Tips for Acquiring US-era Music Man SUB Bass

[EggCouncilCreep]

Hi there EB forum,

I'm a longtime Stingray player and have gotten pretty nervous about EBMM replacement costs nowadays if sticky fingers were to lift my beloved #1 at a gig.

I was heavily researching the Sterling Ray34s and was about to buy one until I asked the tech to spin the truss rod (it was stuck), so I'm swearing off the imports.

This led me to the US-era SUB Basses. Obviously I'm on the hunt for a fairly short production run from almost 20 years ago, but how often are excellent/very good condition ones showing up these days? I see some fairly worn/scratched/touched up neck examples that have been sitting for awhile on Craigslist or Reverb. A couple dings on the headstock doesn't bother me, but I'm guessing a lot of players treated these less than well from the amount of corroded fasteners I'm seeing in ads (Craigslist/OfferUp/Reverb posts are definitely worse than usually excellent condition examples in the archived TalkBass classifieds).

A case queen is the dream, but seems like it might be pretty hard to pick one up in person!

 

[racerx]

In my sample size of one they show up semi-frequently but there aren't usually tons at any given time. The few I see on Reverb look decent enough to me, but I'm not sure how many case queens you will find. If the SUBs were played a lot, then they weren't bashful about showing wear (which is partly charming IMO). If you keep your eyes peeled and don't mind player's grade, then you can find regular Rays for a same/similar price as the current Reverb asking prices on SUBs.

As an aside, you should probably post a picture of #1 for good measure

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

Hi there EB forum,

I'm a longtime Stingray player and have gotten pretty nervous about EBMM replacement costs nowadays if sticky fingers were to lift my beloved #1 at a gig.

I was heavily researching the Sterling Ray34s and was about to buy one until I asked the tech to spin the truss rod (it was stuck), so I'm swearing off the imports.

This led me to the US-era SUB Basses. Obviously I'm on the hunt for a fairly short production run from almost 20 years ago, but how often are excellent/very good condition ones showing up these days? I see some fairly worn/scratched/touched up neck examples that have been sitting for awhile on Craigslist or Reverb. A couple dings on the headstock doesn't bother me, but I'm guessing a lot of players treated these less than well from the amount of corroded fasteners I'm seeing in ads (Craigslist/OfferUp/Reverb posts are definitely worse than usually excellent condition examples in the archived TalkBass classifieds).

A case queen is the dream, but seems like it might be pretty hard to pick one up in person!

Welcome to the Forum

 

[DrKev]

Set up a search on Reverb. You could include all the filters that interest you: seller location, condition, price range, etc., and save the search. You’ll get an option to add it to your feed and email notifications. Sit back and wait.

 

[EggCouncilCreep]

In my sample size of one they show up semi-frequently but there aren't usually tons at any given time. The few I see on Reverb look decent enough to me, but I'm not sure how many case queens you will find. If the SUBs were played a lot, then they weren't bashful about showing wear (which is partly charming IMO). If you keep your eyes peeled and don't mind player's grade, then you can find regular Rays for a same/similar price as the current Reverb asking prices on SUBs.

As an aside, you should probably post a picture of #1 for good measure

Thanks for the reply! That's what I was figuring. There are a definitely a few on Reverb I'd snatch up if I didn't feel like I have to evaluate a used bass in-person/risk shipping. On this particular search, I might just have to take the leap of faith eventually. I'm in a fairly big market in Los Angeles, so they might come up fairly often. It's always surprising how many greasy finger prints make it to the local listings lol

The thing I'm noticing the most is fairly bad paint repair jobs/divots on necks. Seems like those would be felt with the thumb, but then again, I have a few neck dings myself.

I'll have to take a better pic of #1! It's a red to orange burst that was a discontinued color in 2003. Literally got it for $17 more bucks than the SUB I was considering at the time because of that. Funnily enough, here I am, looking for a SUB after all these years...

 

[EggCouncilCreep]

Set up a search on Reverb. You could include all the filters that interest you: seller location, condition, price range, etc., and save the search. You’ll get an option to add it to your feed and email notifications. Sit back and wait.

Done and done. I think this one might be a longer search than most pedals I lust after, but it'll be worth it

 

[danny-79]

Done and done. I think this one might be a longer search than most pedals I lust after, but it'll be worth it

They do pop up for sale every now and then, usually when your not ready!
but gold luck with your search

 

[N4860]

I don't know if this helps much or not, but I found one recently available locally for a great price due to the neck being quite dinged up.




It was pretty bad but I sanded the black finish off and the maple underneath was perfect.




That's the stripped body as well in the above picture. I finished the neck with tru-oil and it feels like my other EBMM necks now.

 

[EggCouncilCreep]

I don't know if this helps much or not, but I found one recently available locally for a great price due to the neck being quite dinged up.

View attachment 42293


It was pretty bad but I sanded the black finish off and the maple underneath was perfect.


View attachment 42294

That's the stripped body as well in the above picture. I finished the neck with tru-oil and it feels like my other EBMM necks now.

Nice! That came out real well.

It's funny that the necks underneath the paint look great. I figure they were using a B grade wood cut over what was on the non-painted necks for the price difference at the time, but they all look the same to me after stripping.