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On the fence about sterling ray 34

#21
Cory rich40 said:
I have a stingray special 5 HH and a bongo 5 HH. My wonderful girlfriend just got me the new fender Adam Clayton 50 watt bass amp. My guitar player complained about my B string being too muddy. I was using the bongo with this amp. I personally thought it sounded good. The Adam Clayton amp won't be the only amp I use though. Only certain times. People have different opinions as to whether amps like that can handle the low B string. I have a fender American special 4 string jazz bass that's not doing anything for me. The strings were dead sounding with no sustain. I put new strings on it and it still sounds dead. I played it for 10 years and never really payed attention until I got my stingray special. I guess music man basses ruined my love for fender basses. And I tried another fender bass disappointed too. So my question is will the 1000 dollar sterling ray 34 sound close to the stingray special? Will I probably at least like it better than the fender? Trying one out at a store isn't really an option. I just know the music man basses work really good for me but I'm not so ready to pay over 2000 for a new stingray special either
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Why not ust use your Stingray special? Or am i missing something here??
 
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#23
Other than wider string spacing, that fancy finish and maybe a beater, there's nothing an SBMM Ray 34 can give you that your EBMM StingRay 5HH can't. Just solo the bridge pickup, and if you need to suck up to your guitar player, stay off the B-string. There, you saved $1,000.

But if you're really GASing for the bass, get it.
 
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#24
So the solution to a muddy B string is buying a new 4 string? Not sure I understand.

At any rate, guitar players are not wrong for trying to get a better bass sound. Talkbass is full of like, bass rights activists who assume that we bass players are always right or shouldn't have our tone criticized by the likes of them. Your B string might in fact be muddy. I've been told things about my tone by the guys in my band and taken it seriously. Believe it or not, they hear things we don't sometimes.

Most times a muddy B string just needs some setup tweaking or a different gauge string. It can come down to an almost infinitesimally small adjustment in string height, pickup height, and neck relief. I'd suggest, if you haven't done so already, returning the bass to factory spec on all of that stuff, and make sure it has whatever type and gauge strings it ships with from the factory. EBMM tend to know what they're doing I find.
 
#25
Bill Murray said:
I've actually owned all of your basses and the one in question.

The Sterlings and the Specials have some crossover is terms of feel and tone but they are not the same.

I strongly prefer the Sterling for aggressive tones (metal, rock, slap, etc). On the flip side the Special takes the crown for laying down smooth fat grooves (Soul, Motown, Reggae, modern pop).

The main difference between the two though is easily feel. Everything on the Special operates so much smoother, the neck feels a little thinner, the wax/oil finish makes the neck feel ultra smooth, the finish is slick but durable, the tuners are effortless, the pickups feel solid, the pots turn like butter.

The Sterling feels good but you will immediately notice a difference. The tuners especially feel cheap comparatively (mine also broke after the first string change; which is very common on these for some reason). The pots are good but they don't sit the same and they feel loose (comparatively). The pickups are solid but the covers feel cheap and have a little more play than the specials do. The neck is comfortable for sure but the lack of wax/oil makes it feel more bulky (I'm convinced it's actually slightly thicker as well).

Long story short, the Sterlings embrace that 90s style Stingray sound but add some modern flair vs the special which to me is like the love child of a Stingray and a P-bass.

Now to actually answer your questions:

As a fellow former dissatisfied Fender explorer myself, I imagine you'll dig the Sterling. I LOVE mine, the tuners just broke last weekend (on stage, at a gig, during soundcheck…) so this weekend I had to use my Special instead and I truly missed the Sterling. They are certainly fairly interchangeable but they each have an inherent personality that can't be dialed in or out. I see no actual reason to buy a new bass in this situation though, I think adjusting EQ to perform within the amps comfort zone OR getting a new amp that can comfortably handle the tone your pushing would be a more practical solution.
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I have 2 amps that work great with my ray and bongo. That's why I'm wondering if this amp works better with a 4 string maybe
 
#26
IronLung1986 said:
So the solution to a muddy B string is buying a new 4 string? Not sure I understand.

