Hold 3 basses. Take the one away. Mask the issue
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Folks. I just found a Music store here in Australia who said they have a Korean made Sterling Ray34. Is this legit? From Sterling website it says that all Stingray basses are made in Indonesia. Has Sterling Ray 34 ever been made in Korea before or is this a scam?
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Apparently yes according to the Ernie Ball forums and a couple of suppliers here in Oz @jpartogi
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No worries mate @jpartogi
They’ve got them up for sale at a place I’ve dealt with a couple of times ( tourbusentertainment) and echotone on eBay
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Sterling-By-Music-Man-Ray34-Mahogany-4-String-Electric-Bass-Guitar-Black-/154443458223?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m2548.l6249&mkrid=705-154756-20017-0
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I know this question is veering us a bit off topic; but we must admit, the Ray choices are mind boggling…
Searching on Reverb, I find:
- Ray4HH
- SUB Ray4
- Ray4
What are the differences of these?
@T_dub where are you?
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The HH referring to pickup configuration HH is 2 humbucker similar to jazz set but with 2 H.
As for the sub4 and Ray4 it’s just the different model year. Sub4 is older than Ray4 which older than sterling Ray4 sub series.
MusicMan company has a department of dedicated staffs to find the way come up with names that would not only confusing to consumer but intertwining with there other models.
Their models
stingray bass
Ernie Ball Sterling, named after his son, the high end one with smaller body and head stock. Fantastic 3 mode pickup and electronics features Jazz neck nut width.
Cutlass bass, their version of a P bass, fantastic bass. However there’s another earlier cutlass bass that looked just like the stingray with graphite neck back in the 80’s the new one is not a redesign of that bass, they just ran out of name. It’s also the same name as their popular electric guitar line.
The Caprice is the PJ version of the cutlass.
Then you have the reflex bass, also advertised separately as the”game changer bass” it uses the Axis guitar body platform with crazy pickups options and I kid you not on board computer so you can upload and download your setting.
The next one is the BMW designed Bongo bass, it’s one of the most comfortable 2 octaves bass I’ve played to date.
The most confusing model name has to be the SUB.
Let start with the best
Ernie ball MusicMan SUB, made in USA. Fantastic bass slab body excellent industrial painting finish very rugged stingray. Black head stock.
Sterling by MusicMan S.U.B.
Sub4
Ray4 sub series all are the same bass.
Their Ray34/35 series also have a little confusion
The Ray 34Ca is not made in San Luis Obispo, California. The CA stands for classic active. They assumed that everyone know that the classic preamp is with 2 band EQ in stead of 3 band “modern” EQ.
Except for the game changer I own all of these basses in various pickups configuration except for the HH. They are very confusing then trying to put it on the market.
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And they’re doing a fine job of it! They’ve certainly kept me from buying one 
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The Ernie Ball Music Man Stingray (now Stingray Special - newer 18V model) also has another tier…
Don’t forget “BFR” - Ball Family Reserve, limited run basses
And what about the Ray24, wasn’t that a thing?
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Good point ray 24 is probably the best deal out there because of the color.
BFR is so out of reach to the mass only few special get to own one, wait a minute you own one. I’m still in the hunt for the 2018 BFR fretless. It’s north of $4500 now. I remember that last year I saw one on reverb for $2500.
Speaking of which I also didn’t mention a few models like the saber for example those are so hard to find.
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Indeed it is. and with the more narrow neck, is it a good choice to learn on, unless you have huge alien fingers like @JoshFossgreen, then it might be easier with a larger fretboard while learning.
For me, I appreciated the more narrow fretboard in the beginning and in general, but have really started to appreciate the larger string spacing and wider and chunkier necks like on a P bass or an EBMM Stingray and SBMM Ray34.
