Sterling by Music Man Ray4HH Electric Bass Guitar
Bring the low tones with Sterling basses! The Sterling SUB Series StingRay bass offers a dual, low-noise humbucker configuration and a 9v active preamp.
$429.99
- 8 x$53.75
- No Credit Check6 x$71.66
- No Credit Check4 x$107.50
Overall User Ratings (based on 8 ratings)
Submitted August 8, 2022 by Kyle H in Lancaster, OH
"Versatile, fast, AMAZING!"
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Purchased the Olive Green version on zZounds several months back. Set up was good out of the box but I put some heavier gauge Power Slinkys on it, set it back up, and dropped the neck pickup just a hair. I also shielded the control and pickup cavities with copper shielding tape. It has been my go-to over my MIM Fender Jazz. Blows it out of the water!!The 5 way switch gives you just about every pickup configuration there is:EB/Mudbucker (top pup)Jazz (top and bottom coils)Thunderbird (both pups)Prescision (middle coils)Original Stingray (bottom pup)The neck on this thing is what REALLY sets it apart. I have never played a bass that felt so...easy! I've had several people offer to buy it from me just because of it! If you have small-ish hands like I do, this bass is what you want!If you have regular hands, I still HIGHLY recommend it. Easily the most versatile and fastest playing bass under $500. Sure beats shelling out $2k for an Ernie Ball! I really want to buy the matching 5 string!I only gave the "Quality" a 4 star because well...it IS made of basswood. Makes the bass very lightweight but I have a couple small dents already. The paint is holding up and it didn't crack. Take care if transporting in a gig bag. Also, the preamp is just okay. Not bad. Just okay. I usually just leave both EQ knobs flat as I have a rather extensive pedalboard. Treble knob feels more like a standard Tone knob and the Bass gets a little muddy if turned up. I'll more than likely be dropping a Darkglass Tone Capsule in it in the near future.Get one!!
Musical Background:
10 years semi-pro
Musical Style:
Bluegrass, oldies, classic rock, pop punk, indie rock, doom, stoner
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Submitted October 9, 2023 by Noel W
"Wow...Just WOW!!!"
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Since I picked up playing the bass a little more than 12 years ago, I have owned around 13 basses. One of which was a "Rogue" 5 string when I was considering adopting the 5 string configuration. Every single other one was an Ibanez. Some of them cost 4x as much as this little bass, but this bass has more attitude than all of those Ibanezes combined. Maybe it's due to the fact that all of those Ibanezes were either "P," "J," "Piezo," or "Hollow" bodies, and this is my first with humbuckers. But this bass is just an absolute riot to play.
Sound
The 5 way selector switch goes from humbucking neck, to single pole (outside) of each pup, to dual humbuckers, to single pole (inside) of each pup, to humbucking bridge. The single pole configurations are MUCH quieter than any of the other 3 positions, and the full neck bucker is quieter than either the dual buckers or the bridge bucker. Other than that, it's just volume, treble, and bass knobs. One nice thing, is that if the battery dies mid-performance, the bass still plays, not all basses with active pre-amps can say the same.
Features
Honestly, and this is just MY personal preference, but I could do away with the neck pup, and the 5 way selector switch. It all works fine, but I like the way this bass rattles and twangs from that bridge pup. When it comes to a buttery smooth mellow sound, I liked my boutique grade Ibanezes way more than this. But that was a WAY more expensive sound than this.
Ease of Use
My bass was NOT easy at all to get a good sound from. It arrived in desperate need of a major set-up. I have always performed my own set-ups, and assumed that this bass would be just as simple. However, Ernie Ball has some different ideas on the subject. Whether or not you decide to buy this, I encourage you to go to their website and read the FAQ on setting up a Music man/Sterling bass. It's absolutely crazy. Where everybody else gives ruler measurments, Ernie Ball tells you to use a business card for string heights. Personally, this gave me fits as I had to set my action reasonably high trying to get rid of all the fret noise. Eventually, I just gave up assuming that this was just supposed to be a noisy product! Slowly, over a few months, it has mellowed somewhat. It's still noisy, but nowhere near what it was. But the fret buzz at EVERY F***ING FRET has given way to this twangy, growly rattle that is just loaded with attitude even when not hooked up to a pedal board. And, now, I never end a session with it, without a smile on my face.
Quality
It is made in Indonesia. And, alongside South Korea and Mexico, Indonesia has made a name for itself as being able to produce high quality instruments through the use of CNC machinery. Not as great as the hand built instruments from Japan and the U.S., but not nearly as expensive either. The neck is as straight as it should be, the truss rod works smoothly, the 6 screw neck joint is solid, and appears to fit tightly in the body's cut out, the finish is flawless. The wood on the fingerboard is somewhat drier than I would like, but over time I will get that right. It's a slow process so that I don'tr wwarp the wood.
Value
I haven't played a lot of basses in this price range, but I would absolutely say that this one would give ANY of them a run for their money. Sound is a very subjective matter. And as I said above, I'm not as impressed with the mellow neck pup as I am with the growly bridge pup, but it is by no means bad. Other than that, my biggest complaint about this bass is the high gloss body finish. It's beautiful for sure, but I have to wax it every week to keep my arm from sticking to it as I move around the strings, between the pups, and around the body. But that would be a problem for ANY high gloss finish.
