Music Man Bass Comparison feat.
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ก.ค. 2024
- Guillaume teamed up with @TommyLeeDepp for a Music Man vs. Sterling Sting Ray shootout!
So let's see how the most affordable Sterling Sting Ray compares to the most expensive Music Man!
Which one would you get, and why? Let us know in the comments!
Check out Tommy's channel: / tommyleedepp
Gear used: tho.mn/7kgey
Recorded in Presonus Studio One: bit.ly/S1Pro6
Recorded and mixed with Universal Audio: tho.mn/uadx1
Monitors optimised through Sonarworks: tho.mn/sonar
Interesting bits and pieces:
0:00 Intro
1:43 Melodic Playing | Sterling by Music Man S.U.B. Sting Ray
3:14 Slap Playing | Sterling by Music Man S.U.B. Sting Ray
5:11 Melodic Playing | Sterling by Music Man Sterling Sting Ray 34
6:52 Slap Playing | Sterling by Music Man Sterling Sting Ray 34
8:56 Melodic Playing | Music Man Dark Ray
10:38 Slap Playing | Music Man Dark Ray
13:25 Playing Distortion Red Mode | Music Man Dark Ray
13:58 Playing Distortion Blue Mode | Music Man Dark Ray
15:02 Conclusions
Webshop: www.thomann.de
Facebook: / thomanninternational
Twitter: @thomann / thomann
Instagram: @thomann.music / thomann.music
Pinterest: / thomannde
Visit our blogs:
GER: www.thomann.de/blog/de/
ENG: www.thomann.de/blog/en/
FRA: www.thomann.de/blog/fr/
ESP: www.thomann.de/blog/es/
ITA: www.thomann.de/blog/it/
NED: www.thomann.de/blog/nl/
FIN: www.thomann.de/blog/fi/ - เพลง
I love my Sterling Ray 34. For the money you are getting a great playing and sounding instrument. It gives you the iconic sound of a stingray for a portion of the price.
Thanks again for the invitation, it was super fun! :) Guillaume, show us some more bass magic in the future! 😃
Hey buddy, it was an absolute pleasure having you here! We have to hang out some more soon! 🙌 Cheers //Kris
Great playing dude. O think SBMM are great basses considering their price point starts on 350 (as I saw today on Amazon).
I know they have an extensive line and considering only YT vids I’ve watched it seems to me that there are some models that delivers the best price vs quality value. And the cheaper ones are great.
I fell that i some point SBMM prices starts to compete with USA models. I mean: from 1K I would consider to buy a second handle USA SUB or USA Stingray.
Sound wise, all three basses sounds great. Obviously the first one looses but still sound pretty good.
Thanks for this video (and sorry for any English mistakes, I’m from Brazil and still working on my English skills).
Great playing dude. O think SBMM are great basses considering their price point starts on 350 (as I saw today on Amazon).
I know they have an extensive line and considering only YT vids I’ve watched it seems to me that there are some models that delivers the best price vs quality value. And the cheaper ones are great.
I fell that i some point SBMM prices starts to compete with USA models. I mean: from 1K I would consider to buy a second handle USA SUB or USA Stingray.
Sound wise, all three basses sounds great. Obviously the first one looses but still sound pretty good.
Thanks for this video (and sorry for any English mistakes, I’m from Brazil and still working on my English skills).
I bought a Sterling Stingray SS-4 and I absolutely love it. It's a Killer Bass & sound's fantastic with my Rumble 100 amp.
I have that exact Neptune Blue Sterling Ray34. I just got it and I have never been so in love! Great video!
Interesting! Loved the comparison 👌🏻
Love that you prefer the tone of the middle-priced bass. Thanks!
Great video! Tommy is a legend💪
And super fun dude too! It was a pleasure having him in the studio. Thanks for watching! //Kris
Very nice review!
my kind of video
now i want the second one
Great video!! Something to take into consideration is the darkray has no mid control and the Ray 34 does mids boost the harmonics a ton also the American made stingray holds its value a lot more if you ever wanted to sell it for another bass VS the RAY34
Fingers, pick, and slap are what bass players care about. I hate to be critical, but this video completely missed the mark by replacing the first two techniques with a bunch of harmonics nonsense - especially when talking about affordable or entry-level basses.
I liked the harmonics but I agree with fingers, slap and pick are the core in what most use it for
100% agree
First of all, thanks for your comment! While I do agree that fingerstyle and slap are probably the two techniques that most bass players care about, I still believe that harmonics are a very good way to show how bright a bass can sound - therefore this 'bunch of harmonics nonsense'. Of course, in a band context you will probably rarely play harmonics as a bassist but for solo bass arrangements they work very well.
I actually did prepare a fingerstyle riff but we didn't want to make this video too long. Anyways, I'm sorry this video didn't meet your expectations but I still hope you enjoyed the slapping bits! 😄
@@TommyLeeDepp apologies for the snarkiness of this comment. It was a "hot take" aimed at the script & format, not your playing. It would have been more constructive if I'd chosen a few words more carefully. The slapping bits were great.
