I’ve had to delete the tab from my browser. Let’s see what my tax return brings me. Maybe a new Sandberg 
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I posted this on the GAS forum. I should have posted it here.
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I switched screens from watching Stingray comparison videos to bassbuzz to see what was posted, and saw your post.
Must be in the air today…
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Did you see any shorties?
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Yes, they have an ‘Ernie Ball Music Man Stingray’ and a ‘Sterling by Music Man’ but not an ‘Ernie Ball Music Man Sterling’ it appears.
If that last sentance confuses you, it should. They have 3 different lines and they are labelled as such above. The marketeers had fun with these lines.
I just learned that today watching low end lobster. Check him out, he has a lot of detailed videos on the differences, and short scale would apply to what he talks about.
What is not obvious is if the short scale is based on a Ray34 or a Ray4, maybe @T_dub knows, as they are both very different basses. I ‘think’ it is based on teh Ray34, which is a good thing, IMO.
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I’m going to have to dig up the picture of the Starry Night short scale EBMM Stingray I ran across when I was BB734A shopping. Just absolutely gorgeous little bass.
Also $2k, but we can’t have everything 
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Ahh yeah, they had one there too! I took a picture of a different one though.
And closer to $3k than $2k.
In person it is absolutely glorious. The pics on Sweetwater do NOT do it justice.
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I will say it again, I am very glad I do not live in Japan close to that store!!
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i’m thinking at some point in my life i will probably get one and sell my sterling ball short scale. it’s really hard to justify the price diff, between the two. but, damn.
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It’s just a crazy good finish.
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Actually, they do have an EBMM Sterling. It was created, and still sold today, before Sterling by Music Man was set up. Sterling Ball is Ernie Ball’s son, and they created the Sterling as a model alongside the Stingray, it is a smaller body, and has a 3 way pick up, along with a slimmer Jazz type neck, which is 1.5" at the nut. It has a similar tear drop pick guard, but does not have the chrome control plate cover where the knobs are.
Also, SBMM used to make a SUB Sterling also. I had one.
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The short scale is modeled after the EBMM Short Scale, not the Ray4, Ray24 or Ray34.
Important thing to note about both short scales is, they are PASSIVE.
If you were to compare specs, they would be closer to the Ray4 I believe, because they have the thinner J neck profile, 1.5" at the nut.
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which is really weird for music man basses btw.
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Although they are Passive, both the EBMM and SBMM Short Scale Stingray have a push pull Volume pot, and when you pull it (I believe, correct me if I am wrong Mike @itsratso ), you get a BOOST. So, even without the boost in volume you can get from active electronics, you still get a boost in volume with the Passive Stingray SS models.
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yep, and a pretty loud boost too when the button is pulled out. i have absolutely no idea how a passive volume boost works but it definitely does. another kind of oddity on the short scale, as a boost switch is more for guitar players when they uncork their gnarly shredding solos.
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Maybe it has a hot pickup and they drop it via two different resistance values on the pots or something.
No battery at all, right?
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nope. yeah, I was wondering if the volume boost when it’s active was actually the normal volume and not activating it slightly mutes it.
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Honestly, the pick up, again is going to be the weakest part of this bass.
The boos is almost unusable, unless all the bass and treble are cut, and even then.
This is the problem I have with the Ray32 and SS ray from Sterling. When you get into that price range, $499 - $549, I kind of expect a somewhat decent pick up, at least an upgrade.
For the Ray24, I know that you can at least re-wire the pick up from IN SERIES to IN PARALLEL and get at least a little better sound.
As far as the SS, I do not even know if the pick up is wired is parallel or not, and if it is, I do not know if the wires are exposed so you can change it quickly with a screwdriver and soldering iron.
The Ray4 is priced in a range where you can expect to upgrade it, like Squires’ and even the lower end yamaha’s, and ibanez’s.
I say it all the time, but I will say it again. For $99 you can add a Seymour Duncan pick up which sounds really good, or for $120 you can add an Aguilar pick up which sounds amazing, and is so worth it.
Also, you can highly improve your Ray4 with a Wilkenson pick up for about $30. It is not the best option, but you will at least be able to use all your tone with the Bass and / or Treble turned up all the way.
Another option, and the next option I will try is a Kent Armstrong (or Ken). He is well known and hand winds his pick ups (where Wilkinson is manufactured import), and some like Johnny Long just LOVE his pick ups.
They can be had for as low as $52, so if you have a hard time adding another $100 to $120 to a $300 bass, then Kent Armstrong for $52 or even Wilkinson for $30 may be a little more palatable.
And then, if you were to get the Ray 24 or SS (even if you can change the stock pick up to Parallel, it is still best to swap it out), then $100 to $120 seems out of the question IMHO, considering that you can just upgrade to a Ray34 with EBMM electronics for that same price.
So unless you absolutely want that J neck on the Ray 4 and Ray 24, and if you are set on the color and look of the Ray24, then I would almost suggest sticking to the Kent Armstrong to keep it around $550 and not cross the $600 mark. That said, I know somebody that has added an Aguilar pick up and pre-amp to the Ray34 and said it sounded better then the Stock EBMM preamp and whatever pick up that comes in the Ray34 (not sure if it is EBMM or not), so if you want the ray24 and want to add the Seymour Duncan, Aguilar, EMB, Bartolini, Norstrand, etc… it is not bad, it is just costing more. But if the Ray24 suits you best, then it is the right choice.
If you are only considering the Short Scale, you are kind of stuck with the price, cuz there are not optional models. And if you buy it new for $550, you are going to be $600 to $650 after upgrading the pick up. Of course, it is completely different than the Ray34, so the cost is up to you how much you want to pay for the pick up.
Last thing, I think you can use any of those pick ups on the SS bass, even tho it is passive, but you should research this first. It might need something different for passive (tho I don’t know why) or it might be a different size since it is a smaller bass.
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Looks like the shortie has a three-way selector for the pickup.
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