At any rate, guitar players are not wrong for trying to get a better bass sound. Talkbass is full of like, bass rights activists who assume that we bass players are always right or shouldn't have our tone criticized by the likes of them. Your B string might in fact be muddy. I've been told things about my tone by the guys in my band and taken it seriously. Believe it or not, they hear things we don't sometimes.

Most times a muddy B string just needs some setup tweaking or a different gauge string. It can come down to an almost infinitesimally small adjustment in string height, pickup height, and neck relief. I'd suggest, if you haven't done so already, returning the bass to factory spec on all of that stuff, and make sure it has whatever type and gauge strings it ships with from the factory. EBMM tend to know what they're doing I find.
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The fender ACB50 combo is a 50 watt amp. 15 inch speaker. All tube. It's not my only amp and my basses work great with those. I'm just speculating because of the low wattage amp that maybe a 4 string could work better with it. This amp definitely has a strong midrange presence. Hopefully I can tweak some things and get it to work better. Wish there was something that could make my fender sound better and have more sustain.
 
#27
Cory rich40 said:
The fender ACB50 combo is a 50 watt amp. 15 inch speaker. All tube. It's not my only amp and my basses work great with those. I'm just speculating because of the low wattage amp that maybe a 4 string could work better with it. This amp definitely has a strong midrange presence. Hopefully I can tweak some things and get it to work better. Wish there was something that could make my fender sound better and have more sustain.
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And I use 410 cabs with those other amps.
 
#28
Cory rich40 said:
The fender ACB50 combo is a 50 watt amp. 15 inch speaker. All tube. It's not my only amp and my basses work great with those. I'm just speculating because of the low wattage amp that maybe a 4 string could work better with it. This amp definitely has a strong midrange presence. Hopefully I can tweak some things and get it to work better. Wish there was something that could make my fender sound better and have more sustain.
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Try a decent preamp/compressor pedal on the Fender you already have.
 
#29
Cory rich40 said:
I have a stingray special 5 HH and a bongo 5 HH. My wonderful girlfriend just got me the new fender Adam Clayton 50 watt bass amp. My guitar player complained about my B string being too muddy. I was using the bongo with this amp. I personally thought it sounded good. The Adam Clayton amp won't be the only amp I use though. Only certain times. People have different opinions as to whether amps like that can handle the low B string. I have a fender American special 4 string jazz bass that's not doing anything for me. The strings were dead sounding with no sustain. I put new strings on it and it still sounds dead. I played it for 10 years and never really payed attention until I got my stingray special. I guess music man basses ruined my love for fender basses. And I tried another fender bass disappointed too. So my question is will the 1000 dollar sterling ray 34 sound close to the stingray special? Will I probably at least like it better than the fender? Trying one out at a store isn't really an option. I just know the music man basses work really good for me but I'm not so ready to pay over 2000 for a new stingray special either
Click to expand...
 
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#31
I have a Bong 4 HH and a 1978 Stingray and a purple Ray34. The Ray 34 can compete with all of them, each has a little different sound. The 1978 Stingray has a more powerful pre amp. and feels a tiny bit better. I could choose any one of the three depending on my mood, they are all very good.
 
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#32
Cory rich40 said:
The fender ACB50 combo is a 50 watt amp. 15 inch speaker. All tube. It's not my only amp and my basses work great with those. I'm just speculating because of the low wattage amp that maybe a 4 string could work better with it. This amp definitely has a strong midrange presence. Hopefully I can tweak some things and get it to work better. Wish there was something that could make my fender sound better and have more sustain.
Click to expand...

But even if a 4 string would work better with that amp, you could just use the 5 strings you have and avoid the B string. Or are you just wanting the real 4 string experience?