Manufacturer Support
I have had no reason to contact Ernie Ball for customer support. So I can't say anything positive or negative about them. Except that the BEST customer service is NOT needing to contact customer service!
The Wow Factor
I think that this bass is quite appealing. I had given up playing bass entirely about 3 1/2 years ago due to nerve damage in my fretting wrist causing my arm to both burn and go numb after about 5 minutes of simple warm-up exercises. I moved on to synthesizers, but have a couple friends that wanted to play some bass when they come here to record, so I decided to buy this as an inexpensive option to have on hand. I started playing it for the set-up, and whether it is just time passing, this bass fitting my hand better, or some combination of both; I can play this thing for hours with no fatigue, pain, or other adverse reactions. So, yeah, I don't NEED this bass per se, but I'm super glad that I bought it. And I would DEFINITELY buy it again if I had it to do all over again.
Musical Background:
Long term hobbyist, composer, arranger
Musical Style:
Rock, Blues, Jazz, Hip-Hop/Rap
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Submitted May 23, 2020 by Anthony F in Cincinnati, OH
"This is The Bass!"
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I just purchased this bass and let me tell you it is AMAZING! I have two other Bass guitars and my ole #1 is 2018 Fender P-Bass (American made) This Sterling beat it side by side from the box! The Truss Rod adjusts super easily and I made a slight adjust on arrival and filed two low frets, but the sound is INCREDIBLE and this Sterling will be my #1 for many years. I LOVE IT!
Musical Background:
40 year semi-professional
Musical Style:
Country, Rock, Oldies, and Christian
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Submitted April 24, 2020 by Anthony Feltner in Cincinnati, OH
"Wow, for this price"
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Listen, I own an ESP 5 string, a fender American made P bass and picked this up to simply try a Musicman style bass on for size. It's wicked! The sounds you can get just off the configure switch is mind-altering. I was concerned that the price was equivalent to cheap, but there's nothing cheap about the sound. The neck is crazy, it's the thinnest one I have ever played. This bass is definitely under priced.
Musical Background:
played 42 years, recorded and played at home.
Musical Style:
Rock, modern country, gospel
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Submitted September 2, 2021 by a customer from me.com
"Awesome Bass!"
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I heard some good things about this bass, and having never played a Sting Ray type bass with humbuckers, I was BLOWN AWAY! I’ve been playing it a week and have not touched my Fenders. If you are even considering buying this bass, just too do it. It’s quality and sound was amazing right from the box. A minor set up, and it’s all good to go. The payment program, simple!
Sound
This sound ranges from standard Sting Ray with the bridge pup soloed, to in your face thumping with both on. Then in between that, it coil taps each pup and it has a very cool Jazzy growl.
Features
The 5 way switch is awesome. Versatile sound
Ease of Use
Flip of that switch, turn of the knobs, and it’s like a different bass! I LOVE IT
Quality
Feels great, finish is beautiful
Value
This product is a much better value than other 'value' basses do not come close. Great job!
The Wow Factor
Honestly, I was interested in the dual hummbucker, and the switch. I’m a typical Fender P bass guy….simple. This is awesome! I may not play my P much for a while! As a matter of fact, I’m considering grabbing another of these I like it that much
Musical Background:
Rock cover bands mostly
Musical Style:
Hard rock and metal
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Submitted July 7, 2024 by a customer from gmail.com
"Above and beyond is par for the course with AMS."
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Bought a blemished bass from these guys. It came with a huge chip all the way down to the wood. I was upset, but called and they said they could offer a replacement- a new replacement at the same price. My BS meter pegged out as I figured they'd do like a certain other company that we all love to hate and just send me another blemished one. Nope. Nope. Nope. I got a brand new bass that still had the plastic on the tuning pegs. In fact, everything was encased in plastic. I figured I'd have to replace the strings out of the box, but it was already tuned. I kid you not. This bass is definitely the thunder I was looking for. I play through a Ampeg SGT-DI, and a Ampeg PF350, and this is the perfect complement for the sound I wanted. At any rate, this bass is now part of my studio gear and we've already been using it for thundering lows. I'm a Fender guy by trade, but I think I'm going to be using this Cobra blue bass for some live, as well. Absolutely impressive in customer service and the quality of the gear.
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Submitted October 2, 2024 by a customer from aol.com
"Best Bass Ever"
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After owning several expensive bass’s, Fender, G@L and Gibson this bass rocks. I don’t have long fingers so this bass fits my hand perfectly. The sound is phenomenal. It looks and plays exceptional. You won’t go wrong or regret buying this instrument. With the payment plan zZounds Rocks.
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Submitted January 30, 2021 by a customer from gmail.com
"Blemished edition"
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I bought a blemished LBM. I had to really search to find the tiny scratches on this bass.
Sound
The highest quality bass I ever owned was a Goth Thunderbird. This is a whole different beast. It covers the Tbird range and there are many other sounds available with some easy tweaks. The sustain is incredible. It is noticeably lighter than my squire pbass special. The neck is the thinnest I have played in my limited experience, but it feels super thin.
Musical Background:
Self taught tabs
Musical Style:
Various rock/metal
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