I know you are talking about bikes and not basses when you say Harley, BUT, since you mentioned it…
Another thing to note, IDK if this will be your daughters first instrument, or if it is an upgrade from a current one, and if it is a first instrument, I would suggest the Ray4 as an excellent beginner bass that can last you a lifetime with some upgrades along the course.
But
Harley Benton makes a really nice copy of the Stingray 4 and Stingray 4HH.
They are supposed to be really nice, and very affordable (especially the blacked out one they have with black everything but pick guard - drool worthy).
3 things to consider that I am recalling from memory of a Gergor review or two…
First is that, on the 4HH version, the bridge pick up is WAY in the way of the neck if you (she) ever wanted to slap.
Second, the neck on the 4 string is extremely wide, even wider then the Stingray I believe, it closer to 1.7" or more (stingray 1.6875, Jazz 1.5") so from a beginner point of view, you will need to know that a wider neck will not deter you from learning and playing before deciding on one because of the extrememly attractive price. I don’t think it is bad for anybody to learn on larger necks, I only say this from personal experience, where I think it helped me. Again, in my own experience, with large fat hands and shorter fingers, this really helped, and did not stop me from thinking the bass was wrong for me.
But if you CAN learn on a larger fretboard, and it will not DETER you from learning, then that Harley Benton could be a great option.
Third - the pickups. I honestly think they are probably better out of the box then the Ray4, but ONLY because they are not as HOT, making any tone or boost controls useable, where on the Ray4, you are limited to how much you can boost before your ears start to bleed. Other then that, the Ray4 is not a horrible sounding pick up, it is just useless with the preamp for the most part in most situations.
ALSO, I am not 100% sure if the pick up is a direct MM style / size pick up but that is easy enough to find out.
I also think it is a passive bass, but you can look up on the Thomman site for this as well
But for sure, the Ray4, as you know is a solid choice.
The Harley Benton is a nice copy as well, and another solid pick, especially for the price, for those that hate the 3+1 head (that I think is so cool) and like the colors offered, and again, the price, and especially if they want a baseball bat for a neck, it seriously is not a bad option.
If somebody likes the construction and playing and look of a Stingray (less the 3+1 headstock), but do not like the Jazz neck, and don’t want to pay as much as a Ray34 (the cheapest option for fatter neck in the line) or an EBMM Stingray, then the Harley Benton appears to be a good choice, as long as you consider what I posted about above.
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Well the sterling short scale is definitely a great choice. Rare passive pickup offering from MusicMan. Every bit as spunky in a booming 30” scale. Great colors
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Just weighed the Ray4 @PamPurrs . It’s 4.1 kg so yes it’s around 9lbs !
I’m quite blown away by this as it really doesn’t feel that heavy. Maybe it’s how it is balanced?
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Absolutely.
It IS OK to let your eyes to the hearing for you, as long as you know you are picking with your eyes.
You can do almost anything you want with a dry track from almost any instrument, so you can sound however you want with almost any bass.
As long as you LOVE the feel, and second, Love the look, then you are more apt to play it.
Of course, there are some basses that sound great no matter what, and are just not my style at all, like the Beetle bass mostly Hofner’s, I think (sound wise), but many copies probably sound fine.
I just can’t Juve with the look. Only maybe with the British flag painted one that Paul had, maybe, otherwise, I don’t like the look.
They sound great every time I hear them played however.
and some Schecter’s and LTD’s and Ibanez and Jackson’s that I have played, IMO, the pre-amp sucked, or the pick ups were not set right, or were not right,
So, the bass had the feel, and the look (all the above brands I have played, feel great, almost everyone I have tried, and many sound good, but many don’t out of the box, or off the wall) but sound not so great IMO and IME.
But
You can get any plug in or preamps and booster pedals and anything you want to make it sound how you want it to sound in the mix, and you can upgrade the pre-amp or electronics instead, and you can most likely find the sound you want out of a cheaper bass of any brand.
If you get a bass you are not all that keen on, and just get it cuz you can afford it, you may not pick it up enough in the beginning, and may give up on playing before you ever start.
