Hi Folks,
I’m a quite pathetic guitar player and wanting to get more into bass playing. Find myself a decent bass (probably 5 string), get a bass amp, and see if I can put some time into the low notes. While in a store some months ago, I pulled a Sterling Sub Ray4 off the shelf and was taken by the aggressive, powerful Music Man sound. I had never heard it before in person. Since then I have been reading things and listening to youtube clips. Trying to figure out what I might want to get. The Sterling Sub Ray series is nice because they are so cheap. The US made Stingrays are just plain nice, but a significant outlay, although not totally out of the question for me. The Sterling Ray series might be a nice middle ground and kind of where I was leaning toward going. Anyways, I just had a chance to play several basses in stores and thought that I’d pass along my impressions. In case they might be helpful or interesting to anyone else out there.
In all cases, I started out with all the bass and amp EQ knobs in the middle. I turned them around some, but my general impressions, below, held even with changes to the EQ. In store #1, I played the basses through a Hartke combo amp. (Sorry, I didn’t check which one, it had one speaker.)
-EBMM Stringray5, $1575:
A very nice, solid well put together bass. It feels nice all around. I liked the satin neck. I liked how light it was, compared to the Sterling Ray 35CA. I liked how it looked. Going on looks, feel, playability, and the general “Oooo, this is nice,” this bass was my favorite. In the sound department, it’s good. But not quite what I was expecting. It has some of that Stingray zing, but it was more polite than I thought would be the case. You won’t ever mistake it for a P or J passive bass (which I also played, for comparison). And I definitely liked the sound. But I was looking for some more zing.
-Sterling Ray35CA, $800:
Also a very well put together bass that is very nice all around. It also feels quite solid and seems to have no weak points of any sort. Maybe a little heavier than the US made counterpart, but not by a lot. The sound was, as far as I could tell, the same as the EBMM Stingray5. Nice. The main thing that I did not like about it was the gloss finish on the back of the neck. It’s just a personal preference thing. Some people may love it over a satin finish. It’s not a total deal breaker for me. Does anyone know if the Sterling Ray35 (not Ray35CA) has a gloss or satin neck? I can’t tell from their web site.
-Sterling Sub Ray5, $320:
It’s amazing how good the cheap gear is these days. At only $320, this one was set up quite well. Sure, all the hardware seems to be a notch lower than the Ray35CA and the Stringray5. But things felt solid enough that I doubt that there will be problems. (My only current bass, a Danelectro ’63, is flimsy and falling apart, by contrast.) The neck had a satin feel that I preferred to the Ray35CA gloss. Although the satin had a slightly odd feel to it, a little different than the Stingray5, but still OK and I preferred the feel of this neck to the Ray35CA gloss. The bass felt, perhaps, to be the lightest of the bunch. The body finish is kind of cheap and cheesy feeling. The satin body paint is fine, if you’re into that kind of thing. But I just happen to prefer the gloss of the Ray35CA and the Stingray5. It’s not that attractive of a bass, compared to the others, with the satin body and all. I like things to look fun, such that they make me want to pick them up and actually put time into playing. I know that there is a gloss black, but I’m not into the looks of it. OK, so how did it sound? Wonderful. Here was the zing, the growl, the mids, and the general aggression. Really, this one was my favorite sounding bass of the three. Definitely, by far. Not the result that I expected. But interesting.
On to store #2 where I played through an Ampeg combo amp. It was a 1x15. (BA115 maybe?)
-EBMM Stringray4, $1470:
Same impressions as the Stingray5 above. Although it was missing a string.
Surprisingly, this one was the least well set up of the day. But that’s an easy fix. All around a very nice feeling and a good sounding bass. No one would complain if it followed them home.
-Sterling Sub Ray4, $300:
Here, too, it was the same story as the Sub Ray5 above, minus one string. I really did like the sound of this one a lot. The satin neck feels OK. The rest of the bass feels kind of cheap, especially the body finish. But it does not feel so cheap that it should be a problem.
OK, there you go. In the feel and looks department, the EBMM Stringray5 was my favorite. For sound, the Sterling Sub Ray5. Interesting, eh? I’m not sure what I will get, given that most of this was a surprise to me. And I’m in no hurry. If the Ray35 has a satin neck, I could go that way. Or maybe just enjoy the fact that I like the sound of the cheapest one best. Play with that, be happy, and save some cash for another bass or amp down the road. Feel free to chime in with any of your own experience or thoughts.
