In 2000 I built my first stingray from scratch (I'm a luthier by trade) . I made everything including the bridge and the preamp. It featured on the the EB forums and it's still there if you search. I also worked with John East during that period also and we discussed the circuit greatly which he went on to emulate and improve after our work. It's lovely to see other people doing this now as I literally had no guides, even the SUB wasn't out and there were no parts or drawings. I got to know pre-EB and MusicMan very, very well during this time and still make the occasional neck for pre-EB users globally. Great to see your version using the sterling as basis for an pre-eb style instrument.
I'm so glad I was able to walk the path that others had already made. I have a lot to be grateful for. I can't wait to see what you (and everyone else) thinks of my next video; I'm going to start doing some covers with the bass and see how close I can get tonally.
I did something similar to my Squier Jazz Bass. I changed the pups for DiMarzio Ultra Bass humbuckers (shaped as single-coils), put switching knobs to use them as serial/parallel, changed the bridge for a Hipshot High Mass one and changed the tuning machined. The result was awesome!
Thanks for sharing! I did the same thing with my Sterling SUB4 & Sterling 5 Basses SUB4-Changed the pickup to Delano Changed the preamp/wiring harness, stock was too distorted (Sterling upgrade) Added bridge mutes (Ernie Ball) Changed out neck nut (bone) SUB5- Just changed pickup (Seymour Duncan). Strings-Elixir Both basses sound great now!
Thanks. I love my Ray4. I have the Aguilar AG-4M pickup and Aguilar preamp, and I use the bass all the time, lessening wear and tear on my Ball Family Reserve Sting Ray. I like your mute idea, looks great.
@@marklongshore4860 It's fun, the mutes. Would be better if I had threaded bolts for them to screw into - I just drilled into the wood - but when I do use them, they are cool.
I had exactly the same issue with Stingrays, they always sounded good when someone else was playing them. I've owned three and sold them all on for the same reason as you. In my case, I always felt that they lacked the bottom end punch that you get with a Precision or Spector. No matter how I tried, I just couldn't get the bottom end punch that a Precision has. I think a lot of this has to to with pickup placement, i.e. very close to the bridge.
Stingray does not sound good on every amp. I cannot stand the stingray and fender amp together personally. Stingray ans orange amps give you that bottom end with better eq options.
You are kind! I await the new body for the Wal, and now I am getting my act together with video production, will be able to do the next Wal video better justice...
Yep. I completely get where you're coming from. I got my Stingray in 1993 and it's been the one consistent bass since. I think the reason why I've stuck with it when so many others have come and gone is that I love the neck profile and it always puts a huge smile on my face when I play it. It's an '89 2eq and it just records so well - a lot of 'Rays are fantastic live, cut through like nothing else, but trying to get one to work in a mix is hard work - the 2eq ones just seem to have a more balanced tone for recordin. I've also had to re-learn to play after cutting my hand badly in '16 and the Stingray taught me that you can get all the tone with your right hand before using any eq or pickup mixing.
Nice video. Between you and Lobster I am sold on this and will be purchasing one! I hope it curbs my itch for an USA String Ray. Thank you for the inspiration and my bank account thanks you too!
I just picked up a sea foam green Ray4 that was mistreated. Gonna do similar mods but without spending as much. Alnico5 no name pickup, and mutes. Tuners are shot but replacing with Hipshot ultralite LIC units. Will keep the stock pre in and see if its suffices, but am putting in a switch for single coil ability. Your vid completely inspired this low cost Stingray build. Much thanks.
I live to serve! I am humbled to serve as inspiration. I hope it all works out for you. The pickup makes a big difference for this kind of mod; hopefully the stock pre suffices for what you have in mind... do a video!!
Sire just released a Stingray copy called the Z. It has 18 volts and is priced lower than a modded SUB. I own a SUB, USA Stingrays and Sires and I think Sires copy of the stingray will end people sinking huge amounts of money into SUBS and people will buy the new Z
Could be...the price on them looks good. I like the value on offer. However, I have a feeling that folks might still want the iconic Stingray look, and while the Sire echoes it, it doesn't quite nail it.
@@SuperFunkyPeteI ordered the mute kit for an identical bridge. I assume you drilled and tapped threads into the bridge for the mute screws. Do you know off hand which size tap kit would I need? Thanks for your help!
@@SuperFunkyPeteI thought about that option as well but figured you would need some threaded inserts in order for the thumb screws to actually be adjustable.
The stained SUB's actually feel the best, I had a blue stained one year's ago that I got at a pawnshop for $175 but got rid if it mainly because of the sound which was dumb because I've seen some old videos I did and it sounded pretty nice stock. And yes that neck is nice and thin👌. After seeing Low End Lobsters videos I, have my eyes set on another that will be upgraded 👍
@@JustNodIfYouCanHearMe77 update 😀, I picked up another blue stained SUB for $160 and my Aguilar Pick up ($90) is coming in Tuesday . I will eventually need new tuners because one of them it literally grinding but it stays in tune. There is also a perfect fit aftermarket bridge i think by Albridge which ie beefier but it's like $160 which I don't know if I really need it for that price 🤔
@1thess523 I've been using my SUB for recording and some big live gigs. If you can get a good set up done making sure neck is straight etc, this pick up brings out the beast. I have the maple neck. Those blue ones have Jatoba I think? There may be a slight warmer tone due to that. But the stock pre Amp boosts so much treble already. I hope you like it bro cheers
Even at the £1600 price point I feel the "full fat" Stingray is good value and I've owned three of them in succession, all two band EQ models. I've found the build quality to be flawless, which is more than can be said for USA made Fenders, Gibsons and a Rickenbacker I've also owned. I recently bought a Sterling Ray4 as a bass I'm happy to have laying around the house without worrying about it getting damaged. The narrower nut width, lighter weight and slightly cheap looking bridge are obvious differences but for the money it's still a superb instrument.
Yep. I’d be fine with a nice USA 2 band too if it was the right finish and the right nut width…but the Ray4 does a mighty fine imitation with the mods here…
John East is without a doubt the most innovative and most knowledgeable audio electronics engineer designing bass preamp circuits.. However they’re expensive (at least for US customers about 360$ currently) So yes you get what you pay for but wheww.. I was initially surprised you chose a 2-band J-East considering they’re known for being EXTREMELY versatile with incredibly high feature sets.. But based on your goals a 2-band makes sense, I don’t care for them personally but a lover of traditional Stingray’s naturally would.. 😊
@@SuperFunkyPete Oh.. Don’t get me wrong when I put a J-Retro Dlx in my active deluxe jazz bass back in 2002 (was that really more than 20yrs ago?!?) I was so completely blown away by how much sonic ground it allows you to cover while really not presenting any strange, narrow q type of nasal midrange.. Or any truly obnoxious, offensive sounds you nearly always get at the extremes of the potentiometer’s boost/cut setting.. They’ve actually become even more user selective since then via pcb mount trimpots for pickup gain adjustment, mid-scoop/flat pre-shape filter contour dip-selectors etc.. Which is truly remarkable! J.East’s circuit design frankly merits the hefty price tag (which isn’t really any more than Delano/Glockenklang/Bartolini/Noll/Lustihand/Sadowsky/Nordstrand or Aguilar which are all nearly identical in concept circuit wise..
My Ray4 is finally completed. I wish I could show you what it looks like. It looks like no other. I’m into looks, so I did something extra special on mines. Lol
Pete you seem to know your Stingrays ! I have owned originals in the past but now I own a Sub series 4 with the jazz neck. It's a solid bass especially for the price point and leaves you room to upgrade without feeling you are putting good parts in a cheap body. I may give your set up a try. Iv'e seen all of Lobsters Sub videos and agree he gives you alot of mod options. Keep on thumping !
Have you tried an Ernie Ball Musicman Sterling (the unique USA made model, not the "Sterling by Music Man" stuff)? It has a neck youll love and a preamp that feels a lot closer to the classic one.
