GAS'ing for a Musicman, but which?

[TRadford]

Thought I'd got over it, but its still niggling. Wont be able to afford it for a while, but Im not sure what to go for.

I'd looking at the Ray 34 or SB14. After watching some videos, I think I prefer the sound of the SB14, but not sure why really ir what the differences are. I like a jazz neck, as I only have small hands, which is better in that aspect?
Also where do the SUBs fit in the equation, are they just older versions of the same?

I'd probably be looking at no more than £500, may a little more at a push.

Sorry for the vaugness, but there are so many versions of the stingray type, I get confused at whats what.

[waynepunkdude]

I really like the MM Stirling because it does the Ray sound but has a slimmer neck like a Jazz.

[TRadford]

Is that a Musicman Sterling, or Sterling by Musicman?
Why did they make it so confusing? There is a big price gap between the two!

[budget bassist]

the musicman sterling is a high end model, in this case the same style as the sterling by musicman SB14, it has a smaller body and a more skinny neck, and sounds very very similar. The ray 34 has a fairly chunky body and a neck similar to that of a p-bass. the SUB bass is more like an actual musicman stingray than an SBMM ray 34 as it's made in the USA with actual musicman componentry but cheaper wood and paint jobs. Very nice basses, i used to have one, but i didn't get on with the neck, very precision-like.

[Delberthot]

The sterling and stingray have different pickups and the sterling has a coil switch thingy.


until the Sterling 5 string came out, the stingray 5 string was actually a 5 string sterling by way of having the same pickups and aforementioned thingy.

I much prefer the sound of the sterling but never got on with the weird shaped scratchplate. Having said that, the best sounding stingray I ever owned was my 30th anniversary 4 string

The new Sterling by musicman basses are a bit like Squier is to Fender - they are higher spec versions of the now discontinued OLP basses. the subs were made in the US so are closer to being a MM than these.

Edited November 15, 2009 by Delberthot

[TheRev]

If you like a slimmer neck then the Musicman Sterling (or the SB14) will be right up your street. I have small paws and my Sterling gave me everything I wanted - the Musicman sound with a superbly playable neck.

Sterlings (not the SB14s) come up for sale on a regular basis and some of them go for silly money - you might get lucky and find one in your price range.

[casapete]

[quote name='TheRev' post='655075' date='Nov 15 2009, 11:21 AM']If you like a slimmer neck then the Musicman Sterling (or the SB14) will be right up your street. I have small paws and my Sterling gave me everything I wanted - the Musicman sound with a superbly playable neck.

Sterlings (not the SB14s) come up for sale on a regular basis and some of them go for silly money - you might get lucky and find one in your price range.[/quote]

Damned right - mine was on here for a steal at £650 (and didnt go to a basschat person in the end to my dismay.)
Was a near mint 2000 model in honey sunburst with case etc. So keep your eyes peeled and you may find a similar USA Sterling
for not much more than a far eastern job,especially in these hard times during the run up to Christmas.

[casapete]

[quote name='casapete' post='655084' date='Nov 15 2009, 11:38 AM']Damned right - mine was on here for a steal at £650 (and didnt go to a basschat person in the end to my dismay.)
Was a near mint 2000 model in honey sunburst with case etc. So keep your eyes peeled and you may find a similar USA Sterling
for not much more than a far eastern job,especially in these hard times during the run up to Christmas.[/quote]


And as I speak there's a tidy Sterling on ebay,currently at £510 with 32 mins left....................

[TRadford]

I have been watching all the musicmans on Ebay, but I would be hung up by my knackers if I bought one now.
Its gonna have to wait until after Xmas, cos the misses wont be best pleased if I blow £600 on myself and then have nothing left for others Xmas pressies.
I've narrowed it down to either the SB14 or a real MM Sterling. I think the Stingray necks will be too wide for me to play comfortably. The SB14 has the same nut width as my Squier VM as does the real Sterling I think, so they should both be fine.
Certainly makes more sense to get a real second hand Sterling for around £600ish than spend the same on a new SB14.
Cheers
for all the coments!

[budget bassist]

yeah if it was up to me i would definitely go for a used EBMM sterling (that's hopefully my next bass) over anything made in korea!!