I just want to hear fingers pumping out eighth notes on A. Then a pick pumping out eighth notes palm muted and open on A. Then put it all into a mix with keys and guitar to see how it fits in.
that harmonic playing is absolutely beautiful
I've owned a lot of basses and I always go back to my 3 sterling ray 34's...love em
Definitely, that Ray34 is the best sounding out of that bunch. I am not a fan of the Darkglass preamp at all, however. Kinda would have been nice to see the Ray34 against a Stingray Special instead.
Definitely. Doesn't seem like it was an apples to apples comparison with the Darkglass stuff in the mix.
Certainly one of the messages is, the sound generated is more about the player than the bass. Like any tool… Thank you mates
The Melodic/Harmonic is absolutely beautiful. It actually inspires me to learn how to play like that
Why dont you try triangle instead
I bought a Sterling Ray34QM 3 years ago. It was quite a bit cheaper than the price I see now, but still I was a bit disappointed by the value you get for that price.
But first of all: the sound is like what you expect from a Stingray. No bad remarks there.
Music Man's marketing claim is made in Indonesia, but quality control in the US. In a store I looked first at a RAY34PB. But unfortunately the whole bass was full of production rests of the plexiglas pick guard. Also in the gaps at the side of the pickup. That should have been cleaned up by the quality control. Then I got the RAY34QM out of the warehouse of the store, but after two times playing at home on the couch the jack socket broke. The store fixed it immediately, but still that should happen with a brand new instrument. And I experience the same issue with the tuners that Guilaume mentioned. They are quite heavy to turn, which makes tuning a bit more complicated than necessary. I have a much cheaper ESP fretless bass which has a much better overall feel.
So my conclusion, I kept the bass because I wanted the StringRay sound. But I would suggest anybody to look at other brands if that sound is not first priority.
@@cicolas_nage If you read my comment completely you would have noticed that I played it in the store I bought it.
The difference in sound is determined by the preamp eq (2 ways on the SUB and Music Man Darkray, 3 ways on Sterling) and by the pickup type (ceramic on SUB, alnico on Sterling and neodynium on Music Man), not by the body/neck wood...furthermore the Darkray has a custom Darkglass eq so...
Super 👍 mein Favorit ist der letzte Bass, Aussehen top Klang sehr satt und klar😊😊😊😊
Personally for me in what I am hearing for slap the winner is the 34, for melody the dark ray but if I was going to pick on favorite it would be the 34. I've played on the 34 and sub at a music store not the dark ray. The 34 really is nice..
Thanks guys, an enjoyable comparison.
Would it have made a difference to also feature a regular EB Musicman ?
Thanks Andrew! Regular MusicMan at the moment are mostly just Stingrays that are comparable in price and quality with the Darkray, minus the Darkglass preamp. //G
I would like to make a suggestion....maybe sound tests should be less advanced and technical. Scales, arpeggios and walking bass lines maybe? Especially on the "entry" level basses.
I enjoy what you're doing but just think the sound tests should be a bit more relevant.
actually a ray34 was my first bass ^^
What about the Ray 24, which is in between the SUB, and the Ray 34?
I go that exact same sterling ray4 with the Ruby red satin finish, with a fender rumble 40 as a home practice setup and I absolutely love it, all around great one. Definitely a great bass. Beginner or otherwise!
I love my stingray shorty. More bass stuff with G please
Oh trust me I'm learning haha! Thank you so much though, glad you liked it :) //G
What’s the difference between the 34 FM and the 34 BKR2 on Thomann other than the rosewood fretboard. Seems like the same electronics. Is it worth the price difference?
I have the stingray sub 4 in mint green it looks great, build quality is great, sound is great, its a affordable really good bass, and ive had a few, i cant say enough just how good these are, buy one you wont be disappointed .
Hi! Do u think the Dark ray is Good for play New wave style music, like Joy Division or Interpol?
The Harley B ,MB copy of a MM got a very good rating
Wish you'd do a comparison to that
The difference I get between Music Man and Sterling, is that the sterling Basses seem to be more brighter, and artificial, like it’s reaching for something. the MM sounds very smooth, Original, less bright, and expensive. lol! which is awesome. I can actually hear the price difference between them. This is just my opinion. Awesome video!
Saya sudah coba Darkray.. menurut saya untuk dapat sound clean yang enak Darkglass nya sebaiknya tetap on, tapi blendnya di cut cmiiw
Great stuff. Instead of a clean to OD to fuzz, if it was clean to OD/fuzz to a envelopey auto wah; think like an old Wal. Ideally with a 4 way switch to blend the fuzz and envelope that might be the coolest bass ever made... balls in your court Music Man! I would buy that creation tomorrow! I'm sure it'd be around 5k, BUT one thing they don't mention here is Music Man's hold their value very well. If you bought a new $2500 4 string Music Man own/ play it for 5-10 years before selling it you're really not gonna lose much if any money. If you can afford them, high end instruments are investments you can play. The last Jazz Bass I bought in 2016, I see them SELLING on Reverb for $500 more than I paid new. Something to keep in mind/ justify spending the money to the wife lol.
