upgrade the preamp and pickup soon.

Ah yes , but you cant put ferrules into wood that isnt there ! or into a screwhole that is so close to the edge of the cavity it would blow out before it accepted the larger size ferrule . Ive seen plenty of thse horrible pushed in Brass inserts pulled anyway . I think its better just to keep normal screws and do the " split matchstick and woodglue " repair to tighten up the hole if the screw pulls .

[Pocketeer]

Originally Posted by DWBass

It could have. I'm not gonna worry about it. I was planning to upgrade the pots and knobs anyway.

Hi, just wondering what kind (brand) of pots are you gonna replace them with? I've never DIY'ed pots upgrade before as I usually trust my local tech to do it for me. But now that I moved to another country, I'm planning on more DiY upgrades/setup on all my basses.

[Pocketeer]

Originally Posted by SBMM

So I've looked into the 'Hot' output issue that some people are talking about and will be posting a modification that can be made so that the volume VR (variable resistor aka pot) will be placed after the preamp, giving much more control over the output and a smoother sweep to the volume controls.
This will take care of the issue that some people have been talking about.

Hi, any update on this one? (If the mod has been posted somewhere in the thread pls hook me up)...I'm keen on having this mod on my walnut ray4. Lately I've been playing for long hours and notice a slight distorting sound after playing it for 20-30 mins and have to turn my gain down but still distorts a bit.

[TNCreature]

I Just got a Sterling by Music Man S.U.B. Ray5 in Walnut Satin.

I have only had it for a few days, but I like it!

Impressions:

The Good:

- Beautiful finish!

- Sounds great - the "hotness/overdrive" issue has not come up for me. Yes, this pickup is hot. I run the bass preamp flat because I am going through a Sansamp, and it sounds great. I will run it direct to the amp this weekend to experiment. No distortion or clipping though.

- Good setup out of the box (high for me though) I lowered the strings to my preferred height and...no buzz! I will tweak the intonation, which was just slightly off, this weekend.

- Tuners hold the tuning very well.

- Nice feeling neck, bit of a baseball bat, narrow spacing, no fret sprout, slightly sharp nut.

- Can you beat this price???

Not As Great:

- The worst finger eating RW strings imaginable. What are these things? I want to avoid them in the future. Seriously; easy to change, but my first impression of the bass was "OW!"

- A bit of neck dive, not a lot, but it is there. My neoprene strap holds it in place rather well, but I am aware of the lack of balance.

- The B string is just a little floppy for my taste. I am comparing this to my Warwick which has the perfect B tension for me. If I pluck or pick closer to the bridge or with a light touch it is fine.

- One sharp screw head in the pick-guard; of course, at the top where my finger can hit it. I will file it or replace it.

- Shipping. I got one of the basses shipped in a single guitar box, not inside of another shipping box. There was no owner's manual (not sure if there is supposed to be one) or warranty card. The box had holes punched in it from mishandling. I wish SBMM could enforce some sort of shipping standards with its vendors. Bass was undamaged however.

- Bass is a little on the heavy side. I don't know the exact weight, but it is probably my heaviest guitar right now.

So a lot of people say "it's a good bass for the money", which it is. But statements like that frustrate me because it comes with caveats. My question, no matter what the price point is "is it a good bass, Period?" My answer is yes. This is a very good bass actually. It plays nicely and sounds great, it looks beautiful, and there is nothing to be ashamed of in playing this bass.

Tweakers will enjoy doing things like upgrading the bridge and tuners, and the preamp. I may change out the tuners to a lighter weight. But I will proudly play this bass UNTIL MY DYING BREATH!!!!! Well, I enjoy it anyway and it really is a good value. It doesn't feel like an "entry level bass" in many ways; it just feels like a bass that I will play a lot.

I hope this helps some onlookers.

TNC

[SBMM]

Originally Posted by Pocketeer

Hi, any update on this one?

Yes - the modification starts on page 17 of this thread #339 to be exact.

Scroll back to that page and you will see it, along with all of the pictures that I took as I went through the mod. It's pretty thorough and easy to follow