Sterling by MusicMan Bass? Unsure of origin of this one.

[WeirdbassMilo]

Hi all,

Proud owner of a Sterling by Music Man Bass today as I got it from Facebook MarketPlace. However I’m unsure what I have here. Logo is the Ernie Ball Music Man Sterling kind but I have a Sterling by Music man plate. This bass looks dusty as all heck and seems original at least from my eyes. Could this be some sort of Frankenbass or a really old start to the Sterling import line. Including photos below.

 

[WeirdbassMilo]

 

[WeirdbassMilo]

More examples

 

[DrKev]

Nice bass! Welcome to the forum family!

Looking at the bridge and pickguard shape, that's a standard Sterling by Music Man Ray35, which was available in a natural finish a few years ago. (The Ray25 had a round pickguard and Ray5 has a cheaper bridge). Looks like the headstock was refinished. The logo that they chose is would be for a 4 string Ernie Ball Music Man Sterling bass, which is a very different instrument.