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NBD Sterling SUB 4 **PICS ADDED**


tom1946
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Dunno if this has been done but never mind.

I recently tried out a black Musicman that was almost a grand and didn't buy it so I wondered how much different the SUB 4 would be. Same setup ie' black with a maple board.

I ordered this from Musik Produktiv in Germany and it arrived today, excellent service.
It was playable out of the box but I like a very low action so I gave the neck a quarter turn and dropped the saddles a tad (might have been a midges?) The result is a powerful sound but the preamp is not the best. It now has a very low choke and rattle free action.

Only other thing was the fret edges which were quite rough in places so I spent time filing them because the rest of the bass was so good it's a keeper. Apart from the bits mentioned there's not £800 of difference imo.

Have I read somewhere that I can buy a new active preamp for this that'll improve it?

Oh and the cost of this loveliness?

[center][size=8]£225[/size][/center]
[center][size=8][size=4]delivered free.[/size][/size][/center]

[center][size=8][size=4]Pics:[/size][/size][/center]

[url="http://s185.photobucket.com/user/Peasmold/media/IMG_0315_zps5225a0b3.jpg.html"][/url]

[url="http://s185.photobucket.com/user/Peasmold/media/IMG_0316_zps03de80eb.jpg.html"][/url]

[url="http://s185.photobucket.com/user/Peasmold/media/IMG_0317_zpsc4d40ec1.jpg.html"][/url]

[url="http://s185.photobucket.com/user/Peasmold/media/IMG_0318_zps86aee0c5.jpg.html"][/url]

[url="http://s185.photobucket.com/user/Peasmold/media/IMG_0320_zps24525eb9.jpg.html"][/url]

[url="http://s185.photobucket.com/user/Peasmold/media/IMG_0321_zpsa4b3c04f.jpg.html"][/url]

Hope y'all happy now :rolleyes: B) :lol:

Edited by tom1946
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Congrats - I've got one of these and they're great basses.

I did the volume fix described towards the bottom of [url="http://www.talkbass.com/threads/sterling-by-music-man-sub-ray4-and-ray5.871370/page-17"]this[/url] thread page - starting at post #340. It made a big difference and I haven't felt the need for the stinger pre-amp. However - I swapped the Pick-up for a GFS MM pro plus ([url="http://www.guitarfetish.com/GFS-MM-Pro-Plus-Alnico-Music-Man-style-pickup-INCREDIBLE-tone_p_323.html"]here[/url]) and I felt that was a big improvement.

I'll post up some piccies of mine next week now I've got it in it's final form.

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[quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1423436313' post='2684854']
Colin, did the mod alter the tone in any way?
[/quote]

It made the volume pot far more useable and made the tone 'less harsh' to my ears. I don't know if you've seen [url="http://www.talkbass.com/threads/sterling-by-music-man-sub-ray4-and-ray5-part-2.1039748/page-19#post-16936704"]this[/url], but it contains quite a bit of info about various mods and replacements.

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[quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1423473693' post='2685058']
Thanks Colin, some good reading there. If I was to mod my Sub, I think I'd plump for this as I think it sounds absolutely awesome:
[/quote]

mmmm - It'd be good if he held onto a note for longer than a millisecond so one could hear the tone 'develop'! :)

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[quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1423499855' post='2685566']
That's got the Aguilar preamp mod as well as the pickup. That's very close to the tone I crave. The Ag pickup comes in at around £90 but goodness knows how much the preamp is. I think, however, I may do this upgrade to my Sub and keep it forever :-).
[/quote]

The Ag pre-amps seem to start at about $170 [url="http://www.bestbassgear.com/aguilar-preamp.htm"]here[/url], depending on the configuration you want.

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