Sting Ray Bass Guitar For Sale (2024 Update)

Sound: when you own a sterling bass you do know, what your getting in quality . this bass is heavier then my sterling sub music man. same bass just diff color .the pick up of course is still amazing ,from my sub to this bass today. Ease of Use: i pulled out the box, was not in tune from shipping of course. used my d,addario head stock tuner on it, was only off a little from shipping. easy to retune and play out of the box. Quality: i love these bass., i have small hands. witha full scale to the get the best of the tone possible, long scale is the only way for me. small hand will use the neck as a whole. Value: would buy this for any one starting. would also buy another my self lol i have two lol Manufacturer Support: never had an issue Overall: awesome for the money, get great workmenship right out of the box, a small tune . after shipping of course. love the balance and small necks for my small hands. does not take away sustain. bass talks if you listen. so this is the second one i owned and would own another.Mickey

Love this thing! I had a problem with the sound on the first one but Musicians Friend got me all straightened out. The midrange sound was really quiet while the highs and lows were loud. They sent me a new one and took the return on the bad one. The replacement sounds great! I had a setup and new strings done by my local music shop and she sounds amazing. Intonation is now spot on. I love the look and feel of this one with all the rounded edges. Love the sound. She has a snarl in the low end that I haven't heard with any other company. I also own a squire 60s classic vibe p bass but i think i like the sound of this one better. My only complaint is that she's a little heavier than my Squire otherwise im super happy with this purchase. Thank you Musicians Friend for the smooth return and your amazing customer service. If you're looking for a quality beginner bass this one is a great choice.Matt

Love the sound of this heavy, neck diving beast. There's lots of tone to play with using the 5-way pickup selector. If played light enough you can avoid the fret buzz, of which is hard to get rid of with truss and saddle adjustments, but that can be said of a heavy hand on most guitars in general. The neck dive is severe like all the weight is really just the neck, but I don't notice it much when playing. It's just something to keep in mind if you play standing and lift both hands off the guitar to quickly adjust a mic or amp knob settings. The finish is kind of satin, as if it were printed on with an ink jet printer. It leaves the soft wood body pretty vulnerable to slow moving collisions against sharp corners. The Pre-Black Friday sale price on this guitar is a STEAL though! Definitely worth it for a Music Man bass sound for recording, or gigging if your willing to put up with the minor issues of weight and neck dive.Zach

Almost 40 years of playing experience and this bass is by far the best value that I've experienced. I've had my share of Precisions, Jazz basses, etc. over the years up to the $1500 range. When the pandemic kicked in I had sold most of my equipment but decided I had to have one bass. The neck is solid and similar to a P-bass thickness which I prefer and I don't need a 24-fret, 2 octave one anymore based on playing blues, jam, reggae, and rock. The tonal landscape is phenomenal rolling off the treble or bass dependent upon what I'm playing. Bright highs and deep lows are easily accomplished. I've never written a review before, but this was worthy of the time. Enjoy!Steve

Sound: when you own a sterling bass you do know, what your getting in quality . this bass is heavier then my sterling sub music man. same bass just diff color .the pick up of course is still amazing ,from my sub to this bass today. Ease of Use: i pulled out the box, was not in tune from shipping of course. used my d,addario head stock tuner on it, was only off a little from shipping. easy to retune and play out of the box. Quality: i love these bass., i have small hands. witha full scale to the get the best of the tone possible, long scale is the only way for me. small hand will use the neck as a whole. Value: would buy this for any one starting. would also buy another my self lol i have two lol Manufacturer Support: never had an issue Overall: awesome for the money, get great workmenship right out of the box, a small tune . after shipping of course. love the balance and small necks for my small hands. does not take away sustain. bass talks if you listen. so this is the second one i owned and would own another.Mickey

