I’ve been considering trying a Stingray, so of course I started looking at Craigslist. I think a Ray34 is what I would ultimately want, but I’ve read some of the thread on here saying the Ray4 is pretty good, a lot cheaper, and you can upgrade the pickups without spending as much as you would for the Ray34.
All that said, I saw the following for sale in my area. I’m wondering if this is a good price considering the “upgrades” and missing pickguard? Are those pickups and tone circuit good? (I know nothing about bass electronics yet.)
I definitely don’t like the look of the bass without the pickguard, but I’m assuming if I liked the bass and wanted to keep it longterm, I could find a pickguard somewhere, and even get something a little custom there.
Having no idea what those electronics sound like, I don’t know if they’re better than the stock electronics, or if they’re something I’d like.
So, I’m wondering how you all think this bass would sound with those electronics? Were those good choices for upgrades, or not so much. If not, what would you have chosen instead?
If I got it, tried it out, and decided I didn’t like it, do you think I could resell it for as much or more than I paid for it?
If I got it an decided I liked it, how much do you think it would cost me (ballpark) to get a decent pickguard for it? Do you think I’d want to ultimately switch those electronics for something else?
That’s a $250 bass new or used that you can find any day of the week. If you want to pay $375 let me know I’ll mod one and ship it to you, I have like 7 of those,
The problem with the SUB 4 is the neck profile for me, that one has the 38mm at the nut and share lots of the Jazz neck, not entirely like the EBMM Sterling, which has a bit different neck profile at the same narrow nut width.
The Ray34 has the same nut width as the EBMM Stingray. To most people it’s not a big deal or even noticeable but to some, especially me, I can tell the difference. If you want a cheap version of the full size stingray then check out the used OLP. they are pretty awesome.
Check this out
Oh this is a perfect Pino’s Fretless conversion bass
Or pick one of the newest color and simplify passive electronic. You can easily upgrade to the EMG.
Thanks for the response. What’s OLP? I have no idea.
What do you think about those electronics? One path I’ve been considering is getting a Ray4 and upgrading the pickups. I was just thinking getting something like this might save me a step (and cost of materials and labor) IF those are the pickups I’d want. But I have no idea if they are.
I don’t think the neck is a big concern for me. My first bass was a Squier p-bass, and my current is an Ibanez SR505, which I think has more of a jazz bass type neck, and both of those necks were fine for me. Don’t know that I have a preference.
So is it a hard or soft case? If it’s a hard case and you need one that’s not that bad of a deal. I don’t know what those pickups are like but short of a pick guard it seems like a deal to me. Cases can be crazy like $100 these days.
Says it’s a hard case, and I did consider that the case is adding quite a bit to the deal. However I already have a nice case, so it wouldn’t add anything for me except possibly resale value.
Seems though this isn’t a great deal for me. I also don’t really like the look of it, so even if I got it, I likely wouldn’t keep it for long.
It’s not a lateral move but it’s a new category altogether.
When I think Ibanez, I think Bartolini dark, mid forward, nasally tone.
When I think Stingray (Ray34) I think, crisps, powerful, punchy, and slap happy tone.
I thought I’d share the bass I’d really like to get if I decide to get a Stingray. Not sure if I can swing the price, though, and I’d really rather get it from Sweetwater or somewhere else more reputable. Maybe they’d order it for me?
I just love the look of this bass, and the fact the color is called Neptune blue is a huge bonus to me (I’m a huge planetary science nerd).
It’s an awesome bass. I said many times here that tone/ sound is cheap, what separates premiums and cheaper ones is the feel. Ray 34 has full nutwidth and string spacing as the stringray. Hefty mass and satin smooth roasted maple neck and with this one also the rosewood fingerboard. Aside from Ray34 series wiring vs USA Stingray parallel wiring it’s feel and sounds almost the same.
This is my roasted maple neck charcoal sparkles Stingray