As a matter of fact, I’ve owned 2 of those and an SB14, the cheaper copy (made before the SBMM series). The necks were all fantastic. The body was too small for me to comfortably rest my arm on for playing. Annoying. I’ve never seen an SLO Special Stingray out in the wild, which would have been the other 4 string alternative. Ah well. This way was cheaper anyway :)
@@SuperFunkyPete That's too bad! The body is a perfect size for me. The nice thing about the Sterlings is how the brand confusion means they tend to sell for cheap. I got a USA Sterling in pristine condition for 450£ recently!
Thank you for the video Pete. I used to have a ‘79 MM. sold it because it got too heavy for me, but I miss the sound. Now I’ve got a cheep OLP on the way, and considering doing an upgrade like yours. What did you do with the battery. Did you route a hole in the back?
If you can find a ray 34 CA, that should accomplish much of what you're doing. Narrow neck, two band eq, and much better Electronics and sound than the 24ca I used to have. And I paid less than $400 for it on eBay😊
I have a 2000 Sting Ray, same the tone doesn't seem right, but I always get people telling me how amazing that bass cuts through the mix. I however eventually figured out to set me trible dial between 8 and 9 o'clock, that treble is super touchy and I dial the volume back to 75-80% the low end in there and punches through just right .but that might be my bass in particular.
I don’t think it’s yours in particular. The 2 band EQ is different. I think it’s meant to be that the bass and treble knobs are interactive - they behave differently depending on how the other band is set. Or so I understand.
Sure. I marked out 4 spots where the thumb screws go through and then used a metal drill bit to drill through the existing bridge plate. 4 holes to allow the thumb screws from the mutes to screw into the wood. I would have preferred to put in metal inserts in there for the adjustable mute screws to go into, but couldn’t find any that would fit.
When picking preamp I went with BoskoS Classic Stingray preamp. Its true 1:1 replica of original 79 preamp, and I also went with Aguilar AG4M. However I realized SD SMB4A is much better fit for classic Stingray sound. It was a great bass, however I sold it and Ray34 to fund Japanese Stingray. I like wider and chunkier necks.
I hadn't heard of the Bosko. There used to be several people making vintage 2-bands, but as of recently John East was the only game in town. These are much cheaper and easier to get than a John East, which typically sell out within hours of a drop.
I owned a 2 band eq sting ray in teal and sold it as i was cashstrapped ... then i purchases a 3 eq in natural ... sold it again ... The necks on both were too much like a baseball bat ... great basses but i love the jazz bass radius and my fingers are more at home ... i'm really into c shape as i wrap my hand around with ease.. i don't miss them and they cost a fortune ahaj... now i'm a true sire person n getting into fretless ... sire adopted similar nut width i think . I own 4 /5 of them ahaha... It took me years to comprehend i was playing the wrong instrument ... what a fool .. i play guitar too although my heart is bass ... to me small c shape is the gospel ... I think as far as comfort c really help and ergonomics are crucial especially if you play a lot regardless wether u are a pro /session man/covers/teaching /gigging or gassing away
I did the same with Precision necks - took me years to figure out I hated the nut width. I'm less sensitive to depth - up to a certain point - and D vs C necks etc is all fine too - just nut width!!
You have shown EBMM Sterling in the beginning of the video. So what is the problem with MM's? It has JB nut (38mm) and versatile preamp with 3way switch (series, parallel and single coil with phantom coil) so many of Your problem are not the case... in this case. :)
The Sterling is a great bass. The body is a little bit too small for me to comfortably rest my right forearm on - it ends up in a funny position. I need a slightly bigger body. The neck is perfect though. It’s a shame, the USA Sterlings are top notch.
Did you wire the new pickup in series? I know the sbmm series is wired in parallel normally, which isn't traditional for a stingray. Thank you for the tips
No, this is wired in parallel, classic old-school style. I think parallel is actually what is standard for 'classic' Rays. My original SBMM pickup was wired in series, though, when I bought the bass.
Tricky. It’s kind of been drilled out already! It wasn’t very exact either…I just laid the mute kit over the top of the bridge, used a centre punch to mark the points where I wanted to put the screw in mutes, drilled through the bridge and into the wood, and then screwed in the mute screws. Measuring took longer than the drilling…!
@@stevepatton703I didn’t have threaded inserts to use - I couldn’t figure out the sizing, although I tried. So I ended up just drilling holes in the bridge where the thumbscrews go through and screwing them directly into the wood. It worked out, but I probably can’t keep screwing the mutes up and down, as the basswood body is probably too soft to withstand much of that.
No problem. I got mine in the UK from Bass Direct - www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/The_BAss_Mute.html. Not sure about the USA if you're there - I guess I'd start with shop.music-man.com/stingray-classic-4-string-mute-kit.html
Hi. Thanks for the great video. I have one question. How much this switch to 38mm nut width, change string spacing over humbacker? Are the strings perfectly aligned with humbacker pole-peaces? Do you think that this mod could be done with some other brands like Ibanez SR, witch also have 38mm nut width. Of course you need to mode pickup cavity also. I always liked Stingray sound, but find its string space to wide. Sorry on my bad English.
I’d say the strings line up very well over the polepieces. The magnetic field is very strong around the polepieces anyway, and you’d have to be very far out of alignment for it to matter - but that’s not the case here. It all works out fine. You could modify an Ibanez SR, but the cost of routing it out is probably more hassle than it’s worth. Plus you’d ruin it for resale value. I’d buy a secondhand Ray4 and modify that, it’s just way more practical/economic.
Calls Stingrays a one trick pony, then cites that trick as being Bernard Edwards to Tim Commorford... hahaha! Excellent project though, you certainly have that Ray sound!
The preamp is what I could get a hold of easily that had good reviews…I listened to the Lobster videos about modding his SBMM and he rated the East as the best system. So I went with that. Since I’m in the UK it was cheaper than many other options!
@@SuperFunkyPete Ok, I may do the same as you. I have a StingRay erni ball 92 and the input jack attached to the electronics produces a lot of noise and a luthier did not know how to repair it. Then they ruined the pickup by adding glue, in an attempt to insert the sharp magnets. I was thinking of buying that bass because of the preamp, and the Sterling StingRay 34 because of the pickup. I think your option is cheaper. Thank you!!
Thanks for this. I have a Ray 4 and i'd like to upgrade the pickup and probably the preamp, but apart from Lobster's one video on it (which disappears from time to time) I've never found a really good 'how to' instructional-type vid. Perhaps you could actually do a film OF the removals and installations so those of us less adept at such have a better idea of what's required from a skill/technique perspective. I recall Lobster mentioned some issue about the wiring for the new preamp that required some 'jiggery-pokery' for instance, and also that the preamp he installed in the 'how-to; needed to be raised.
Apologies for this, but this is not my area of expertise...I did this work to my bass a few years back and didn't film it. Most tech work I now hand over to an actual tech these days. Time is just too short. Sorry!
@@SuperFunkyPete Hery, sorry for the really late acknowledgement of your kind reply. I didn't get YT notifications for months for some reason amnd then hundreds at once. That's cool. No need to apologise! I may have found a tech locally who can do it anyway. Happy playing! 😊
Lol, yes, hence the text correcting ‘Stingrays’ to ‘Ernie Ball basses’ at that time point…and I am ashamed to admit those were only the basses I had photos of…there was another Stingray HS, a Neptune Blue Stingray Special 4, and others….!!
@@SuperFunkyPete they sure are all beautiful. I just found your channel. I'm a huge Julia fan and Lobster fan. I've modded my sub like you did! Except the mutes.. now that's going the extra mile right there! I could never go with the Ray 34 neck for the same reasons as you. Keep up the great work my friend!
Just so you know Lowend Lobster hates the SUB ray 4's bridge also and uses a drop in replacement SUB bridge from a company call Aldridge they are direct no extra drilling bridges
I commented previously about my Sterling by Music Man Ray34, and how much I like it. I have to admit now that your video is making me consider adding the mutes to my bridgeplate, as well.
