Took the Ray4 to a rehearsal yesterday and there was no buzzing! It sounded fantastic. I think my mains must be causing the issue. I now appreciate why people say a Stingray really cuts through in the mix. In series mode it's very middy and punchy. More subtle and scooped in parallel mode. Overall I spent most of the time with it in series.
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Sterling SUB ray4 changes
- Thread starter Fatcat1
- Start date
There's nothing like the slight zing I get in the high mids on my Ray4. My tone sounds so muddy whenever I pickup my P-bass now. And my jazz is just too trebly (with no mids) in comparison (both pickups on, tone to about 20%).
The interesting thing to me is that the Stingray tone is at once both very subtle, yet very noticeably missing when it is not present.
The interesting thing to me is that the Stingray tone is at once both very subtle, yet very noticeably missing when it is not present.
This is the wiring for the MM4.2 for parallel/series.The picture shows a DPDT on/on/on switch (so you get series/parallel/single) but I used an on/on switch and wired it for series/parallel. The wiring is exactly the same for both switches. There is no grey earth wire on the MM4.2 as shown in the diagram but a wire could be soldered to the wire shielding. I didn't bother as it only earths the shielding around the wires.
skyline_01
Endorsing artist: Nordstrand Audio, Tsunami Cables
Can you (or anyone else reading) please tell me if a standard Stingray 9-hole, truss-notched pickguard will fit the early-Indonesian SUB Ray basses? I have searched high and low for the definitive answer and still come up short. They look basically identical to me. I know that the pickups are basically the same size bc I've aready done that upgrade. Thanks!
skyline_01
Endorsing artist: Nordstrand Audio, Tsunami Cables
Thank you for chiming in. I literally found that same thread right before you wrote. I think they are mostly referring to the older, US-made SUB basses but I have a feeling that they are still interchangable on the newer import SUB. I think I may drop a comment on that thread to see where it gets me. Thanks again!
ha ha...sorry you're right. I think they were referring to the US Made SUB in this case, good lord this is getting confusing. I have a US Made SUB and the holes line up perfectly. Wish I still had an Indonesian Sterling one to put it against and let you know. It doesn't fit the Sterling Ray34 mostly because the shape of the pickup doesn't match, but the Sterling SUB has a pickup that resembles the EBMM Ray.
Pickguards are interchangeable between my Sterling Sub Ray4 and US EBMM Stingray.
skyline_01
Endorsing artist: Nordstrand Audio, Tsunami Cables
I removed the series/parallel DPDT switch from my Sterling Sub Ray4 as I prefer the pickup in series rather than parallel (punchier with more top end sizzle).
So final mods list is...
East MMSR 2 band preamp.
Nordstrand MM4.2 pickup.
Replaced white with black pickguard.
Smoothed back of neck with fine sandpaper and waxed it.
Shielded pickup and preamp cavities with copper sheeting (probably didn't need to do this as I found the dimmer lights in my house were causing the buzzing).
Redid the earthing cable under bridge as it wasn't making a good connection.
Joined bridge and cavity shielding to earth on output jack (i.e. wire to pickup cavity and one from bridge screwed to preamp cavity through shielding then another wire from screw to output jack earth).
Replaced strings.
Oiled tuning pegs.
Sounds as good as my USA EBMM now!
So final mods list is...
East MMSR 2 band preamp.
Nordstrand MM4.2 pickup.
Replaced white with black pickguard.
Smoothed back of neck with fine sandpaper and waxed it.
Shielded pickup and preamp cavities with copper sheeting (probably didn't need to do this as I found the dimmer lights in my house were causing the buzzing).
Redid the earthing cable under bridge as it wasn't making a good connection.
Joined bridge and cavity shielding to earth on output jack (i.e. wire to pickup cavity and one from bridge screwed to preamp cavity through shielding then another wire from screw to output jack earth).
Replaced strings.
Oiled tuning pegs.
Sounds as good as my USA EBMM now!
Hi BassEd,
Great to hear of other's experience doing this to a SUB. I don't have a EBMM to compare it to but I have played an Old smoothie and liked the tone so wanted to see if I could get my SUB nearer to that. I put in the Nordstrand MM4.2 but used the Mojotone Musicman Replica preamp. Really like the changes. For me, the bass was just too muddy on the stock pickup/preamp. The Mojotone affects a higher frequency than the stock which gives a more pleasing sizzle and the bass tone ramp is more gradual so I get more useable control. I put in the DPDT 3-way switch (drilled a hole between the bass pot & the output jack on the control plate) which is nice to give it an EQ scoop in series mode or pull it back in single coil. I usually run it in parallel. I also lined everything with copper shielding but it made no difference to 60 cycle hum I got when in single coil mode. I guess the graphite paint that it comes with does the job.
