MM Sub or sb14?

[turtlegrubs]

Hey guys, Im going to buy a new bass, but im stuck between these two choices

What are your guys opinions on these two? I like the Sub because its a stingray copy and is cheaper but the sb14 looks pretty nice too.

 

[fenderhutz]

The Ray34 I have has more clarity and a better overall feel than the SUB I just sold. Regardless of where its made the Ray34 and SB14 are great basses. Hit up the guitar center used site. You can get a ray34 or sb14 or around 350, sometimes less.

 

[turtlegrubs]

Can you guys tell me the differences between the ray34 and the sb14?

 

[tonym]

+1 Interested in the differences from someone who's had more than an hour of Guitar Center experience with them.

 

[finfrocka]

The Sb14 has a slimmer neck. Mine is slimmer than my jazz bass neck. Ray 34 I believe has a thicker neck. Sb14 has ceramic magnets in the pickup and the 34 has alnico I believe. The sb14 can be run in single coil, series, and parallel via the 3way switch. The sb14 is made from basswood and I think some of the 34 are made from different wood.

Hope that clears things up a bit.

 

[Johnny Alien]

The Sub was american made in the Ernie Ball factory and was priced with a margin too low to keep it in production. Beyond the painted neck and thick body finish it has alot in common with vintage Stingrays. To me this would be a no brainer....Sub all the way.

 

[fenderhutz]

While the logic makes sense about the US SUB, my RAY34 actually sounds better than all 5 of the subs I have owned and just as good as my limited edition 2005 buttercream stingray I had. These basses kill. I don't know if its the candy coat finish or the heavily painted neck on the sub, but the two ray34's (one I own) I have played just sound, play, and setup better than a sub. The factory Ernie Ball picked for these basses coupled with the fact the US music man shop final inspects and sets these up is fantastic. The sub is a great bass, my RAY34 is a better bass regardless of who touched it.

 

[Johnny Alien]

The factory Ernie Ball picked for these basses coupled with the fact the US music man shop final inspects and sets these up is fantastic. The sub is a great bass, my RAY34 is a better bass regardless of who touched it.

Ernie Ball doesn't contract that factory or set the basses up. Praxis (which is a company in CA) licenses the design from Ernie Ball and contracts out the manufacturing of the instruments and they do the final inspection. So past licensing out the design Ernie Ball has little to do with the Sterling by MM line. It's like the OLP deal but with better instruments.

 

[fenderhutz]

I had heard wrong then, either way they are great basses.