Sting Ray Pieced together?

[Quickie]

Does this Ray 34 looked pieced to you? I was considering one of these but am going to get a US model instead. Look closely at the upper 3rd of the back. I see a line right down the back and an ovious difference in the wood grain. And the upper horn looks weird also. What do you think. I posted this on the Music Man Club link....only got 2 replies. So I'd like other TBers to give me their opinion.


http://www.basscentral.com/musicman/...by_Ray34.shtml This is the link for additional info. A couple others have the same thing, but not as obvious.

[SMILEYSIXX]

That horn definitely looks pieced. You can see slight continuity in the grain, but I don't think it's enough to say it's one continuous piece.

[mikezimmerman]

What do you mean by "pieced"?

The body looks like a 3-piece body, relatively well matched (but not perfect), with an interesting bit of grain on the upper horn but nothing really odd.

[parsons]

it definitely wouldnt be my choice of natural bodies. For 200 more, you can buy a used EBMM in natural with much better grain

[fettbass]

Looks like a fairly well matched 3 piece body. Fairly common (my fender jazz has one) and has absolutely no affect on tone, playability or durability.

[parsons]

Originally Posted by mikezimmerman

The body looks like a 3-piece body, relatively well matched (but not perfect), with an interesting bit of grain on the upper horn both nothing really odd.

Really? I've stripped solid poly finishes off of 3 piece bodies that had better matching than that one. The one pictured above looks horrible.

[Edu Fettermann]

Well, I would go for it. Beautiful bass.

[stflbn]

There's something unique grain wise going on in the horn area, but it's not different pieces of wood. You can see the grain continues on, just had a different angle to it.

None of the bodies are one piece as far as I know.

[Bread Knife]

That is not the best matching job, but there's a a reason those are so much cheaper than the US models! US Stingrays are also made of multiple (usually two?) pieces of wood, as are pretty much all basses. The upper horn looks a bit odd, unfortunately, but I think it's just an odd grain in the wood.

For what it's worth, I still think that bass looks good.

[mikezimmerman]

Originally Posted by parsons

Really? I've stripped solid poly finishes off of 3 piece bodies that had better matching than that one. The one pictured above looks horrible.

What woods were the bodies made of, and where did they come from?

I don't think the pictured one looks "horrible" at all, especially for an import that's got a pickguard and hardware covering most of the front.

[bassgod0dmw]

Standard 3 piece body. I don't think there is anything weird going on with the upper horn though. It's not super pretty, but I don't think it has glued on from another piece of wood making it a 4 piece body. The grain matches too well on the front and back for it to be anything else.

[cybersnyder]

Something looks odd about the upper horn, but I can't tell from the picture. I've never seen any issues with the US models.

EDIT: Zooming in it looks like they cut out a knot or something and glued it together. The grain is close but doesn't perfectly match. The import models are built to a price point. This would never be done on a US model.

[number11]

Woldn't bother me in the slightest. Multiple pieces can actually be STRONGER than single pieces, i might add.

The glue is stronger than the wood itself.

[Quickie]

Originally Posted by number11

Woldn't bother me in the slightest. Multiple pieces can actually be STRONGER than single pieces, i might add.

The glue is stronger than the wood itself.

But the resonance is my question. Wouldn't less pieces, (less glue and grain densities) have a more positive effect on resonance?

[AltGrendel]

Originally Posted by stflbn

There's something unique grain wise going on in the horn area, but it's not different pieces of wood. You can see the grain continues on, just had a different angle to it.

+1

[waynobass]

The front looks good to me. I wouldn't care what the back looks like.

[Fender32]

Originally Posted by parsons

it definitely wouldnt be my choice of natural bodies. For 200 more, you can buy a used EBMM in natural with much better grain

Possibly, but not neccesarily .

This is the grain on my Sterling Ray34 ...





I could show you plenty of EBBM 'Rays with uglier (worse matched) grain than this (if only I had the inclination to ).

Buying an Amearican one won't guarantee you a better grain than on any of the Indonesian ones, is my point.

[number11]

Originally Posted by Quickie

But the resonance is my question. Wouldn't less pieces, (less glue and grain densities) have a more positive effect on resonance?

I would seriously doubt it. its not like its a laminate like thin layers of wood sandwiched together.

These are substantial pieces of wood.

[Quickie]

Originally Posted by Fender32

Possibly, but not neccesarily .

This is the grain on my Sterling Ray34 ...





I could show you plenty of EBBM 'Rays with uglier (worse matched) grain than this (if only I had the inclination to ).

Buying an Amearican one won't guarantee you a better grain than on any of the Indonesian ones, is my point.

Wow. What a difference than the one I posted. Nice bass. I guess the one I posted just slipped through QC? **** happens. How does your Ray 34 compare to a US made Ray? I have read that there is really NO difference between the two, so why pay the extra money? Then I talked with another TBer who owned a Ray 34 and also owns a Sting Ray. He said the neck was noticeable being different. Do you agree?

[cybersnyder]

Originally Posted by number11

I would seriously doubt it. its not like its a laminate like thin layers of wood sandwiched together.

These are substantial pieces of wood.

Look at the extreme of laminated woods, the Kubicki neck. I think it has 30-40 thin laminations glued together for stability and it sounds great. Make sure the pieces look pretty, but don't worry too much about impact on tone.