it is for sure. but they are undeniably gorgeous too, and there are people who wouldn’t blink at that price. those people are not me though.
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Yeah, there are several strata of bass markets. For example, on the high-high end, Alembics and a few other luthier-crafted basses routinely sell for five figures all day long to collectors, artists or just plain ol’ rich folk.
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J & D makes a decent ss jb. Comes from Germany. Ive had 3 of them.
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I have the Blue one, had the sunburst and the green one. For some reason the sunburst never felt right to me. I sold both of the to a young aspiring bassist. I told him about the course, and I hope he signed up.
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I may have a Bronco that appeals to 1 project in the works… soon.
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Yep. And with more $ of upgrades as the cost of the bass. It’s awesome.
Bass = $519
Upgraded:
Curtis Novak Pickups = $390
Stay trem Bridge = $90
Mastery Vibrato = $190
Why?
Although you don’t have to go nuts like I did, as is the bass needs a lot to keep it setup. Wish I could spend more time with it.
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I really like the sound of the stock pickups actually. There are certainly better ones out there, but I wouldn’t spend money on upgrading them. I like the sounds that those single coils make. I just picked the Fender strings up off the front porch and I’m getting ready to swap those out.
As far as actual mods, I’m thinking of replacing the bridge and tailpiece. Trying to intonate that thing is a real pain in the ass. After about 45 minutes of tweaking I just gave up on the low E and it was still 4 or 5 cents off (knowing I’d be replacing the strings today). I’m thinking atm to go with a mastery bridge and a hardtail conversion plate which should come in at about $250. I’d love to throw a chrome tailpiece cover on it but I haven’t been able to find one yet.
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Yeah hardtail would be my choice too, I dislike trems.
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I’d do a wah pedal before I used a trem, even on guitar.
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Yeah I just really dislike them too for some reason 
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I think I can set the wah on the GX-10 to adjust modulation which should mimic the sound of the trem if you set the chorus / flanger up right.
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Funny you should say that, I tried a Les Trem clone on my Bass VI and SG and promptly took it off and am now Wah curious
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After owning 20+ wahs over the last 5 years I find the Boss PW-10 the most versatile and has the best treadle feel. Not to mention bass specific wah tones as well guitar wah tones, univibe, build in drives if desired, it’s more than most need and still simple to operate if you don’t want all the other things. Still feels the best if you only use one thing on it. YMMV
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cool, i love the vintage looking finish on the hardware.
I got this bass a few months ago but have not been playing it much, I tell myself it’s because of the Offbeat, but it’s really bright.
So tonight I swapped out the factory Ernie Balls (my least favorite brand of strings) and put on a set of SIT Powerwounds, and here’s a quick review
Cons
- boy is this bass neck divey. With a 3" leather strap it nosedives to the floor right away. My mustangs aren’t this bad. I’m gonna try another strap.
- The black dots on the dark maple are low contrast. Not a problem at home but I imagine would be hard to see on a low light stage. Easy to fix
Pros:
- I like the bridge. It’s placed near the end of the body, so the bass feels more like playing a guitar than a short scale bass, which is less stress on my wrist (my MRI last week shows a torn ligament). Also changing strings is easy on this bass - hey slide right over the saddle.
- Neck is very nice. I’ve seen reviews where on Sterling SS the neck is rough; this is a roasted maple and the neck and fretwork is perfect. I play it and don’t notice the frets at all
- With the SITs, it sounds much better. The neodymium pickup has a lot of punch, and is a tad bright. However that is playing alone in my living room. In a mix, I think it would have great presence and won’t get lost.
- There’s a lot of tones available. The 3-way switch has a series/single coil/parallel settings and like I said a lot of tones available. I am parked in parallel at about 70% tone and will probably leave it. But it’s there. Started working on an Audioslave song to get some Tim Comerford in.
Worlds most useless feature in a bass:
The volume has a push/pull switch which acts as a volume boost. But it’s a passive bass how do you get a boost? You don’t. There’s a capacitor wired into the volume so when it’s in the “normal” setting, it cuts the volume by a few percent, and when it’s up, it’s at normal volume by taking the cap out of the circuit. Dumb
Overall this is a good affordable bass. It’s a player, light and easy to fret. Would sound good in a mix with other instruments. Punchy.
If you’re looking for the classic sting ray tone, understand that a lot of the tone comes from the onboard preamp. This one is passive. You would have to get a preamp pedal.
It has great tone. Neck is great. Body is smaller than a 34". Feels like a guitar to play. Definitely worth a look.
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My Keeper bass list:
- Fender Mustang Player PJ with DiMarzio Model PJ pups, Labella DTFs
- Offbeat Roxie with Fralin Strat pickups, D’Addario Chrome Flats
- Fender Pawn Shop Mustang with Novak Wide Range Humbucker, some sort of rounds (I forget the brand)
- Sterling RaySS4 with SIT Powerwounds
Honorable Mentions:
- Squire Mustang with Novak pups
- Squire Bronco with Fralin Split 51
- Squire Paranormal
Cull Worthy - the rest of the herd
Notes:
- The Bronco is a near perfect bass with the Fralin pup. The output is a little low, which is why the good lord gave me a volume knob. I have no complaints. But it occupies a similar sonic space as the Offbeat, which has two single coils and is just better
- If I were to buy a Mustang, I would 100% pick a new Squire over a Fender Player. The punch of the classic Mustang pickup is fantastic, and a Novak replacement or Nordstrand NM4 are just fantastic upgrades you can do and still be cheaper than the Fender. And neck dive is less of an issue with the Squire due to the heavier bridge. The reason my Fender is picked higher is 1 thing - the contouring of the neck on this bass is the most comfortable I have. I could try a score of other Fender Mustangs and not replicate this feel. I sometimes think to swap necks between the 2.
- I may do a fretless conversion on the Bronco
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I’ve got one of these. It’s nice, but I very rarely play it, i.e., I don’t play it. It’s been sleeping peacefully in a gig bag for a couple of years.
I will likely sell it. It’s ultra-low mileage, in uber-mint condition.
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