TommyK

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1979-MUSIC-MAN-SABRE-BASS-NECK-/110592668413?pt=Guitar&hash=item19bfd632fd"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1979-MUSIC-MAN-SABRE...=item19bfd632fd[/url] Hmmmmm. Discuss.

[quote name='BB3000S' post='971159' date='Sep 28 2010, 09:11 PM']My beloved 30th anni SR4, just celebrated our two year anniversary. Love it to bits, one of my all time favourite basses. [/quote] Phwooar........ That bass is just lush my friend. You are a lucky man... I really need to get one of these at some point, they look just perfect. I bet it sounds great too....I've come to the conclusion with MM basses that the heavier they are the more fabulous they sound......anyone else notice this, or is it just me....

Here are my three. I am now running a purely MM stable!! First up, my favourite bass ever and my first "decent" bass. 2001 Stingray 4. Saved up for ages and ordered my dream bass after having owned stingray copies as a beginer. (nearly sold it twice....Idoit! If you see me attempting to sell it again, point me back this way!! ) Next, my Fretless Sabre/Stingray hybrid. Body is 1988, neck 90's. Bought on here a couple of months ago from "Snarf". Loving my fretless education with it. I am viewing it as abit of a project too. Would like to replace the nasty replacement bridge, re-finish and fit a Status neck at some point..... Finally, my new arrival, a Ray 35. I am so impressed with this, great bass, go and try one if you're thinking about it.

Welcome to Basschat Hetzer! Nice to be adding another member to the Dorset Massive!!

Hey folks. Just done my first ever review! [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=103822"]Ray 35 Review[/url] See what you think.

Just purchased this Honeyburst Ray 35 from guitarandampshop.co.uk for £639. Beautiful swamp ash body, Matching headstock, Rosewood board, Black scratchplate, 3 way switching and 3 EQ. As with the previous Ray 34 Review, this is a made in Indonesia, Quality checked and set up in California model, so hence is around half the price of a US made Stingray 5. So what are the differences and do they add up to 600 quids worth? So far having owned both a Stingray 5 and this i would say that the extra £600 is going to be hard to justify. (perhaps there could be resale value arguments and I guess some people will still just want the real thing) The Build quality is fantastic. The neck is perfect to play, all frets finished properly and the neck pocket is as good as you'll see on anything. The electronics are top notch too, no scrimping on sheilding or controls, all feel as they would on the US models and no extra, nasty unwanted noises! The only noticeable savings you can see are with the position markers (just plain white, no MOP), Tuners (obviously just copies of the originals) and the cheaper battery box. You would say it is just a little more functional on the finer details I guess. To me this sounds even better than the Stingray 5 i had. I always wanted something that just sounded like a 5 string version of my Stingray 4 and this is it! All the punch and general Stingray ferocity you could ever want. It has the same super versatile 3EQ and the same 3 way switching options that you would find on a standard MM Stingray 5. It has shovel fulls of Bottom end, the usual shimmering highs and full on mids that you would expect from a MM and of course with some EQ tweaking you can really "rein it in" for the more mellow occassions. The B is also near perfect to my ears. Really clear and nice and punchy, none of that floppy muddy sounding nonsense! In short, "I love this Bass!" If i were thinking of getting another Musicman, i would definately go for a look at the equivilant Sterling model first. Great value for money. I just hope they do a Bongo or a Big Al next!!

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='962131' date='Sep 20 2010, 01:25 PM']Im sure i read somewhere that a Ray35 is like a SR4 with an extra string, whereas a SR5 is more like a Sterling. Ive probably got it wrong though. Glad you like your Ray35. How does the neck feel compared to your old SR5?[/quote] Yeah Dave, I'd say you were right, sounds just like my SR4 but only with a B as well. The neck to me feels identical to my old SR5 and other SR5s that i have tried in the past. Only noticable difference is the tuners are not MM stamped and look like a cheaper copy of the originals (they are identical shape wise) and the dot markers are just some sort of basic plain plastic type stuff as apposed to Mother of pearl or whatever. It plays just as well as my old SR5 for sure, just sounds so much better, to my ears anyway.. The other difference i would say is that i reckon it is a bit heavier weight wise. It is certainly a bit more lumpy than my SR4. When i do the review i will weigh it and find out for sure.

Well i went and did it, i just bought a Sterling by MM Ray35. Same as in my Avatar...and.......... I am just astounded by how good it is! I had a "proper" Stingray 5 for a while and was pretty disappointed with the sound of it compared to my Stingray 4. Although i loved the neck and general feel of it it just sounded a bit weak and in particular I thought the B was really muddy sounding and eventually traded it for another Ray 4. I still wanted to get another 5er so tried loads of different makes and thought none of them were all that good. I came to the conclusion that maybe i was wrong about the Stingray 5 and should have another go with one. Anyway the bits i had read about the Ray35 and the Youtube clips were all encourageing so rather than wait for a second hand MM, i picked this up for £639 brand new. I will try and have a go at doing a proper review later but for now, it sounds absolutely[size=6] MASSIVE[/size] Just as punchy and snarly as my Stingray 4, electrics all seem good quality (no nasty humming etc..), thunderous B string and the finish & build quality is absolutely brilliant and pretty much comparable to the real thing. I don't know if you can tell, but i like it,.... a lot!!!

Sold a US Deluxe Jazz to this very friendly chap from CZ. Super quick payment and excellent communications, he arranged the shipping too which went very smoothly. Would def do business again. Thanks.

Has anyone tried a Ray35 against a genuine Stingray5? Any opinions/comments? +Whos got a Ray35 and what do you make of it? Cheers.

[quote name='Linus27' post='955245' date='Sep 13 2010, 07:29 PM']... and that includes postage [/quote] I'll tell you what....... I have some wonderfull Musicman headstock decals you can have for £50 posted (each of course!)

[quote name='Linus27' post='955234' date='Sep 13 2010, 07:22 PM']Nah way off, about £50 I reckon :)[/quote]

[quote name='Linus27' post='951876' date='Sep 10 2010, 02:46 PM']Cool and thank you. Let me know if you do sell the neck as I could very well be interested if I have not bought something by then. Any idea how soon you plan to upgrade to a Status neck and sell the fretless ray neck?[/quote] No worries, will do. Will probably go for it in a couple of months time. It depends what the original neck is worth really? (If you give me £300 for it you can have it now ) Seriously does anyone know the going rate? Is £200-250 about right???? Opinions appreciated. Thanks.

[quote name='Prime_BASS' post='951779' date='Sep 10 2010, 01:16 PM']Well if you sell the fretless ray necktie say £200, and then sell the sabre with status neck you could get a nice price, but people are rather keen on having it all original, so it would be a case of waiting for the right buyer or separating it up and then selling the parts.[/quote] Yeah, i don't want to sell it anyway, just didn't want to devalue it further, just incase

I have a Sabre with a fretless stingray neck on. I picked it up on here a couple of months ago for a first go at fretless and i am a convert, it is a great bass, anyhow the necks are def interchangeable cos i have tried the fretted maple neck from my Ray on it and it works!! (Less bolt holes though). I plan to upgrade it to a Status fretless neck at some point so i may have one available. Does anyone have any idea what a Stingray fretless neck is worth? + Is adding a Status neck to an (Already nowhere near 100% original) Sabre going to devalue it much? Cheers TK