I'm a long time guitarist with some really fine instruments who decided to pick up a "value" bass just to learn for fun. Knowing what to look for in guitars, I translated that over to basses and went to GC to try some out, see what appealed to me, and how far I could stretch the dollars I was willing to spend on an instrument to start out and, maybe, stick with. I found this Sterling by Music Man Ray4 in mint green that filled the bill on all fronts. As usual, the guys at GC let me try several instruments and test to my hearts content. I do all my own guitar set-ups and would never buy a guitar sight unseen, being worried about how much adjustment might be needed. The Ray4 wasn't too bad out of the box (quite literally because I didn't like the display instrument and they had another in stock for me to try). Once home, I did adjust neck relief, string height, intonation, and pickup to a point that I liked best. The pickup required the most adjustment actually because it had gotten stuck in an odd and very high position, perhaps from being jostled in shipping. There is some fret sprout on the higher frets, but nothing that would bother my hand. Bottom line: Everything could easily be adjusted to where I really like it and has been stable now over several days. It's comfortable to play and is, in my opinion, a real "looker." The satin finished neck is great and, although I usually don't go for maple fret boards, I do like this one. I'm very pleased with my purchase decision and would buy it again. Now onto attack that fret sprout . . .AARP Rocker

This is my second Ray 34. I preform live and do records so a good bass that sounds great and holds tuning is key. This meets every requirement I need. The tone is spot on for the Hard Rock I play. Sounds great in Pro Tools with no added effects other than a simple EQ. The finish looks great. I would definitely say if you want a Stingray bass and can not afford one get a Ray 34. I have had no problems or complaints with them.Bob On Bass

Overall: I own quite a few bass guitars and this one is fantastic. It's is well balanced and feels incredibly comfortable. Practically plays itself. Electronics are high quality as is all the hardware. Mine is in Natural and it looks beautiful. All the quality of a Music Man at an amazing price.Robert

The pictures don't do it justice. The 3 band EQ is very responsive. It stays in tune, frets super easy. The quilted maple top jumps out at you. Very high quality.Ant

Overall: This is a really well constructed bass with swamp ash body,active pickups,coil splitting option and bladed selector similar to a Stratocaster. The body takes some getting used to.Mine weighs in at 12.5 lbs but it's well balanced with no neck dive .The neck as well takes a little getting used to.It's 45 mm like most other 5 strings.Not as wide as a Fender but wider spacing than Ibanez.The profile on the neck is pretty thick also but the frets are well set and there is no buzzing up and down the board.As far as tone it's very versatile.Really a 2 pickup bass when you factor in the coil splitting.It has excellent low end but can get really detailed with the notes popping out for solo work.All in all this bass is very well put together,has excellent components including a very hefty and stable bridge and stays in tune well.After you get used to the neck width and the weight it will really grow on you.I expect these to really go up in price in the future.Raul

This Stingray from Sterling is a very pretty and well-finished slab of swamp ash in a natural finish. The neck and fingerboard are roasted maple. The neck is smooth enough for comfort and there's some nice visual texture to the fingerboard. Hardware is good quality and pots seem solid and smooth. Took a bit of effort to loosen the trussrod for a minor tweak, after which it moved smoothly. Bass came well set up for neck relief, string height and intonation. Really every sign of good care being taken. Sonically, it's got every bit of that classic Stingray bite and the preamp has a very wide range of adjustment. At the price I paid here (on sale) it's a really fine value. Only two complaints: (i) I had to do about an hour of filing down protruding fret ends, but then I got the bass on about the driest day in winter so the neck probably had contracted from the warmth and humidity in Indonesia; (ii) This thing is even heavier than my mighty Peavey T-40, a massive 11.25 lbs. I really enjoy it sitting down-standing up not so much. Gig bag is mid-quality.Mike L.

