Sub Ray4/Import Musicman SUB bass? (merged)

[Wattage]

Damn what great basses for the money.

I'm looking to get a new bass and I came across these. They seem like ridiculously good basses for the money. Spent a bunch of time playing 3 different ones today and I am super impressed. Always loved Sting Rays but never had the cash to get one when I was a full time bassist so I am thinking maybe this is nice alternative.

I've really felt like getting into the low end again lately so I am putting together a little side project doing a lot of old Bowie, T.Rex and the like. Got to come up with a rig too, gonna be fun!

 

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: Sub Ray4

Re: Sub Ray4

I use the Ray5 with a 75 watt Fender Rumble and a Big Muff and a Small Clone chorus pedal (got both used for less than $40 each). I probably spent about $600 on my rig in total, and I would record with it in a heart beat if I had to fill in on bass. Those Rumbles put out a decent amount of sound. 75 watts fills the 2000 seat auditorium at my high school. And the Ray5 has the nicest neck on any 5 string bass I've ever played.

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Import Musicman SUB bass?

Import Musicman SUB bass?

I rarely play bass but I should have one on hand. A local store has a used musicman import SUB bass in mint green for not a lot of green. Any good? The online info just says a hardwood body, but what hardwood?

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Import Musicman SUB bass?

Re: Import Musicman SUB bass?

The Crafted In Indonesia S.U.B. instruments are manufactured by Cort. The body could be basswood, agathis, sen or some Asian equivalent of alder. You should find the instrument to be playable but the pickup, controls, bridge and machineheads to be, let us say, underwhelming.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Sub Ray4

Re: Sub Ray4

Yet another indisputably excellent value for money instrument hailing from the Cort factory. IMO, the pickup, controls, bridge and machineheads could do with upgrading (in that order).

Having owned the real thing since 2003 (fretted) and 2004 (fretless), I would miss the class of the American product. I am becoming fussy in my old age.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Sub Ray4

Re: Sub Ray4

I'm a pure Stingray man myself. The plain ones with unpainted neck and 3-band EQ (non-classic) can be had very cheap used and they are very functional basses as long as you don't require very deep bass.

Oh and dump that stupid pickup and put in a Seymour Duncan ceramic humbucker

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: Import Musicman SUB bass?

Re: Import Musicman SUB bass?

Thank's. I'm not sure I'd want a basswood bass. I'm kinda spoiled by a former bandmate's Warwick too. But the whole bass costs less than a wenge neck!

 

[jeremy]

Re: Import Musicman SUB bass?

Re: Import Musicman SUB bass?

they aren't bad but like many imports can be made much better with some upgrades

 

[JohnJohn]

Re: Sub Ray4/Import Musicman SUB bass? (merged)

Pretty much what jeremy said.
I was looking at a few Musicman pieces today.
The SUB's aren't bad value for the buck.

 

[Big Flannel]

Re: Sub Ray4/Import Musicman SUB bass? (merged)

My buddy has one of those and its incredible. It pays just as easily as a regular guitar.

 

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: Sub Ray4/Import Musicman SUB bass? (merged)

I don't think they're basswood. All the basswood instruments I've played are really light and my bass is on the heavier side. I'm gonna guess sen.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Sub Ray4/Import Musicman SUB bass? (merged)

I am inclined to agree.

The only example that I have personally handled was in the Walnut finish. It strongly resembled the appearance of my G&L Tribute ASAT Classic (made in the same factory). The G&L is sen and weighty with it.

 

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: Sub Ray4/Import Musicman SUB bass? (merged)

Isn't sen basically Japanese Ash?

 

[ginormous]

Re: Sub Ray4/Import Musicman SUB bass? (merged)

Isn't sen basically Japanese Ash?

Googled a little bit... sen (Acanthopanax ricinifolius) is used in guitar making, but not often, since it's rather expensive.
There are chinese (Fraxinus chinensis) and japanese (Fraxinus mandshurica var. japonica) variations of ash (the 'true' ash, related to swamp ash and other species) also used, but these have been over-harvested in the wild.
Japanese guitar makers used both sen and japonica for bodies.
Confusingly, all 3 are known colloquially as "Japanese ash".

 

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: Sub Ray4/Import Musicman SUB bass? (merged)

Googled a little bit... sen (Acanthopanax ricinifolius) is used in guitar making, but not often, since it's rather expensive.
There are chinese (Fraxinus chinensis) and japanese (Fraxinus mandshurica var. japonica) variations of ash (the 'true' ash, related to swamp ash and other species) also used, but these have been over-harvested in the wild.
Japanese guitar makers used both sen and japonica for bodies.
Confusingly, all 3 are known colloquially as "Japanese ash".

I don't know then. How is agathis as far as weight goes. I can almost guarantee that my bass is not made from basswood. Not that there's anything wrong with basswood, but my bass is way to heavy for it.

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: Sub Ray4/Import Musicman SUB bass? (merged)

I don't think there's anything really wrong basswood. I just think it might be better in a shredstick rather than a bass. But maybe I'm wrong. My perception might be colored by the extra light weight bass that the bass player had in a band I played in once. It just didn't have any depth to its tone. Good to hear that most SUBs aren't real light weight, not that I think it should be very heavy either.

 

[Wattage]

Re: Sub Ray4/Import Musicman SUB bass? (merged)

I'm pretty sure these are supposed to be basswood anyway. They were originally supposed to be a different wood but that didn't work for some reason.