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Nyatoh is not a species of wood but a trade name. It is pretty similar to Asian mahogany in density. It seems unlikely that a maker would choose a wood that is significantly different for what is the same model. But who knows.
Just judging on the posts here it seems like the white is slightly less popular. So there may be a surplus of them in some shops. FWIW they’ve been listed at $549 since I saw them appear on the GC website two years ago.
worth a try depending on how long ago you purchased.. maybe tell them otherwise you want to return it and purchase another
Ha ha. My wife would. But it’s been about a year and we’re talking $50 here. No worries.
Maybe these new ones have better tuners, nuts and volume boost switches to justify the increase…?
Nice review! Thanks.I review of my Sterling by Music Man Stingray Short Scale in in order.
First off, I got a great deal on it from someone here on TB. $400 shipped in mint condition. And this is one of those rare cases where the seller said mint, and it actually was mint!
Some background - I never liked Stingrays. Why? I like a deep full tone, not the aggressive highs I hear from Stingrays. And I never liked the round pickguard. Also I could never figure our the nomenclature ... Sterling, Ernie Ball, MusicMan, SUB ... just too much to keep track of
So why did I buy it? It popped up on the TB classifieds one day and I loved the short scale and the color. It was a great deal. And I thought maybe it would be a good addition to my short scale collection, even if it didn't get played much.
Here are my thoughts on the bass in no particular order.
The dropped copper color is amazing and unique.
The bass is heavy, but it doesn't neck dive when held on a strap. The result is it feels solid, really solid. I Like.
[Let me add a comment to this. Its "on the verge" of neck diving. I can feel it. I can see where other ones might. Maybe mine has a heavy body that is balancing it. Lightweight tuners might be a good upgrade.]
The neck is super stiff and holds position well after adjusting the truss rod. Was able to set the action easily and it hasn't moved since. The truss rod wheel is the best thing ever! I don't know why this hasn't caught on with other manufacturer's? Is it patented?
The neck feels great in my hand. I don't know the radius, but its thicker and rounder than my other short scales. Feels very comfortable.
The neck feel unfinished. Obviously it has something on it, but its matte and you really can't see or feel it much. It feels almost like raw wood in your hand. Some people may not like this, or may associate it with being cheap, but not me. Its super smooth and your hand slides easily. To me this is one of the best features of the bass. Plays like butter as sellers like to say.
The fret work is well done. No high frets. And the edges are super smooth.
I like the fact that its passive. No batteries in my bass collection. The passive boost is just about too much - it may over-drive your amp! But even without the boost, its got a really hot output. The pickup is a beast. Please, no comments or arguments about "passive boost". I'm an engineer and I understand how this works. Bottom line is that you turn the knob and it gets louder. Marketing people are gonna call that a boost. Let me and my fellow engineers stick to making things, and let the sales and marketing types name them. Who am I to argue with them?
The tone is surprisingly versatile. This is very surprising to me, I did not expect it on a Stingray. It came with what I assume were the original strings and I was not happy with the tone, which I will exaggerate and call shrill. OK, not really shrill ... lets call it overly aggressive and mid focused. I put flats on it and it was much better, but a little bland. It seemed to lose its personality. So recently I put D'Addario EXL160S Nickel Rounds (50 to 105) on it. WOW. These strings sing on this bass. Now I can get anything from low and powerful to bright and snarly out of it. I never thought I'd like Stingray tone, but I have to admit to being into it now. I like to dial back the tone to maintain the deep low end, but it still always has that little bite on top of it.
Overall the fit, finish, hardware, and quality is such that I have no complaints at all. I can't find anything wrong with it. Its an amazing value for the money. I can't imagine how the USA version could be better enough for the extra cost.
The only thing I don't really like is the headstock. The 3+1 configuration is growing on me. It makes a lot of sense from a practical standpoint, as it places the tuners in optimal locations. But aesthetically the headstock looks big and ugly to me. I'm tempted to take it the band saw
The "round" pickguard doesn't bother me anymore. I guess I got used to it over time.
Overall this is a great bass and I'm going to keep it and play it. I never thought I'd say that about a Stingray.
