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SBMM Stingray Short scale

#2,241
I have lurked in the TB shadows so long the account I once had I think is linked to an email I deleted a decade ago. I had to reappear though because getting a definitive answer on a good retrofit for the complete POS tuners that come with the Sterling was driving me nuts. The Hipshot HB1 is a great replacement if you don’t mind drilling a few new pilot holes. The HB1 covers the old holes. The bottom holes aligned on three of four tuners, the fourth was clearly off due to sloppy factory work but I made it work with some careful drilling. While I was at it I shielded the cavities successfully removing the noise/hum. Still need a real nut and it required quite a bit of tweaking in setup. The E string is a tricky bugger to intonate and the saddles now sitting right on the thread winding of my D’Addario Chromes which is annoying. All that said though this is a kick ass bass for the price if you are willing to tweak a little!

Incidentally I saw two of the on sale sunburst models at a Guitar Center this weekend and they were both a lot rougher (frets, nuts, etc.) than the copper one I picked up a few months back. I was tempted at 449 to buy another but I wouldn’t have taken either of the two on display. So buyer beware, this is probably not a bass to mail order.

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#2,242
AWMN said:
I have lurked in the TB shadows so long the account I once had I think is linked to an email I deleted a decade ago. I had to reappear though because getting a definitive answer on a good retrofit for the complete POS tuners that come with the Sterling was driving me nuts. The Hipshot HB1 is a great replacement if you don’t mind drilling a few new pilot holes. The HB1 covers the old holes. The bottom holes aligned on three of four tuners, the fourth was clearly off due to sloppy factory work but I made it work with some careful drilling. While I was at it I shielded the cavities successfully removing the noise/hum. Still need a real nut and it required quite a bit of tweaking in setup. The E string is a tricky bugger to intonate and the saddles now sitting right on the thread winding of my D’Addario Chromes which is annoying. All that said though this is a kick ass bass for the price if you are willing to tweak a little!

Incidentally I saw two of the on sale sunburst models at a Guitar Center this weekend and they were both a lot rougher (frets, nuts, etc.) than the copper one I picked up a few months back. I was tempted at 449 to buy another but I wouldn’t have taken either of the two on display. So buyer beware, this is probably not a bass to mail order.

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I’m considering pulling the trigger on one of those Sunburst from guitar Center but I’m now scared by your experience. Any theories as to why the Sunburst would be set up worse than the copper?
 
#2,243
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#2,244
Kevin Doyle said:
I’m considering pulling the trigger on one of those Sunburst from guitar Center but I’m now scared by your experience. Any theories as to why the Sunburst would be set up worse than the copper?
Click to expand...

Don’t get me wrong, it is an awesome bass for $449 but if there is any way to see and play it first I would. Several here have commented on inconsistent quality. Tuners in particular, mine had a ton of play in one and none were very solid. The sunbursts I saw both had poorly finished nuts, one looked like it had stress cracks in it. The fret finish was quite different between the two. Both had loose pots, the mode select switch in particular. I would hate to steer you away if mail order is the only option but make sure you save the packaging and understand the return policy in case you don’t like it.
 
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#2,245
Kevin Doyle said:
I’m considering pulling the trigger on one of those Sunburst from guitar Center but I’m now scared by your experience. Any theories as to why the Sunburst would be set up worse than the copper?
Click to expand...
There is no reason. No one has done a study to show a difference in colors and quality. However the consistency in quality seems to be the problem. But hey with GC just send it back.
 
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#2,251
I bought a sunburst/maple SBMM short scale from Guitar Center. It was delivered today. I got it as a backup to my #1, a Oly white/rosewood SBMM short scale.
Setup was perfect. The nut slots were correctly placed and cut to the proper depth, and neck relief, action, pickup height, and intonation were spot on. Fit and finish look flawless.
One difference I noticed between the new bass and my white one is the neck finish. The neck finish on my white bass is a light gloss with a slightly amber tint. The neck on the new bass appears to be unfinished, raw wood. If there’s any finish at all on the neck, it is minimal.
I played the new bass through an amp for a few minutes. It sounds great, and everything seems to work normally.
I replaced the factory tuners on my white bass with Hipshot USA Ultralites, and I will eventually do the same with the new one. Other than that, no mods or setup work is needed.
 
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