Osiris Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 Looks like an interesting addition to the choices of 30" short scales. Only problem for me being that I struggle with that nasal Stingray sound. Might have to try one just to rule it out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CameronJ Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 2 hours ago, Osiris said: Only problem for me being that I struggle with that nasal Stingray sound. I reckon the shorter scale and to a lesser degree the passive electronics will tame that a little to be honest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solo4652 Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 19 hours ago, Paul S said: What about the Harley Benton PB- Shorty - 42mm at the nut. Supposed to be half decent. Ha! Thank you. I bought one of those, modded it and then sold it when I bought the Squier! The HB is a pretty de3cent instrument once you've changed the strings and upgraded the pickup. I suppose I'm looking for something like the HB, but a bit better quality. Maybe a Maruszczyk Jake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrumpymike Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 5 hours ago, solo4652 said: Maybe a Maruszczyk Jake. That should fit the bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anzoid Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 The SBMM short scale arrived yesterday from Bass Direct. Here's a pic with my Chowny SWB-1 (sorry, just a camera phone...): First impressions: It's a Stingray... but shorter. Sounds mostly like one. Tone pot (nearest the jack socket) does the usual. Middle knob selects between three wirings - parallel, true single-coil and series, not sure which is which - the sound gets fatter... Volume knob has a push-push switch that, when out, turns on the passive boost... which I guess means that "normal" has some kind of built in attentuation. The "boost" isn't huge, but it'll happily overdrive the input on my Elf unless I back off the gain quite a bit. Not sure which of the three settings gives the most classic Stingray sound... they're all pretty good. Build quality is superb. Flawless finish, not fret sprout or rough edges. Bass arrived in tune and with a rather nice padded gigbag. Only slight minus is the nut is a bit rough, but nothing that really needs sorting out, just looks like it was slightly chewed by a dog... Comparing with the Chowny which comes in in a similar price range - not much to say about difference in quality. I'd say they're about the same - which is testament to the quality of what @Chownybass is turning out as they're competing in an increasingly crowded short-scale market - and still are tops, the SWB-1 isn't going anywhere anytime soon! They're both 38mm at the nut and spacing at the bridge looks about the same - 18-19mm. Necks are also similar - both slim front to back - maybe the SBMM is slightly thicker. Biggest difference is my SWB-1 has a gloss finish neck, and the SBMM is satin. Personally I prefer gloss, but the satin isn't bad. (I think the 2020 SWB-1s will have satin finished necks anyway...) Sound wise, couldn't choose which I prefer - they both have their place. The Chowny does a passable imitation of a Warwick Thumb (as well as its own thing) which is why I love it to bits. The SBMM does a good Stingray. The SBMM is a fraction lighter than the Chowny, but not by much. Bass Direst looks to have the white with rosewood board in stock, but mine in Daphne Blue might be the only one around for the moment. Overall - if you want a Stingray sounds, and want short scale - this is very good. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassApprentice Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 What great looking short scale gang you've got @anzoid Thanks for the review, sounds like they've given the market what it wanted at a reasonable price! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrumpymike Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 I loved my SWB-1 - except for the neck-dive. I think the body of the latest ones from India is heavier, so maybe that helps with the balance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrumpymike Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 Just decided to order a s-s Ray in white!! There's a great 16pp topic on Talkbass about these. MM really seem to have got this one right and the US owners who've posted are blown away by them. In particular, they are saying it's practically as good as the $2k American s-s Ray, so massive VFM. Can't wait to get my hands on one 🤗 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grenadillabama Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 I like the three-band EQ on my regular Ray. Can you change the mids on this new bass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrumpymike Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 38 minutes ago, grenadillabama said: I like the three-band EQ on my regular Ray. Can you change the mids on this new bass? No, these are passive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrumpymike Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 OK, so my Olympic White SBMM short-scale Ray arrived in the week from Bass Direct. It was ordered by e-mail just after lunch on day 1 and delivered by DPD at 8.30am on day 2 with packaging and contents all intact. Pretty amazing under the current circumstances. As for the bass itself, it really is incredibly good. US owners have been giving these glowing reports on Talkbass, including one guy who reckons there's very little difference between the one he's just bought and the $2k+ US-made EB he already has. Even so, I didn't want to raise my expectations too high but as soon as I got mine out of its gig-bag the quality was obvious. The build, finish and fittings are excellent, the only exception being a small flaw in the wire wrap of the G-string. No obvious reason though (like being crushed against a fret) and I will report it to BD tomorrow. All that needed changing was the set-up: no relief in the neck, action way too high (for me anyway), and nut-slots not cut deep enough - par for the course with low/mid-cost, mass-produced basses in my experience. Having just finished fettling it to my liking, I'm really impressed! All the adjustable stuff worked as it should and this is one sweet player. It's my first Ray experience outside a music shop but, to my ears, this one sounds really nice and I would expect it to sit well in the mix of our classic-rock covers band (assuming we ever get to gig again). I'll give it a run thru my Mesa Subway 800+ and BF SC3s at home tomorrow. Top marks to SBMM! I can definitely recommend this to any short-scale players looking for that distinctive Ray sound with maybe a bit of the edge taken off by the passive electronics on this bass. I'll try and grab a few pic's tomorrow and see if I can do a decent recording. