SPECIFICATIONS
- Basswood body with 8 different finish options.
- Fixed vintage style bridge that gives you plenty adjustment options both string height and intonation wise.
- Hard maple neck
- Hard maple or Jatoba fretboard (depending on the finish)
- Scale length 34″ (86.4cm)
- Neck radius is 9.5″ (24cm)
- Neck Width 1.5″ (38mm) at Nut, 2.44″ (62mm) at Last Fret
- Open gear tuners
- Single action truss rod that you adjust at the neck joint area
- 3 control knobs (Volume, Treble, Bass), active preamp, that you power with a 9v battery
- Ceramic humbucker at the bridge
- Made in Indonesia
Why I Chose This Bass?
First, I’m not a real bass player, just a guitarist trying to learn the instrument to be able to record my own music. The reason I ended up with this bass was simply because it felt great in my hands. I’ve been a big fan of MusicMan guitar necks for years, and the same thing happened with this bass. It just fit my hands well, sounded good, and felt like a decently built instrument that I could later modify.
My two previous basses were a 4-string Squier Jazz bass and a 5-string Harley Benton, so I had at least a couple of basses I could compare this one to. I have relatively long arms, and the Sterling bass was the first one I felt comfortable playing both sitting down and standing up. That, combined with the neck profile, made this one an easy choice to get.
How does it sound?
The bridge humbucker is fat and round sounding, and to me, the Sterling bass has its own unique tone compared to the Squier and Harley Benton I had. It’s thick but has this nice ‘clang’ to it (you should check the video above to hear it).
Paired with a Valeton Dapper bass preamp I’ve been using both live and in my studio, I’ve been able to achieve tones that even my bassist friends have complimented. One of these days I will have to confess to them that I have no idea what I’m doing and that I stumbled upon this tone combination by accident…
The bass sounds good both played with fingers and with a pick, and that is one of the reasons it has stayed with me for the past couple of years. For a guitarist’s ears, this bass gets the job done and allows me to lay down good-sounding bass tracks for my songs.
Is Sterling SUB Series StingRay Ray 4 still good two years later?
For a budget-friendly bass like this, I’m a bit surprised at how little I’ve had to think about the quality of this instrument. It sounds good, the tuning stability is above average, and I’ve found it reliable when playing live.
Initially, when I got it, the bass had a bit of fret sprout, but after going through two Finnish winters with significant temperature and humidity changes, the fret ends feel better now. I should probably still take it to a luthier to have them rounded up and polished for a smoother playing experience, but even in its current state, it’s very decent to the point where I don’t have to think about it.
Overall, I feel the Sterling SUB series StingRay Ray 4 is a great bass that doesn’t get talked about enough as one of the best options for a budget-friendly basses to get. The one I got isn’t heavy, and for the money, it’s well-built. Over the past two years, it’s gotten better tuning stability-wise as well, which was a positive surprise.
Some people online say the preamp and the humbucker are the first things they would upgrade, but so far, I haven’t felt the need to do either. However, if (or when) I decide to upgrade something about it, the idea of sticking with the same bass and just making it better with upgrades and trips to the luthier feels great. So, if it’s not clear to you yet, I have no plans to get rid of this bass anytime soon.
If you’re interested to acquire one of these basses and support what I do, you can use the affiliate links below:
►►Shop Sterling Stingray At Thomann: Sterling Sting Ray 4
►►Shop Sterling Stingray At Reverb: Sterling Sting Ray 4
►►Shop Sterling Stingray At Sweetwater: Sterling StingRay 4
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