Open Box Sterling by Music Man StingRay Ray4HH Maple Fingerboard Electric Bass Level 2 Candy Apple Red 197881308148

It's a gorgeous looking bass. Unfortunately, the fretw are atrocious. After 15 minutes my fingers were stinging. Compared to my MIM Fender Jag this just feels like a slab of concrete.Im returning it in the morning and just going to get a Fender Jazz. Again, not a bad Bass, just not what I prefer.

I picked up this SUB in candy apple red yesterday. A little noisier than my '98 USA Ray, but we figured out there was a loose wire it seemed and the toggle needed sprayed. Anyway, it was a floor model, so I wiped off all the chicken grease and I put DR high beams on it, let it sit overnight to stretch......and it sounded terrific. Pickups are a little hot-- distortion at higher settings, but still....what a steal. Setup for me was a breeze, no fret ends to file, just plug in and tune up. I just use MXR Pre-amp and Darkglass B3k pedal into a RB115 Amp.(vol at 8.5) mids, bass, treble at 12 o'clock or around those parts. MXR pre-amp and B3k Darkglass with all knobs at or close to 12 (then tweak a bit) PreAmp can actually be on or off---Does not make a huge difference. I can only imagine what it will sound like when I get my Diamond Compressor in the mail today. I play with a pick... Heavy, Polish crust, Punk---this bass suits punk well. I am no Billy Sheehan, probably because I do not dig his music and I don't do gymnastics on bass---I just hold down the low end. I dunno, I guess, if you have money to burn, you can upgrade tuners and bridge, or pickups, but i see no mods necessary, If you just wanna thrash hard--this may be the best budget bass currently, but what do I know?? I have a USA '98 Stingray and this SUB definately feels and almost sounds just as good as this Vintage USA Ray that I paid $2000+ for. This Sub has a zingy maple fretboard, a waxed neck and is pretty easy on my shoulders & back. Did I say, I did not have to file the fret ends? Cough cough...Fender Player series cough... I would say before you go dropping $400+ on the guts, just try tweaking some knobs for a few days, try different strings and grab an overdrive pedal & compressor. DR strings made me a better player and they sound tops on this punk-machine SUB. Guys will disagree, but I do not believe 'upgraded' pups actually make a huge, huge world of difference--unless you want to sound like a whole different bass. I think the key is Preamp (optional)/Dirt overdrive/compressor(not in that particular order. Try it!

Sterling basses are so underrated. Their quality is much better than more expensive Squiers or Fenders. I love the sound of Stingrays with their aggressive bite that still keeps a nice warm tone. The Ray4HH is very versatile, with it's five way pick up selector switch you can go from a P bass tone to the traditional Stingray sound with just a flick of a switch. My bass was very solidly built and needed very little adjustment. It wasn't overly heavy like my Ray 34 was. I would guess it was around 9 pounds. My only wish is that the neck was roasted maple instead of the plain maple.

First let me say that I own several high end bass. My Fender Jazz American Deluxe is one of my favorites. So I decide I wanted a 4 string bass. This music man is all I needed. I love the tones it produces. I love the way the neck of it feels. This bass is a great buy especially for the price it's saying for. I had to make one minor adjustment to fret board.

Great fast neck, not too heavy, and an absolute tone minster!

Excellent player and sound. Attractive and well built.