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 10 hours ago, scrumpymike said: OK, so my Olympic White SBMM short-scale Ray arrived in the week from Bass Direct. It was ordered by e-mail just after lunch on day 1 and delivered by DPD at 8.30am on day 2 with packaging and contents all intact. Pretty amazing under the current circumstances. As for the bass itself, it really is incredibly good. US owners have been giving these glowing reports on Talkbass, including one guy who reckons there's very little difference between the one he's just bought and the $2k+ US-made EB he already has. Even so, I didn't want to raise my expectations too high but as soon as I got mine out of its gig-bag the quality was obvious. The build, finish and fittings are excellent, the only exception being a small flaw in the wire wrap of the G-string. No obvious reason though (like being crushed against a fret) and I will report it to BD tomorrow. All that needed changing was the set-up: no relief in the neck, action way too high (for me anyway), and nut-slots not cut deep enough - par for the course with low/mid-cost, mass-produced basses in my experience. Having just finished fettling it to my liking, I'm really impressed! All the adjustable stuff worked as it should and this is one sweet player. It's my first Ray experience outside a music shop but, to my ears, this one sounds really nice and I would expect it to sit well in the mix of our classic-rock covers band (assuming we ever get to gig again). I'll give it a run thru my Mesa Subway 800+ and BF SC3s at home tomorrow. Top marks to SBMM! I can definitely recommend this to any short-scale players looking for that distinctive Ray sound with maybe a bit of the edge taken off by the passive electronics on this bass. I'll try and grab a few pic's tomorrow and see if I can do a decent recording. If other people are allowed to touch it, I can see some interest at the SW bash happening?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrumpymike Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 1 hour ago, Cuzzie said: If other people are allowed to touch it, I can see some interest at the SW bash happening?! Yes, I'll be interested to hear what the Ray owners think of it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassApprentice Posted May 31, 2020 Share Posted May 31, 2020 Julia making this sound pretty cool. And now I want one. Bother. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassApprentice Posted June 8, 2020 Share Posted June 8, 2020 Could @anzoid or @scrumpymike please measure the pickup location? Planning a BroncoRay build and need to know if this is a viable idea 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anzoid Posted June 8, 2020 Share Posted June 8, 2020 3 hours ago, BassApprentice said: Could @anzoid or @scrumpymike please measure the pickup location? Planning a BroncoRay build and need to know if this is a viable idea 😉 From which end? End of neck to top (neck side) of pickup, plus size of pick-up, or distance from nut?? Or something else. Sorry to be so dumb... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anzoid Posted June 8, 2020 Share Posted June 8, 2020 (edited) From the body side of the nut, to the neck side of the pickup is 658mm. From the end of the neck to the neck side of the pickup is 100mm and the pickup is 50mm wide. Happy to do any other measurements that would be of use Edited June 8, 2020 by anzoid 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassApprentice Posted June 8, 2020 Share Posted June 8, 2020 Thanks! I'll measure that out and see if I need anything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrumpymike Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 Five weeks down the line and I'm loving this even more than I already reported on here. These are fabulous basses! All the US owners on Talkbass reckon that this s-s version is tonally more versatile than the standard-scale 'Rays, i.e. it does the classic 'Ray sound and then some. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrumpymike Posted July 8, 2020 Share Posted July 8, 2020 Just picked this vid up from Talkbass, where there's an awful lot of love for this s-s 'Ray: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/sbmm-stingray-short-scale.1443247/page-31#post-24187790 I'm still loving mine too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted July 8, 2020 Share Posted July 8, 2020 Looks and sound great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeS Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 Question for @anzoid and @scrumpymike (and anyone else who owns one of these): how do you find the passive tone control, particularly at lower settings? Does it get anywhere near Precision territory or is the sound more akin to a regular StingRay with the bass on full and treble rolled off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrumpymike Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 On 21/07/2020 at 19:49, JoeS said: Question for @anzoid and @scrumpymike (and anyone else who owns one of these): how do you find the passive tone control, particularly at lower settings? Does it get anywhere near Precision territory or is the sound more akin to a regular StingRay with the bass on full and treble rolled off? I'm not a P-bass guy myself but I'd say it could go somewhere in that direction especially with flats. Others please correct me if I'm wrong. Trouble is the only thing that does P-bass convincingly is - a P-bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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