I agree with you. I am left-handed and I live in a country (Chile) where getting a left-handed stingray is impossible. By pure luck, I was able to buy the sterling sub ray 4 for lefties (the same one that julia uses in her videos). Unfortunately, the first runs of rays 4 came with a factory problem, which made them sound distorted. I changed the mic and preamp for a Seymour Duncan combo (ceramic pickup + preamp) and the sound change was total. Now the bass sounds very similar to a stingray. However, due to the fact that the body of these basses are made of basswood, these basses do not have much sustain or that typical warmth of the stingray, however, you can get a more than decent sound just by changing the pickup and preamp.
I remember hearing about the hot preamp issue. I agree the body wood does make a modest difference, but the resonant peak/voicing of the pickup and preamp is so strong that I don't even hear much difference between fretboard woods on Stingrays, and I can usually hear a big difference between e.g. maple and rosewood. On Jazz Basses it's easy to hear the difference...
@@SuperFunkyPete yes, I think sub rays 4 are great platforms for modding. There are other companies like tagima, harley benton, etc, which also make stingrays copies, but with better woods and slightly better hardware, some of them are passive by the way. However, when modified, those basses sound even better than the ray 4 modded, they sound like the ray34. Its so sad for guys like me ( left handed players) that sterling by musicman don't offer some other bass models, like the ray24 or 34, only the sub ray 4 and in limited colors. In the beggining, they offered the ray34 in left handed version, but nowdays, they don't produce those models Anymore. Great video and very informative for people who dont have much money and want some decent stingray sound, Thanks!
Before buying it, I had the idea of buy the sterling 34 but checking the differences and the price.... I think that famous brands do the same. Gibson specially. They change epiphone pickups by gibson pickups and the increase the price 500$.... Yep. You can check some parts from the bass and it is enough. Another thing is that you want tonbuy a jewel... Then the stingray is perfect 😅
Funky Pete, I totally mirror your sentiments on the Rays. I've had several too (and sold several). Sterling 34's also have disgraceful tuners, like tin foil bad. Oddly the Ray 4's seem to have better tuners (albeit still crap). I just picked up another Ray 4, HH this time and did some evil things to it (Schallers, Hipshot, multi coils and an NFP). It's pure gold. I'm beside myself.
My Ray 4 experienced a tuner failure, also. I replaced mine with Grover open gear tuners. They fit really well, three screw holes lined up perfectly, one slightly off. However, that hole is covered by the tuner. I had to purchase two different sets, as the Music Man "3+1" set up is not offered. To get around this I ordered one set of "4 in line" and 1 set of "2+2", ending up with two complete sets of "3+1". So I have a spare set, should ever decide to purchase another Sterling.
I’m so glad you mentioned Timmy C’s tone on the first rage album, that’s the ultimate Stingray tone right there! That’s the album I always want my bass tracks to sound like when I record with my stingrays, also the LTE3 album has Tony Levin sounding sooo good on there, idk why but I own all 5 string stingrays and I feel the same way they don’t seem to sing as well as when I hear other people play them especially when I hear the 4 strings like the 4 strings have more zing then the 5ers idk could be me, I’d love a classic sounding 5 string stingray tho with the string through body and mutes and 2 band eq 😍
One of my favourite mod videos ever. I'm seeking desperately for a Stingray Classic and if i can't find it in two months i'm starting this mod project. I already have a nordstrand mm 4.2 and I make by myself a pre ernie ball replica preamp, so it won't be difficult to find a ray 4
I put in the Aguilar p'up based on Lobster's recommendation. And replaced the cast bridge saddles with the larger brass ones and thicker screws from a Ray24 bridge I bought of eBay. The only mods (Oh, and EB Cobalts). Also had a "real" EB MM Stingray and, like yourself, I sold it because it didn't measure-up in terms of playability (I just couldn't put a good setup on her). But my Ray4 with these mods ain't going nowhere fast. It feels really good for me to play. And looks and sounds dope. Your other mods are pretty solid, may go for the Eastman preamp at some point. What did you use for the capacitor? Stock?
Good video Pete. I have the same bass with a set of Schaller tuners to look like the originals, a dodgy EB transfer, the same mute set up and originally it had a Stinger pre amp with a Kent Armstrong pickup. I wasn`t really happy with the Stinger so replaced it with a EMG MMTW pick up. It`s active with a push pull on the volume to run in single coil mode. Good pickup and easy to wire up except the wires from the pickup to the knobs are too big to fit through the hole from the pickup cavity to the control cavity and I had a bit of a job to remedy this. I have owned a real Ray and I must say for around £600, this is a great bass.
It really is a perfect bass to mod. The EMG pickup tempted me too but the Aguilar wasn’t too hard to get at the time…I’ve wondered about Kent Armstrong’s MM pickups but could find absolutely no reviews anywhere.
Glad you enjoyed it! It took me rather too long to learn how to start getting lighting and editing sorted, but that's how we work things out, I guess...
I have a pre Ernie Ball stingray 78 and an older Sterling Sub 4 still with the Sub word in the headstock,the tuners are very good even a bit better than those of the original Stingray 78,I did an upgrade with the Sub 4,for this I used Bosko's 2 band preamp which is an imitation of the 79 pre ernie ball preamp,I had to hollow out the space under the knob plate a very small amount in the middle. This setup I combined with an Alnico Roswell pickup which was a lot cheaper than the SD or Nordstrand,this I connected in parallel,I think the sound is pretty comparable,the difference is not very big.
it's not quite a fair comparison because the Sub has whole new set of strings and the Stingray has the same strings that have been on it for a while,I haven't done any recordings in a long time, but maybe I'll post some on youtube in a while, but I'm mainly slapping, I've also made that comparison with slap style.I like those musicman things on your bridge,maybe i will do too.
Hi Pete, great video and the bass sounds awesome. I have done exactly the same with an Aguilar pick-up and John East 3 band pre amp, however also having the same grounding noise issues. Are you able to provide anymore information on the shielding and the grounding of the pickup poles to each other please? Thank you.
Let’s see. When I emailed John East to get help on this, John said I needed to shield the pickup cavity and the preamp cavity, so I did that. Had to run a wire from both newly shielded cavities to ground. Then, when I noticed that touching the pole pieces also caused noise, I used some shielding tape on the underside of the pickup to connect all the polepieces together electrically, and then I soldered a wire to run to a ground connection from that shielding tape, similar to above. The hazards of ‘vintage correct’ pickups…!
I had an actual Stingray Classic 5 US$1974.00 +tax. from 2010 to 2017. I sold it because I was cash strapped. I regret that choice more and more with each passing day. To make matters worse, they are out of production.😭😭😭
I had this problem with the 4003, I loved the aesthetics, sounds good too, but gosh how I hated the playability, that damn thing felt like playing a log and it was HEAVY, never understood how those famous players used it, I guess they changed the fretboard, if it had a little bit of slope and less weight it would be awesome to play.
@@SuperFunkyPete and it had NO purpose whatsoever, without it the bass looks even better, I joked with a friend saying that it was a bass for guitar players, I'm also a guitar player, but I don't like that concept, those are two different instruments and should be played as such.
I have gotten so used to my Lakland five strings that a narrow neck, like on most SbMM basses was a deal breaker, But then I discovered the Ray34, which has a full P width nut. Mine was a used model, about eight years old by estimate. And a previous owner had already upgraded the preamp if it didn't come with a modern three band. Basically I got the whole classic Stingray experience for a third the money.
