Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

NBD: MusicMan SUB USA


theyellowcar

Recommended Posts

32 minutes ago, Doctor J said:

That's pricey alright. Keep an eye on adverts.ie and you should be able to get one for about €500. At that price, it's very close to full-on Stingray money. I sold a full US Ray for €750 there a few years ago.

Pretty much what my stingray expert mate said😄 thanks. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, horrorshowbass said:

One of these has come up locally, bit pricey but bit nicely.

https://www.beatitmusic.ie/product/musicman-sub-usa-2003/

What's the neck like?

Closer to a P or a J?

Thanks

The neck width is closer to a P than a J but they are very comfortable as the profile is relatively shallow and the same as a standard Stingray (one of the key reasons I bought a Ray instead of a P in the 70s was for me, the far more comfortable neck - plus the sound of course!!).

The US Sub is in all but finishes, a 2 band full fat Stingray with the same sound. The neck is painted (like a far more expensive Musicman Bongo - interestingly that model started manufacture around the same time) and with a rosewood board.

Some people, me included, like the quirkiness of the US Sub, as a separate model giving the right sound, and thus don't mind the 'industrial' nature of the textured finish and checker plate looking pickguard - nice contrast to the deluxe nature of the full fat model if you have one. If you don't, a nice way to get the Stingray playability, rock solid build, and broad, iconic sound palette. 

Prices vary but bearing in mind a bog standard US Stingray (pre Special) will probably cost £1000, more (sometimes much more) for anything unusual, rare, or one of the more recent Stingray Specials, then a US Sub may cost £600 - it depends how urgently people want to sell. It's also worth checking the serial number on the EBMM site (or even that the bass has a serial number - they are on a sticker on the neck). 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

38 minutes ago, drTStingray said:

The neck width is closer to a P than a J but they are very comfortable as the profile is relatively shallow and the same as a standard Stingray (one of the key reasons I bought a Ray instead of a P in the 70s was for me, the far more comfortable neck - plus the sound of course!!).

The US Sub is in all but finishes, a 2 band full fat Stingray with the same sound. The neck is painted (like a far more expensive Musicman Bongo - interestingly that model started manufacture around the same time) and with a rosewood board.

Some people, me included, like the quirkiness of the US Sub, as a separate model giving the right sound, and thus don't mind the 'industrial' nature of the textured finish and checker plate looking pickguard - nice contrast to the deluxe nature of the full fat model if you have one. If you don't, a nice way to get the Stingray playability, rock solid build, and broad, iconic sound palette. 

Prices vary but bearing in mind a bog standard US Stingray (pre Special) will probably cost £1000, more (sometimes much more) for anything unusual, rare, or one of the more recent Stingray Specials, then a US Sub may cost £600 - it depends how urgently people want to sell. It's also worth checking the serial number on the EBMM site (or even that the bass has a serial number - they are on a sticker on the neck). 

Thanks, just what the Dr. Ordered 😀

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I am correct, the USA SUBs are wired in series, as opposed to parallel on the Stingray? 

My SUBs definitely got a bigger, low mid, bottom end punch going on than my old Stingray did.

My originals band members always ask me to use my SUB over and above my Modulus Flea, Warwick Streamer LX and Fender Classic 50's Precision.

Edited by 40hz
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've had two, about 10 years ago. Back then they were pretty cheap used. I think the first one was about £350 and the second about £400.

They were both two band EQ models, which sounded great. I have a 2014 MM Stingray, with the 3 band EQ and it doesn't have quite the same thump as the SUBs I used to have (still sounds good, just different).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

44 minutes ago, 40hz said:

If I am correct, the USA SUBs are wired in series, as opposed to parallel on the Stingray? 

My SUBs definitely got a bigger, low mid, bottom end punch going on than my old Stingray did.

My originals band members always ask me to use my SUB over and above my Modulus Flea, Warwick Streamer LX and Fender Classic 50's Precision.

Maybe that's why my old SUBs sounded different from my present Stingray (see my last post).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The very early Subs were wired in series. I think @40hz has my old one (might be wrong but I'll still buy it back off you if it is!!!) and it definitely sounds different to the Stingrays that I had.

You can tell the earlier ones as they are marked up as a S.U.B on the headstock rather than a SUB.

Edited by Mudpup
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

37 minutes ago, ikay said:

I think the USA SUB is wired in parallel, same as a regular SR. Mine certainly sounds that way. The extra thump is most likely down to the 2-band eq which works quite differently to the 3-band. 

Agreed, I always believed they had the same parallel wired pickup as the standard Stingray. They were all 2 band eq apart from a few (quite rare now) passive versions. I had a couple of USA Subs and loved them, only reason for selling was I needed something lighter. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Mudpup said:

The very early Subs were wired in series. I think @40hz has my old one (might be wrong but I'll still buy it back off you if it is!!!) and it definitely sounds different to the Stingrays that I had.

You can tell the earlier ones as they are marked up as a S.U.B on the headstock rather than a SUB.

I didn’t know that, cheers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

45 minutes ago, Mudpup said:

The very early Subs were wired in series. I think @40hz has my old one (might be wrong but I'll still buy it back off you if it is!!!) and it definitely sounds different to the Stingrays that I had.

You can tell the earlier ones as they are marked up as a S.U.B on the headstock rather than a SUB.

Correct! I did buy it from you all those years ago! It's one of the very first ones built, within a month or so of manufacture beginning.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great looking bass. I always run my 2eq with everything centred to be honest. I’ve found that strings make a huge difference on a stingray so you can have a lot of fun experimenting. Somehow I feel they sound best with ‘dead’ rounds or cobalt flats (I presume they developed those to match the stingray)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 08/01/2021 at 11:14, horrorshowbass said:

One of these has come up locally, bit pricey but bit nicely.

https://www.beatitmusic.ie/product/musicman-sub-usa-2003/

What's the neck like?

Closer to a P or a J?

Thanks

 

Exactly like a Stingray of the same period. I owned three SUB 4-string and their necks were pretty much like my 2002 Stingray. It's neither a P nor a J, but definitely more P than J.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, 40hz said:

If I am correct, the USA SUBs are wired in series, as opposed to parallel on the Stingray? 

My SUBs definitely got a bigger, low mid, bottom end punch going on than my old Stingray did.

My originals band members always ask me to use my SUB over and above my Modulus Flea, Warwick Streamer LX and Fender Classic 50's Precision.

 

Some were, some weren't. I never figured out what the deal with that was, but it appeared that earlier ones (late 2003 and early 2004) were often (if not always) wired in series, based on the ones I could check personally.

My 2003 one was wired in series and I felt that configuration suited the 2EQ preamp better. The 2005 I had was parallel. I saw others wired in series and none of them were later than mid 2004, and every 2005-2006 was parallel. 

I also had an early 2005 SUB5, and that one was parallel. Alnico too, at a time when SR5 basses used ceramic pickups. I really have no idea how they chose their pickups.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, mcnach said:

Some were, some weren't ... I saw others wired in series and none of them were later than mid 2004, and every 2005-2006 was parallel. 

That's interesting. Mine dates to Aug 2004 which bears out the switch to parallel.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...