This bass is so smooth and sounds so nice. You can get a lot of sounds out of it. I know it's not "Made in America". It's made in Indonesia. As you may know, Indonesia is one of the world's largest producers of tree crops so they have a lot of wood!! We can certainly expect their to be some artisans with mad carpentry skills. Additionally, these bass guitars arrive in the U.S. and get processed through the factory in San Luis Obispo, CA. for final assembly and set-up. And, it has Sterling's name on it. It's a Sterling by Music Man and it's a StingRay!! This is a great bass guitar!! I have a 100W Fender Rumble Amp and this bass guitar sounds amazing! I've played bass for a few years now and I'm no expert. I have a long and rewarding road ahead after 40+ years of drumming. I'd been searching for a new bass after starting with a Yamaha [the RBX-170Y was a great beginner bass]. In my search, I always liked picking up Music Man basses. They were comfortable and sounded great. When I got to check out the Sterling by Music Man StingRay it was love at first sight. I saw the price drop at MF [$599] and went online to order. It came packaged in a very nice soft case. For a soft case, this is one of the best I've seen. It is well padded, durable and has several storage pockets. The bass itself: I love the natural wood look. It has such magnificent wood characteristics [see photo and the beautiful knot in the wood]. The roasted Maple is a beautiful compliment to the natural wood grain of the body. The neck is super comfortable and feels amazing! The entire neck is roasted Maple. It's not just a laminate or stain. The frets are medium, very smooth and super playable. It has a heavy duty bridge. The reviews you see online are all positive. Obviously, this isn't the "World's Greatest Bass" with none better…… but, you put Ernie Ball Cobalt flat wounds on this bass and she just hums and growls like a pro! The pickup is a Sterling by Music Man designed humbucker. I find it a great place for my thumb to rest. I think I'm going to offend Fender fans and I don't mean to. I suppose you mold a Fender into the guitar you want with fret work and adjustments. However, I've picked up a basic Fender P-Bass and Jazz Bass and my fretting hand felt like it was going through a cheese grater. The frets were so sharp and the neck did not feel as smooth as this bass. I'd rather have a Music Man!! [Or, Sterling by Music Man]. Listen….. I want a Fender American Professional II Jazz Bass too! Don't mean to knock Fender. They're the King of basses. I just want everyone, if possible, to try out this bass. It's basically a Ray34 with the natural Ash wood grain finish. If you do, I believe you will enjoy it as much as I do.Michael

I've been playing bass for 20+ years and always wanted an EB StingRay but could never justify the price. Well, I still can't justify the price, so I went with the Sterling version – and I have no regrets. It's beautiful, the neck is incredible, the tone is exactly what I wanted (and can be easily shaped with the 3-band EQ). The only sticking point for me is that it's heavy, but not a dealbreaker. The bass came with dirty pots, but I didn't know that was the issue and had contacted Sterling's support. As mentioned in another review, they were extremely slow to respond (multiple weeks). I ended up taking it to a local shop, who cleaned the pots at no charge. Overall I wouldn't hesitate to buy this again though. It's the perfect compromise if you want the classic StingRay sound without the hit on your wallet.CJ

While my classic stingray 5 was away for modifications, I wanted another bass to keep me going. When I purchased this bass the first thing I did was go from stainless steel to nickel round wound; then I used the lightest gauge available.(25-45-65-85-105,because my hands are not that large) The nickel strings along with the rosewood fret board gave that bass the perfect contrast in tone as apposed to the stainless steel strings on the maple neck. Good back up bass!Crazy J.W.

This bass has all the good qualities a good bass should have, In some cases even better than some of those more expensive ones. Every note was clear and precise. The only draw back to me was the bass is a little on the heavy side, other than that it is a great instrument!Sleepingdog

I've had my bass since July and really can't say enough good things about it. I'm a luthier, so I did a full setup and bone nut upgrade right out of the box. Very little was needed in the setup, and it played perfectly fine out of the box. But after a setup it feels like a dream. I didn't even upgrade any of the electronics like I'd planned. It just feels and sounds so good as it is. Neck is wonderful, tuners are solid, bridge has not lost intonation at all since I first set it up. I really can't recommend this bass enough. I have a few pieces of gear I take everywhere with me for unexpected jam sessions, and this is the bass I keep on me. My guitars vary, but this bass is always in my lineup.Jason