I'm thinking that's an issue because my others two basses are a fender jazz and a fender precision with a jazz neck, but in the end that's not really an issue. I started playing a squier pj so I learned to play on a 41mm nut, my sencond bass was my main, the ray34 from 2013, with a 43 mm nut, and i can say that's a slower neck but that's not really bad, not at all. I did play a ray 4 and the nut is perfect but the finish is really bad and i can't get my hands on that neck, really a shame. I think the best option would be a ray 34 ca but they're pretty rare nowadays... By the way i'm going to swap my humbucker for a nordstrand mm 4.2 to see if i can get closer to the pre-eb sound. If this isn't the case, i'm going to replace the preamp with the 4 knobs john east one, but i have to save a little amount of money First... Let's see. I have to change the pickguard too because the ray34 has a different pickup shape and i can't find a 1 ply pickguards for stingrays... I hope one day i'll get a pre eb Stingray, by the way, that will be "the bass"
Cool video! A question. Did you make any modifications in the bridge where the rectangular plate with the muters is located? I’m doing a very similar modification to my OLP’s bridge and I already made all the holes but I’m wondering how to put that plate because the original bridge has already 2 rectangular spaces made for that piece. Best!
I did have to drill through the existing bridge plate, 4 holes, to allow the thumb screws from the mutes to screw into the wood. I would have preferred to put in metal inserts in there for the adjustable mute screws to go into, but couldn’t find any that would fit. I hope that answers your question..
Great job and a super useful video. I did the same conversion, but used Nordstrand PU and 2 band preamp. FYI you can also recreate the bridge screw in posts using M5 x 10mm collar washers and M5 dome head screws. Will need to drill out the bridge holes slightly, but they do look pretty similar.
Awesome….I’m going to go look into that. I can’t really use the bridge mutes because eventually if I keep moving them up and down the wood will wear out. If your way stops that, that would be great.
@@SuperFunkyPete I was referring to the side posts either side of the saddles. For the mute screws I drilled and tapped the bridge base and also drilled a small hole into the bass body to allow the thumb screw to travel down to the deck.
hi,,,Ive just got some string mutes,,,what is the thread size for the thumb screws? I was thinking ,M4 ?? or is it imperial, with it being American ??@@martinbeasley1540
Thanks for this video. I'm waiting on my Mutes. I was shocked to find them, as Bass Direct was sold out. I almost gave up, until i strolled all the way down the Google page, and found them. Your Ray4 sounds sooooo Amazing. "I'M NEXT"! 😂 👍👍FUNK ON
@@SuperFunkyPete OK! What tool (or tools) did you use to drill the holes for the threaded screws? And did you drill holes with the included plate off? You are my only source Pete, and I appreciate it, in advance.
You’re right! Luckily I just finished shooting one earlier this week. Editing now. Sorry about the delay, I was ill for a bit, which was a nuisance. Getting back on track now!
@@SuperFunkyPete I hope you're feeling much better. Medical issues are something I don't wish on anyone. I hope all is well and thank you for your videos! We appreciate you!
Sounds great. Smooth Operator: Paul Denman (bass-player Sade band) is soooo good. I recently purchased a Sterling Stingray short-scale = love it. Bernard Edwards - (Chic) Legend R.I.P. I also watch Julia. She is awesome. I faithfully-watch Low-end Lobster too. oNe LovE from NYC
These are round core steels - DR Hi Beams, 100/80/65/45. I like steel round wounds a lot for the highs to get this type of sound. To be fair, I use nickels on other instruments, and the older Stingray 5s with ceramic pickups (as opposed to the warmer alnico one here) sound great with the standard Ernie Ball nickel round wounds.
@@SuperFunkyPete Thanks for sharing! I actually also wound up doing nearly the same build after watching Lobster (except I went 3 band) and love toying with different strings but they're often demo'd on P's or J's, so the sound comes out different. I usually go nickels, but the only steels I've tried were Ernie Ball, which seemed too cold for my taste
Strings are a big frontier to cover. I keep trying out different sets and finding interesting differences. DR Fat Beams are some of my favourite steels; they have just a bit more mids than Hi Beams and D’Addario Pro Steels and can add just a touch of needed warmth to that ‘steel sound’. I used Hi Beams here but on my Celinder (see my other video, plug plug lol), Fat Beams are perfect.
No, it was pretty crude. I measured many times, used a punch to mark my spots for drilling through, and used a standard metal drill bit. I was still off a tiny bit but it worked out fine. The bridge metal is easily powered through by my cordless drill.
Great video Pete! So glad you enjoyed my vids and found inspiration in them! The Ray looks and sounds great, well done!
Lobster! Wonderful. Your videos are indeed inspirational. Thanks !!
Wuzz up Lobb!!
@@SuperFunkyPeteYah the Lobstah Mon definitely puts out some fantastic content for bass nerds like us!!!
In 2000 I built my first stingray from scratch (I'm a luthier by trade) . I made everything including the bridge and the preamp. It featured on the the EB forums and it's still there if you search. I also worked with John East during that period also and we discussed the circuit greatly which he went on to emulate and improve after our work. It's lovely to see other people doing this now as I literally had no guides, even the SUB wasn't out and there were no parts or drawings. I got to know pre-EB and MusicMan very, very well during this time and still make the occasional neck for pre-EB users globally. Great to see your version using the sterling as basis for an pre-eb style instrument.
I'm so glad I was able to walk the path that others had already made. I have a lot to be grateful for. I can't wait to see what you (and everyone else) thinks of my next video; I'm going to start doing some covers with the bass and see how close I can get tonally.
I did something similar to my Squier Jazz Bass. I changed the pups for DiMarzio Ultra Bass humbuckers (shaped as single-coils), put switching knobs to use them as serial/parallel, changed the bridge for a Hipshot High Mass one and changed the tuning machined.
The result was awesome!
Modding heaven!
Thanks for sharing!
I did the same thing with my Sterling SUB4 & Sterling 5 Basses
SUB4-Changed the pickup to Delano
Changed the preamp/wiring harness, stock was too distorted (Sterling upgrade)
Added bridge mutes (Ernie Ball)
Changed out neck nut (bone)
SUB5- Just changed pickup (Seymour Duncan).
Strings-Elixir
Both basses sound great now!
Awesome. Mods for the win! Power to you..
Thanks. I love my Ray4. I have the Aguilar AG-4M pickup and Aguilar preamp, and I use the bass all the time, lessening wear and tear on my Ball Family Reserve Sting Ray. I like your mute idea, looks great.
I just ordered the mute kit.
@@marklongshore4860 It's fun, the mutes. Would be better if I had threaded bolts for them to screw into - I just drilled into the wood - but when I do use them, they are cool.
You definitely inspired me, I’m upgrading my sterling ray 4! Picked it up for $200! Love the sound stack but I want something different
Go for it!
I upgraded the pups to Aguilar. Left the stock preamp so far and it sounds really nice!
Hmm. Maybe I could have saved some money!
@@SuperFunkyPete the stock preamp is amazing with the Aguilar! the John east preamp is amazing too
I had exactly the same issue with Stingrays, they always sounded good when someone else was playing them. I've owned three and sold them all on for the same reason as you. In my case, I always felt that they lacked the bottom end punch that you get with a Precision or Spector. No matter how I tried, I just couldn't get the bottom end punch that a Precision has. I think a lot of this has to to with pickup placement, i.e. very close to the bridge.
Stingray does not sound good on every amp. I cannot stand the stingray and fender amp together personally. Stingray ans orange amps give you that bottom end with better eq options.
Super nice video! My current workhorse is a 98' stingray 4 H. Can't wait for your next Wal video!
You are kind! I await the new body for the Wal, and now I am getting my act together with video production, will be able to do the next Wal video better justice...
Yep. I completely get where you're coming from. I got my Stingray in 1993 and it's been the one consistent bass since. I think the reason why I've stuck with it when so many others have come and gone is that I love the neck profile and it always puts a huge smile on my face when I play it. It's an '89 2eq and it just records so well - a lot of 'Rays are fantastic live, cut through like nothing else, but trying to get one to work in a mix is hard work - the 2eq ones just seem to have a more balanced tone for recordin. I've also had to re-learn to play after cutting my hand badly in '16 and the Stingray taught me that you can get all the tone with your right hand before using any eq or pickup mixing.