I PLAY WITH A STERLING 'SUB-SERIES' 4 ON A BERINGHER BLX3000, I GOT A KILLER SOUND IN ALMOST ALL STYLES IN GIG. IT'S A POWERFULL BASS ! AND COOL IN HANDS.
Thanks everyone!
I wanna learn bass and stingrays look so badass. it's kinda out of my price range and it's most likely not beginner friendly but I hope I'll upgrade to a stingray if I ever start playing.
If they're out of your budget, you could always look at a Harley Benton MM-style bass. Or, depending on where you are located, a Vintage v964, or - if you do end up going more towards the $500 range - the Sire Z3. Same thing goes for a second hand OLP or Sire!
See the band Morphine for 2 string slide bass. Also the Presidents of the United States (band) used instruments made by the same guy. Ibanez fretless is smooth enough to side an open chord with a finger.
I have a USA Stingray and a Sterling Ray 34. While there is a difference in some areas, if I'm honest there's not $2000 worth of difference. The sound is so close that no one in the audience is going to know the difference. Add to that the fact that I'm leery about the using the USA model in many of the gigs we play because I don't want it damaged or stolen, then I have to admit that the only real reason I bought the USA model is because I wanted the USA model.
I'll get the Ray34 + Darkglass pedals instead of the Darkray
Oh the Mid priced one , absolutely murdered the The $3400.00 .
I think the slap sound of the Ray34 was a bit too treble-y, compared to the MM which was more natural, cool slap sound. But I think that can be adjusted with the tone controls and/or your amp/pedals etc. So.. since I won't be able to buy the USA made :D I will stick to the Ray34 which seems quite nice for the money!
I thought the exact opposite :D did you actually listen back to back to the two sounds? Because imho they also got it wrong in the video^^
💙👊😎💙👊😎
Last year the Sterling Stingray ray34 was flying off the shelves at $799. I grabbed a B stock for $749 in firemist silver to match my Cutlass ct50 hss. Can't believe some of the prices now? Many are over $1000. Gouging.
Guitar Center will still have them on sale for $749 from time to time.
@@CounterRevolutionary This is fact. BUT, my experience is those are almost always a single instrument being sold at a discount. You've gotta be very carefull buying these, as they are returns or demo/floor models that always have some minor flaws. The only way I know around this, is to call and ask tons of questions and insist on a factory sealed box. They'll hem and haw and make excuses. Then ship you a guitar without the factory box/packaging anyhow! Be carefull.
@@andrewbecker3700 Try being in Europe, a Sterling 34 is 1300€ and by the time I pay shipping and taxes it almost 1600. That's the price of a used USA Stingray, completely pointless to buy a Sterling at that point...
@@ileutur6863 You could still grab a sub model for under $500 and if nessessary mod it to your liking. Can't you just buy it online from a U.S. sorce and pay the approx.$100 shipping?
@@andrewbecker3700 I purchased one on Wednesday; Firemist Grey, listed as "new," bought in the "new" section of the website, not with the used instruments, not listed as a demo or blemished. The Firemist Gray ones, and the Sparkle Blue ones were on sale for $749.99.
I guess I'll know on Monday, when it's supposed to arrive, if it's really new. I'll be able to compare it to my 2018 EBMM Stingray Special HH, and my Sterling SUB 4.
I have an Aguilar AG-4M PUP that I bought to put in the SUB 4, but I think I'll put it into the Ray34 instead, and sell the SUB 4. Also, I'm going to order a Mint Green pickguard to put on the Ray34 too, I think it will probably look cooler than the white one.
I bought the SUB 4 at the Guitar Center in Greensboro, NC a few years back, on sale for $269 (new, even now it still has the film on the pickguard), so people should be patient and check the websites often.
I like the cheapest ones. They have the 1.5 inch neck width. The others are baseball bats. I wanted to like the middle one but played some and they were surprisingly bad...
Mahogany is denser than basswood and is, therefore, heavier. But the tone is worth the weight.
tone woods are a joke
Are you serius Made in Indonesia ????
Why is a guitarist who admits he’s a bass beginner have 95% input on bass guitar review? The strangest bass review ever.
Where is Tommy Lee?
You’re looking for Tommy Lee Bass.
Instead, you got another Tommy Lee playing Bass
I´m guitarist but I don´t like people kidding like if play guitar its superior to play Bass
I am dreaming of a video where people actually play, what most customers will play onstage or at home: "dum dum da dum dum dum dum dum dum dum etc.
Is that really so hard or embarrassing to you? Why dont you play solo guitar or triangle?
Who plays harmonics or slap? Unless you play meditation music or in Kajagoogoo cover band of course (rolls eyes)
lol
Man playing is great my option is the man behind bass or ladies Cheers
For me both of those basses are very uncomfortable and heavy to play . Besides the big bridge, wide neck and enormous pickups the sound is not something that will blow your mind. Fender will be my choice always
omg too many words
Would have been useful to hear actual finger/pick playing instead of the f***ing harmonics and slap.
Боже, как вы любите трещать на камеру. У вас там реально проблема с этим?