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New Bass Day - Sterling 5 HS Edition!

wdinc01

wdinc01

Nov 19, 2005
2,791
44
Jacksonville, FL
#1
Quick background story - My Fender AJDV got stolen out of my car two weeks again, a bass I've had for eight years. The upside is I actually have renters insurance, so I was able to get a payout to help with the replacement (which I otherwise wouldn't be able to afford because I have a wedding coming up at the end of the year). I figured I would have grabbed an Elite V (I still want one), but spending a few hours in Bass Central turned me on to a Sterling HS. I was never one for EBMMs (or at least, Stingrays), but the Sterling HS really blew me away! It was like my jazz, only it sounded WAY meaner!

I wanted a fiver (which Bass Central didn't have when I was there) so I found one on Reverb and got a good price.

So without further ado...

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Excuse the messy background, we're in the process of moving.

I believe the finish is called Iced Blue Metallic. I don't feel like it's photographing well, because there's a sparkle in the finish, and its lighter in person. Matching headstock, maple fretboard. The seller had it strung with
Labella Deep Talking flats, which I was not expecting to like as much as I do, however I'm taking it in today to get some Loriders put on. Otherwise, this thing plays like butter!

I'll post more pictures when I'm not on my phone. Stay tuned!
 
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#4
southgabass said:
Gorgeous bass! I really like the Sterlings, in a 4-string the 5's are too narrow to my liking. And give that dog a treat for adding extra UMPH to your pic!
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I'm actually really digging how narrow the spacing is! Although I can't say I'm used to having a satin finish on the back of the neck, but I'm acclimating pretty quickly. And don't worry about Pickles, he gets plenty of treats!
 
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#7
wdinc01 said:
I'm actually really digging how narrow the spacing is! Although I can't say I'm used to having a satin finish on the back of the neck, but I'm acclimating pretty quickly. And don't worry about Pickles, he gets plenty of treats!
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Glad he gets plenty of treats, my daughter actually named one of her Guinea Pigs Pickles McNugget, great name =p
 
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#9
murphy said:
upside down pictures make me dizzy
Here

View attachment 1072258
Click to expand...

Sorry! It looked right on my phone, but I see on my computer everything is landscape. I'll try to fix that!

EDIT: Fixed!

southgabass said:
Glad he gets plenty of treats, my daughter actually named one of her Guinea Pigs Pickles McNugget, great name =p
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Tell your daughter that that's a solid name for a guinea pig, and that Pickles McNugget has a brother in arms in Florida!

Kirk Bryant said:
That there is one Bad Azz looking bass and I'm not even a huge fan, makes me want to try one again. I have mostly Fenders and a couple of more high end basses. Ive recently been drawn to MM basses for the first time after I played a new HH model. That's beautiful. Dig the pup too.
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I had the same thought! I was never one for Stingrays, and I didn't think a Sterling would change my mind. But then, here we are! I like the HS more than the HH, because I can still set it up like a Jazz bass, although I wouldn't say they sound the exact same. It's just nice getting those sonic options.
 
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#10
wdinc01 said:
Tell your daughter that that's a solid name for a guinea pig, and that Pickles McNugget has a brother in arms in Florida!
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Indeed, sadly he passed last year at the ripe old age of 3.5 (pretty standard for a guinea pig), partially due to him getting his own outside living space and south GA humid heat (he got used to being in the AC I believe) as you're aware of being in Jacksonville
 
#11
southgabass said:
Indeed, sadly he passed last year at the ripe old age of 3.5 (pretty standard for a guinea pig), partially due to him getting his own outside living space and south GA humid heat (he got used to being in the AC I believe) as you're aware of being in Jacksonville
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That's unfortunate. My fiance actually worked at VSU, so I know just how humid it can get in Valdosta
 
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#13
Congrats! I looked at a Sterling 5 in Pacific blue burst in that model (HS but with a rosewood fretboard) but went with a Stingray 5 HS. I'm sure you'll love the Sterling. I plan to add one to my collection one of these years. Sucks that your jazz was pinched but glad you like the new one.
 
#17
Kirk Bryant said:
Sorry for the newbie question but what's the difference between the Stingray and Stering?
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Hi Kirk, I don't know very much about the 5-string versions, but in 4-strings, the Sterling has a slightly downsized body, the neck width at the nut feels very Jazz Bass like, (it's a little narrower than the StingRay's neck at the nut), the single pickup version of the Sterling has a 3-way wiring selector switch for Series, Single Coil (it has a hum cancelling dummy coil under the pickguard for noiseless single coil operation), and Parallel, and the magnets in the Sterling's pickup are ceramic, whereas the StingRay's are alnico, and the Sterling has a 3-band eq, whereas the "Standard" or "Classic" version of the StingRay has a 2-band eq. But you can get the StingRay with a 3-band eq.
 
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#19
Arthur U. Poon said:
Hi Kirk, I don't know very much about the 5-string versions, but in 4-strings, the Sterling has a slightly downsized body, the neck width at the nut feels very Jazz Bass like, (it's a little narrower than the StingRay's neck at the nut), the single pickup version of the Sterling has a 3-way wiring selector switch for Series, Single Coil (it has a hum cancelling dummy coil under the pickguard for noiseless single coil operation), and Parallel, and the magnets in the Sterling's pickup are ceramic, whereas the StingRay's are alnico, and the Sterling has a 3-band eq, whereas the "Standard" or "Classic" version of the StingRay has a 2-band eq. But you can get the StingRay with a 3-band eq.
Click to expand...

Adding to that, my fiver feels similar to a jazz bass, although I would say it's actually slimmer in the neck and the body. Obviously its a different shape, but it still feels light and slim. The neck is definitely slimmer than a Stingray, which is why I've never seriously considered them.

The switch on the HS is a five way, and if we think of the single coil as 1, and the humbucker as 2 and 3, the options are: 1 and dummy coil, 1 and 2, 1 2 and 3, 3 and dummy coil, and 2 and 3, all in series. I think of it as along the lines as a jazz on steroids and REALLY mean.

I know there's a thread here where people were discussing why Sterlings aren't as popular as Stingrays. If you ever get a chance to A/B the two, you definitely should! They may look similar, but both play differently
 
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