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Music Man SUB (US)

#41
JakobT said:
Yes, they’re totally different. The Sterling by Musicman SUBs are not produced by Ernie Ball, but in Asia by Praxis Instruments under license from Ernie Ball.

The US SUBs were discontinued around 2010. The Sterling by Musicman SUBs (also known as the Ray4 and Ray5) are still being produced, and have nothing to do with either the original SUBs or the Musicman Sterling, but are the lowest tier on the Asian-produced Stingray value line.

The naming conventions are confusing, but as long as you remember that Sterling by Musicman (SBMM in TB parlance) is produced in Asia under license, and Ernie Ball Musicman (EBMM to us TB’ers) is produced in the US, it’s not too difficult. Here is a chart I made earlier:

View attachment 4354684
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Mine is a NOS US-made SUB Sterling, not a "Sterling by Music Man." It had apparently been sitting in the Ernie Ball warehouse for over a decade before it was purchased by NJ Guitar and Bass Center.
 
#42
Skokiaan said:
Mine is a NOS US-made SUB Sterling, not a "Sterling by Music Man." It had apparently been sitting in the Ernie Ball warehouse for over a decade before it was purchased by NJ Guitar and Bass Center.
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Yes, I saw that from your pictures. But your question was somewhat ambiguously worded, especially considering the confusion over model names. I thought perhaps you were asking about Sterling by Musicman SUBs. Apologies.
 
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#43
rogerbmiller said:
Your bass is a USA made bass that was made between 2003 and 2006. Sterling Ball wanted to prove that a quality USA made bass could be made for under $1K so he rolled out this line. Body shape is the same as a USA Sterling but there were some cost saving methods used to keep manufacturing costs down. So the body is a slab body (no contours), the paid is a textured and rubberized finish that is rough to the touch, the neck has a thin coat of black paint and the hardware is non-branded. The body is a 2 piece poplar body.

The sterling model is based on the USA sterling concept but it does not have the pickup switching and uses a regular Stingray PUP rather than the Sterling PUP which has a hidden third coil to hum cancel when switched to the single coil mode. The Sterling is the only SUB that has the 3 band EQ.

In terms of how this compares to the SUB Sterling, it doesnt. The SUB Sterlings are cheap starter basses. Fine for the modey but not what the USA SUBs are and as a USA SUB enthusiast, it bothers me that they repurposed the name for those instruments. The USA SUBs were short lived precisely because they were great. Sterling Ball said upon discontinuing them that he might has well have put a $100 bill in each case when these shipped out.

Anyway, congrats on your SUB. It is a fantastic bass.


RBM
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This is what I am questioning. A US EBMM "SUB STERING BASS":

Headstock.jpg


My headstock:
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#48
rogerbmiller said:
there is no difference between the two. As I recall they originally were S.U.B. And rumored to mean Sport Utility Bass but everyone referred to them as “subs” so they removed the punctuation later.
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As I suspected, but without proof - no difference other than the headstock labeling. And the S.U.B. came before the SUB.

Between Sport Utility Bass and using the name of an existing model for their import line, EBMM should consider hiring a consultant before they name anything.
 
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