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Sterling SUB ray4 changes

#81
Fatcat1 said:
Whats your preference between the maple and the rosewood neck? Are they tonaly different?
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The rosewood imo wasn't of the best quality on a couple of them (I actually also owned a five string SUB but didn't make the picture), one was decent. The maple was pretty good quality.
In terms of sound, there was an ever so slight difference- the one with the maple was a teeny bit brighter on fretted notes to my ears. I too was a little curious about this, so often compared them to see which one I would keep - the basses had identical strings and gauge, pretty much the same string and pickup height on all, could be other factors at play but I did notice the slight difference. However, the rosewood fretboard felt a little softer and warmer to the fingers, might have something to do with the wood density and more porous nature of the fretboard, I don't know.I ended up keeping the mint green with the maple fretboard...well, until I got a US Musicman SUB Ray.
Typically, I prefer rosewood or ebony necks on my basses, but I would say for the SUBs I owned, I preferred the maple.
 
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#82
Fatcat1 said:
Whats your preference between the maple and the rosewood neck? Are they tonaly different?
Click to expand...
I've owned several SBMM basses (3 or 4 SUBs), 1 ray34 and 1 ray35. Personally, in the SUB series, the maple fingerboards felt cheap(er) to me compared to the rosewood. I recently went to the local Guitar Center and played a few side-by-side and my opinion remains the same. The SUBs with the rosewood fingerboards felt like much higher quality. Oddly enough, I own a Ray34 with a maple fingerboard and I find the quality to be MUCH better than that of the SUB series.

I plan on getting another SUB again but I'll likely only get one with a rosewood fingerboard.
 
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#87
Hevy T said:
I am anxiously awaiting delivery of a Ray 4 in vintage sunburst. Sounds like May 5 is the anticipated day
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Picked up a mint green SUB 4 this weekend.....15% off made it a sweet deal.
 

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#90
This is probably a long shot but I though I'd ask anyways. Up until about a week ago I was seeing a "Satin Black" Stringray SUB on one of the major online sites; I can't remember if it was GC, Musician's Friend, Sweetwater, etc. I also can't remember if it was the Ray4 model or not.

This wasn't the gloss black model currently available; it actually looked more like a stain because the wood beneath was partly visible. I was planning on checking it out and now it is gone. An online search turns up nothing. Does anybody know where these might still be available? Also, I've tried in vain to find information regarding the SUB series but I couldn't find much if anything; its almost as if Sterling doesn't support this series. Is there a site I'm unaware of?
 
#99
fermata said:
I had a chance to play the 'new' Ray4 at GC yesterday. In short--it's the old Ray4 with a new headstock decal (and a clean pre-amp, although I've played plenty of of the old models with clean electronics, too). So the changes are mainly cosmetic, and it remains a very good bass at $299.
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When yoy say "clean pre-amp" you are reffering to the fact that they no longer have the hot preamp issue of the ones made in Idonesia? or you mean they indeed have a new preamp not as aggressive as the ones of 2017 made in China?
Because SBMM said: "It has a much mellower, “P/J” vibe to it rather than a classic StingRay growl."
 

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