The Sterling by Music Man Stingray Ray4 Bass Guitar may be the import line of Ernie Ball Music Man Stingray basses, but don’t let that fool you–this bass guitar is a can provide solid rhythms and you’ll fit right in with most any style band in looks and sound.
The Ray4 is a 4-string bass with the memorable and classic StingRay design. I have the bass in black, with black teardrop pick guard, basswood body, hard maple neck, and hard maple and jatoba fretboard. The Ray4 comes with one low noise hum bucking Sterling-by-Music-Man-designed ceramic pickup, and the three metal knobs control volume and high/low boost/cut with an active preamp circuit (9V battery included).
The hard maple and jatoba fretboard with dot fret markers and 21 medium frets is clean and attractive. The neck has a satin finish and I felt no fret sprout. In fact, the entire fit and finish of the guitar spot on. The neck width is 1.5" (38mm) at the nut. The neck radius is 9.5" (24cm) and the scale length is 34" (86.4cm). Included strings are .45-1.05.
The bass arrived in a narrow box wrapped in a plastic bag with cardboard supports. The box contained just the bass guitar–no manuals, cables, gig bag, or other accessories. Despite the minimal packaging, the guitar was in perfect shape–no nicks, cracks, or dings. The setup was low and perfect, and with just a minor tuning the bass was ready to play. The guitar weighs about 8.9 pounds, with the weight surprisingly well distributed. Note that the neck is attached with six bolts.
These basses are made in Indonesia, though the setup and final inspection are done in the USA–I’ve toured the factory of another famous brand that does this and that final USA setup and inspection really improves the quality of the instrument that makes it to the end user. The open gear tuners are all metal and work well, as with all the metal hardware. The active preamp gives a lot of tone possibilities. All in all, for the price you are getting a great playing, looking, and sounding bass. After reviewing the Sterling by Music Man Stingray Ray4 Bass Guitar, I would not hesitate to buy another Sterling by Music Man instrument.
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