The best bass on the market for the price. The neck is nice and solid and you can tell they hand picked the wood. The red finish is beautiful with no blemishes. The only complaint they installed the pots on top of the pickguard plastic so you'll have to unscrew the pots and output jack to get it all out. It has the OLP type bridge and the saddles move around so putting tiny pieces of foam rubber in between stops them from knocking together. The bass needed a total setup including pickup height. The pickups are loud and clear and the electronics are dead quiet. The preamp is surface mounts with polymer capacitors and they use the TL071 opamp. The B string doesn't flop around. These are great basses to mod. I replaced preamp with a Bartolini 2 band and added toggle switches for more pickup selections.BassDude

First let me say that I own several high end bass. My Fender Jazz American Deluxe is one of my favorites. So I decide I wanted a 4 string bass. This music man is all I needed. I love the tones it produces. I love the way the neck of it feels. This bass is a great buy especially for the price it's saying for. I had to make one minor adjustment to fret board.Leo

I'm an experienced guitar player and builder, but a dabbler in bass. My current instrument is a 6 string Ibanez with active pickups and 3 band EQ, but I wanted something simpler with a short scale. I originally looked at the Music Man version of this instrument, but as a hobbyist, $2000+ seemed a bit much. The Sterling version made more financial sense, and Musician's Friend's Memorial Day Sale sealed the deal for me. This is a good, workable instrument with decent action and great tone. (Disclaimer: I've only played this bass through a set of modellers – A bass amp is in my near future.) The single pickup is fine – And all of the positions on the 3 knobs are musical. The quality dropped copper finish and hardware belong on a much more expensive instrument.Mark V

I bought this mostly just for fun and noodling around. I hadn't had a short scale in a long (ha!) time. Solid instrument SUPER HOT output! This thing is loud. Somehow. It's passive which surprised me. When I tried this out in-store, nobody knew what the controls were. So, now I know. The electronics are completely different from (oh no do we need a new retronym now?) a … "regular?" … StingRay: 1. Volume with push/ push boost 2. 3-way switch in the middle on the plate allows you to run the pickup in series/ parallel/ single coil. 3. Passive tone control. In the looks department, it compares favorably to its Big Cousin, the StingRay. A case that fits just about perfectly: https://www.guitarcenter.com/Road-Runner/RRDWE-Deluxe-Wood-Electric-Guitar-Case.gc … I asked the staff at GC Atlantic City their opinion of the fit and they were like "Oh wow that really is a great fit!" This exact case is shown in the photos with the bass in it. Might want like an extra 1/2" of padding for top-to-bottom security maybe. We'll see. The bad: fret ends were not well finished. I had to get some putty to fill them in a bit. Not sure if this is a "sat in a box across the ocean for a while" kind of problem or a fit/ finish build problem.Mike

I was looking for a good short scale bass to ease my shoulder stress during long sets. I also didn't want to spend too much as I already have several basses. The cutaways, low weight, and thin neck make it very comfortable to play so I think I chose right. The pickup is also right up my alley as I have never really liked active basses. The three way switch has some good variance and haven't really disliked any of the tones I've gotten from the bass. If you're looking for a short scale you should definitely look into this one. My only gripe was I noticed some neck dive while playing. I bought the dropped copper version which is made of a different wood than the other colors so maybe the nyatoh wood is lighter than the mahogany versions. I plan on switching out the stock tuners soon to lighter tuners to correct that issue, but even as it stands currently I wouldn't say it's a deal breaker.Josh L

I'm originally a keyboardist, and before buying this bass I compared it with a Fender jazz bass and I loved the warm fullnesss from the neck pickup. However, when playing the stingray I noticed that there was more versatility and punchiness, and that I could achieve different tones based on adjusting the EQ or by muting the strings and playing with my thumb. The rosewood fretboard gives this bass such a nice balanced tone. I used to have roundwounds on this for funk and slapping, but for the past couple of months I've been using flatwounds to dull the aggression and go for a more smoother r&b/jazz vibe–the punchiness is still there! Plus the poplar burl finish really stands out in a well-lit area.Max

