Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Sterling ray 34 history


la bam
 Share

Recommended Posts

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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. 
BA2467B8-766D-48F4-8A20-01AFF952D795.thumb.jpeg.47c6aefa3bc98b20446560c35fe59821.jpeg
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. 
789CE88D-FD3F-4353-BDFC-F01FD3B34CC8.thumb.jpeg.44492d3ff68bc95cd500525ee656f4b9.jpeg
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. 
95879DFA-C531-4317-A6AC-89646D36451B.thumb.jpeg.106e56a487bdeea2b7487e6e6f7d4014.jpeg
 

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. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.C96E7587-97B0-42A4-965E-30ABF7AE3418.thumb.jpeg.4bda0d195da17fd59a5a1b97a49332a9.jpegv

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.C96E7587-97B0-42A4-965E-30ABF7AE3418.thumb.jpeg.4bda0d195da17fd59a5a1b97a49332a9.jpegv

That is almost every bass you'd ever need in one. Love it!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

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.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

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