So getting a beginner bass, stick to what is recommended in your price range, and you can’t go wrong.
When you are looking to upgrade, or after you are a total new beginner player, you will know way more about what you are looking for in a NEXT bass.
All the way, agree with everything in this whole post Al.
And don’t worry, I can’t afford it, so I am not even in the starting gate for a race. Its all yours, and how cool it would be if it was yours.
That Ibanez SRX on the wall, you may want to pick that one up, just talk him down to maybe $250 or $300 out the door. In reality, the $350 is a great price, I just really lucked out.
I can’t put this damn bass down, it is just so much fun and it feels great.
I m not kicking my Ray 4, or SLO Special aside by any means, but this bass is so much fun, I am just gonna play with it until I decide what to do with it.
I love the bridge on it, but it is a non standard hole pattern.
The neck feels almost as if a Ray4 were 24 frets.
SUB Ray4 and Ray4 are the same thing
Ray4HH is the 2 pick up with 5 mode selection switch.
Thats the easy way to look at it.
in the past, they put SUB on the headstockstocks of the Ray4’s, and called them SUB RAY 4’s
That was when they also had
Ray34 / Ray35 and Ray34HH / Ray35HH
Ray34ca
SUB Ray4
Now it is the same from the top down
Ray34 (35, 34hh, 35hh)
and the Sub Series
Ray24ca (and Ray25ca, but no HH models - same as it was before, flat body, but was not marketed as a relic or traditional ray, it was just a lower model of the Ray34 and had a Jazz neck as does the Ray24ca now, other then color and neck tint, and headstock markings, they are the same as the Ray34ca)
Ray 4(5/4hh/5hh)
5 on any of them is 5 string, HH is for the two Humbucking pick ups.
If you ever see one called a Ray4H or a Ray34H, just know it is the normal, standard Ray4 or Ray34 with one pick up
You forgot the Big Al, AL
Another game changer, and fan favorite, but no longer in production. I do not know much about this bass, I have not dove deeper then the Stingray and Sterling and SBMM lines, as far as the EBMM Cutlass, Bongo, and Big Al, I don’t know much more then anybody else, I have not looked that closely at any of them.
Probably cuz I have not had the opportunity to ever play and feel a Bongo, or Big Al.
The Cutlass was especially nice, and sounds great with those Music Man Big Pole P bass pick ups, but I have not much more to say about it, I have not researched it much either.
BFR are custom limited run, and usually, never reproduced. Harder to know everything about them, because they do things like put Sterling Necks on Stingray basses and call them SLO Specials, among other things, and are also often, signature limited release, like the Cliff AC/DC bass and the Tim C (Rage Against the Machine) done more recently.
as far as a Ray24, are you talking about the Ray24ca in the SBMM line?
AFIK, there was not a Ray24 from EBMM, but could be wrong.
I tend to disagree with the statement from Al for once, but it’s ok to disagree.
I don’t think the Ray24ca or the Ray34ca (what it was called prior to 2018) is not an upgrade to the Ray4, I think it is more of a downgrade to the Ray34.
I do not think it was intended to be thought of like that, but that is the way it is IMHO.
The Ray34ca (pre 2018) or Ray23ca from today(2018 - present), has nothing on or in it that the RAy34 does (both pre and post 2018). In fact, the Ray34 is basically an EBMM stingray built in Indonesia, and other parts of the world where CORT builds instruments. The Ray34 is a full blown Stingray with the same electronics that go inside the US made Stingrays (with few differences, but minimal) keeping them very much in line with EBMM stingrays, and way worth the cost new.
The Ray24 is more of the same thing as the Ray4 with a few differences, none of which equate up to the $200 price mark up IMHO.
The Ray24ca and Ray4 are identical in every way except
1 - Ray24ca has a flat slab body, like the late 70’s (first years) stingrays
2 - There is a relic tint on the neck apparently, to give it a more vintage look or something like that, IDK really
3 - the pick up
4- colors.
