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SBMM Stingray Short scale

#3,001
I just put the Cobalts on my Jazz V and while they sound pretty bright and all (almost too bright IMO, so I hope they mellow out), they don't feel nearly as smooth as my Dunlops on my EBMM SS Stingray which feel like glass and I love them.

Am looking to now put flats on my SBMM SS Stingray and am really at a loss as to what to try next. Anything brighter than Dunlops, flatter than Cobalts, but also smooth like Dunlops? If so, I'll probably take the Dunlops off my EBMM and put them on my SBMM, then put the new best of both world string on the EBMM Shorty as it is my #1.
 
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#3,005
Joydbr3Bass said:
Hi everyone, thinking of getting the SBMM SS4. Through some limited research here in TB as well as in YT and seems like I should get one. Although I heard some people complaining about the quality of knobs. Can anyone let me know whether they had any knob/pot issues? Thanks in advance
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Nothing that a quick turn of the allen key couldn’t sort. The push push pot works fine. Had a loose middle pickup selector but that just needed tightening up.
 
#3,007
Ordered my new RaySS4 recently and got a call from GC that the bass I'm getting is NOT in fact a new bass, but a floor model with substantial body damage. According to them I'm going to get a "deep" discount on it when it arrives and will have to wait and see how messed up it is. It IS the last one with a rosewood board which I wanted so I'm hoping to get it cheap enough to either fix up or put the RW neck on another bass. I have other basses with maple necks and wanted this with the rosewood. We'll see what happens and prob won't get for a few more days since it looks like its also on the "slow" train. lol
 
#3,008
mikecd1 said:
Ordered my new RaySS4 recently and got a call from GC that the bass I'm getting is NOT in fact a new bass, but a floor model with substantial body damage. According to them I'm going to get a "deep" discount on it when it arrives and will have to wait and see how messed up it is. It IS the last one with a rosewood board which I wanted so I'm hoping to get it cheap enough to either fix up or put the RW neck on another bass. I have other basses with maple necks and wanted this with the rosewood. We'll see what happens and prob won't get for a few more days since it looks like its also on the "slow" train. lol
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I hope it all works out in a way that feels good to you.
 
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#3,009
Yonni said:
Nothing that a quick turn of the allen key couldn’t sort. The push push pot works fine. Had a loose middle pickup selector but that just needed tightening up.
Click to expand...

Djadja said:
That was my experience as well. Nothing wrong with the knobs, they just needed to be tightened.
Click to expand...

Well that's not much then. Thanks for the input. I will go ahead and place the order.

I only play short scales these days. Have two custom 5 string SS basses and one Schecter Banshee SS bass.
 
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#3,011
Joydbr3Bass said:
Hi everyone, thinking of getting the SBMM SS4. Through some limited research here in TB as well as in YT and seems like I should get one. Although I heard some people complaining about the quality of knobs. Can anyone let me know whether they had any knob/pot issues? Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
The issue that people seem to complain about most is the quality or reliability of the tuners. I have absolutely no issues with mine but I don’t play out so mine doesn’t get put through the paces of gigging or travel.
 
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#3,012
I have placed the order. The sales rep said he tested everything and getting set up before being dispatched.
I got the black model with maple fretboard.
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#3,014
mikecd1 said:
Ordered my new RaySS4 recently and got a call from GC that the bass I'm getting is NOT in fact a new bass, but a floor model with substantial body damage. According to them I'm going to get a "deep" discount on it when it arrives and will have to wait and see how messed up it is. It IS the last one with a rosewood board which I wanted so I'm hoping to get it cheap enough to either fix up or put the RW neck on another bass. I have other basses with maple necks and wanted this with the rosewood. We'll see what happens and prob won't get for a few more days since it looks like its also on the "slow" train. lol
Click to expand...
I had the same experience a few days ago ordering a dropped copper short scale from GC. It turns out there are only two of them in the entire GC company. One was on clearance because it is missing a knob. Despite the offer of a nice discount, I didn’t want to deal with the hassle of getting a knob while not knowing what else is wrong with it. The other was new but had been out in the floor as a model people could try out — they claim it still look brand new, so I went with it.