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View attachment 4362802
I review of my Sterling by Music Man Stingray Short Scale in in order.
First off, I got a great deal on it from someone here on TB. $400 shipped in mint condition. And this is one of those rare cases where the seller said mint, and it actually was mint!
Some background - I never liked Stingrays. Why? I like a deep full tone, not the aggressive highs I hear from Stingrays. And I never liked the round pickguard. Also I could never figure our the nomenclature ... Sterling, Ernie Ball, MusicMan, SUB ... just too much to keep track of
So why did I buy it? It popped up on the TB classifieds one day and I loved the short scale and the color. It was a great deal. And I thought maybe it would be a good addition to my short scale collection, even if it didn't get played much.
Here are my thoughts on the bass in no particular order.
The dropped copper color is amazing and unique.
The bass is heavy, but it doesn't neck dive when held on a strap. The result is it feels solid, really solid. I Like.
[Let me add a comment to this. Its "on the verge" of neck diving. I can feel it. I can see where other ones might. Maybe mine has a heavy body that is balancing it. Lightweight tuners might be a good upgrade.]
The neck is super stiff and holds position well after adjusting the truss rod. Was able to set the action easily and it hasn't moved since. The truss rod wheel is the best thing ever! I don't know why this hasn't caught on with other manufacturer's? Is it patented?
The neck feels great in my hand. I don't know the radius, but its thicker and rounder than my other short scales. Feels very comfortable.
The neck feel unfinished. Obviously it has something on it, but its matte and you really can't see or feel it much. It feels almost like raw wood in your hand. Some people may not like this, or may associate it with being cheap, but not me. Its super smooth and your hand slides easily. To me this is one of the best features of the bass. Plays like butter as sellers like to say.
The fret work is well done. No high frets. And the edges are super smooth.
I like the fact that its passive. No batteries in my bass collection. The passive boost is just about too much - it may over-drive your amp! But even without the boost, its got a really hot output. The pickup is a beast. Please, no comments or arguments about "passive boost". I'm an engineer and I understand how this works. Bottom line is that you turn the knob and it gets louder. Marketing people are gonna call that a boost. Let me and my fellow engineers stick to making things, and let the sales and marketing types name them. Who am I to argue with them?
The tone is surprisingly versatile. This is very surprising to me, I did not expect it on a Stingray. It came with what I assume were the original strings and I was not happy with the tone, which I will exaggerate and call shrill. OK, not really shrill ... lets call it overly aggressive and mid focused. I put flats on it and it was much better, but a little bland. It seemed to lose its personality. So recently I put D'Addario EXL160S Nickel Rounds (50 to 105) on it. WOW. These strings sing on this bass. Now I can get anything from low and powerful to bright and snarly out of it. I never thought I'd like Stingray tone, but I have to admit to being into it now. I like to dial back the tone to maintain the deep low end, but it still always has that little bite on top of it.
Overall the fit, finish, hardware, and quality is such that I have no complaints at all. I can't find anything wrong with it. Its an amazing value for the money. I can't imagine how the USA version could be better enough for the extra cost.
The only thing I don't really like is the headstock. The 3+1 configuration is growing on me. It makes a lot of sense from a practical standpoint, as it places the tuners in optimal locations. But aesthetically the headstock looks big and ugly to me. I'm tempted to take it the band saw
The "round" pickguard doesn't bother me anymore. I guess I got used to it over time.
Overall this is a great bass and I'm going to keep it and play it. I never thought I'd say that about a Stingray.
View attachment 4362798 View attachment 4362799
View attachment 4362800
View attachment 4362802
I think you need a different switch to pull something like that off…. Schaller makes a couple of blade style super switches for fender style guitars that can be wired to do interesting combinations. I had one in a strat style SSH that allowed me to do some very cool things but I don’t know of anything that would work in the current space in your bass. My gut says the easiest way to address this is to add another three way switch that gives you P, P+MM, MM while allowing the current switch to change what is coming from the MM. You would need to add another switch though. Or, you could replace the rotary pot with a three way switch and sacrifice two of the options from the MM.
@loucook, do you still have the OEMs? And if so, are you interested in selling one or all of them?