Hi Brian, I really like your posts. I've just got an Indonesian S.U.B 4 and faced the hot preamp issue. I saw your post about the mod. Could you give me an URL about the right Volume POT A25K to buy for the MOD. I'll check it out in Brazil.
Tks in advance
PM Sent. Send me a picture of the PCB Assembly and I can let you know if it will be fixed by my mod
Stingray update. I no longer own any Stinrays, Sub4 or EBMM! My favourite was the two band EBMM without any mods. Great build, great neck, very well balanced on the strap. Cuts through extremely well at gigs. But, after owning most types of bass over the years, I’ve realised it’s the Jazz bass sound I really like. I now have a Shuker and two Sandberg Jazz basses. No more basses. GAS cured. I hope!
Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but figured I'd just chime in here for the future. I had owned the stock SUB Ray4 for about a year and decided it was time to start doing some mods.
To start, I picked up an Aguilar OBP-2 (pre-wired from Fat Bass Tone. Great, knowledgeable guys over there) and the Aguilar AG-4M Pickup. Volume knob is push-pull (active/passive) to bring the OBP-2 out of circuit completely, wiring the pickup directly to the output jack, while still having control with the volume knob. Other than that, the tone controls remain the same, with no push-pull coil splitting or anything like that. I wanted to shoot for the vintage Stingray 2-band setup.
Could not believe the difference just that made. The OBP-2 woke this thing up like I couldn't believe... so, I decided to take it a little further, routing out a portion of the control cavity to accept a second 9V battery (still utilizing the stock battery compartment for the other 9V), wired in series, to make it 18V. The OBP-2 gains +6dB of gain and noticeably more headroom with an 18V supply. Even better. No photos of this yet, I may post some later. I can safely say both the extra 9V battery and the OBP-2 fit within control cavity just fine, with very minimal routing needed. Added new, beefier set-screw knobs at this stage.
The AG-4M pickup is amazing, but I continued my journey with a Delano MC4-AL/V4 pickup. That is THE pickup for this guitar, in my opinion. It's got more bottom end... I love the tone of the Delano.
Next is hardware. I was able to find a Stirling bridge that is basically an exact replica of the current bridges found on the EBMM variants, these bridges come on the higher-end Stirlings (see photo). I've yet to receive that, shipping from Indonesia, where the bass was made... hopefully that fits. If anyone has ever installed one of these bridges, I'd be very curious to hear the process. It seems like these are probably nicked from one of the factories because the same seller has multiples of the same parts, including EBMM pickups.
I also plan to add a set of Hipshot Lightweight tuners. The bass will be complete after those two mods.
This bass could easily have been finished after just switching out the pickup and electronics... but I can't help myself. For the price, these things are basically made to be modded.
To start, I picked up an Aguilar OBP-2 (pre-wired from Fat Bass Tone. Great, knowledgeable guys over there) and the Aguilar AG-4M Pickup. Volume knob is push-pull (active/passive) to bring the OBP-2 out of circuit completely, wiring the pickup directly to the output jack, while still having control with the volume knob. Other than that, the tone controls remain the same, with no push-pull coil splitting or anything like that. I wanted to shoot for the vintage Stingray 2-band setup.
Could not believe the difference just that made. The OBP-2 woke this thing up like I couldn't believe... so, I decided to take it a little further, routing out a portion of the control cavity to accept a second 9V battery (still utilizing the stock battery compartment for the other 9V), wired in series, to make it 18V. The OBP-2 gains +6dB of gain and noticeably more headroom with an 18V supply. Even better. No photos of this yet, I may post some later. I can safely say both the extra 9V battery and the OBP-2 fit within control cavity just fine, with very minimal routing needed. Added new, beefier set-screw knobs at this stage.
The AG-4M pickup is amazing, but I continued my journey with a Delano MC4-AL/V4 pickup. That is THE pickup for this guitar, in my opinion. It's got more bottom end... I love the tone of the Delano.
Next is hardware. I was able to find a Stirling bridge that is basically an exact replica of the current bridges found on the EBMM variants, these bridges come on the higher-end Stirlings (see photo). I've yet to receive that, shipping from Indonesia, where the bass was made... hopefully that fits. If anyone has ever installed one of these bridges, I'd be very curious to hear the process. It seems like these are probably nicked from one of the factories because the same seller has multiples of the same parts, including EBMM pickups.
I also plan to add a set of Hipshot Lightweight tuners. The bass will be complete after those two mods.
This bass could easily have been finished after just switching out the pickup and electronics... but I can't help myself. For the price, these things are basically made to be modded.
Here's what my Dad did....the rear 3 holes lined up perfectly, so we just found the centre for the side bolts/bushings and drilled new holes, pressed the bushings in and fitted the bridge. Some folks don't use the bushings for the side mounting bolts and just drill out the existing holes and drive the bolts directly into the body wood YMMV. Good luck!
Attachments
Thanks for the info! Was the string spacing correct after install? Do you have a pic of the finished product?