Oh, and if you like it now, just try putting some flats on it! Whole new world of WOW...
Yeah. I've following Julia for a while as well. She's got a great feel, and very musical.
Well worth checking out :)
Absolutely one of my favourite bassists.
Nice video. Between you and Lobster I am sold on this and will be purchasing one! I hope it curbs my itch for an USA String Ray. Thank you for the inspiration and my bank account thanks you too!
You’ll have fun once you’re all done. Hope it all goes well!
I just picked up a sea foam green Ray4 that was mistreated. Gonna do similar mods but without spending as much. Alnico5 no name pickup, and mutes. Tuners are shot but replacing with Hipshot ultralite LIC units. Will keep the stock pre in and see if its suffices, but am putting in a switch for single coil ability. Your vid completely inspired this low cost Stingray build. Much thanks.
I live to serve! I am humbled to serve as inspiration. I hope it all works out for you. The pickup makes a big difference for this kind of mod; hopefully the stock pre suffices for what you have in mind... do a video!!
I've got an early OLP which were the predecessor to the SUB and are really excellent for modding and can be picked up for around £100-£150 used
Great deal. I remember the OLPs, I think Tony Levin had a signature model…
Great Video!
Glad you enjoyed it! :)
Sire just made a version of the Stingray.. and it is pretty awesome.
Could be a winner…their other basses are good value too…
Sire just released a Stingray copy called the Z. It has 18 volts and is priced lower than a modded SUB. I own a SUB, USA Stingrays and Sires and I think Sires copy of the stingray will end people sinking huge amounts of money into SUBS and people will buy the new Z
Could be...the price on them looks good. I like the value on offer. However, I have a feeling that folks might still want the iconic Stingray look, and while the Sire echoes it, it doesn't quite nail it.
@@SuperFunkyPeteI ordered the mute kit for an identical bridge. I assume you drilled and tapped threads into the bridge for the mute screws. Do you know off hand which size tap kit would I need? Thanks for your help!
@@JasonGutierrez bad news....I just drilled them straight through the bridge into the wood....eek...
@@SuperFunkyPeteI thought about that option as well but figured you would need some threaded inserts in order for the thumb screws to actually be adjustable.
@@JasonGutierrez you do...I could never find the right size...
The stained SUB's actually feel the best, I had a blue stained one year's ago that I got at a pawnshop for $175 but got rid if it mainly because of the sound which was dumb because I've seen some old videos I did and it sounded pretty nice stock. And yes that neck is nice and thin👌. After seeing Low End Lobsters videos I, have my eyes set on another that will be upgraded 👍
The Aguilar pickup replacement is all you need bro.
@@JustNodIfYouCanHearMe77 update 😀, I picked up another blue stained SUB for $160 and my Aguilar Pick up ($90) is coming in Tuesday . I will eventually need new tuners because one of them it literally grinding but it stays in tune. There is also a perfect fit aftermarket bridge i think by Albridge which ie beefier but it's like $160 which I don't know if I really need it for that price 🤔
@1thess523 I've been using my SUB for recording and some big live gigs. If you can get a good set up done making sure neck is straight etc, this pick up brings out the beast. I have the maple neck. Those blue ones have Jatoba I think? There may be a slight warmer tone due to that. But the stock pre Amp boosts so much treble already. I hope you like it bro cheers
Even at the £1600 price point I feel the "full fat" Stingray is good value and I've owned three of them in succession, all two band EQ models. I've found the build quality to be flawless, which is more than can be said for USA made Fenders, Gibsons and a Rickenbacker I've also owned. I recently bought a Sterling Ray4 as a bass I'm happy to have laying around the house without worrying about it getting damaged. The narrower nut width, lighter weight and slightly cheap looking bridge are obvious differences but for the money it's still a superb instrument.
Yep. I’d be fine with a nice USA 2 band too if it was the right finish and the right nut width…but the Ray4 does a mighty fine imitation with the mods here…
John East is without a doubt the most innovative and most knowledgeable audio electronics engineer designing bass preamp circuits.. However they’re expensive (at least for US customers about 360$ currently) So yes you get what you pay for but wheww.. I was initially surprised you chose a 2-band J-East considering they’re known for being EXTREMELY versatile with incredibly high feature sets.. But based on your goals a 2-band makes sense, I don’t care for them personally but a lover of traditional Stingray’s naturally would.. 😊
Price is definitely a factor…but from what I could hear in video samples online it was the sound I wanted. So I stumped up…
@@SuperFunkyPete Oh.. Don’t get me wrong when I put a J-Retro Dlx in my active deluxe jazz bass back in 2002 (was that really more than 20yrs ago?!?) I was so completely blown away by how much sonic ground it allows you to cover while really not presenting any strange, narrow q type of nasal midrange.. Or any truly obnoxious, offensive sounds you nearly always get at the extremes of the potentiometer’s boost/cut setting.. They’ve actually become even more user selective since then via pcb mount trimpots for pickup gain adjustment, mid-scoop/flat pre-shape filter contour dip-selectors etc.. Which is truly remarkable! J.East’s circuit design frankly merits the hefty price tag (which isn’t really any more than Delano/Glockenklang/Bartolini/Noll/Lustihand/Sadowsky/Nordstrand or Aguilar which are all nearly identical in concept circuit wise..
My Ray4 is finally completed. I wish I could show you what it looks like. It looks like no other. I’m into looks, so I did something extra special on mines. Lol
Make a video!! 🤓
@@SuperFunkyPete I’ll attempt to. I’m kind of new at this lol.
@@SuperFunkyPete what’s your twitter handle. I’ll post a picture.
Always like the fact that Julia always plays chapter stingray type bases and you do have the sound down
It's the player, not the bass....I keep trying to tell myself....but it is true.
@@SuperFunkyPete it's both but yes I get to
Yeah sounds a bit dumb to ask but what is the song he played first? Just wanting to learn it is all
No worries at all. Depending on your point of view, it’s either Rapper’s Delight, or Good Times. Lol.
Pete you seem to know your Stingrays ! I have owned originals in the past but now I own a Sub series 4 with the jazz neck. It's a solid bass especially for the price point and leaves you room to upgrade without feeling you are putting good parts in a cheap body. I may give your set up a try. Iv'e seen all of Lobsters Sub videos and agree he gives you alot of mod options. Keep on thumping !
Underrated ghost note game at the beginning
I blush, sir!
Have you tried an Ernie Ball Musicman Sterling (the unique USA made model, not the "Sterling by Music Man" stuff)? It has a neck youll love and a preamp that feels a lot closer to the classic one.
As a matter of fact, I’ve owned 2 of those and an SB14, the cheaper copy (made before the SBMM series). The necks were all fantastic. The body was too small for me to comfortably rest my arm on for playing. Annoying.
I’ve never seen an SLO Special Stingray out in the wild, which would have been the other 4 string alternative. Ah well. This way was cheaper anyway :)
@@SuperFunkyPete That's too bad! The body is a perfect size for me. The nice thing about the Sterlings is how the brand confusion means they tend to sell for cheap. I got a USA Sterling in pristine condition for 450£ recently!
@@xdoctorblindx that’s a smoking deal. Well done!
perfect it's true , i take one also and for the mod i tried the combo retrovibe , pickup ans preamp
Nice. I wondered what those sound like. Do a video!! :)
@@SuperFunkyPete yes when i receved the new parts ...
@@SuperFunkyPete hello see the litlle viedos sub ray 4 upgrade with pickups alnico and 77 preamp retrovibe
ua-cam.com/video/VluPfaPlk-w/v-deo.html
Thank you for the video Pete.
I used to have a ‘79 MM. sold it because it got too heavy for me, but I miss the sound.
Now I’ve got a cheep OLP on the way, and considering doing an upgrade like yours.
What did you do with the battery. Did you route a hole in the back?