I’m a quite pathetic guitar player and wanting to get more into bass playing. Find myself a decent bass (probably 5 string), get a bass amp, and see if I can put some time into the low notes. While in a store some months ago, I pulled a Sterling Sub Ray4 off the shelf and was taken by the aggressive, powerful Music Man sound. I had never heard it before in person. Since then I have been reading things and listening to youtube clips. Trying to figure out what I might want to get. The Sterling Sub Ray series is nice because they are so cheap. The US made Stingrays are just plain nice, but a significant outlay, although not totally out of the question for me. The Sterling Ray series might be a nice middle ground and kind of where I was leaning toward going. Anyways, I just had a chance to play several basses in stores and thought that I’d pass along my impressions. In case they might be helpful or interesting to anyone else out there.
In all cases, I started out with all the bass and amp EQ knobs in the middle. I turned them around some, but my general impressions, below, held even with changes to the EQ. In store #1, I played the basses through a Hartke combo amp. (Sorry, I didn’t check which one, it had one speaker.)
-EBMM Stringray5, $1575:
A very nice, solid well put together bass. It feels nice all around. I liked the satin neck. I liked how light it was, compared to the Sterling Ray 35CA. I liked how it looked. Going on looks, feel, playability, and the general “Oooo, this is nice,” this bass was my favorite. In the sound department, it’s good. But not quite what I was expecting. It has some of that Stingray zing, but it was more polite than I thought would be the case. You won’t ever mistake it for a P or J passive bass (which I also played, for comparison). And I definitely liked the sound. But I was looking for some more zing.
-Sterling Ray35CA, $800:
Also a very well put together bass that is very nice all around. It also feels quite solid and seems to have no weak points of any sort. Maybe a little heavier than the US made counterpart, but not by a lot. The sound was, as far as I could tell, the same as the EBMM Stingray5. Nice. The main thing that I did not like about it was the gloss finish on the back of the neck. It’s just a personal preference thing. Some people may love it over a satin finish. It’s not a total deal breaker for me. Does anyone know if the Sterling Ray35 (not Ray35CA) has a gloss or satin neck? I can’t tell from their web site.
-Sterling Sub Ray5, $320:
It’s amazing how good the cheap gear is these days. At only $320, this one was set up quite well. Sure, all the hardware seems to be a notch lower than the Ray35CA and the Stringray5. But things felt solid enough that I doubt that there will be problems. (My only current bass, a Danelectro ’63, is flimsy and falling apart, by contrast.) The neck had a satin feel that I preferred to the Ray35CA gloss. Although the satin had a slightly odd feel to it, a little different than the Stingray5, but still OK and I preferred the feel of this neck to the Ray35CA gloss. The bass felt, perhaps, to be the lightest of the bunch. The body finish is kind of cheap and cheesy feeling. The satin body paint is fine, if you’re into that kind of thing. But I just happen to prefer the gloss of the Ray35CA and the Stingray5. It’s not that attractive of a bass, compared to the others, with the satin body and all. I like things to look fun, such that they make me want to pick them up and actually put time into playing. I know that there is a gloss black, but I’m not into the looks of it. OK, so how did it sound? Wonderful. Here was the zing, the growl, the mids, and the general aggression. Really, this one was my favorite sounding bass of the three. Definitely, by far. Not the result that I expected. But interesting.
On to store #2 where I played through an Ampeg combo amp. It was a 1x15. (BA115 maybe?)
-EBMM Stringray4, $1470:
Same impressions as the Stingray5 above. Although it was missing a string.
Surprisingly, this one was the least well set up of the day. But that’s an easy fix. All around a very nice feeling and a good sounding bass. No one would complain if it followed them home.-Sterling Sub Ray4, $300:
Here, too, it was the same story as the Sub Ray5 above, minus one string. I really did like the sound of this one a lot. The satin neck feels OK. The rest of the bass feels kind of cheap, especially the body finish. But it does not feel so cheap that it should be a problem.
OK, there you go. In the feel and looks department, the EBMM Stringray5 was my favorite. For sound, the Sterling Sub Ray5. Interesting, eh? I’m not sure what I will get, given that most of this was a surprise to me. And I’m in no hurry. If the Ray35 has a satin neck, I could go that way. Or maybe just enjoy the fact that I like the sound of the cheapest one best. Play with that, be happy, and save some cash for another bass or amp down the road. Feel free to chime in with any of your own experience or thoughts.
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