I want a Stingray...I really do...

[Auer]

Yeahhhhh...don't get me started on the Bongo. I hate them more than roasted maple. LOL

Dunno, this one looks pretty cool to me

 

[Smurf-o-Deth]

The Fender Flea Active Jazz is a pretty fantastic Ray-style instrument, with an un-roasted maple neck and board (and a compound radius on the board, to boot).

 

[Pings Bass]

I say go option 4 (SBMM ray 4) and play it as is. You might be surprised at how good it sounds and plays without upgrades. Personally I see no reason to upgrade anything about mine. Tuners and bridge are fine, pre amp is a little hot, but totally workable. I think the pickup sounds great.

 

[bigdaddybass12]

Guitar Center used for a ray34. Check every couple of days. You can find a like new one on there. I passed on a USA sun because the back of the neck is painted black. Can’t stand a painted neck. Could be hiding a knot. I am ok with my sterling ray4 for now. Basically no difference between a ray4 and a ray34 other than finish and different; not necessarily better electronics. Looking at a mojo preamp for my ray4. Under $100. Stock tuners stay in tune, stock bridge works. Check @LowEndLobster on his ray4 mods

 

[Pacman]

I love my EBMM Sterling. (see my avatar) I wouldn't consider selling it. Ever.

 

[burgerdj]

Tl;dr. Roasted maple is awesome and breaks in like a good pair of boots. Buy used and avoid the roast if you please. EBMM makes the most consistent high quality factory basses you’ll find in the US. Buying a well cared for used EBMM bass carries little risk.

 

[walking_line]

Yeah, I don't really understand the roasted maple neck hate. I bought a 4H Burnt Ends Special recently, and the neck looks and feels great. Different strokes, I guess.

I haven't been playing any of my other electrics much since I bought it a couple months ago. It's 7lbs, 11 oz. That's probably why.

 

[mikeswals]

Its obvious to me you're way overthinking this. Simply, you just need to instead go out and try them or look in your area....seriously, used StingRays are not hard to find.
It should be very easy to find a pre 2018 regular one in the 1500 to 2000 (max) price range. I spot local craigs and facebook ads in my area at the $1500-ish range like every week.
Go try a bunch and see how they feel in your hands.

 

[VeryTallBassist]

I went for option C, a Ray25CA upgraded with Hipshot Ultralights, John East 2 band, and Seymour Duncan SMB5D. Note - that's the ceramic pickup. I thought the combination with the Alnico was a little too vintage for my taste. This combination sounds almost exactly like my pre EB Cutlass 1 did. You'll probably want to replace the pickguard too. It completes the look.

 

[Bugspray]

You can't go wrong with an original Inca Silver example, except they are really hard to find.

 

[VeryTallBassist]

You can't go wrong with an original Inca Silver example, except they are really hard to find.
View attachment 5067074

Bongo looks damn good in silver too.

 

[JC BASS 91]

I went for option C, a Ray25CA upgraded with Hipshot Ultralights, John East 2 band, and Seymour Duncan SMB5D. Note - that's the ceramic pickup. I thought the combination with the Alnico was a little too vintage for my taste. This combination sounds almost exactly like my pre EB Cutlass 1 did. You'll probably want to replace the pickguard too. It completes the look. View attachment 5067061

Ok...wow...yeah...that's the pickguard I would go with.

So that will be my first foray into a Stingray... <sigh>

I just placed an order for a Ray24CA...

Guess we will see what happens. If I like it as is, great. If I don't, I can sell it on FB Marketplace and maybe try something different down the road...or I can upgrade it (I do like tinkering and working on my instruments).

Because reading through all the comments so far, I am getting the same advice that runs across the whole range of my options like I have read for the last two years. LOL

 

[VeryTallBassist]

Excellent choice! Keep in mind the stock pickup comes wired in series but switching it to parallel is literally a 5 minute reversible mod.

 

[JC BASS 91]

Excellent choice! Keep in mind the stock pickup comes wired in series but switching it to parallel is literally a 5 minute reversible mod.

Good to know! Thanks for that tidbit.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I am going to start by saying that I am what you would call a researcher...an informed consumer.

That being said...

I would love to get myself a Stingray, but there are some factors feeding into my decision making process that I'm to the point where I absolutely cannot seem to make a decision.

I think at this point I am 'overinformed' and unable to decide what to do.

Part of my problem is that all of the new breed of EBMM and SBMM Ray34 basses all have roasted maple necks. I absolutely despise the look of it. I just can't bring myself to accept it...and some of the color combinations that minimize the look of the roasted maple necks are not ones that I get super excited about.

Yes, one option is to try and lay hands on a much older EB or SBMM that didn't use the roasted maple necks, but all I am finding are SUB series basses...which could be an option (see below) or basses that are going for $3000-$5000 or more, and I'm just not going there.

I have read probably 2/3 of the way through this thread (and pretty sure my brain oozed out my ear at one point from information overload):

Music Man sound and pickups

I have also watched some superb YT videos where they do a direct comparison between a EBMM and SBMM basses.

I have also watched countless videos where they take SUB series basses and upgraded them to try and achieve this sound or that sound and seem to be pretty dang successful. There's even one out there where a guy took a Squier Precision bass and turned it into a VERY convincing sounding copy of a pre-CBS Stingray!

