Sterling S.U.B. Ray4 Bass guitars?
 

Anyone have any opinions on the Sterling S.U.B. Ray4?
They look like good basses, and sound like good basses, but with prices at $279 i'm very very very skeptical.

Bump

I played one the other day and it was sweet. It wasn't quite the guitar my USA Sub is but for the price we (daughter and I) really liked it. Beautiful sunburst on the one we tried.

They are good for the price. The preamp is really hot. But it is usable.the fit and finish is on par with others in this price range

Got a 5'er
 

Love love love love them! Best deal under the sun, I will eventually change the preamp but all in all, great deal!

Oh ya regarding the tone it was remarkably similar to the USA one- I don't know if I could have differentiated them.

I'm not a very experienced bass player, so i must ask. What is the down side to a hot pre amp?

I bought one here. I absolutely love it. Gigged with it last night. Needs no mods, sounds cool stock. Get one!

If its the only bass you use its ok but for me when switching between this and other basses i have to readjust my eq alot. Also it tends to breakup a little easier than others but i actually like that

Looks very nice :)

Hehe, love your avatar. What about compared to the Squier Jazz VM?

I tried one last week.
VERY Impressed..I would compare it to the quality of Fender CV Series...and NO I didn't say they sounded like them, just the same quality as far as construction..for that money, they hard not to pass up, especially after trying one out and an impulse buy.

Very Good and Giggable Instruments.

Squier has single coil jazz pickups vs the humbucker in the sub. Depends on what you like, check out some sound clips on YouTube and you decide!

A few months back, I demo'd the Ray4 and SB4 and ended up getting the SB4. I was very impressed and happy that I bought it. Don't let the price fool you; Solid construction, not too heavy and easy to dial in a good setting. But I play more 5ers now and I let it go :( shouldn't have tho, a GREAT bass! Highly recommend the SBMM SUB series.

My Ray4 shows up tomorrow. This youtube review sold me.

:bassist:

Definitely reply back to this thread when you get it, first impressions would be sweet.
I'm already sold on this thing....will get one soon.

Used ones go for less than 200.00. It's a really good value. I saw a post saying the electronics were "horrible." I disagree with that. They are quiet and responsive. I find the tone to be "airy" and I think it's a good representation of the Stingray sound. A heck of a lot more than the Ibanez ATK.

I'll add another thumbs up. I have the walnut stain one. And as far as the "hot preamp" issue, I just lowered the pickup and it solved a lot of the clipping that others complain about.

Up until the S.U.B., I had never bought a bass online and to tell the truth it was a impulse buy partly because on the multiple positive threads on TB. I have never had a $210 bass NIB so I tried to keep an open mind and just compare it with the used basses for the same price that I could recollect taking the time to look at, but I could not recollect ever taking the the time to really look at one let alone play one. My first impression when was WOW, and then I held it close and really looked at it and the bass almost felt to me that I was holding a super nice toy. I own a Stingray and two Sterlings, I think initially that's why I had that first impression of the SUB. My initial excitement just turned in to an "Oh ok", but in no way disappointment. Right of the bat the differences were apparent right away. In NO way am I comparing the SUB Ray4 to the EBMM Stingray that would be like comparing oranges and banannas. In contrast though the S.U.B. is lighter, the fret dots and the logo I am guessing are thickly silk screened on the neck and head, the frets were a little rough and snaged my fingers when I ran them over and along the edge of the fret board, and I feel the SUB could of come with a substantially better nut. Not what I expected at first, but after thoughtful consideration of what I really should expect from a $210 NIB bass the S.U.B. exceeded my expectations.

BTW I have never owned a brand new bass, I've only ever owned used/pre loved basses, and I just picked up a 5 string Fender Deluxe for $300 I pick it up from lay away in 28 days. That bass blows the S.U.B. Ray4 away even with the huge dings and cracks in the paint.

Also I ordered two S.U.B.'s because of a photo shop I saw on one of the threads here on TB, and because it was less to order two. I swaped the maple neck from a black one with the rosewood neck from a walnut one, then I up graded the pickup and the 2 band pre amp (B/T/V) to a 3 band pre amp (B/M/T/V). Now I have a Walnut Satin S.U.B. with a Maple neck with the 1/4" jack mounted in the cornner instead of on the plate. I ended up trading the left over Black S.U.B. with the Rosewood neck and the left over stock electronics to the shop for the work, parts, and a new case for my new S.U.B. so I suppose the S.U.B. Ray4 I ended up with ended up costing me a little more.

BTW the pickup I used was the Basslines SMB-4A, the preamp I used was the Baselines STC-3M4, and a jack plate that the shop had laying around. I know there better pickup's and preamp's that I could of used, but I am happy and satisfied with the Basslines components so naysayers just be happy too. Total cost to me $411.82 and 7 days waiting on UPS plus 3 days waiting for the work to be done.

Post some pics bro!

pics better late then never
 

Update: I bought a white sub and swapped again because the rosewood neck was better than the maple one. That's the Fender next to it.