Ah, that was easy for me. The Ray4 came with a battery box already installed…
I have a Sterling StingRay… it’s the Sheeeiiitt!! I’m planning on upgrading it to US(ish) specs. I’m not getting rid of mine.
If you like the neck, then those basses can be great deals! Plus more finishes on offer.
If you can find a ray 34 CA, that should accomplish much of what you're doing. Narrow neck, two band eq, and much better Electronics and sound than the 24ca I used to have. And I paid less than $400 for it on eBay😊
Nice find! I didn’t have that as an option when I originally did the project. Only the Ray4 had a Jazz width nut then..
Yeah the Ray 34 CA is quite old as well. Long out of production there are actually two right now on reverb in the 500 range. If I needed a spare..
I have a 2000 Sting Ray, same the tone doesn't seem right, but I always get people telling me how amazing that bass cuts through the mix. I however eventually figured out to set me trible dial between 8 and 9 o'clock, that treble is super touchy and I dial the volume back to 75-80% the low end in there and punches through just right
.but that might be my bass in particular.
I don’t think it’s yours in particular. The 2 band EQ is different. I think it’s meant to be that the bass and treble knobs are interactive - they behave differently depending on how the other band is set. Or so I understand.
I am going to be upgrading my stingray and would like to install the bridge mute kit. Can you go into some more details on how you did that?
Sure. I marked out 4 spots where the thumb screws go through and then used a metal drill bit to drill through the existing bridge plate. 4 holes to allow the thumb screws from the mutes to screw into the wood. I would have preferred to put in metal inserts in there for the adjustable mute screws to go into, but couldn’t find any that would fit.
When picking preamp I went with BoskoS Classic Stingray preamp. Its true 1:1 replica of original 79 preamp, and I also went with Aguilar AG4M. However I realized SD SMB4A is much better fit for classic Stingray sound. It was a great bass, however I sold it and Ray34 to fund Japanese Stingray. I like wider and chunkier necks.
I’ve never heard of that preamp…I’m going to have to go check one out! I’ve heard good things about the Seymour Duncan pickup too.
I hadn't heard of the Bosko. There used to be several people making vintage 2-bands, but as of recently John East was the only game in town. These are much cheaper and easier to get than a John East, which typically sell out within hours of a drop.
Great vid , thank you 😊
Glad you enjoyed it. I am finding a lot of joy in this. I just need more time to do it
I owned a 2 band eq sting ray in teal and sold it as i was cashstrapped ... then i purchases a 3 eq in natural ... sold it again ...
The necks on both were too much like a baseball bat ... great basses but i love the jazz bass radius and my fingers are more at home ... i'm really into c shape as i wrap my hand around with ease.. i don't miss them and they cost a fortune ahaj... now i'm a true sire person n getting into fretless ... sire adopted similar nut width i think . I own 4 /5 of them ahaha...
It took me years to comprehend i was playing the wrong instrument ... what a fool .. i play guitar too although my heart is bass ... to me small c shape is the gospel ...
I think as far as comfort c really help and ergonomics are crucial especially if you play a lot regardless wether u are a pro /session man/covers/teaching /gigging or gassing away
I did the same with Precision necks - took me years to figure out I hated the nut width. I'm less sensitive to depth - up to a certain point - and D vs C necks etc is all fine too - just nut width!!
You have shown EBMM Sterling in the beginning of the video. So what is the problem with MM's? It has JB nut (38mm) and versatile preamp with 3way switch (series, parallel and single coil with phantom coil) so many of Your problem are not the case... in this case. :)
The Sterling is a great bass. The body is a little bit too small for me to comfortably rest my right forearm on - it ends up in a funny position. I need a slightly bigger body. The neck is perfect though. It’s a shame, the USA Sterlings are top notch.
@@SuperFunkyPete I get it. Thx for the response.
Did you wire the new pickup in series? I know the sbmm series is wired in parallel normally, which isn't traditional for a stingray. Thank you for the tips
No, this is wired in parallel, classic old-school style. I think parallel is actually what is standard for 'classic' Rays. My original SBMM pickup was wired in series, though, when I bought the bass.
@@SuperFunkyPete my mistake I got it backwards lol. thank you
hi, can you make a tutorial for the bridge upgrade with the mute?
Tricky. It’s kind of been drilled out already! It wasn’t very exact either…I just laid the mute kit over the top of the bridge, used a centre punch to mark the points where I wanted to put the screw in mutes, drilled through the bridge and into the wood, and then screwed in the mute screws. Measuring took longer than the drilling…!
did you tap out the bridge plate ? if so what thread size? M4 or are they imperial ?@@SuperFunkyPete
@@stevepatton703I didn’t have threaded inserts to use - I couldn’t figure out the sizing, although I tried. So I ended up just drilling holes in the bridge where the thumbscrews go through and screwing them directly into the wood. It worked out, but I probably can’t keep screwing the mutes up and down, as the basswood body is probably too soft to withstand much of that.
Been trying to find that mute kit everywhere. Can you steer me to where I can purchase it?
No problem. I got mine in the UK from Bass Direct - www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/The_BAss_Mute.html. Not sure about the USA if you're there - I guess I'd start with shop.music-man.com/stingray-classic-4-string-mute-kit.html
Hi. Thanks for the great video. I have one question. How much this switch to 38mm nut width, change string spacing over humbacker? Are the strings perfectly aligned with humbacker pole-peaces? Do you think that this mod could be done with some other brands like Ibanez SR, witch also have 38mm nut width. Of course you need to mode pickup cavity also. I always liked Stingray sound, but find its string space to wide.
Sorry on my bad English.
I’d say the strings line up very well over the polepieces. The magnetic field is very strong around the polepieces anyway, and you’d have to be very far out of alignment for it to matter - but that’s not the case here. It all works out fine.
You could modify an Ibanez SR, but the cost of routing it out is probably more hassle than it’s worth. Plus you’d ruin it for resale value. I’d buy a secondhand Ray4 and modify that, it’s just way more practical/economic.
Calls Stingrays a one trick pony, then cites that trick as being Bernard Edwards to Tim Commorford... hahaha! Excellent project though, you certainly have that Ray sound!
lol. Fair!! They do have a very strong sonic signature…and what a sound it is..
01:32 "you could have a steam train"
‘If you just lay down your tracks!’
Nice video!! Why did you change the preamp? It is not the same as 2 band preamp ernie ball StingRay 92?
The preamp is what I could get a hold of easily that had good reviews…I listened to the Lobster videos about modding his SBMM and he rated the East as the best system. So I went with that. Since I’m in the UK it was cheaper than many other options!
@@SuperFunkyPete Ok, I may do the same as you. I have a StingRay erni ball 92 and the input jack attached to the electronics produces a lot of noise and a luthier did not know how to repair it. Then they ruined the pickup by adding glue, in an attempt to insert the sharp magnets. I was thinking of buying that bass because of the preamp, and the Sterling StingRay 34 because of the pickup. I think your option is cheaper. Thank you!!
Thanks for this. I have a Ray 4 and i'd like to upgrade the pickup and probably the preamp, but apart from Lobster's one video on it (which disappears from time to time) I've never found a really good 'how to' instructional-type vid. Perhaps you could actually do a film OF the removals and installations so those of us less adept at such have a better idea of what's required from a skill/technique perspective. I recall Lobster mentioned some issue about the wiring for the new preamp that required some 'jiggery-pokery' for instance, and also that the preamp he installed in the 'how-to; needed to be raised.
Apologies for this, but this is not my area of expertise...I did this work to my bass a few years back and didn't film it. Most tech work I now hand over to an actual tech these days. Time is just too short. Sorry!
@@SuperFunkyPete Hery, sorry for the really late acknowledgement of your kind reply. I didn't get YT notifications for months for some reason amnd then hundreds at once. That's cool. No need to apologise! I may have found a tech locally who can do it anyway. Happy playing! 😊
Hey Pete!! Just found your channel, sounding great as always! I'm still playing too, BurleighBluesBand
Great to see you here Pete!! Miss you.
