Hello there, could anyone point into the right direction as to where I can purchase a zero mod thumb rest for my SBMM SS4? I reached out to best bass gear and no luck. I did however see a post here with images of the model I need, any info would be much appreciated, Thanks.
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SBMM Stingray Short scale
- Thread starter dralionux
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- short scale bass
I know I may be accused of being a bit of a one trick pony here, but I have to say that my straps from Coco Guitar Straps have really helped make my basses easier to wear. Of course, maybe because I find them stylistically just to die for!
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Check out her work: Invalid Link Removed Ask her to make you one that's 3" wide. I think the cost was only $5-10 more, and well worth it.
She's still in transition between moving house from the UK to the USA right now, but she'll be back in business soon.
I thought the blue model only came with a maple neck, did you do a neck/body swap there?
Yes indeed, found a friend right in this here happy thread. We met up, swapped necks, drank some liquid refreshments, swapped stories and continue to post pics of our super cool basses!
There are a couple other people who have offered to trade necks with others, but I've not seen any other posts of the process being completed.
I always thought the Daphne bass and a rosewood fingerboard, looked great.Yes indeed, found a friend right in this here happy thread. We met up, swapped necks, drank some liquid refreshments, swapped stories and continue to post pics of our super cool basses!
There are a couple other people who have offered to trade necks with others, but I've not seen any other posts of the process being completed.
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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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Great review.
I've been pining after one of these for weeks. Your review showed me what I believe to be the true color "root beer" of this bass - I'm in!
I have my appointment on Friday morning with my tech to get my SBMM defretted. I’m excited. I haven’t decided whether I want to get the fingerboard coated or not…. I think I’ll try it for a bit without a coating and see what it feels and sounds like before deciding.
Awesome! Mine is Tru-Oiled and I like it a lot.
I’ve got a container of tru oil that I used on a partscaster… hadn’t thought of using that.
Yep.Yes indeed, found a friend right in this here happy thread. We met up, swapped necks, drank some liquid refreshments, swapped stories and continue to post pics of our super cool basses!
There are a couple other people who have offered to trade necks with others, but I've not seen any other posts of the process being completed.
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the black pickguard looks great
Thanks. Pretty sure it's not screwed down in this pic but it's on there now for good.
I realized that I didn’t follow up regarding the Sterling tuners.
I wrote to the company and was told that all purchases of replacement parts go through Pitbull Audio. I contacted them and was told that the tuners are only sold in complete sets and was given two different prices from two different sales people. In the meantime, I posted here and in the wanted forum and was contacted by a fellow Talk Basser who had swapped his tuners and he gifted me one. It arrived. I installed it. All was/is good. Then I tried to straighten the bent one and what I expected happened - it broke.
One of these days I’ll swap them all for something better… in the meantime, everything is good.
So the bass is great now - I’ll do a review after my tech finishes the defret. I have that appointment for this Friday.
The short review is that I also have an EMBB short scale. I do prefer the EBMM but they are more alike than one would expect given the difference in price. My experience parallels the one in this video from Anderson’s
I wrote to the company and was told that all purchases of replacement parts go through Pitbull Audio. I contacted them and was told that the tuners are only sold in complete sets and was given two different prices from two different sales people. In the meantime, I posted here and in the wanted forum and was contacted by a fellow Talk Basser who had swapped his tuners and he gifted me one. It arrived. I installed it. All was/is good. Then I tried to straighten the bent one and what I expected happened - it broke.
One of these days I’ll swap them all for something better… in the meantime, everything is good.
So the bass is great now - I’ll do a review after my tech finishes the defret. I have that appointment for this Friday.
The short review is that I also have an EMBB short scale. I do prefer the EBMM but they are more alike than one would expect given the difference in price. My experience parallels the one in this video from Anderson’s
$45 plus shipping or $65 and not sure about shipping. Neither is unreasonable but not all that far from a real upgrade to better tuners. I’m thinking that I’ll probably go with the EBMM OEM tuners when I upgrade which would be $120. Hipshots would be roughly that. I’ve seen Schallers for under $100.
In the "what gig back will this bass fit in" category, I can say that it fits quite well in a Levy's deluxe electric guitar bag.
I think we have found another benefit of short scale basses. They seem to fit easily into just about any guitar case which means less $$ and more choices.
Wonderful to know. The list is getting longer - the Gator Pro and Transit, Mono (all of them?), and now the Levy's.
How do you like the bag?
You do need to be aware of dimensions. Many guitar cases are too short even for the Stingray short scale which is one of the shorter short scale basses at 40 7/8 inches. For example, I love the Protec Contigo bag but the guitar bag is too short for my SBMM short scale stingray. Many guitar bags are 40 inches or even shorter.I think we have found another benefit of short scale basses. They seem to fit easily into just about any guitar case which means less $$ and more choices.
I like watching those guys. Nathan always sounds like he's had a few pints at his local.
