Open Box Sterling by Music Man S.U.B. StingRay RAY4 Electric Bass Guitar - Level 2 Satin Transparent Black, Black Pickguard 197881457556

Guitar center decided to send a floor model missing the tools needed to fix the horrid action that the bass was delivered with. Bass was filthy with dust and dirt. Was sent practically a used bass but paid a full price for one. Order from sweetwater

I mainly play a Jazz Bass with rounds and have a Squire 50s P Bass with rounds. I have my Sterling set up with flats. I play with a pick and the Sterling sounds great with flats. This is a good budget bass to have and try it out with flats. I feel like if the J and P had a child it would become the Stingray with flats.

Purchased this as a birthday gift. Upon the initial tuning 2 of the strings snapped as they were not installed correctly. They must be inserted into the center of the tuning pegs and NOT wrapped around sticking out (which is how it comes when unboxed). I wish the strings had come separately to self install to avoid such damage and further expense. Very disappointed.

Sounds and plays like a bass 2-3 times the price. Came set up well out of the box with a nice low action and minimal fret buzz, intonation was more than good enough to play on. I ended up raising the action a little bit since it would buzz when I tuned down even a half step. The pickup is pretty hot out of the box, ended up lowering it to compensate. Pickup is also a little noisy as far as background noise and hum is concerned. Before adjusting the pickup height, I'd say the noise was worse than the "noiseless" single coils on my American made Fender Jazz Bass, but after adjusting, they're about the same. Did some recording with it, pickup was definitely a little too hot out of the box, but after adjusting it was fine. Pickup should be good enough for most players, but for serious gigging or recording, that would be the first thing I'd upgrade. The neck is fast and comfortable to play, and the body is well balanced and ergonomically shaped for both playing while sitting and while standing with a strap. Tuners are cheap feeling, but do their job and I haven't had issues with tuning stability thus far. You can tell by looking that most of the components are cheap, but everything you actually touch while playing feels more than up to the task. Volume and tone controls are solid feeling. Volume pot seemed like more of an on/off switch at first, but it's better after lowering the pickup. Tone controls have a nice detent in the middle, and offer a surprising range of tonal options for just one pickup. You aren't going to make it sound like a P bass or J bass, but it does sound like a stingray, so mission accomplished there. TLDR: great value for money, plays well out of the box and even better after a setup, built to a price, but a fantastic starting point.

I plan on using this product for live performances. The band I'm in currently plays 70's and 80's classic rock.

One of the best sounding basses I have, and it just feels amazing to hold.