I have read COUNTLESS threads on various forums where you will get supportive arguments for either/or. Some saying you just gotta save and get the EBMM. Some that say you can get most of the way with the Ray34. Some that even say you can get a Ray4 and upgrade the tuners, pickup and preamp and nail the classic late 70s MM tone. There was even one post I read (not sure which forum that was on, now) where a guy said he bought a EBMM and traded out the pickup and preamp to get the classic 70s tone over the more modern sound of the stock bass. <shrug>

Options I have considered:
1. Buy an EBMM Stingray and learn to live with the roasted maple neck.
2. Buy a Ray34 Stingray and learn to live with the roasted maple neck and upgrade the tuners (which seem to be a weak point from most of the threads I have read).
3. Buy a Ray24CA (which seems to be this bizarre mix of configurations with a jazz bass nut width) and upgrade the tuners, pickup and preamp.
4. Buy a Ray4 Stingray (which also has the jazz bass nut width) and upgrade the tuners, pickup and preamp, and possibly the bridge.
5. Buy a custom body and neck from Warmoth and build it out with the pickup and preamp.

From the thread referenced above as well as other sources, "the" pickup to get for that classic tone is the Nordstrand MM4.2 and pair it with the East MMSR 2 band preamp. With options 3-5, this is what I would do.

Options 1-4 give me the look as well as the sound in the end (maybe? Opinions vary...). Option 5 gives me the sound with the flexibility to make it look however I want. I have to admit, though, that part of my desire is to also have the look as well as the sound.

I think I have been down every rabbit hole with this, trying to come to a decision and I absolutely just can't seem to get there. I feel like there are too many options to get there, all at various price points, and to be honest, none of them get me exactly where I want to be...and after almost 2 years of research, where I have gone from option 1, to option 2, back to 1, then considered 3, then back to 1, then to 2, then thought about 4, then option 5, back to 1, back to 2, then to 1 again, then...you see where I'm going with this? For TWO YEARS!

Recently I have gotten to the point where I have come up with what I am calling "option ZERO"...where I just throw up my hands, walk away and just forget about the idea of getting a Stingray until one more or less falls in my lap that ticks off all my boxes for a price I'm willing to pay (which is pretty much the EXACT way I scored my Ric).

With the way things are going with my brain on this, I'm fast approaching option zero...

First thing, forget anything heard on a video. You have zero idea how they produced that sound you are hearing. You also have no way of knowing if there is a quid pro quo for the person doing the video.

As for the aversion of the aesthetics of a roasted neck, I can't help you there. Blame the folks demanding lightweight gear where every 100th of an ounce is critical.

My advise is for best results, go to a music store that sells them ( and several other brands for comparative purposes), then make up your own mind.

AS for the athetics of roasted neckes

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

Ok...wow...yeah...that's the pickguard I would go with.

So that will be my first foray into a Stingray... <sigh>

I just placed an order for a Ray24CA...

Guess we will see what happens. If I like it as is, great. If I don't, I can sell it on FB Marketplace and maybe try something different down the road...or I can upgrade it (I do like tinkering and working on my instruments).

Because reading through all the comments so far, I am getting the same advice that runs across the whole range of my options like I have read for the last two years. LOL

I hope Sterling has fixed those infamous post-Covid QC issues. And I hope you bought with a good return policy.

 

[JC BASS 91]

First thing, forget anything heard on a video. You have zero idea how they produced that sound you are hearing. You also have no way of knowing if there is a quid pro quo for the person doing the video.

As for the aversion of the aesthetics of a roasted neck, I can't help you there. Blame the folks demanding lightweight gear where every 100th of an ounce is critical.

My advise is for best results, go to a music store that sells them ( and several other brands for comparative purposes), then make up your own mind.

AS for the athetics of roasted neckes

Yeah...I never believe what I hear on videos.

 

[JC BASS 91]

I hope Sterling has fixed those infamous post-Covid QC issues. And I hope you bought with a good return policy.

Sweetwater...

 

[ComeHomeShane]

@JC BASS 91

I own 4 USA stingray specials that I'll probably own til I die (2 4s and 2 5s). Money wasn't a factor when I acquired each of them. I use them all to gig as my main workhorses. If you're going to be recording, then yeah, I would say get the USA. or... if you just enjoy the investment and owning a quality USA product, have at it.

If you're using it to gig at bars / outdoors / don't want to worry about damage or theft... Get a sterling by mm.
Ray34s are cool, better craftsmanship out of the box, better parts, etc...
**BUT**
the Ray4s can imitate the real thing pretty well. Just a few weeks ago I was at a show. The bassist was playing a Stingray and it sounded great. I was far enough away that I couldn't make out the small details of the bass, so I just assumed it was a USA. After the performance I walked up to tell the guy, "solid playing and the bass sounded great." I was shocked to see that it was a stock Ray4. Yeah.. the $300 kind. I asked him about it and he admitted that it did take some fretwork out of the box and the pup/pre-amp components were less than desirable... but the sound in the house fooled me, and I'm a stingray guy.

If you really can't make up your mind, I would start with the cheapest option and go from there. Basses in the hand are far different than basses in theory.

 

[jdjk7]

5. Buy a custom body and neck from Warmoth and build it out with the pickup and preamp.

If it were me, I would do this. My reason, however, is that I would build it without a preamp. The preamp is always considered an inherent part of the "Stingray" sound, but truthfully, I prefer the sounds I've heard from passive Rays. The Tim Commerford signature model that they put out is the first time I've really been interested in getting a Stingray, but those were super expensive... and the Sterling passive version comes in short scale only.