Yep!
I have my EBMM Stingray sitting next to my SBMM Ray4, and I play the Ray 4 9.9 out of 10 times every time. It is now $349, used to be $299, but still one of the best basses out there for the price.
He installed an upgraded controls, a drop in, but seriously nice set up with some sort of active tone control. but yeah, it was an inexpensive, but solid construction bass, and a good upgrade platform, just like the SBMM Ray 4’s. I upgraded my pick up and it is everything I want now.
That is a very nice build you did.
If you buy 2nd hand from a retail store, you get a return window. So you can take it home and really get to know the bass and if you decide its not for you you can take it back to the store, and return it hassle free. And if you buy it online from Guitar Center out of your area, you can still return it at the local Guitar Center with no hassle, and don’t even need a receipt, you can pull up your account in store and they can see the transaction, and will refund you cash or put it back on your card.
It was really helpful when the Covid lockdown first happened, they extended their return policy to 6 months, and I returned a bass I bought online from out of state, in the local store at about 5 and 1/2 months when I decided it was not for me, after I got my Ray 4 and bonded with it, and they did not give me any grief over the return.
It is a great bass for the price. It is practically a Music Man in almost every sense of the word, but it is not made in the USA.
It is made with the old Music Man Stingray pick up and 3 band pre-amp that was in the USA models prior to an upgrade in 2018, so it is practically a Stingray from before 2018, which are still amazing instruments.
However, the Ray34 has a fat Stingray neck on it, which is good, if you are comfortable with a thicker neck. I kind of prefer the Jazz necks that are more narrow and thinner. These come on the Ray4 and Ray 24 and the Music Man Sterling model bass, which is a junior Stingray kind of, but it is a whole different animal too.
You can get a great deal on a Sterling Ray4 used, or new for $349, and it is a great upgrade platform. You can change the pick up for anywhere from $50 to $150 and get a really great sound. You can upgrade to a 3 band preamp if you prefer, however, I kind of love the simplicity of the 2 band, and I left mine stock.
Considering I also have a Ernie Ball Music Man Stingray, that is a SLO Special that was a BFR in 2014, and was made with a Sterling (Jazz) neck on it, which is an American built Stingray and feels very similar to my Ray 4 that is 1/5 the price of a new EBMM Stingray. I love my USA built stingray, but have bonded with my Ray4, and play it more then any other bass I have. I had a Ray34, and it was really nice, but I ended up trading it for a Road Worn Fender, USA built P bass, just because I have enough stingrays, and was not playing it much. Mostly because I put Flat on it, the only bass I ever put flats on, and I really did not like the flats. That said, I could have just put rounds back on it, but it would still be the one played least between the 3 other Stingrays (Ray4, Ray4HH, Stingray SLO Special) I have.
It is just a thought. Yes, you can feel a difference between a Ray34 and a Ray4. But play them both, and see, cuz the neck can make a big difference, and it depends is you like a thicker neck with wider string spacing or a narrow neck with closer string spacing. Many don’t like the fat necks, and many do. it is not a right or wrong, it is what feels best to you.
Just wanted to throw out there, that you can get the Ray4, and upgrade the pick up an have something really special for between $400 and $500 depending on what pick up you decide to get.
Plus you can get a used one for between $200 and $250, and many are still mint condition. Often somebody that was going to play bass, then didn’t bother learning it, and got bored with it, and is selling it in near new condition. Slap new strings on, put in a new pick up like a Kent Armstrong MM pick up for $50 and away you go, if you like the thinner neck. More like your Yamaha neck, but a little thicker, same nut width at 38mm or 1.5" where the Ray34 is 1.6875" or almost 43mm then you might prefer the feel of the Ray4 over the Ray34. But then again, you may really like the feel of the Ray34, and decide thats the one for you.
Also excellent advice. It took me many basses that I liked to find the ones I loved. For me it happens to be Stingrays all the way, but I still appreciate other basses I have like my P bass’s and Toby Jazz bass and Ibanez SRX 400 and ESP LTD B-4E and LTD Tom Araya Signature, and my Dean MetalMan ML (Dimebag shaped bass) which is fun to play at times as well. I have 3 basses with thick chunky necks and the rest are all Jazz or Sterling or Ibanez sized necks. I enjoy a variety, but if I have one go to bass, I will pick up my Ray 4 first every time.
Yes, exactly, I agree 100%
If you have a good area for used gear, like my area in Southern California, you can find excellent used deals, and clean them up, slap a set of new strings on it, give it a good set up, and re-sell it for double or triple, or sometimes 5 times what you paid or even more.
Trading is a good way to try basses out, and decide what you like.
Buying and collecting basses and modifying them and re-selling them is another hobby, that almost has nothing to do with learning or playing bass, it can and is a whole separate thing that some people do, and others don’t care to do, or have limited used stock in their area and / or not a good market for re-selling.
I happen to be in a hot spot, and enjoy this as much as playing and learning bass and studying music, but they are two completely different hobbies in almost every sense of the word.
That is a great deal, and if you prefer the thicker neck, or can live with it, then that is what you should get. Plus you have a 30 or 45 day return policy, and you can return it after using it at your house, in your comfortable place, thru your amp and or computer and monitors, and take time to decide. if it is not for you, you can return it hassle free at Guitar Center.
If cash is not an issue, get the Ray34 and the Ray4, take them both home, and play each and see which one you bond with, then take the other one back, or keep them both, you are well under $1000 getting a Ray34 for $500 and a Ray4 for $349.
Just know the pick up on the Ray4 is not really good, but is easily replaceable for as low as $50 for a good MM pick up that will deliver a stingray tone, and not be so hot that you can’t use the preamp without hurting your ears. The Ray4 stock pick up can sound great, but it limits how much high end you can add to it cuz it is a really hot pre-amp that is not really good, but they have to cut cost somewhere, and it doesn’t make the bass a bad buy, and you don’t have to upgrade the same day you get the bass, but down the road when you want to record with it and / or play live, you will probably find that a pick up upgrade will be the way to go.
Unfortunately, the only Ray 34 I really want, is the most expensive black ash version. I don’t need one, so I am not going to dish out $1000 for it, but if I saw one for $500, I would jump. and sell a P bass.
Another happy Ray owner, Join the club.
