la bam Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 Hi all, I know the sterling ray34s are held in high regard now, but it looks like theyve been out for years. Does anyone know the history of these - ie are the 10 year old ones the same as the current ones in regard to hardware etc? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dub_junkie Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 I had a couple of Ray 35s - a sunburst Made in Korea one from 2011 and the other, a black cherryburst made in Indonesia in 2016. The earlier Korean one had an ash body and a thin gloss coat on the neck whereas the other was mahogany with a satin finished neck. Both were very similar in feel though the Indonesian was a bit lighter. I also had a Ray34CA which had the 2EQ preamp and slab body and was made in Indonesia and that one one was imo a higher build quality than the two five strings. The one I had was every bit as good as the Classic StingRay that replaced it, save for the fancier woods. It was in some ways a better fit for me (Jazz profile neck). A Stingray with a J neck is a great combination imo. This year I had a Ray34HH, again from Indonesia and the quality was up there. Roasted neck was lovely and in retrospect I should have kept it. Not too sure that the electronics and hardware have changed much. They all sounded like StingRays to my cloth ears though I liked the 2EQ of the CA Classic Active best of all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 I had one of the Ray34s when they came out about 10 years ago. I bought it as backup to an EBMM Stingray, and aside from its newness and (very) slightly toppier sound it was difficult to tell them apart playing wise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bam Posted June 5, 2022 Author Share Posted June 5, 2022 Cheers, did the ones from 10 years ago use the same US hardware / pickups as the 'proper' stingrays, like the new ones do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dub_junkie Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 The tuners have never been the same quality as the USA ones afaik. They do the job though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 9 minutes ago, dub_junkie said: The tuners have never been the same quality as the USA ones afaik. They do the job though. The tuners on my ‘Ray SS had quite a bit of slop in them, held tune OK but slack to be annoying when tuning. Fitted some Hipshots, all good, as you’d expect. I remember the preamp in my original run, ‘Ray34 being a bit brittle and it was a bit weighty too IIRC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grenadillabama Posted June 7, 2022 Share Posted June 7, 2022 I have one Korean Ray with a figured blue maple top . It looks great and sounds exactly like the Indonesian ash Rays. No complaints . US Ray "feels" better to play. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bam Posted June 7, 2022 Author Share Posted June 7, 2022 Daft question - do all new ray 34s say "sterling - ray 34" on the headstock, or do some say "sterling - stingray"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassAdder60 Posted June 9, 2022 Share Posted June 9, 2022 On 07/06/2022 at 19:56, la bam said: Daft question - do all new ray 34s say "sterling - ray 34" on the headstock, or do some say "sterling - stingray"? My new Ray 34 headstock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted June 9, 2022 Share Posted June 9, 2022 My old one from the initial run said Sterling Ray 34 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bam Posted June 9, 2022 Author Share Posted June 9, 2022 Cheers. I've caved and bought a new style ray34. Ash natural. I am missing something or do these only run off stereo cables? My usual lead doesnt work, but my little stereo patch cables do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassAdder60 Posted June 9, 2022 Share Posted June 9, 2022 Normal mono guitar leads Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bam Posted June 9, 2022 Author Share Posted June 9, 2022 Thats weird. I'll check again later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassAdder60 Posted June 9, 2022 Share Posted June 9, 2022 Check the battery perhaps ? Although mine ( new bass ) was a good 9V so it should be ok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bam Posted June 9, 2022 Author Share Posted June 9, 2022 Weird. It had a new battery in. Wont work with my usual bass leads, but will work with shieled / 2 stripe connector leads.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassAdder60 Posted June 9, 2022 Share Posted June 9, 2022 1 hour ago, la bam said: Weird. It had a new battery in. Wont work with my usual bass leads, but will work with shieled / 2 stripe connector leads.... That’s most odd .. sounds like a Jack fault perhaps ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grenadillabama Posted June 10, 2022 Share Posted June 10, 2022 18 hours ago, BassAdder27 said: That’s most odd .. sounds like a Jack fault perhaps ? Maybe . With most active basses you have two "clicks" when you plug in all the way. I have made that mistake several times by not pushing the plug all the way in. Or a fault with Jack ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bam Posted June 10, 2022 Author Share Posted June 10, 2022 1 hour ago, grenadillabama said: Maybe . With most active basses you have two "clicks" when you plug in all the way. I have made that mistake several times by not pushing the plug all the way in. Or a fault with Jack ?? Its pushed all the way in. But it only works with shielded cables. I've never had this before. Sounds awesome though. Just a weird thing to be happening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waddycall Posted June 11, 2022 Share Posted June 11, 2022 I have an older one I’ve tweaked a lot with different pickups and pre-amps. Got it how I want it now with the Delano hybrid MM/J set up and 2 band eq. Does active MM, passive J or active J. It’s a bit on the heavy side but I love the neck on this. Can’t get on with p bass necks but this one is ace.v 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted June 11, 2022 Share Posted June 11, 2022 8 hours ago, Waddycall said: I have an older one I’ve tweaked a lot with different pickups and pre-amps. Got it how I want it now with the Delano hybrid MM/J set up and 2 band eq. Does active MM, passive J or active J. It’s a bit on the heavy side but I love the neck on this. Can’t get on with p bass necks but this one is ace.v That is almost every bass you'd ever need in one. Love it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderpaws Posted July 16, 2022 Share Posted July 16, 2022 Do all of the Classic Active have narrower neck with at the nut? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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