I agree the colors are awesome, especially the Blue one, and the Butterscotch.
The pick up in the Ray4 and ray24ca is similar, but with a difference.
In the Ray4, they pot it so much for shielding that you don’t have an easy way to access the wires, making it way too much work to switch from series to parallel wiring for the hum bucker.
On the Ray24ca, it is also wired in Series instead of parallel (Note that Stingray traditional and classic sound is from the MM pick up wired in Parallel)
However on the Ray24, you have access to the wires and can make it parallel instead of series in about 15 min with a soldering gun and screwdriver, but, in the end, the difference is still not good enough
To me, unless you like the color and flat slab body, it is not worth the $200, because in the end, I would replace that pick up as well.
BUT, it is still a fine bass, and IMO, it is a bummer they charge it up so much from a Ray4, it is closer to the price of lower priced Ray34 (by lower priced, I mean color choices, they up charge for some color patterns, and for black hardware and for HH pick ups, so the Ray34 really starts at $599 or $649).
Thus making the Ray4 a far better value for the money
That is my disagreement with Al, I don’t think the Ray24ca is better for the money, I think it is actually less for the money spent then a Ray4, although, they are both great instruments, and the color makes a difference, if it is what you want, it should not hold you back from getting it, if you can afford it and like it that much better.
And be sure to note, the pre-amp, despite the way they word it on the website, is the exact same 2 band pre-amp in both the Ray4 and Ray24ca
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Marketeers are very skilled at doing their job and getting all the lemmings to buy into all sorts of things. It would be very interesting if we all had to shop for basses blindfolded. My guess is we would all have different collection if our ears (and ergos for that matter) were the only thing(s) that mattered. Marketeers have managed to talk us all into putting importance on a lot more things, distracting from the real need (the tone).
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I think the real need is the want and desire to pick it up and play it day in day out, keep that drive going.
For some that is getting that one perfect bass, and learning how to shape the sound to suit what you are playing, and the desired tone.
For others it means getting a bunch of different basses with different clean tones for minimal shaping and being able to pick up what they want to use for a song based on the clean tone.
some will buy one, play it for a while, get over it and move to another bass, keeping one at a time
Others will buy a bunch and sell a bunch and still keep playing the same 2-3 basses most of the time anyway
For others one will do no matter the tone,
and for others only one more will do, because, more choices means more chances to play.
So what ever keeps you going, including buying and selling to yourself, whatever keeps you coming back to playing is what is best (I am happy to see you, @PamPurrs, keeping the Frank Bello after all, just cuz its a cool looking bass and he is such a cool guy, and cuz, I like the bass, just being honest)
Tone is nice, and true if we just listened with our ears, most of us would have different thing than what we have, I am pretty sure I would’ve bought a Hofner and a Danelectro if I had to buy two of 5 basses demonstrated by sound only, on one video I watched. Needless to say that they were not even on my list to consider to being bough going into the start of the video.
Feel then looks, then sound, as that can be changed to suit your song when you want.
Of course there are certain things that will just need certain basses, but not always.
But the desire to pick it up and play it and keep going is important, IMHO, that comes from looks and feel above all else, except when you want a certain sound off a clean bass tone, yeah, I get that, but these are things to conducer when you really know what you are after, not as much when you really want to learn to play and really want to play something that looks cool and feels great.
Fortunately, both looks and feel are subjection able enough that there is room in the market for more then a Jazz and P bass and a Stingray and a Rickenbacker.
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You are 100% right with this 
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How it plays and how it feels are super important, but you can’t get away from looks. The looks have to reflect me as a person. I wouldn’t be happy playing a neon green Jackson with neon strings like I wouldn’t walk around with socks and sandles.
Pink bass I could do. Especially in twinkle pink.
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You’ve made me go on the hunt for one of these now 
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