SBMM Ray4 HH - Pickup wiring diagram (and modifications)

[Stephen Shapiro]

The only mod I actually did was the dual switch parallel/serial setup… the parallel only version *should* be fine, and shouldn't introduce noise as far as I can tell. Do you recall if your original stock wiring looked exactly like the stock diagram above, especially with regards to the pickup wires themselves?

Your diagram of the stock wiring was spot-on for my unit.

 

[T. Brookins]

The parallel rewire makes what is already a very versatile bass much more useful. It evens out the volumes among all settings and it sounds great.

 

[Melissiah]

Hi, I'm the New owner of a 2021 ebmm sterling5. Suppose to be wired in series except both humbucker in parallel in position 3. If you take a look on picture, pickups only have 3 wires. Black, red and green. How can they split coil in position 2 and 4 with only 3 wires? Can I install a switch to have my Humbucker in parallel in position one when I need to?

 

[Melissiah]

Looks like II'll have to put 2 wires myself. Thanks for any help of what should I do. Wich pole where on a pdtd switch to have serie-parallel or better serie-parallel-single

 

[stockplus]

Question to @essej and the rest of you awesome folks. In a Ray4 HH, are the neck and bridge pickups identical or do they differ in some way (e.g., slightly higher hotter bridge)? Thanks!

 

[essej]

Question to @essej and the rest of you awesome folks. In a Ray4 HH, are the neck and bridge pickups identical or do they differ in some way (e.g., slightly higher hotter bridge)? Thanks!

Good question! I just measured my original Ray 4HH pickups and they both have identical resistances on each coil (~3.24 kOhm), and are otherwise visually identical as well. Safe to say they are the same!

 

[essej]

Hi, I'm the New owner of a 2021 ebmm sterling5. Suppose to be wired in series except both humbucker in parallel in position 3. If you take a look on picture, pickups only have 3 wires. Black, red and green. How can they split coil in position 2 and 4 with only 3 wires? Can I install a switch to have my Humbucker in parallel in position one when I need to?

Just a heads up that this thread is about the Sterling by Music Man (SBMM) Ray 4HH bass, which has different electronics from the EBMM sterling... so you are probably better served on another thread! (Another victim of the most confusing product naming scheme ever)

 

[stockplus]

Totally awesome! Thank you @essej! You are one of the fine folks who make TB the invaluable resource that it is.

Good question! I just measured my original Ray 4HH pickups and they both have identical resistances on each coil (~3.24 kOhm), and are otherwise visually identical as well. Safe to say they are the same!

 

[aj567]

I recently modified my SBMM Ray4 HH with series/parallel switches, and because there didn't seem to be any wiring charts for this model or this modification, I thought that I'd make some for the benefit of others who might want to do the same thing.

Here is the stock pickup wiring diagram for reference:
View attachment 4708600

And here is the modification wiring I decided to use, in order to disturb the existing wiring the least. In parallel mode for both pickups, the volume level is consistent across all 5 switch positions, which is great. Also, a bonus feature is that you can get a few lone single-coil modes out of it too (although not all).

View attachment 4708614

And here are links to PDF versions:
Ray 4 HH - Pickup Wiring Diagram
Ray 4 HH - Pickup Wiring Diagram with Series_Parallel Switches

I'm guessing the other SBMM HH models have the same/similar wiring. There are probably other modifications to get even more combinations, but that would take more switches... perhaps this thread can discuss them!

Nice work! The only option not present is parallel humbuckers, in series: (A+B)>(C+D). I wonder what that sounds like!

 

[DTWilliams]

I recently bought a new Ray34HH on clearance. Love the feel, general sound and quality of the instrument.

However, I noticed the bridge pickup wasn't quite as chimey as a typical Stingray. There was a bit more low-mid grunt to it & the aforementioned volume drop on settings 2 & 4 left me puzzled. Then I emailed SBMM and learned that ALL SBMM basses now come wired in series.

I am now very much considering having my bass rewired in parallel & have 2 questions for you guys who've done this mod.

First, does parallel rewiring make the bridge pickup on its own sound noticeably closer to a traditional StingRay bridge pickup?

Lastly, because of the extra magnets involved on these dual humbucker models, should the pickups be lowered a bit more than a typical single humbucker model to get an equal tone? I heard a luthier guy on YouTube make this claim about an EBMM Stringray 5HH (different bass, I know) & it brought to mind a comparison video I saw of a guy a/b testing a Ray34 & Ray34HH & claiming their just different animals. I'm not so sure but the latter claim.

 

[Melissiah]

I recently bought a new Ray34HH on clearance. Love the feel, general sound and quality of the instrument.

