Ohhhh, That Grain!!!!

[groovaholic]

Some of the Ray 34s have incredible finishes...that is definitely one of them.
Every bit as nice as some of the Musicman BFR Basses.
Truth is, yours looks twice as nice with the white pickup.
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I'm not normally a fan of the white pickups, but on this bass, with THIS finish, I agree 100% that the white pickup is the clincher.

(I also have a strong preference for the original style pickup with "ears" - it's my preferred thumb anchor spot)

 

[swink]

The white Pickup does not make my eyes bleed... I' dd keep it that way.
Nice catch

 

[Holdsg]

Very nice.

 

[scott sinner]

I have this same model. I will fully admit that I had gone into the store not intending to get a bass but had to try it because it looked so nice. It played well enough and poopie happens. Plays better after I did some setup work.

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

NBD!

Just got this sweet Ray34 off of TBer TimBosby. Check out the grain on this particular example!

The original owner had swapped the factory black pup for this white alnico MM pup. He also had put on white knobs and a different (black) pickguard (with a Batman/Superman logo on it).

I swapped the in the original clear guard and installed some really nice, aluminum knobs that I had laying around from another project. I left the white MM pup installed for now as it sounds really REALLY, good!

Still amazed by the grain on this baby!

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Beautiful !! Kind of reminds me of spider webs. The white pickup really pops!!
Is it heavy?

 

[SunByrne]

Congrats and enjoy!

I think SBMM really hit it out of the park with this finish. Just for comparison, here's mine.

Gotta love that grain...

 

[ACRock]

Beautiful! That's a ceruse finish (pronounced sair-oo-zay.) George Fulantetto at F-Bass has been doing this technique for decades. It's quite striking.

Anybody wood people know how to do a ceruse finish like this?

 

[coy garcia]

Nice! if mine was a 4 and looked like this I'd play it

 

[micguy]

Anybody wood people know how to do a ceruse finish like this?

I think that's a black first finish (without grain filling), then the white goes on (filling in the open pores), and you sand most of the white off, then clear it. The trick is not to sand the black off.

Here's essentially the reverse (dark stain, then sand most of it off, so the pores are dark, then a wash of light stain). In this case, a 1 piece body provides a lot of variation in grain spacing :

 

[bholder]

A nice piece o' Ash indeed! Love ceruse finishes!

 

[rmayer]

Beautiful bass. I've only sen that finish on some F basses, which cost a bit more.

 

[39-Bassist]

I really like a natural finish and that looks great.
Nice setup.

 

[MasterMonkeyMan]

I love a nice piece of ash.

Likely to induce a long lasting woody!

 

[Gizmot]

Congrats on the bass! I think the finish and the black hardware look fabulous, but I don't care for the white pickup cover - - but I bet that's an easy thing to fix.

 

[Quadzilla]

Congrats and enjoy!

I think SBMM really hit it out of the park with this finish. Just for comparison, here's mine.

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Gotta love that grain...

That's nice! I actually prefer the tint on the neck on yours over mine. Mine is a bit dark for my tastes! Congrats!

 

[Reedt2000]

That's nice! I actually prefer the tint on the neck on yours over mine. Mine is a bit dark for my tastes! Congrats!

I dig the dark roast, it ghosts those black dots in there really slick and subtle

 

[MattZilla]

I know we’re supposed to keep this clean enough for bassists who’re clean-tongued and/or minors, but this absolutely is deserving of several cuss words.

I think even the least imaginative reader has a good idea of my initial response.



More thoughtfully- I wish more basses were available without front inlays on the fretboard. The black dots on the dark board are good enough for the effect.

Love the looks of this instrument in entirety. Despite my preference for several other things, there isn’t anything I’d change about this.

[edit] At first drool I thought it was an EBMM. Sterling By’s don’t have roasted necks, right? Is that neck Mahogany?

 

[SunByrne]

I actually prefer the tint on the neck on yours over mine. Mine is a bit dark for my tastes! Congrats!

My guess is in person the difference isn't really that big—lighting makes a huge difference.

 

[Quadzilla]

I dig the dark roast, it ghosts those black dots in there really slick and subtle

Maybe we should trade necks then (I'm down if you are)? Mine is in PERFECT condition.

 

[SunByrne]

I know we’re supposed to keep this clean enough for bassists who’re clean-tongued and/or minors, but this absolutely is deserving of several cuss words.

I think even the least imaginative reader has a good idea of my initial response.

Yep, when I first saw these shown off at NAMM in January 2020 (I wasn't there, but there were pics), I was all "wow, those are <bleeping> gorgeous."

In a fit of self-discipline, I managed to hold off buying one until June 2020.

Love the looks of this instrument in entirety. Despite my preference for several other things, there isn’t anything I’d change about this.

I wouldn't mind if mine weighed a little less, but otherwise I wouldn't change a thing. Sound, feel, appearance, all terrific. This is a "take to the grave" bass for me.

At first drool I thought it was an EBMM. Sterling By’s don’t have roasted necks, right? Is that neck Mahogany?

No, it actually is roasted maple. SBMM started doing roasted maple necks on the Ray34s and Ray35s in either 2019 or 2020, not sure which. It feels as good as it looks.