I had been eyeing the transparent black version for a while before i saw the blue one. This bass looks and sounds amazing. I have been playing this pretty much nonstop since it arrived. I swapped the factory strings for super slinky’s my own preference. This bass is made for funk/metal/jazz/blues. I love it !Professor EADG

Sound: It's a MusicMan Bass, Sounds excellent. Never had a problem with MusicMan tuners, but this one is a dud. I definitely got a bad one. Features: Bad g-string machine tuner. Maybe it's just mine. Factory defect. Ease of Use: Not easy with bad tuning. Was good when it was working. hope the others don't fall off. Quality: The Bass is great. But so surprised when the machine tuner (g_String) fell apart when I was playing the Bass (just tuning it) Value: Not any more. Manufacturer Support: No. Did not even cross my mind that something like this would happen. Overall: This Bass is so good, but the g tuner was defective. It came delivered like that but never expected the whole thing to fall apart. Never in all my years seen a tuning machine on a bass guitar just fall totally apart! I'veDerrick

Overall: I've been playing bass for 16 years and I've always played with p basses. Recently I've been getting into playing funk music and decided I would try a different bass. I didn't want to pay over two grand to get a Stingray, so I chose this one. Right out the box it is a beautiful bass, it seems to be very well made. For $500 I couldn't believe how good the quality the bass was. Having the active electronics is great along with the powerful pickup. Perfect for cutting through the mix. It has a nice growl and is suitable for playing just about every genre of music. Only thing I had to adjust was the action and intonation. No sharp frets. I regret not having gotten this bass sooner. I have no experience with the manufacturer support so disregard that rating. Anyway this is a well made bass at a great price. Highly recommended.Miguel

Before this bass I've owned four other Stingrays in my life, including a vintage '76, an original MIA SUB, a modern American 4 string, and a modern HH 5 string. I like this one as much or better than any of them. It gives me the tight, focused punch I loved so much about my vintage Ray, and in fact plays BETTER than either of my Americans. I love the Jazz width neck. The lack of a belly cut doesn't bother me (even with my paunch!). One niggle – the nut extends about a 1/16" out from either side of its slot, and the frets could have used just a tad more filing, but these are not surprising on a bass at this price point. Well worth twice the price.John

I got this bass a few months ago, and wasn't expecting to buy a bass that day, but since then it's always come out to either jam sessions, or shows with my band. I practice on it every day as well. The neck is really smooth and has an extremely playable feel, it fits perfectly to my hand. These basses come with a bridge that has decent mass to it, so the sustain and resonance is there in in the hardware. The tuning pegs hold tune really well, and the only modification I've done is add a hipshot drop tuner and dunlop strap locks, otherwise, this bass sounds amazing right out of the box. Highly recommend trying one out, it'll probably end up in your collection like mine did!BCass

I have gone from an Ibanez BTB 5 string, to a Fender American Dimension Bass V, to a Fender American Standard P Bass V, to a Fender American Pro Jazz Bass V, to this beautiful bass. I'm not a huge fan of 5 string bass, but it's required for my band, so I've been buying and selling trying to find "THE ONE". Now, I've played many many 5 strings but there's always something, maybe 1 thing I hate about them all… clunky, way too heavy, neck finish is too thick, hard to reach the upper register, etc…. THIS BASS HAS NONE OF THOSE PROBLEMS Contoured edges, fully contoured heel for easy access to the upper register of notes and in fact has 22 frets instead of 21, the roasted maple neck is one of the best feeling necks I've ever played, and Erie Ball this year reduced the overall weight by completely redesigning the hardware in aluminum. Who does that?! I'll tell you: a company who listens to the players. On a strap, has no neck dive, overall balance is amazing. The only thing I'm getting used to from other basses is the Active Pickup (it's been about 6 years since I've used them). The only Con I can come up with is the G string is very close to the edge of the neck, making pull-offs fall over the side. Something I'll have to adjust as far as my playing technique goes, but worth it for this bass. Overall: Amazing. If you were on the fence about buying one…. BUY IT.Taylor