However, I noticed the bridge pickup wasn't quite as chimey as a typical Stingray. There was a bit more low-mid grunt to it & the aforementioned volume drop on settings 2 & 4 left me puzzled. Then I emailed SBMM and learned that ALL SBMM basses now come wired in series.

I am now very much considering having my bass rewired in parallel & have 2 questions for you guys who've done this mod.

First, does parallel rewiring make the bridge pickup on its own sound noticeably closer to a traditional StingRay bridge pickup?

Lastly, because of the extra magnets involved on these dual humbucker models, should the pickups be lowered a bit more than a typical single humbucker model to get an equal tone? I heard a luthier guy on YouTube make this claim about an EBMM Stringray 5HH (different bass, I know) & it brought to mind a comparison video I saw of a guy a/b testing a Ray34 & Ray34HH & claiming their just different animals. I'm not so sure but the latter claim.

here's my mod guide to convert my serie sterling to parallel ray
USA Sterling HH to Stingray Parallel MOD

 

[fourstringbliss]

I've never played one of these, but from the diagrams it would seem like you'd get hum in both the inners and outers settings. It doesn't look like the pickups are reverse wired from each other like humbuckers in a guitar, so there'd be no hum cancelation. Am I right in this?

Thanks!

 

[Melissiah]

If you zoom on pictures, you'll see a small A and a small D et the end of single coils. The are on the opposite sides.

 

[fourstringbliss]

If you zoom on pictures, you'll see a small A and a small D et the end of single coils. The are on the opposite sides.

It still seems like the pickups would not be RW with each other. The north coil of each pickup goes to hot with the same color wires, and the south coil of each pickup goes to ground with the same color wires. To me, this would would mean they're not RW, and therefore the outer coils or inner coils with each other would not hum cancel. @LowEndLobster noticed noise on the inner coils setting in his video and thought it might just be the rear coil of the neck pickup soloed.

 

[Melissiah]

It still seems like the pickups would not be RW with each other. The north coil of each pickup goes to hot with the same color wires, and the south coil of each pickup goes to ground with the same color wires. To me, this would would mean they're not RW, and therefore the outer coils or inner coils with each other would not hum cancel. @LowEndLobster noticed noise on the inner coils setting in his video and thought it might just be the rear coil of the neck pickup soloed.

If you take a look at the original picture in post #24, there is a jumper that link both humbucker and since this bass is stock wired in series, my guess should be good. I have no hum in my 5 position to my ears.

 

[fourstringbliss]

If you take a look at the original picture in post #24, there is a jumper that link both humbucker and since this bass is stock wired in series, my guess should be good. I have no hum in my 5 position to my ears.

Got it!! I was thinking parallel, but series makes more sense for hum-free playing.

I thought parallel was the usual way of wiring Stingrays?

 

[Melissiah]

Got it!! I was thinking parallel, but series makes more sense for hum-free playing.

I thought parallel was the usual way of wiring Stingrays?

Yes for Stingray but it's an american sterling. The reason for my mod is that I wanted a stingray parallel sound…
USA Sterling HH to Stingray Parallel MOD

 

[fourstringbliss]

Yes for Stingray but it's an american sterling. The reason for my mod is that I wanted a stingray parallel sound…
USA Sterling HH to Stingray Parallel MOD

I think I'll end up installing the switches so I can have the series and parallel options.

How are the necks on these things? Hardware?

Thanks!

 

[-Boscoe-]

Necks are usually good. Hardware is okay for the price level. Note that they're easily to upgrade and parts can be found on Amazon, so if you don't like the tuners or bridge, it's easy to swap them out.

Note that like all basses, if they've been hanging on the upper pegs of a music store under hot lights for six months the necks might be dried out and frets may poke. I suggest you either try them out before buying and pick the one with the best neck or order online from a store with a good return policy. Or make some fretwork a condition of the sale.

My original Ray4's neck is amazing, but I've had a Ray34 that required some fret end work. The latter one had been in the store for a while.

 

[fourstringbliss]

Necks are usually good. Hardware is okay for the price level. Note that they're easily to upgrade and parts can be found on Amazon, so if you don't like the tuners or bridge, it's easy to swap them out.

Note that like all basses, if they've been hanging on the upper pegs of a music store under hot lights for six months the necks might be dried out and frets may poke. I suggest you either try them out before buying and pick the one with the best neck or order online from a store with a good return policy. Or make some fretwork a condition of the sale.

My original Ray4's neck is amazing, but I've had a Ray34 that required some fret end work. The latter one had been in the store for a while.

I'd be buying it new from Sweetwater, so it shouldn't have been hanging under lights, but I'm prepared to deal with sharp fret ends. Good to hear about the necks - thanks!