Music Man Sterling 4-String Bass Guitar Pearl BlueRosewood Fretboard

Comments about Music Man Sterling 4-String Bass Guitar:

i own a few basses (fender american jazz bass, warwick, ken smith, fender road worn) and i have to say that the mm sterling is just amazing.
i bought the one pickup model with maple fretboard and it gives me any sound i want (fat percision, jazz bass, modern.. u got the idea..)
briliant growl and punch, sustain, lovley harmonics. the body is smaller then the sting ray and the neck is like the jazz bass. it's built like a 3000$ bass!! good woods, light weight, fast action.
for thoes of you who like jaco sound like me i can say that you get very close to it..
i don't understand why i can't see more of these basses around. for me it's much better then the sting ray and american jazz bass.

Comments about Music Man Sterling 4-String Bass Guitar:

after the adjust bridge and fretboard process, it's perfect!
this is the most comfortable bass i've ever played!
body, neck, active magnetic everything is perfect!
it's good value for a having good bass!

Comments about Music Man Sterling 4-String Bass Guitar:

When we lost our bass player, I switched from guitar to bass. I had a 70's Fender Telcaster bass, but wanted to upgrade. I took a lot of time and tried a lot of basses. I'm a hardcore Fender guy, so P's and J's were high on the list, as well as Ric's, Laklands, and Stingrays, among others. I wanted to ensure I was getting one that 1) sounded great; 2) was high quality; and 3) was easy to play. I'm really not too particular, but after playing a Musicman Sterling, I was hooked. It is by far the most comfortable bass I played. And the sound is fantastic. I have a ton of guitars, but only two basses. And once I bought the Sterling, I can't find another one that fits all 3 categories listed above better. Sure, I'd love to have a Ric and a Jazz, and maybe one day, but it's been over 5 years and the Sterling still has my heart.

Comments about Music Man Sterling 4-String Bass Guitar:

I picked my Sterling up 10 years ago and haven't put it down much since. Since buying this bass I have used it at just about every live performance I have played. I have tried to use some friends' Stingrays and honestly I think this bass is more versatile because of series, single, parallel switch. usually I have this switch in the third position so that it is in Parallel. Also the body is smaller and LIGHTER than the stingray by about 2LBS. This does make a difference!!!One thing that I have noticed that I DON'T like on the newer models is the pickups. As esoteric as this may sound I really like the older pickup model. It had two screws on top and one on the bottom, like the current model. The difference was that the screws had round plastic nubs around them. My thump fits PERFECTLY between the two screws at the top of the pick up. New models do not have the nubs and instead have a slanted angle on the pick up edge. this I feel has been the only design flaw that was probably implemented because of people complaining about the plastic nubs. Just goes to show you that when you change something because of complaints, you WILL get complaints about the change.

Comments about Music Man Sterling 4-String Bass Guitar:

Been playing for over 40 years, I have a 74 Gibson les paul and a mex fender customized that are both great playing and sounding, but I recently picked up an older sterling and amazed at the comfortability and sounds it makes. It's a great bass! I absolutly love it!

Comments about Music Man Sterling 4-String Bass Guitar:

The Sterling isn't just another Musicman bass. It is named for Sterling Ball the current owner of Musicman who formerly worked under Leo during the original Musicman-CLF phase.The description which compares this to a stingray is pretty inaccurate. It has a different neck. If the Stingray is a P bass this is Musicmans version of a Jazz. It also has the pickup switching which is only found on the Sterling (and the 5 string but then that has a different pickup). It also has a much smaller body as well, so overall it has a differnt tone. The only things in common are the bridge and the headstock really!That all aside its is a great bass with a lot of different tones between teh 3 band eq and pickup switching. I like to run the single coil mode with the treble up a few db and the mid cut a tad. Run flat through my Mesa Boogie and it kills. About the price, this bass is a great value. Compared to other American bass companies it is hard to find such a quality instrument made domestically. Most other US companies offer an import at this price point and expect you to shell out another grand for the US made instrument.

Comments about Music Man Sterling 4-String Bass Guitar:

I owned this bass for many years, and although it is very good, I never was fully satisfied. I guess I am a Fender jazz player at heart. My main bass I play with now is a Highway one Fender jazz. The musicman has a very fast neck, and very comfortable to play, beautiful finish and attention to detail, but I always found the tone not modern enough sounding for me. You put new strings on, it sounds great for a while, and then just goes dull. Where as the fender has had the same strings on for a while and still sounds punchy modern, I think it has to do with the bridge. I think having a neck pickup is essential which the old sterling bass lacks. I found myself always wanting a rounder tone, that you get when you combine the bridge PU with the neck PU. Also I find the musicman pickup overpowering, and lacking clarity that you get with single coils. It all comes down to personal preference tho. the tuners are very good, finish on neck is perfect, poly finish on body is protective, bridge is solid, but again something is lacking there...I really do think this instrumental is phenomenal, but for this kind of money you can get better, that's for sure.

Comments about Music Man Sterling 4-String Bass Guitar:

I have played many-o-basses in my day and this bass really does it all.Starting with looks alone... Mine is a stained red finish with a black pickgard. the only way I can describe it is sexy. 100% American made sexyness.I know its a preference thing but the music man tone really "floats my boat". From grungy sounding to low end gospel sounds what more do you need. I play more funk/slap bluesy type music and it really does the trick for that. As far as hardware and features really who can complain much about this fine crafted piece. The word that comes to mind is Tight. Sometimes on low end basses the knobs can be loose and wiring is somewhat questionable. but thats not the case with this bass. All in all I am absolutely satisfied with this bass. I got it used for 950$ and it was worth every penny. I would recommend it to any bass player any day.

Comments about Music Man Sterling 4-String Bass Guitar:

If you prefer the Ray for fretted playing, cuz like me you find the Sterling too bright, don't automatically get a Ray for your FL. That same Sterling tone that is too bright for metal-on-metal is perfect for string-on-wood. It keeps more of the 'organic' quality. Not that the Ray is wholly lacking there, but the Sterling delivers even more. Also, being able to solo the rear coil is very important to me for FL, but not something I really need for fretted.With FL, the Sterlings hotter tone delivers so much extra presence, vs the Ray, that you can boost the bass a lot more without burying that woody FL voice. It's a win-win noncompromise deal.Even if you can't stand the Sterling with frets, you really gotta hear it fretless.

Comments about Music Man Sterling 4-String Bass Guitar:

If you want the famous, punchy, stingray tone, but A. you have small hands or B. You like the thin jazz bass neck, then this is THE bass. Not only does it not sound it's size, but it also has a 3 way switch that can give a warm tone thats great for jazz if set in the front postition, or a classic stingray tone if set in the back position for the single humbucker. This is perhaps the fastest bass I've ever played. I use this bass for everything, and I would buy another one in a heartbeat.