I would be skeptical of the notion that that amp simply can't work with B strings. You might just need to feed it less low end from the onboard preamp and/or favor the bridge pickup. Those EBMM neck pickups add a lot of loose low end that can definitely translate into mud with certain setups.
 
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#34
I'm somewhat confused by the situation - did your guitar player say that your B sounds muddy in general/before, or only after using the new amp?

The Bongo is not known for a naturally 'muddy' B - if anything, it tends to be towards the lean/clinical side. So if the complaints have been there from before - maybe an EQ/Amp issue. If it's a response to the AC amp - then ... it may be just that amp.

I haven't heard this particular amp, and not that familiar with AC's gear - but don't recall Clayton being much of a 5-string player? So it may be that the amp is just not geared toward those tones.

In both cases - replacing the Bongo with a SBMM would not be my first course of action. Let us know how it goes.
 
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#35
If the fender has no sustain try checking pickup height and also loosen the neck screws a little with the strings still under tension to make sure the neck is seated well into the neck pocket before tightening them back up.
 
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#36
Cory rich40 said:
I have a stingray special 5 HH and a bongo 5 HH. My wonderful girlfriend just got me the new fender Adam Clayton 50 watt bass amp. My guitar player complained about my B string being too muddy. I was using the bongo with this amp. I personally thought it sounded good. The Adam Clayton amp won't be the only amp I use though. Only certain times. People have different opinions as to whether amps like that can handle the low B string. I have a fender American special 4 string jazz bass that's not doing anything for me. The strings were dead sounding with no sustain. I put new strings on it and it still sounds dead. I played it for 10 years and never really payed attention until I got my stingray special. I guess music man basses ruined my love for fender basses. And I tried another fender bass disappointed too. So my question is will the 1000 dollar sterling ray 34 sound close to the stingray special? Will I probably at least like it better than the fender? Trying one out at a store isn't really an option. I just know the music man basses work really good for me but I'm not so ready to pay over 2000 for a new stingray special either
Click to expand...


Unless something has changed recently, the Ray34 is basically a budget version of a pre-2018 StingRay, with the old style 9 Volt preamp, and AlNiCo pickup.

The StingRay Special (the standard StingRay model from 2018 onwards) has a re-voiced, 18 Volt, preamp, and Neodymium pickup.

So no, it's not going to sound exactly like your StingRay 5 Special, and that's why many people prefer the Rsy34, and older StingRays for more aggressive tones, and styles of music.

If you're dead set on selling the Fender, and spending about $1K on a StingRay type bass - and you're considering the Ray34; as I said, at that point you're talking about old-school StingRay tones, not StingRay Special toned - in which case the Ray34 will be absolutely fine, but personally I'd be patient, and keep my eyes open for a used pre-2018 EBMM StingRay, or StingRay EX (assembled in Japan, from USA manufactured EBMM parts), which can often be picked up from anywhere between $800 - $1400.
 
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#37
I've play a ray5 since the mid 90's and I had the same idea. I ordered a purple sparkle ray35 hoping I could. The tuners self destructed the 1st time I tried to tune it. Sent it back in exchange for a blue one with chrome HW as apposed to black HW. The tuners were just OK. I've seen better ones on a SX, but the thing was felt like a cinder block. Sent it back and bought a Fender Player plus V which is descent. Don't expect the Sterling import to be anything like your Ray
 
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#39
Bill Murray said:
So essentially you have everything you need, you're just finding the amp can't hang with a low B?

Rather than using the other amps with the basses that work well together you want to buy a new bass that jives with the new amp?
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Yeah and I wish it was my fender jazz. I need to have a professional set up on it and see if that helps. If it does, problem solved!!
 
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#40
And since I had heard this amp was strong in the midrange area, I turned the bass knob to about 3 o clock. This may have caused the muddy sound on the B string also. I need to take the time to adjust it probably. I'm just saying my guitar player expected the SVT sound and it's not going to happen at 50 watts and I know this
 

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