I was pretty surprised to learn how these Sterling Stingray short scales aren't in great supply. The only GC near me with one was the powdered blue, which was great because I was able to feel how comfortable it is even if the blue wasn’t for me. Looking elsewhere online, I found a couple of the black ones. The dropped copper and white are hard to find.
 
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#3,016
T McClure said:
I had the same experience a few days ago ordering a dropped copper short scale from GC. It turns out there are only two of them in the entire GC company. One was on clearance because it is missing a knob. Despite the offer of a nice discount, I didn’t want to deal with the hassle of getting a knob while not knowing what else is wrong with it. The other was new but had been out in the floor as a model people could try out — they claim it still look brand new, so I went with it.

I was pretty surprised to learn how these Sterling Stingray short scales aren't in great supply. The only GC near me with one was the powdered blue, which was great because I was able to feel how comfortable it is even if the blue wasn’t for me. Looking elsewhere online, I found a couple of the black ones. The dropped copper and white are hard to find.
Click to expand...
Well GC found s used short scale in Olympic white with pics that looks a lot better than what they sent first time so the cracked body bass is going back and I should have the replacement by the weekend. Same price I was going to pay originally so we shall see:cool:
 
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#3,017
I received a set of the Ernie Ball short scale cobalt flats and a tusq nut.
More about the nut later...
I'm not a flats kind of guy in general. But I get why people are and over the years have tried some - Chromes, LaBellas, and LaBella white tapes (living on my defrettedd SS SBMM). I didn't mind the sound of the Chromes but hated the tension and lack of flexibility. The sound of 2 different sets of LaBella flats just did not work for me. I like the feel but the sound just isnt me. The tapes have remained on the fretless but I'd like to find something I liked better.
So the cobalt flats... They sound similar to the Chromes as I remember them, much more lively than the LaBellas I've tried with a lot more high end content. They dont sound like rounds but they are also not like more traditional flats. They have significantly more tension than the rounds I usually use (Stringjoys) and are a lot less flexible.
The tension and lack of flexibility make them a lot more work to play than the Stringjoys. I'm not sure yet but I'll leave them on for a while and we'll see.
 
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#3,018
Djadja said:
I received a set of the Ernie Ball short scale cobalt flats and a tusq nut.
More about the nut later...
I'm not a flats kind of guy in general. But I get why people are and over the years have tried some - Chromes, LaBellas, and LaBella white tapes (living on my defrettedd SS SBMM). I didn't mind the sound of the Chromes but hated the tension and lack of flexibility. The sound of 2 different sets of LaBella flats just did not work for me. I like the feel but the sound just isnt me. The tapes have remained on the fretless but I'd like to find something I liked better.
So the cobalt flats... They sound similar to the Chromes as I remember them, much more lively than the LaBellas I've tried with a lot more high end content. They dont sound like rounds but they are also not like more traditional flats. They have significantly more tension than the rounds I usually use (Stringjoys) and are a lot less flexible.
The tension and lack of flexibility make them a lot more work to play than the Stringjoys. I'm not sure yet but I'll leave them on for a while and we'll see.
Click to expand...
Hmmm. Thanks for the info. I always have to order my Slinky ( Cobalts) flats in extra slinky gauge. But if that isn’t available , I’ll stick with the TI Flats on my Ernie Ball Short Scale. They are voiced warmer which I prefer anyway.
 
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#3,019
T McClure said:
I had the same experience a few days ago ordering a dropped copper short scale from GC. It turns out there are only two of them in the entire GC company. One was on clearance because it is missing a knob. Despite the offer of a nice discount, I didn’t want to deal with the hassle of getting a knob while not knowing what else is wrong with it. The other was new but had been out in the floor as a model people could try out — they claim it still look brand new, so I went with it.

I was pretty surprised to learn how these Sterling Stingray short scales aren't in great supply. The only GC near me with one was the powdered blue, which was great because I was able to feel how comfortable it is even if the blue wasn’t for me. Looking elsewhere online, I found a couple of the black ones. The dropped copper and white are hard to find.
Click to expand...
So, it arrived. Guitar Center went ahead and sent me this bass with a knob and bridge screw missing and still charged me full price. I just returned it to my local GC. I got my money back but have no bass.

I get the feeling the manager of this store knew I'd return an obvious lemon and used me to get some crap out of his store and to another location.

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