Not very rock and roll is it? More like the sort of logo you’d see on the side of a van for a commercial laundry service 
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I think I’d want different pups on my Stingray, ones with less bark and growl (I got dad jokes for days).
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Hi @mateoloco,
Buy your wife a bunch of flowers 
She will understand you have a serious issue GAS
Cheers brian
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Yes, Yes and Yes, you got it right. Sterling By Music MaN (SBMM) Has produced a Sterling before, and I actually owned ont, thinking it was a super cheap stingray copy and upgraded to a Ray4. Had I known what I kow now, I probably would have kept it just for the nostalgia to it, as a stingray collector or something like that.
Recently there nave been a couple Sterling Sterling’s on Reverb, both sold I think, and one of them was dug up from the US shop, and was the S/N. 0001, was the first SUB Stingray (or Sterling, can’t recall) made in San Luis Obispo at Music Man. They did a few years, or at least one, making the lower priced SUB Stingray and Sterling, but then either created SBMM or handed the project off to them and it has been with them since.
There is also a listing I had saved for a SBMM Sterling, but I am not sure if I still have it, although there is one for sale on that website someone shared showing the Bootsy bass, in New Jersey. there is a particular model they call it, but I can’t recall, but I am gonna look for it really quick and see if I can find it.
Here I found it, it was the SBMM SB4. IDK what years they were started or stopped. I would love to get one for my collection sometime, but I will wait til I see a great deal of somebody that doesnt’ know what they have, or if it needs work that I can do to it.
I should be clear, the first link was for a SUB STERLING bass made BY MUSIC MAN in the USA
while the 2nd one is made by STERLING and was made somewhere n the far east, not sure if it is Indonesia like they are mode now, or China. I can tell you the quality of the Sterling by Sterling I had was very much noticeably lower then what is put out from Indonesia today. Still was a fun piece and if I knew exactly what I had at the time, I would have kept it for sure.
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Oh no… those strings ROCK. I do actually like the feel and sound of DR coated strings and I have an Orange set on my EBMM Stingray BFR SLO SPECIAL, and it looks and sounds GREAT, to me, IMHO.
I do like the green strings on that bass, and I could see Red ones (that I have on my ESP LTD FRZ Tom Araya Signature model, or even the white ones or black ones, or yellow ones, maybe Blue or Purple.
TBH it works any way you string it TBH
I love that bass, and I would love to buy it if I were close by
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his contract with CBS that bought Fender, had a 10year non compete, meaning Fender could not work for, or create another copany that was in direct competition with Fender.
After the 10years was up, Leo Fender was FED UP with how CBS was handling his first company FENDER, and set out with Music Man as a rebuttal bass to take things further so they could beat Fender’s P and J bass to smithereens.
After developing the Stingray, testing it out on the great Luis Johnson (one of the funk pioneers) really helped Leo Fender to really stick it to CBS and FENDER and push them next level, was sort of the idea.
After Ernie Ball showed interest, and was destining new strings for the Stingray and that type of play, he also had a keen interest in staying on the project, eventually talking it over and purchasing if from Leo Fender and is group.
So Leo sold Music to Ernie Ball, and he continued to develope it further using his son Sterling Ball as the 2nd test subject. This was to create a smoother yet powerful Stingray and Luis Johnson could still slap the shit out of, but could be drawn way back to get softer more subtle tones, on the bass with the same basic design.
Sterling also wanted a smaller body bass, For the pre-amp that he wanted less headroom, and more functionality.
So instead of using bass and treble boosts to raise the power of the lows and highs,
he wasn’t a selector switch to change from a pickup wired in parallel (classic stingray) switch to a pick up wired in series, and one selection to put it into a hum cancelling single coil (or something to that effect)
This is where the STERLING, the bass was origonated, after they did all the wrk on several revisions of the Stingray, they then did a version of the Sterling.
I know there is alot ore information, some may be more correct adn factually accurate then what I just wrote off the top of my head, but then again, I often have a good memory and what I said may be what is, and the other page may confirm, or deny, and possibly be culprit, you will have to decide.
I only wanted to break this down into a simple quick story that many if not all can appreciate, and maybe help a few that are still confused.
If I have made it seem more confusing, PM me with questions and I will try to straighten it all oug.
I wanted to commend you @mateoloco for just jumping right into the conversation, it is the best way to get to know one and other, just jumping in with questions and joining in all parts of the conversation.
