Cheapest Way to Try MM

[dub_junkie]

I've never been much into using the mids on a 3EQ SR4. On the SR5 and the USA Sterlings the mid control worked better for me in series or single coil setting. In parallel I always liked what my ears told me was a sound with cut mids. It's the sound that drew me to the StingRay in the first place. 

Re the USA Subs, I really liked them and owned a couple but I'm sure they were wired in series so were a bit different sounding to a full fat SR4

I've got an Sterling Ray34CA which is the slab bodied Classic Active 2EQ one and it's a lovely thing. Only two things on it I would want on it are thru body stringing and a slightly wider nut width. Otherwise does the job very nicely! If the OP is ever in Ayr it's available to try

 

[cybertect]

On 25/06/2019 at 08:17, uk_lefty said:

Look for second hand OLP stingrays? Obviously not the real USA Stingray but should go some way towards the feel and tonal style. The cheapest Ernie Ball do are around the £350 mark new so again, not the real thing but it should be as close as you can get if budget restricts.

I have an OLP MM3 that I bought new about 15 years ago to see how I would get on with a 5 string. It was a cheap impulse purchase from a local music shop and I still have it.

For the money and of its time, it's a decent enough instrument (I gigged with it).  It's really not the same as a real Stingray, though - the big difference is that the OLPs are passive. The exception is the Tony Levin signature model which does have a preamp. Everything else is different enough that it won't give you much of an idea what an SR is like.

My point of comparison is a 2015 Stingray 5 fretless, so I would have to acknowledge that's hardly the same beast either   However, I played enough fretted ones before I settling on that.

I'm not sure what the decade between buying the OLP and actually getting a 'proper' 5 string says about it...

 

 

[mcnach]

On 03/07/2019 at 00:34, dub_junkie said:

 

Re the USA Subs, I really liked them and owned a couple but I'm sure they were wired in series so were a bit different sounding to a full fat SR4

 

 

 

Some of the early SUBs were definitely wired in series. I've got one (2003). But most were in parallel (my old 2005, for example, and others I've tried).

I actually prefer the series mode with the 2EQ, they seem to complement each other better... but both are good sounds that scream "Stingray" when you hear them.