Guitarist Magazine 14 May 2001:
"STERLING BASS:
Like the StingRay, today's Sterling bass is offered in various guises, but in this instance we're looking at the basic model.
The main physical differences between this and the StingRay is one of overall size - the body and headstock sizes are somewhat keener in every aspect with the exception of the body thickness. This 'down-sizing' is most noticeable at the body cutaways, but make no mistake this a beautifully proportioned bass - a fact that is only fully appreciated when you play it.
The more compact size gives the Sterling its own feel and some players have mistakenly assumed that it has a shorter scale. But, no. This is the same standard 864mm (34-inch) scale length; the neck is just slightly narrower at the nut than the StingRay. Generally the neck profile is also on the keener side and has more in common with Fender's Jazz basses of the sixties. Like the guitars, the frets and fingerboard edge are particularly well finished - this bass has a really wonderful feel to it. Overall balance is exceptionally good and the sculptured heel gives excellent access to the upper frets.
The truss rod adjustment is the standard Ernie Ball 'capstan' design; also standard is the chrome finished, stainless steel bridge that may not be fancy by today's standards, but remains very practical.
Visually, the dominating factor is the slightly off-set scratchplate and the surface-mounted controls, including three-band EQ and the three-way selector switch - taken directly from the StingRay 5. The Sterling retains the single humbucking pickup, and to keep hum at bay - in the single-coil mode - an additional hum-cancelling 'phantom' coil is mounted under the scratchplate.
SOUNDS:
While the Sterling retains that unmistakable Music Man tonal character, it does possess a quality of its own. The three tone controls provide boost and cut from a very positive centre detent, but it's the three-way selector for the pickup that enables the overall tonal individuality.
This switch provides the choice of both coils in series, single-coil, or both coils in parallel mode. What this actually means is that the impact of the sound changes as you switch between modes. The parallel wiring gives a modern funky slant, the single-coil is a more traditional Fendery tone, and the series mode gets warm enough to curdle ya blood. Although versatile, the tonal range still stays well within useful frequency ranges and avoids any extremes. This bass was beautifully set up and the output balance from the individual strings was very even."
Cheers
Perhaps I should add the introduction:
Quote......
The Sterling bass - named after Ernie's son, Sterling Ball, the head of the Ernie Ball/Music Man company - followed in 1993. "It was intended as a lighter, smaller bass," confirms Gimpel, "something more versatile in terms of sound. The Sterling is actually a four-string version of the five-string StingRay."
(The article was talking about the Silhouette Guitar and Sterling Bass....I've cut the relevant sections).
Pics???? 