Did you have to drill holes for the mute s?
Oh yes. It wasn’t much fun though.
I have the same bass
I have the olp. Stingray sounds good but the neck is huge ....250$
Half of the "stingrays" you showed you once owned are not actually stingrays lol
Lol, yes, hence the text correcting ‘Stingrays’ to ‘Ernie Ball basses’ at that time point…and I am ashamed to admit those were only the basses I had photos of…there was another Stingray HS, a Neptune Blue Stingray Special 4, and others….!!
@@SuperFunkyPete they sure are all beautiful. I just found your channel. I'm a huge Julia fan and Lobster fan. I've modded my sub like you did! Except the mutes.. now that's going the extra mile right there! I could never go with the Ray 34 neck for the same reasons as you. Keep up the great work my friend!
I absolutely hate your PJ, I love plain P's though.
That’s a plain P in the background…?
It appears to have a J pickup on the bridge?
@@ushnicyuvnikof2748 ah, I see the confusion, that’s an adjustable foam bridge mute system.
@@SuperFunkyPete Oh sweet! I hate PJ'S sorry, but a P Bass I'd my favourite bass!
Great video, I think It's actually Julia Plays Groove and she's an incredible player highly recommended her channel 👍
Quite right that man. I realised my mistake when I typed up her link in my description...ah well. :)
Just so you know Lowend Lobster hates the SUB ray 4's bridge also and uses a drop in replacement SUB bridge from a company call Aldridge they are direct no extra drilling bridges
I commented previously about my Sterling by Music Man Ray34, and how much I like it. I have to admit now that your video is making me consider adding the mutes to my bridgeplate, as well.
I agree with you. I am left-handed and I live in a country (Chile) where getting a left-handed stingray is impossible. By pure luck, I was able to buy the sterling sub ray 4 for lefties (the same one that julia uses in her videos). Unfortunately, the first runs of rays 4 came with a factory problem, which made them sound distorted. I changed the mic and preamp for a Seymour Duncan combo (ceramic pickup + preamp) and the sound change was total. Now the bass sounds very similar to a stingray. However, due to the fact that the body of these basses are made of basswood, these basses do not have much sustain or that typical warmth of the stingray, however, you can get a more than decent sound just by changing the pickup and preamp.
I remember hearing about the hot preamp issue. I agree the body wood does make a modest difference, but the resonant peak/voicing of the pickup and preamp is so strong that I don't even hear much difference between fretboard woods on Stingrays, and I can usually hear a big difference between e.g. maple and rosewood. On Jazz Basses it's easy to hear the difference...
@@SuperFunkyPete yes, I think sub rays 4 are great platforms for modding. There are other companies like tagima, harley benton, etc, which also make stingrays copies, but with better woods and slightly better hardware, some of them are passive by the way. However, when modified, those basses sound even better than the ray 4 modded, they sound like the ray34. Its so sad for guys like me ( left handed players) that sterling by musicman don't offer some other bass models, like the ray24 or 34, only the sub ray 4 and in limited colors. In the beggining, they offered the ray34 in left handed version, but nowdays, they don't produce those models Anymore. Great video and very informative for people who dont have much money and want some decent stingray sound, Thanks!
just buy an old ibanez atk mate..will cost u 200 bucks..that's a sleeper
I always heard they were good. Never seen one in the flesh though!
Your completely right... Stearlin4 is good enough... The 3000$ for a stingray is unjustified
You bet!! I could get a custom made for me for that money.
Before buying it, I had the idea of buy the sterling 34 but checking the differences and the price.... I think that famous brands do the same. Gibson specially. They change epiphone pickups by gibson pickups and the increase the price 500$.... Yep. You can check some parts from the bass and it is enough. Another thing is that you want tonbuy a jewel... Then the stingray is perfect 😅
Thanks for this!! Huge fan of John East stuff. For me, I favor Nordstrand Audio P/U
I like them too, and would have gone with Nordstrand at the time if it was available. But, couldn’t get one, so Aguilar it was.
@@SuperFunkyPete also, another fine choice.. Aguilar was a close #2 for me
Funky Pete, I totally mirror your sentiments on the Rays. I've had several too (and sold several). Sterling 34's also have disgraceful tuners, like tin foil bad. Oddly the Ray 4's seem to have better tuners (albeit still crap). I just picked up another Ray 4, HH this time and did some evil things to it (Schallers, Hipshot, multi coils and an NFP). It's pure gold. I'm beside myself.
It’s absolutely ideal for that kind of mod. I nearly went that way myself with the Wal-ish bass project…the Ray4 is really a phenomenal mod platform.
My Ray 4 experienced a tuner failure, also. I replaced mine with Grover open gear tuners. They fit really well, three screw holes lined up perfectly, one slightly off. However, that hole is covered by the tuner. I had to purchase two different sets, as the Music Man "3+1" set up is not offered. To get around this I ordered one set of "4 in line" and 1 set of "2+2", ending up with two complete sets of "3+1". So I have a spare set, should ever decide to purchase another Sterling.
I’m so glad you mentioned Timmy C’s tone on the first rage album, that’s the ultimate Stingray tone right there! That’s the album I always want my bass tracks to sound like when I record with my stingrays, also the LTE3 album has Tony Levin sounding sooo good on there, idk why but I own all 5 string stingrays and I feel the same way they don’t seem to sing as well as when I hear other people play them especially when I hear the 4 strings like the 4 strings have more zing then the 5ers idk could be me, I’d love a classic sounding 5 string stingray tho with the string through body and mutes and 2 band eq 😍
You can do it...the problem would be finding the 5 string mutes I think though...
One of my favourite mod videos ever. I'm seeking desperately for a Stingray Classic and if i can't find it in two months i'm starting this mod project. I already have a nordstrand mm 4.2 and I make by myself a pre ernie ball replica preamp, so it won't be difficult to find a ray 4
Thanks for the props! You should be able to mod your way to joy....
@@SuperFunkyPete yes, I hope so...
I put in the Aguilar p'up based on Lobster's recommendation. And replaced the cast bridge saddles with the larger brass ones and thicker screws from a Ray24 bridge I bought of eBay. The only mods (Oh, and EB Cobalts). Also had a "real" EB MM Stingray and, like yourself, I sold it because it didn't measure-up in terms of playability (I just couldn't put a good setup on her). But my Ray4 with these mods ain't going nowhere fast. It feels really good for me to play. And looks and sounds dope. Your other mods are pretty solid, may go for the Eastman preamp at some point. What did you use for the capacitor? Stock?
Yep, it’s all stock. The East pre is a quality unit, though not cheap.
Good video Pete. I have the same bass with a set of Schaller tuners to look like the originals, a dodgy EB transfer, the same mute set up and originally it had a Stinger pre amp with a Kent Armstrong pickup. I wasn`t really happy with the Stinger so replaced it with a EMG MMTW pick up. It`s active with a push pull on the volume to run in single coil mode. Good pickup and easy to wire up except the wires from the pickup to the knobs are too big to fit through the hole from the pickup cavity to the control cavity and I had a bit of a job to remedy this. I have owned a real Ray and I must say for around £600, this is a great bass.
It really is a perfect bass to mod. The EMG pickup tempted me too but the Aguilar wasn’t too hard to get at the time…I’ve wondered about Kent Armstrong’s MM pickups but could find absolutely no reviews anywhere.
Great video!
Glad you enjoyed it! It took me rather too long to learn how to start getting lighting and editing sorted, but that's how we work things out, I guess...
I have a pre Ernie Ball stingray 78 and an older Sterling Sub 4 still with the Sub word in the headstock,the tuners are very good even a bit better than those of the original Stingray 78,I did an upgrade with the Sub 4,for this I used Bosko's 2 band preamp which is an imitation of the 79 pre ernie ball preamp,I had to hollow out the space under the knob plate a very small amount in the middle. This setup I combined with an Alnico Roswell pickup which was a lot cheaper than the SD or Nordstrand,this I connected in parallel,I think the sound is pretty comparable,the difference is not very big.
