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Getting my 2nd Bass

F

FrankLearnsBass

May 23, 2024
4
3
#1
My current main bass is a Yamaha BB735A, and I absolutely love the feel of its neck. It's thin, comfortable, and really easy to move around the fretboard.

I'm currently considering either a Sterling Ray35 Sunburst or a Sadowsky MetroExpress 5 Jazz. Unfortunately, neither of them is available locally, so I haven't had the chance to try them in person or get a feel for their necks.

Has anyone here played either of these basses to compare? How do their necks compare to the BB735A? I don't mind the string spacing, I just want something with a neck that's as slim as, or even slimmer than, the BB735A.

Thanks!~
 
#2
I haven't played a Ray 35, but the Ray 34 has one of the fattest necks I've played for a 4 string.

The last USA Stingray 5 I played had a decently fat neck, I'd expect the Ray 35 to be similar (i.e., not thin at all).

It's possible the newer ones with roasted necks are different. Hopefully someone who's recently tried one chimes in.
 
#4
I don't play 5's but I can tell you the neck on the Sadowsky MetroExpress 4 is very manageable. The bass is exquisite. I do not miss the fact that the MX line doesn't include the VTC, which some feel is important.
 

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#5
Nut width of your Yamaha BB735 is 43mm. Nut width of the Ray35 is 45mm. Nut width of the Sadowsky Jazz is 48mm.

String spacing of the Yamaha BB735 and Sadowsky is around 18mm. String spacing of the Ray35 is 17.5mm.

The Sadowsky will feel significantly wider in your hands. See if you can go to a music shop and play a Fender or Squier 5 string because they all have nut width of 48mm to see if it's uncomfortably wide. Yamaha is a bit of an outlier with their 43mm nut widths for 5 string basses, but 45mm is a much more common width.
 
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#6
If the nut width on your Yamaha is 43mm then you're in for an adjustment if you try a wider string spacing.

I mostly play a EBMM Stingray 5 (44.5mm) and a Lakeland Skyline (46mm) and I had to sell my Yamaha (43mm) due to the strings being so close together that my fretting hand tripped up during rehearsal. I could play it but it just wasn't fun for me.

I prefer the string spacing of the wider nut. If you have small hands, you might prefer the narrower strings of the Yamaha. It's a real bummer that you can't try them out.

Is there anywhere you could try playing any bass with a wider nut to see how you like it?
 
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#9
I've never played a Yamaha, so I don't know how they compare, but I've played a Sadowsky MV5 Jazz for the last 9 years and IMO the ME version is one of the the best choices you can make. Don't worry about the size of the bass, just listen to the sound, with Sadowsky strings on, it's wonderful. If the new bass requires you expand/improve your technique, it will make you a better player.
 
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#10
I'm going to fan-boi and say G&L L2XXX.

American basses have slimmer necks than Tributes, but it varies bass to bass as Americans come with 3 neck profiles.

I have an 2500 S750, so it's a wide neck but a perfect medium thickness.

It will mimic a ray pretty well (it is a Leo design afterall) but do it's own thing too, what with 2 band passive EQ with treble boost switch and coil tapping, it can get brutal but it's easy to calm down.

Other than that, look at MTD Kingston Supers. They have a special carve that gets thinner as you get towards the bridge, they too have coil tapping.
 
#11
Got the Sterling Ray35. Thank y'all!

Neck definitely feels faster than the BB735A. String spacing diff is barely noticeable lol.
Idk if its slimmer or fatter lol maybe a tad?
I've also read that the Ray35 is on the heavy side, tho its actually lighter than my BB735A.

Tone is wild lol! I normally use the same patch (on hx stomp) for my BB735A or a jazz bass but with Ray35, i had to make new ones lol.
 

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