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Confused by Music Man product range

deadline_

deadline_

May 17, 2020
146
237
Bergen, Norway
#1
Hi peeps!

As this is my first post, I hope I have put it in the right place. If not, please let me know. :)

Thing is; I find the current Music Man bass range extremely confusing. Is there a bass from the Sterling by Music Man series that actually has the smaller and lighter Sterling body as opposed to a Stingray body? I am not talking about the SUB series, but wonder if they actually make a mid range Sterling bass. :)
 
#2
deadline_ said:
Hi peeps!

As this is my first post, I hope I have put it in the right place. If not, please let me know. :)

Thing is; I find the current Music Man bass range extremely confusing. Is there a bass from the Sterling by Music Man series that actually has the smaller and lighter Sterling body as opposed to a Stingray body? I am not talking about the SUB series, but wonder if they actually make a mid range Sterling bass. :)
Click to expand...

The original lineup included the SB14, which was a 'Sterling' model, but sadly no more.
 
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#3
deadline_ said:
Hi peeps!

As this is my first post, I hope I have put it in the right place. If not, please let me know. :)

Thing is; I find the current Music Man bass range extremely confusing. Is there a bass from the Sterling by Music Man series that actually has the smaller and lighter Sterling body as opposed to a Stingray body? I am not talking about the SUB series, but wonder if they actually make a mid range Sterling bass. :)
Click to expand...
There were two models, the SB14 and SB4, both now discontinued. Sterling by Musicman now only makes variations of the StingRay.
 
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#6
There used to be the SB14, but for some reason they discontinued it (probably the same reason no one seems to care about the real Sterlings). You can find them used for crazy cheap, and they're really good basses. They play and sound surprisingly like the real deal.
 
#8
deadline_ said:
Thanks for replies, but it seems to me the StingRay Ray4 models has the slimmer Sterling [This invalid link has been removed]?
Click to expand...

The Ray4 does have a narrow nut (38mm), which was an option in the StingRay for many years and is/was known as the 'SLO Special'. The actual EBMM Sterling neck (and the SB14), in addition to the narrow nut, also has a smaller lighter headstock and a 22 fret fingerboard. So the Ray4 is not quite a Sterling neck.

But in your original post you were 1) asking about the Sterling body, not the neck, and 2) you excluded the SUB Series, to which the Ray4 belong, which is probably why no-one mentioned it.
 
#9
@SteveCS
I was a little unclear there, apologies for that! As you probably get from now, is that I'm not very familiar with the Music Man range. What is important to me is the contoured body (not the slab one), and the slightly slimmer neck. I have a Music Man sub, and it's a great bass, but I'd like to 'upgrade' to a better model in the same range if that makes sense. :)
 
#10
deadline_ said:
@SteveCS
I was a little unclear there, apologies for that! As you probably get from now, is that I'm not very familiar with the Music Man range. What is important to me is the contoured body (not the slab one), and the slightly slimmer neck. I have a Music Man sub, and it's a great bass, but I'd like to 'upgrade' to a better model in the same range if that makes sense. :)
Click to expand...

IFAIK, in terms of what is currently being made, the contoured bodies start with the Ray34, but none currently have the SLO neck. The Ray24 has the SLO neck but only comes with the slab body...
 
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#12
deadline_ said:
Hi peeps!

As this is my first post, I hope I have put it in the right place. If not, please let me know. :)

Thing is; I find the current Music Man bass range extremely confusing. Is there a bass from the Sterling by Music Man series that actually has the smaller and lighter Sterling body as opposed to a Stingray body? I am not talking about the SUB series, but wonder if they actually make a mid range Sterling bass. :)
Click to expand...

All I ever needed to know about the Music Man bass line-up is that they make the Stingray SR5 or H5, whatever the hell they are calling it now. Any SR5 from 1990 forward will do. Possibly further back, but that's as far back as my experience goes.

If I may, what is it about the good ol' Music Man Stingray line that you don't like?
 
#13
Geri O said:
All I ever needed to know about the Music Man bass line-up is that they make the Stingray SR5 or H5, whatever the hell they are calling it now. Any SR5 from 1990 forward will do. Possibly further back, but that's as far back as my experience goes.

If I may, what is it about the good ol' Music Man Stingray line that you don't like?
Click to expand...

Basically I find the neck a little too large/wide for my linking. I'm just much more comfortable playing a narrower neck. :)
 
#15
SteveCS said:
IFAIK, in terms of what is currently being made, the contoured bodies start with the Ray34, but none currently have the SLO neck. The Ray24 has the SLO neck but only comes with the slab body...
Click to expand...
That’s not entirely correct. All SBMM models, from the Ray4 upwards, have contoured bodies, with the exception of the Ray24 and 25, as these are the «classic» models.
 
#17
SteveCS said:
Just that the OP explicitly excluded the SUB series, i.e. the Ray4. The Ray24 is next in the range, but that's a slab, which just leaves the Ray34.
Click to expand...
I was just uncertain whether the OP meant the EBMM SUB series or the SBMM SUB series, as one has the wider neck and slab body, and the other does not. Since the contoured body was important, I thought it was a distinction worth making.
 
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