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Ive been GASing a music man since I started playing bass. I didn't know about the SUB basses until recently. I really want the music man sound but can't pay the music man price right now. Is $500 a good price for a used sterling SUB?
I would say it would depend upon the condition. I think they sold for around $600 to $700 when new. The Perfect Bass still has a few and I think that they are asking $800 to $900. I'd probably pay that if it looked new. Otherwise I would probably not want to go over $400. Having said all of that I haven't a clue what they are worth used.
Here in the Vegas area you can still get SUB's new for about 500.00, used they go for 300-400 depending on condition. I just sold my black one to AJ's Music here in Vegas. If you pm me I will give you the phone number. It is in excellent shape and only gigged it once.
It should be in good shape. The paint on the SUB is very tough. It's hard to bang them up.
They sell between $400-$600. Anywhere in there is a good deal (particularly toward the lower end). Keep an eye out on eBay and CraigsList. I picked one up for $385 in perfect shape. The bargains are out there if you are patient.
The SUB Sterling is among EBMM's best basses, IMHO. They feel and sound great. And the SUB Sterling has a nice slim neck. Too bad they've been discontinued.
I don't know all of the differences but the sub had a metal pickguard and the back of the neck was paint black. I believe that it only came in solid colors. It was a venture by Music Man into a lower-priced series. They were made in the same factory as all of the other Music Man basses. I think they were a good buy, apparently too good a buy since Music Man has discontinued them.
The SUB was EBMM's attempt to make a quality American-built MusicMan bass at an "affordable" price. They used different woods and different electronics than the Sterlings. EBMM succeeded with the SUBs, but after a while they found that the cost to build the bass was rising and rather than raise the price, or keep the price low and move production to China, they discontinued it.
I would like to see them reissued but with a natural finish neck. I hated the black neck. I loved the diamond plate metal pickguard. Everything else could stay the same. I would imagine them priced somewhere around the Corvette and MIA Fenders.
Here's the thread from the EBMM forum on why they were discontinued:
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By the way, Sterling Ball says the company will not reintroduce a discontinued model like the SUB or the Sabre, for various reasons, not the least of which the company likes to move forward (think Bongo) and not live in the past.
Thanks for the thread Dean, I was wondering what happened. I would've kept mine except my wife got me a Ray for christmas and I had to sell the SUB to pay for another URB, (snapped the old one in half at a gig aarrrrrrgggghhhhhh)
I would say $500.00 is a good price for a SUB Sterling in good shape. When they were in production they had a street price of 699.00. Like all EBMM they are holding their value. I bought one back in 05 and its a keeper I love it.
In addition to all below, another difference is the bodies weren't contoured - eg, sharp corners (Just like a Ric!); little cost-cutting measures like that.