Yes,little far away. I found a rosewood neck,so am switching necks,from maple fretboard to rosewood,with the bass I bought to do the switch with,another short scale bass,I found,then flip it.
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SBMM Stingray Short scale
- Thread starter dralionux
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- short scale bass
Maybe you can sell the one you don't like for over the list price? After all, a swapped neck looks pretty cool on these!
Continuing the journey,to find a rosewood fretboard,for the dropped copper short scale. Bought a short scale SBMM,white with rosewood neck,and switched the necks. Here is the pictures of the switch. Kept the neck plates matched with body,and switched the tuners,cause mine had Schallers tuners. Got them all switched around now after couple hours,after receiving the white one. Plan on selling the white one with maple neck,and maple fretboard. Thought I would share the outcome. Long way around to get the rosewood fretboard,that I think looks better on the dropped copper bass.
I think both basses look better in that configuration
I have been thinking about playing a fretless StingRay for a long time. I love Pino's sound! Fretless StingRays are rare and I couldn't wait, so I picked up an SBMM-SS to convert it into a fretless. The plan was to de-fret or swap the fret board out for a slab of ebony, ebonol, pau ferro.
It was apparent, in the store, that I was holding one of the heaviest specimens at ~8.8 lbs. I am a weight conscious lad and would have preferred a pound lighter but the damned thing sounded so good. I could see that the assembly and the neck finish was sloppy but oh boy, the sound was great. It went home with me. For the dings on the head stock I got a set of 5 strings in the deal.
I have spent some time with the bass had have it set up and intonated properly. I had to file the nut slots, clean out the neck pocket, file some fret sprout, straighten the knobs, re-solder a loose wire, sand the sloppy finish on the neck.
The pickup was a little stronger on bass side so I raised the treble side and lowered the bass side. I had to place extra foam under the pickup so I could adjust the pickup height to the desirable level. The tuners are functional and seem well put together, ...for now.
I find that I am hesitant to de-fret the neck. The finish, where it counts, is smooth and silky. The fret board has a nice grain and the neck mates very well with the body and this bass sounds phenomenal (edit: as good as, the EBMM SS version)
So now I am thinking of sourcing another neck, one without frets. Status has no replacement necks for the short scale Musicmans and they don't plan making them. It could be that I might have to bite the bullet and go the Warmoth route.
Getting zero-mod thumb rest, custom pick guard, gig bag, replacement nut and possibly new tuners (depending how the stock ones hold up).
I will post pictures when it is done, but for now I'll mention that it is the dropped copper coloured one that I have and I really like this colour.
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That sounds like a long trip to get to where you want to be. I might suggest selling the stingray Shorty and going with an all Warmoth fretless short scale build with a stingray pick up in the sweet spot. You might wind up more satisfied, but as always, I could be talking out of my butt
The only step left is source or build a fretless neck for this puppy. I might just try to make a neck from scratch, which is a long standing dream. Maybe I'll learn something ;-)
Well, whatever you do, I wish you luck in your journey and remember to post pics!
I'm actually thinking about parting away with the bass soon as I wanted a shell pink bass for so long...I would prefer selling the bass by neck and body separately (located in Canada... shipping the whole bass is expensive). Lemme know if you are interested! I have the nut upgraded too
PM'dI'm actually thinking about parting away with the bass soon as I wanted a shell pink bass for so long...I would prefer selling the bass by neck and body separately (located in Canada... shipping the whole bass is expensive). Lemme know if you are interested! I have the nut upgraded too
Does the Warmoth short scale neck fit?
FWIW, I had my SBMM Short Scale defretted and it came out wonderful. Not a bit of regret.
I am not sure at this point if Warmoth would be willing to make a short scale neck with peddle head that fits the Sterling neck pocket. I will have to inquire but in the past (way before COVID) I found them not very flexible.
Worst case, I'll de-fret mine or make another. No big deal.
I hope you are enjoying your fretless!
That's the way those should have all along. Did you have the shim the neck or was it a good fit?
Actually,it fit perfect in the pocket,and no need for shim,from what I see visually. I just put new set of strings,and tuned and set intonation. Strings are low to fretboard the way I prefer,no buzzing.
Someone,just got a good deal,on this white one,managed to complete the journey. Sold as planned.
Just want to thank all of you bassheads out there for this awesome thread. I've been wanting a Stingray since the day I first laid eyes on one many moons ago. Although the active pickup systemand their price tag has always turned me off to them. Now it's available in short scale with a passive pickup for less than $500? Woohoo! So I bit the bullet and pulled the trigger and ordered one from GC last night. I am picking up a Sunburst version of this Sterling Short Scale Stingray as soon as I recieve my ready for pick up Email. Can't wait to get my hands on her!
Congrats, it's a really good bass. Please post photos after you receive it. I've only seen stock photos on a Sunburst Sterling Shorty.