Ooh, that sounds great. By any chance do you have any clips? Would love to hear the Bosko preamp…
it's not quite a fair comparison because the Sub has whole new set of strings and the Stingray has the same strings that have been on it for a while,I haven't done any recordings in a long time, but maybe I'll post some on youtube in a while, but I'm mainly slapping, I've also made that comparison with slap style.I like those musicman things on your bridge,maybe i will do too.
Hi Pete, great video and the bass sounds awesome. I have done exactly the same with an Aguilar pick-up and John East 3 band pre amp, however also having the same grounding noise issues. Are you able to provide anymore information on the shielding and the grounding of the pickup poles to each other please? Thank you.
Let’s see. When I emailed John East to get help on this, John said I needed to shield the pickup cavity and the preamp cavity, so I did that. Had to run a wire from both newly shielded cavities to ground.
Then, when I noticed that touching the pole pieces also caused noise, I used some shielding tape on the underside of the pickup to connect all the polepieces together electrically, and then I soldered a wire to run to a ground connection from that shielding tape, similar to above.
The hazards of ‘vintage correct’ pickups…!
Many thanks@@SuperFunkyPete
I had an actual Stingray Classic 5 US$1974.00 +tax. from 2010 to 2017. I sold it because I was cash strapped. I regret that choice more and more with each passing day. To make matters worse, they are out of production.😭😭😭
There may be a solution…lol…you can definitely do it yourself!
They are worth about $2500 now, so you can always get another one and not feel too bad.
I had this problem with the 4003, I loved the aesthetics, sounds good too, but gosh how I hated the playability, that damn thing felt like playing a log and it was HEAVY, never understood how those famous players used it, I guess they changed the fretboard, if it had a little bit of slope and less weight it would be awesome to play.
I like the Ricky tone but the edge binding is so uncomfortable. Plus where the heck are you meant to pluck? All these pickup covers in the way.
@@SuperFunkyPete and it had NO purpose whatsoever, without it the bass looks even better, I joked with a friend saying that it was a bass for guitar players, I'm also a guitar player, but I don't like that concept, those are two different instruments and should be played as such.
I have gotten so used to my Lakland five strings that a narrow neck, like on most SbMM basses was a deal breaker, But then I discovered the Ray34, which has a full P width nut. Mine was a used model, about eight years old by estimate. And a previous owner had already upgraded the preamp if it didn't come with a modern three band. Basically I got the whole classic Stingray experience for a third the money.
That’s a winner. I’d have done similar if I wasn’t so picky about nut width.
I'm thinking that's an issue because my others two basses are a fender jazz and a fender precision with a jazz neck, but in the end that's not really an issue. I started playing a squier pj so I learned to play on a 41mm nut, my sencond bass was my main, the ray34 from 2013, with a 43 mm nut, and i can say that's a slower neck but that's not really bad, not at all. I did play a ray 4 and the nut is perfect but the finish is really bad and i can't get my hands on that neck, really a shame. I think the best option would be a ray 34 ca but they're pretty rare nowadays... By the way i'm going to swap my humbucker for a nordstrand mm 4.2 to see if i can get closer to the pre-eb sound. If this isn't the case, i'm going to replace the preamp with the 4 knobs john east one, but i have to save a little amount of money First... Let's see. I have to change the pickguard too because the ray34 has a different pickup shape and i can't find a 1 ply pickguards for stingrays...
I hope one day i'll get a pre eb Stingray, by the way, that will be "the bass"
The Ibanez ATK 300. The best stingray next to a stingray
So I keep hearing!
Cool video! A question. Did you make any modifications in the bridge where the rectangular plate with the muters is located? I’m doing a very similar modification to my OLP’s bridge and I already made all the holes but I’m wondering how to put that plate because the original bridge has already 2 rectangular spaces made for that piece. Best!
I did have to drill through the existing bridge plate, 4 holes, to allow the thumb screws from the mutes to screw into the wood. I would have preferred to put in metal inserts in there for the adjustable mute screws to go into, but couldn’t find any that would fit. I hope that answers your question..
@@SuperFunkyPete thank you! 👍🏽
What tuners did you end up installing?
Those were Hipshot Ultralite Licensed tuners. Cheap but effective!
Great job and a super useful video. I did the same conversion, but used Nordstrand PU and 2 band preamp.
FYI you can also recreate the bridge screw in posts using M5 x 10mm collar washers and M5 dome head screws. Will need to drill out the bridge holes slightly, but they do look pretty similar.
Awesome….I’m going to go look into that. I can’t really use the bridge mutes because eventually if I keep moving them up and down the wood will wear out. If your way stops that, that would be great.
@@SuperFunkyPete I was referring to the side posts either side of the saddles.
For the mute screws I drilled and tapped the bridge base and also drilled a small hole into the bass body to allow the thumb screw to travel down to the deck.
@@martinbeasley1540 ah, gotcha now. Apologies.
hi,,,Ive just got some string mutes,,,what is the thread size for the thumb screws? I was thinking ,M4 ?? or is it imperial, with it being American ??@@martinbeasley1540
Thanks for this video. I'm waiting on my Mutes. I was shocked to find them, as Bass Direct was sold out. I almost gave up, until i strolled all the way down the Google page, and found them. Your Ray4 sounds sooooo Amazing.
"I'M NEXT"! 😂
👍👍FUNK ON
Go Ray, go!!! Glad you like what I did.
@@SuperFunkyPete 😁👍👍
@@SuperFunkyPete Hey is there a video for installing the Mute kit Funky Pete?
@@SuperFunkyPete OK! What tool (or tools) did you use to drill the holes for the threaded screws? And did you drill holes with the included plate off? You are my only source Pete, and I appreciate it, in advance.
@@BassGods sorry buddy, I did this video a long tiem after I did the mute install.
Pete, we need a new video on the Wal-ish bass!
You’re right! Luckily I just finished shooting one earlier this week. Editing now. Sorry about the delay, I was ill for a bit, which was a nuisance. Getting back on track now!
@@SuperFunkyPete I hope you're feeling much better. Medical issues are something I don't wish on anyone. I hope all is well and thank you for your videos! We appreciate you!
Sounds great. Smooth Operator: Paul Denman (bass-player Sade band) is soooo good. I recently purchased a Sterling Stingray short-scale = love it. Bernard Edwards - (Chic) Legend R.I.P. I also watch Julia. She is awesome. I faithfully-watch Low-end Lobster too. oNe LovE from NYC
Right back at you Michael. I love NYC.
What strings are you using for this?
These are round core steels - DR Hi Beams, 100/80/65/45. I like steel round wounds a lot for the highs to get this type of sound.
To be fair, I use nickels on other instruments, and the older Stingray 5s with ceramic pickups (as opposed to the warmer alnico one here) sound great with the standard Ernie Ball nickel round wounds.
@@SuperFunkyPete Thanks for sharing! I actually also wound up doing nearly the same build after watching Lobster (except I went 3 band) and love toying with different strings but they're often demo'd on P's or J's, so the sound comes out different. I usually go nickels, but the only steels I've tried were Ernie Ball, which seemed too cold for my taste
Strings are a big frontier to cover. I keep trying out different sets and finding interesting differences. DR Fat Beams are some of my favourite steels; they have just a bit more mids than Hi Beams and D’Addario Pro Steels and can add just a touch of needed warmth to that ‘steel sound’. I used Hi Beams here but on my Celinder (see my other video, plug plug lol), Fat Beams are perfect.
Did you do anything besides measuring and drilling to ad the mutes?
No, it was pretty crude. I measured many times, used a punch to mark my spots for drilling through, and used a standard metal drill bit. I was still off a tiny bit but it worked out fine. The bridge metal is easily powered through by my cordless drill.
Awesome thanks for the reply