SUB sterlings

[marleaux-user]

Hi all,

I just wanna ask about comparisions between the SUB sterlings and the original Sterlings. Any comments would be appreciated!

 

[MingusBASS]

I find the sub sterlings are sub par. *rimshot*







HEY OOOOOOH!

Nah...they both rock, the finish on the Sub is textured,the body is poplar and it has no pickup switch. So if you want more options for the finish, want ash(who doesn't...I got some sweet Ash last night...I'm on a roll here) and care about the pickup switch then the extra cash for a standard issue Sterling might be what you want. Both are still good 'ol EBMM quality made in the US of A.




Andrew

 

[basspastor]

There are differences I don't know about, But I played a sub sterling at the Dallas show (the one before the last one) last hyear I suppose, I personally think it has all a person needs if they don't want to spend the big bucks on a sterling.
The sound is fanastic.
Go to the site that tells about them and I dont have it in front of me and I am in somewhat of a hurry. Do a comparison check. Has I said the sound and great feel over all is great.

 

[marleaux-user]

I find the sub sterlings are sub par. *rimshot*







HEY OOOOOOH!

Nah...they both rock, the finish on the Sub is textured,the body is poplar and it has no pickup switch. So if you want more options for the finish, want ash(who doesn't...I got some sweet Ash last night...I'm on a roll here) and care about the pickup switch then the extra cash for a standard issue Sterling might be what you want. Both are still good 'ol EBMM quality made in the US of A.




Andrew

Sweet As* anytime fo sho!

There are differences I don't know about, But I played a sub sterling at the Dallas show (the one before the last one) last hyear I suppose, I personally think it has all a person needs if they don't want to spend the big bucks on a sterling.
The sound is fanastic.
Go to the site that tells about them and I dont have it in front of me and I am in somewhat of a hurry. Do a comparison check. Has I said the sound and great feel over all is great.

Thanks dude, Will check Harmony central!


I was just thinking that it might be a wiser way to spark off my EBMM collection, hence the thoughts of SUB basses. I'm kinda mentally picturing myself with that all-black SUB sterling (DROOLS)

 

[spaceman]

I just bought a used SUB sterling on ebay. So, if all goes well, maybe I'll have some comments later...
At under $400 it seemed a reasonable deal.

 

[marleaux-user]

I just bought a used SUB sterling on ebay. So, if all goes well, maybe I'll have some comments later...
At under $400 it seemed a reasonable deal.

Lookin forward to your review

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

Any pics

 

[Samingo]

Think of it this way. My first MM related product was an OLP. Then I wanted to try a real thing, so I got a SUB. Next, I bought a Bongo and will use nothing other than MM pretty much. A SUB Sterling will give you an Idea of what it's like to have a Sterling, but seeing as how it doesn't have what makes a Sterling a Sterling(namely the pick up switch it's loved for) it's more like an idea of what you get with MM's. It's almost like a tease, if you will. It shows you the brilliant worksmanship and sound quality you get for a very fair price and open your mind to the endless possibilities!


Or you could not like it...

 

[marleaux-user]

Think of it this way. My first MM related product was an OLP. Then I wanted to try a real thing, so I got a SUB. Next, I bought a Bongo and will use nothing other than MM pretty much. A SUB Sterling will give you an Idea of what it's like to have a Sterling, but seeing as how it doesn't have what makes a Sterling a Sterling(namely the pick up switch it's loved for) it's more like an idea of what you get with MM's. It's almost like a tease, if you will. It shows you the brilliant worksmanship and sound quality you get for a very fair price and open your mind to the endless possibilities!


Or you could not like it...

Everytime i hear someone slap a sterling, its like a blow to me, urging me to buy it

 

[spaceman]

Any pics

Well, the auction only finished yesterday so I don't have it yet!
I'm buying it from one of those gcrepxxx folks (albeit with 100% feedback)...
This was the auction:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7331060131

 

[marleaux-user]

Hot damn! Thats my 2nd favorite color for SUB sterlings, you lucky man!

 

[all_your_bass]

what's your favorite?

 

[Samingo]

MMM gotta love that Text Red.

 

[marleaux-user]

textured Black with the black pickguard

 

[spaceman]

first impressions

OK, my "new to me" SUB sterling arrived yesterday (in time for my birthday!). For what it's worth, here are my initial impressions. First some disclaimers: I've not played bass for very long - I bought a cheap Yamaha about 3 years ago as a sort of mid-life crisis/impulse buy. I'm primarily a mediocre (classical) pianist. Also, I can only really compare the SUB against my cheap Yamaha (with upgraded Seymour-Duncan pickups and new bridge) and not against the "regular" Sterling.

Anyway, the particular bass I got can be seen in the ebay link above. It turned out to be in rather good condition (insignificant marks on the headstock). I found that it had been set up with a nice low action. I checked the intonation at the 12th fret and it was perfect. I plugged it into my GK400RB and Avatar 210. I like the tone! It has a nice "bite" to it. When I play my Yamaha after the SUB, the Yamaha, even with the SD pickups, sounds lacking in some edge. The neck also feels rather nice - my Yamaha has somewhat rough fret ends. I'd previously played a SUB in a Guitar Center, the neck on that had seemed a little "slow" - I suspect that was because it had been played by too many sticky-fingered teenagers!
I'm not really a "slapper", but the SUB does seem to slap more easily than the Yamaha (becuase it has less frets??) and has a great slap tone.

The body feels light and nice and compact. I didn't play it long enough to say whether the lack of contoured body will cause any problems. But so far it seems fine.
I've not yet had a chance to play it in a band setting with my fellow middle-aged amateur pals, but I'm looking forward to do so fairly soon.

If I was to look hard for any problems based on my limited playing so far, the only small things I would say are that (i) it has a very slight hiss. From the web site I believe that the SUB doesn't have the shielding that the non-SUBs basses do. However, it's very slight. Certainly not like the really bad hiss my Yamaha had before I shielded it. Right now I have no plans to add any shielding to the SUB.
(ii) the center "stop" on the tone controls doesn't have exactly the same feel on all the knobs. However, this difference is small. Also, this is a second-hand bass and may have been abused.

I actually like the color of the body - I like red/black combinations. The pickguard is the matte black one rather than the metallic one that some people don't like.

In summary, although I've only had it for a little while, it feels and sounds very nice to me. I think I got a pretty good deal on this. My only question is - should I get a new pickguard so I can personalize it?!

 

[SteveB]

spaceman,

Congrats on enjoying your SUB Sterling! Change the pickguard? Hey whatever makes it work for you.

 

[marleaux-user]

Thanks for your review!

 

[Mantaray]

Real Sterlings are a lot better than SUB sterlings. But here's something that potential SUb sterling buyers should know: SUB sterlings sound quite better than 3eq StingRays.

I was at Soundcontrol couple weeks ago on a mission for a friend to try a SUB because he was interested(he finally placed an order for an unlined fretless Sub Sterling!!) and with me there was a friend who didn't have a clue about musicaL instruments. I AB'd on an Ampeg SVT Classic both the Ray and the SUB Sterling. The SUB sterling(to me at least), sounded quite a lot better than the 3eq maple STingRay. The funny thing was that even though SUB models come only in rosewood, it was far snappier than the maple 3eq Ray!!!Evan this friend of mine said: this smaller one is more high pitched and snappier than the big one...


Even though I always go for the 'real deal', I must say that a SUB sterling is nothing short of an amazing instrument and for the price is a steal of a deal.

It had 25% better sound than an instrument with 200% the price(StingRay maple 3eq, natural).