Overall: The neck is smooth and plays great, only downside is that this thing neck dives since it’s a heavy neck. The HH configuration with a 5 way selector provides a variety of great tones giving you the ability to play whatever style of music. Also the 3 band EQ also adds more flavor of tone presence depending on your preference. Gig bag provided has a sturdy exterior, but a thick velvety plush interior knowing you’re bass will be secured. Overall it’s a great affordable bass that’s very close to a US stingray. Don’t be fooled by the branding on the headstock cause it doesn’t say EBMM, it’s solid and can walk the walk.Matthew

Ordered 2 due to the first order's 2 machine heads weren't usable at all! The second one also had machine head issues as it actually came apart in the store! I wouldn't recommend this Sterling brand to anyone. Very sad that it's associated with the Music Man brand.David

Took quite a bit of time tinkering to find the sound, made a shim for the neck pocket, and had to unstick the truss rod for adjustment. A couple days of tinkering and perfecting and we are off! Bona fide ebmm tones, complete with nasally sound to cut. I am content. Plenty of tone on the low B, too. One star knocked off for some quality control issues like some scratches on the headstock, and some nicks on the back of the neck from the luthier tools it seems.River

I've owned a couple MM basses in the past and IMHO , this is the best sounding MM bass I have ever played . I bought this bass because of the amazing tone ……I like it so much , I'm thinking about buying the white one with the rosewood neck .JAMES

I love how this bass sounds. Has a nice growl. The pickup is hot for a passive. My hands hurt from manual labor so the short scale bass is much more comfortable to play on the weekends with my jam band. I like the 3 way switch for the variety of tones. I like the parallel the best. Has a fat bottom with a bite. Ive played several ernie ball music man basses and this sterling sounds just as good as the music man.Josh

This a pretty great bass. Active pickups really set it up nicely. The neck is fatter and reminds me of my Thunderbird without the weight of the Thunderbird. Not sure I love the clear pickguard but the satin finish is awesome. The neck dots on the top are pretty hard to see in full light and almost impossible to see in partial light.Hazz

PMT service was absolutely brilliant. I'll start with a positive….. when you plug in, turn on it has absolute sledgehammer bass punch. However, I've got to say I am very disappointed in the overall quality of the bass. To start off, the roasted maple neck feels good in the hand but noticed that the 'Roasted Maple' effect appears to be a woodstain, with visible over spill of stain near the headstock. Also, the feel of the neck is grainy and not smooth like you'd expect from a bass at this price. Electronics are poor, switching to dual pick ups its crackles and sound fades in and out often. Adjusting the Pre amp also causes horrific crackles too. Lastly. The finish on the body is very poor, the 'natural burst look' appears to have been printed with a 90s printer and just slapped onto the body. Very disappointed overall, in a Bass at this price I'd expect to see much better quality. I own Fender Jazz American Elite and Jazz Aerodyne and paid not much more than the price of this bass. Finish and quality of those are leaps and bounds better.Geraint

Overall great bass for the price point , the only improvement should be a drop in battery compartment that doesn't use a battery clip lead these are apt to break with frequent use the drop in style I have on other Sterling and Music Man basses are much easier to use and more reliable and are available for only a couple dollars online as replacements .John

It was good for the first like 2 weeks I had it but then I started to notice I have fret buzz on the e string fifth fret till about the 8th. Everything else is great about it it's just the front buzz it's kind of depressing.Joseph

Very cool bass. Feels great, excellent sound, and looks good. A bit on the heavy side though. I play and record at home these days, but I'd be happy playing this at a concert. I'm an amateur musician, been playing about 20 years now. I traded in my old bass because I want to incorporate more slap/popping, and needed a bass that would do the job. After playing at GC for an hour, I settled on this one. Not at all disappointed; so far I love everything about it.Pat