If you have not done so, It would be really cool if you can go over to the INTRODUCE YOURSELF topic section, and tell us ALL a little bit about YOU. Everybody, or most everybody, when they see it will will all be welcoming you to Bass Buzz with out FAMOUS (inside this forum) Bass Buzz Hello.
At which time you will be officially licensed product of bass Buzz and you can loudly say, anywhere you go "BASS BUZZ in-d-Muda-Fukin Hieeouse- BAM - REPRESENT.
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starry night, just beautiful.
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Shorty too.
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The Sub Ray4, under where it says Sterling By MusicMan, in very small letters does say S U B - S E R I E S
This is not present on anything BUT the Ray4, Ray4hh, Ray5 and Ray5HH
They do not cosider the Ray24ca, or Ray35ca as Sub Rays anylonger. as with the Ray34, Ray34hh, Ray35 or Ray35HH.
Before 2018, they each had their model after the Stingray logo.
It was Stingray34 with the 34 in a circle, or Stingray 24ca with the 24 in the circle and the ca at around the 2 oclock position as tho it were a quotation mark.
here is a Ray34 like this
I will try to find a pic of a 24ca headstock.
Remember, these predate 2018 when Sterling dropped the model numbers from the headstock and just called it Stingray. If you know them well enough, I can pick them out by eye, and if you still are not sure, just pick one up, the neck thickness at the nut is a dead give away, with the narrower neck at the nut coming from the Ray4 and Ray24, and the thicker at the nut neck belongs to the Ray34, which is much closer to the neck on a real stingray by musicman (I hate to use the term real stingray, because they are all reas stingrays, they are just manufactured by different divisions of the same company, on different continents, but they are all stingray’s
Its like calling an LTD P bass not a P bass, but a LTD single split coil bass instead or not calling a Schecter Jazz bass, a Jazz bass and forcing them to call offset body with two inline split coil pickups one at the bridge and one in the center. No, I call a P a P and a J a J and a PJ a PJ and Mustang a Mustang and Stingray a Stingray. LOL
Here is the Ray4, where you can see the S U B - S E R I E S along the bottom, but like I said, the only model that carries that moniker any longer.
This is off my Ray4HH
This is from the era when they put a BIG SUB on the Sterlings and Ray. I am really not sure if they had anything more then the single level of Stingray 4 and single line of Sterling SB4. That may be the only SUB basses they made, and they may only have mede them both out of the US plant. From what I understand they were not very good, unless you got a Lemmon (which, since they are shitty, a lemon would be good??? I really can’t say, only speculate.
Here was my Sterling Sterling SB4 that I wish I knew what it was when I sold it for $100, ironically to get a $299 Sub Stingray Ray4 from GC. LOL.
Had I know what it was, I would have happily forked up the other $100 in cash for the Ray4 I got.
Yes, that is a homemade Orange Pickguard, but from afar, ain’t she sexy?
Actually, I have some archive pages from Sterling, and it shows the 2011 sterling line up, you can reach all the instruments they made that year.
They had NO Ray4.
They had the SB14 which was a STERLING
and Ray34
and the Ray34ca
The Sterling SB14 was a sterling and headstock said Sterling with SB and 14 in a circle, you can see here, NO MENTION OF SUB
http://web.archive.org/web/20111001074857/http://www.sterlingbymusicman.com/sb14
Then, the Stingray Ray34, just like todays, I have one, and it has, like I showed above the Ray with 34 in the circle, NO MENTION OF SUB
http://web.archive.org/web/20111016023040/http://www.sterlingbymusicman.com/ray34
with the 34 in a circle like I pictured above, this was still the top model they made, which by looking at the next model, really confuses the shit out of me and probably you, why it is a model step down, but IDK, WTF
Here goes
The
Stingray Ray34ca (CLASSIC ACTIVE). Ray with 34 in the circle and ca in lowercase letters at the 2:30pm location just toutching the circle going out.
http://web.archive.org/web/20111001033852/http://www.sterlingbymusicman.com/ray34ca
IDK WTF marketing was going for back then, and i don’t have the MSRP for these basses, but this is EXACTLY what turned into the Ray24ca, and it has the same Flat Slab body, the Same Vintage inspired 2 band pre-amp (which is the exact version they have in the Ray4 now.
IDK if they were pushing those wanting to spend under $300 to the Sterling, and making those wanting a Stingray wo still need to dole out $500 or more?
I can see all three of these basses being very big on todays line up, IF the Ray34CA was renamed the Ray24ca, and they had the Ray4.
