Sterling by Music Man SUB Ray4 and Ray5

[TNCreature]

Can someone tell me the key differences between the SUB Ray4 basses and the SB4 basses? I don't even see the SB4 on their website.
And there is no description on GC or MF sites, just a price difference.

Thanks!

 

[ubnomnar]

Can someone tell me the key differences between the SUB Ray4 basses and the SB4 basses? I don't even see the SB4 on their website.
And there is no description on GC or MF sites, just a price difference.

Thanks!

The SB4 has the smaller "Sterling" body and 22 frets... one more than the Ray4 : )

My SB4 sounds like the pickup is wired in series with a strong mid-range punch.

It will be interesting to see if the SUB Ray4 sounds the same, or if it has a more traditional "Stingray" tone (parallel wired pickup).

There are more pics of my SB4 in this thread. I really like it... Black with a maple neck and black pic guard.

 

[TNCreature]

^Thanks Bub!

 

[TNCreature]

Anyone ever determine what the "Hardwood" body actually is? pretty vague!

 

[melikecookies]

I've had my SB4 a few days now and it's definitely the "bang for the buck" leader in my herd.

The stock strings seem to be "S.U.B. par" as the E-string had a unusual resonance. I swapped on my favorite set of Circle K Balanced 102s and now I like it even more

Can anyone with a Ray4 comment on the weight?

I grabbed a walnut stain Ray4 from MF when they had the 13% off a couple weeks back. This bass weighs in just shy of 9 pounds, 8.14 to be exact on my digital scale. This makes it the heaviest bass I own currently, which isn't saying much since my collection consists of all short scale basses. Usually weight is a deal breaker for me as all my other basses are lightweight. However, the way this beast sounds, I can't bear the thought of returning it. I have been tossing around the idea of getting the SB4 when musicians friend has another 15% off sale. Until then, I'm working on swapping out the tuners to cut the weight, as it is a tad bit neck heavy. Does anyone know if hipshot ultralites would be a good fit for this bass?

 

[mtandrews]

I'm thinking Ray4. P-neck and larger Stingray body. BUT, I like the Sterling "RING" when you pop it!

 

[ubnomnar]

I'm thinking Ray4. P-neck and larger Stingray body. BUT, I like the Sterling "RING" when you pop it!

The specs at the SBMM website specify a 38mm (1.5") nut on the Ray4 basses... so it's going to be more "Jazz" than "P."

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I prefer a wider neck, but for whatever reason I really like the 38mm nut, 22 fret neck on my SB4.

 

[Gabriel51]

How well does it duplicate the sting ray sound?

 

[Hevy T]

The Walnut looks great!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sterling-SU...l_Instruments_Instruments&hash=item20c7cde8ba

It will be mine!! I may also order the black with maple board. Anyone know if there are any of these necks with maple boards on the bay? I would love to have maple on the walnut

 

[Hevy T]

Thanks photoshop!! Now I have more gasLink Removed

I should not have done this, now I want the black one so I can get the neck for the walnut one. AGHHH! I hate myself but it is fun to do so

 

[Jookbox]

Here's mine, it arrived today. My first bass ever.

I'm going to get it setup this week. I used a $25 coupon from Musicians friend and I believe it ended up costing $255. Oh, the amp is an Ampeg BA-108. Definitely fine for my purposes.

 

[Gabriel51]

Here's mine, it arrived today. My first bass ever.

I'm going to get it setup this week. I used a $25 coupon from Musicians friend and I believe it ended up costing $255. Oh, the amp is an Ampeg BA-108. Definitely fine for my purposes.

Nice

 

[Gabriel51]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Yy7urpG81U

 

[RyanJD]

Anyone ever determine what the "Hardwood" body actually is? pretty vague!

Vague indeed! Some guy who seems to be a Sterling rep said this:

the body wood is an Indonesian local wood known as Jabon. It's similar to basswood in weight and density.

Used by many manufacturers. It's a great way to offer a solid wood and hit the price point. No plywood here!

 

[RyanJD]

Thanks photoshop!! Now I have more gasLink Removed

I should not have done this, now I want the black one so I can get the neck for the walnut one. AGHHH! I hate myself but it is fun to do so

Ohhh...if that was a stock option I would forgo the HBB finish that I am still holding out for.
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/honey-burst-vote-pickguard-900911/

 

[Faraday]

I played one at GC in Chicago the day it went on the floor. It sounded good but the volume and a tone control stuck and all the controls felt cheap. I guess it should feel cheap because it's a cheap bass. My excitement over the bass was squashed and I should be happy to have avoided adding another bass to my house, but I was disappointed because I liked the sound.

 

[Gabriel51]

I played one at GC in Chicago the day it went on the floor. It sounded good but the volume and a tone control stuck and all the controls felt cheap. I guess it should feel cheap because it's a cheap bass. My excitement over the bass was squashed and I should be happy to have avoided adding another bass to my house, but I was disappointed because I liked the sound.

One could probably buy a used MM electronics package and fix that issue of course that adds to the low price allure but if everything else is good, I could do that.
How was the fit and finish?

 

[ubnomnar]

OK was messing around with mine last night, and there's definitely a weird rattle coming from the open-e string. It doesn't look like anything above the nut is causing it. Hopefully the guy I take it to tomorrow will be able to fix it during setup. I'll report what's causing it, because what I have looks similar to this guy:



He posted on gearslutz and ended up returning the bass. It was a truss rod issue, and it was apparent on another bass in his store. I'm crossing my fingers that this won't be a pain in the butt. My intonation seems a little sharp at the 12th fret also.

The stock strings on my SUB SB4 were horrible and my open E-string had a bizzare non-musical resonance that I thought may be nut or truss rod related.

I slapped on a set of Circle Ks and it now plays and sounds really great. The bizzare buzz/resonance is gone. Just a set of poor quality strings.

 

[Faraday]

One could probably buy a used MM electronics package and fix that issue of course that adds to the low price allure but if everything else is good, I could do that.
How was the fit and finish?

Fit and finish were pretty good. I liked the bass. It did sound good. Many of the other under-$300 basses sound thin compared to the SUB I played. I didn't buy it because I took (over-reacted?) the controls quality as a sign of overall quality. I wouldn't be surprised if I see another one without the controls problem and buy it.

 

[ubnomnar]

I played one at GC in Chicago the day it went on the floor. It sounded good but the volume and a tone control stuck and all the controls felt cheap. I guess it should feel cheap because it's a cheap bass. My excitement over the bass was squashed and I should be happy to have avoided adding another bass to my house, but I was disappointed because I liked the sound.

One could probably buy a used MM electronics package and fix that issue of course that adds to the low price allure but if everything else is good, I could do that.
How was the fit and finish?

Fit and finish were pretty good. I liked the bass. It did sound good. Many of the other under-$300 basses sound thin compared to the SUB I played. I didn't buy it because I took (over-reacted?) the controls quality as a sign of overall quality. I wouldn't be surprised if I see another one without the controls problem and buy it.

These basses have press on knobs and when they inevitably get pushed down too far they bind on the body. Just pull upwards on the knob until it doesn't rub on the body and then it turns very smoothly.

The potentiometers are standard quality "Alpha" brand and work fine. Here's a pic of the SUB SB4 guts.