Edited November 15, 2009 by budget bassist

[martthebass]

I haven't had a chance to play one of the Indonesian MM's yet. The comments are that the quality is good and not far off the US SLO made MM's.

Personally, I would try and find the extra £100 or so to buy the US MM Sterling, if for the only reason that much of the depreciation has been taken out of it and if you decide to sell on you shouldn't lose anything/much.

If you could go for a Ray - you open up your options a bit as these tend to come up a bit more frequently. I'd go into a shop and try one out - the neck isn't as intimidating as you might think. I was a Fender Jazz player for years and find my 2005 Ray neck profile to be fine, yes it's a little thicker at the nut but it's slim front to back and the oil finish makes it nice and fast.

[OutToPlayJazz]

Not wanting to advertise here, but I have a SBMM Ray 34 for sale on the forum, LOL!

Anyway, to the point in question... Yes, the Ray 34 is very very good. I actually bought a piezo Stingray last night & I got a chance this morning to A/B the two against eachother. The Ray does indeed sound just like a MusicMan. Now, bearing in mind that my Stingray [proper] is almost ten years old, the only real difference between the two is the quality of the woods used. There's nothing wrong with the Ray 34, it's just a little more polite sounding and a little more top-endy. I'd imagine this is mainly due to the use of much younger (and cheaper) swamp ash/maple in the construction.

But all in all, don't be frightened to go for the Ray 34. It's an excellent bass. If my EBMM didn't have the piezo bridge, I wouldn't have bothered, to be honest. The SBMM basses are that good.

Rich.

[TRadford]

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='655348' date='Nov 15 2009, 06:55 PM']Not wanting to advertise here, but I have a SBMM Ray 34 for sale on the forum, LOL!

Anyway, to the point in question... Yes, the Ray 34 is very very good. I actually bought a piezo Stingray last night & I got a chance this morning to A/B the two against eachother. The Ray does indeed sound just like a MusicMan. Now, bearing in mind that my Stingray [proper] is almost ten years old, the only real difference between the two is the quality of the woods used. There's nothing wrong with the Ray 34, it's just a little more polite sounding and a little more top-endy. I'd imagine this is mainly due to the use of much younger (and cheaper) swamp ash/maple in the construction.

But all in all, don't be frightened to go for the Ray 34. It's an excellent bass. If my EBMM didn't have the piezo bridge, I wouldn't have bothered, to be honest. The SBMM basses are that good.

Rich.[/quote]


I have been starring at it since you psoted it up!!

I would really love to buy it, but I just dont have the funds, and want to give the credit card a break over Xmas.
Annoying thing is I just got a cheque for £500 from my Grandma's will, but its already all spent. I owe my misses £300 and my car tax is due at the end of the month, which is £215.

Im pretty sure my local music shop doesnt stock these, but I might give the Ray a chance if I can find one to try out somewhere.

I've run out of things to sell aswell, so its a case of having to save up unfortunately.

[OutToPlayJazz]

[quote name='TRadford' post='655354' date='Nov 15 2009, 07:12 PM']I have been starring at it since you psoted it up!!

I would really love to buy it, but I just dont have the funds, and want to give the credit card a break over Xmas.
Annoying thing is I just got a cheque for £500 from my Grandma's will, but its already all spent. I owe my misses £300 and my car tax is due at the end of the month, which is £215.

Im pretty sure my local music shop doesnt stock these, but I might give the Ray a chance if I can find one to try out somewhere.

I've run out of things to sell aswell, so its a case of having to save up unfortunately.[/quote]

Not a problem Mine's sold now, but you're onto a winner with one of those. Either that, or wait for a really good used Stingray to come up. The one I bought last night is a belter!

Rich.

[TRadford]

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='655392' date='Nov 15 2009, 08:16 PM']Not a problem Mine's sold now, but you're onto a winner with one of those. Either that, or wait for a really good used Stingray to come up. The one I bought last night is a belter!

Rich.[/quote]

Phew, thats lucky. I was just totting up how much I could get by selling some of my camera lenses and was gonna ask you if you could hold the bass for a week or so!
Probably for the best, its gone to someone with the money already!