Those three with the Sterling SB14, and they have two nice entry basses, both that are great bodies for modifications and upgrades, along with another bass with the building of a classic sound, well, if you replace the pick up and preamp with one cloned after those 70’s circuits, and they could still have some kick ass Ray34, just a step below the US made stingray.
IDK WTF they were trying to do back then, but some of it worked great, and with a few tweaks to design and mareting, I think they could have had huge success with all the products in that line.
Unfortunately, you have marketers that make stupid fliers or sales catalogs like this, and confuse the shit out of everybody, so that not only won’t people buy, but its because people don’t even know how to sell it.
IF they were trying to make the Ray34ca more then the Ray34, how do you sell that. weaker everything, but it is a classic and vintage inspired bass? Who the f is gonna get that.
Ray 34, top line, but the rest of your line is kind of a joke, how do I not know this is really not a joke as well.
Yeah, I like that Sterling, it is cool, I will buy that one, its cheap, can’t go wrong. ----- Thats what I would have gotten from that line up, adn waited and see how the rest faired.
Had I paid more for a Ray34ca then a Ray34, I probably whould hate thta company with a passion and never get a stingray in my life.
Close calls. Good thing I didn’t get heavy (just starting) out in bass back when these adds were in the magazines and on the web pages, I would have thought Music Man was a joke and would have ever leven started playing anything, but maybe a sterling.
Honestly, If I got a Sterling back them. and like it, and 7 years later they unveil the Ray34, umm…yeah, there is a good chance, no, a probability that I will checkout the Ray4, and most likely buy it, but still, I can see long time players, and EBMM players that have been playing for a long time who look down at Sterling and shake their heads and go ’ What the F are you guys thinking, what in the hell are you doing, learn from Leo Fender and Ernie Ball, and Sterling Ball, and don’t fuck around like that.
The one thing I did learn, from the time (2011) that this archive is from, and knowing the basses in this catalog dates back to 2008 at minimum, and it went until 2018 before they changed the headstock writing to just say Stingray, and nothing more (except on the Ray4 where it says Sub Series in small spaced out letters under whole Sterling by Music Man logo.
Aside from the basses that said SUB on the headstocks (and I can’t find the history on these basses yet, but am doing some web research to see what I can dig up.
Cuz I have seen what I assumed were modern (after 2011) Ray4 basses that wore the HUGE SUB moniker on the headstock, so I would like to know what year it all changed, back to that, or back to what it is now. I know 2016 and 2018 were pivotal years for the companies. I know 2018 was big for eBMM with the redesign of the Stingray Classic to the Stingray Special, and I know Sterling dropped the Ray34 and Ray24ca and even Ray4 from he dasy
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Yes @T_dub What he said! 
I love my impulse-bought 2020 Sterling Stingray 34 Natural with roasted neck, 3-band active EQ. What a great second bass (BEAD in LaBella Flats) 
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Damn, you got a DEEP Stingray there, I would actually love to hear that.
And you just made me give myself an excuse for yet ANOTHER Ray4. lots of project rays. LOL
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My main (first) is a Mustang. The Sterling has certainly been a challenge to play…beginner with it BEAD, but hey it’s fun. Stay tuned haha
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Just when I thought I had a handle on the EBMM vs SBMM, this thread comes up. This is the one I have:
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Sweet colors on that one
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@T_dub so after this big block, thanks for it, I come to a conclusion my cousin has got Ray34.
It has roasted neck, rosewood fretboard, thin nec but wider at nut than Jazz Bass for comparison. At the head it just says Sterling Stingray. And it has lighter brown wood textured body with black pickguard. And yeah one bridge humbucker.
Am I on a good track here? Could it be it costed 350-ish$?
Gotta snap a pic next time Im at his place.
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if it is a Ray34, $350 is a good price, if it is in good condition. I should be able to tell by looking at it if it is a Ray34, and if it is a Ray34, but does not say anything but Stingray on it, then it was made in 2018 or later, so it is a newer bass and that is probably a very good price.
without looking at it, you could measure the neck at the nut, if it is 38mm (or 38.5 if you use a caliper and go end to end) it will be a Ray4 or Ray24
If if is a Ray34, and you measure the nut it is more like 43mm at the nut.
I love a Ray4 as much as a Ray34, if not more (cuz of the 38mm nut), but $350 would be too much for a Ray4, but it wold be a pretty great price for a Ray34, again, as long as it is in Excellent to Mint condition.
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