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One of the things that I found disappointing on both SUB and Sterling By Musicman ‘Ray type bass guitars is the nut width and string spacing. These follow the proportions associated with a Fender Jazz Bass when they ought to be as wide as a Precision.
£300 might land you a well-used Korean Warwick Corvette or Streamer Standard model. (Not to be confused with the Rockbass By Warwick instruments.)
The obvious competition for the Indonesian-made ‘Rays is Squier Vintage Modified series P and J. Another Squier model that you might manage to grab for a bargain price is the functional but ugly Dimension Bass. This is available in four and five string formats. Shops will be looking to clear their remaining stocks.
This is the one i found
https://www.pmtonline.co.uk/musicman-sub-ray-5-honeyburst-satin
I'm more of a fan of jazz basses than j am p basses. I've been a bit spoilt in the past the bassists I've played with either had a usa stringray 5 or a german made warwick. So no love for the sire? I've watched a few of the scott bass lesson vids should i just get a four string? Especially as a bass newb. I just thought £300 would get something half decent.
The original use was budget US versions of Silhouette guitars and Stingray basses. Slab poplar bodies, textured opaque finishes, checker plate pickguards, painted over necks and headstocks. (READ: Ugly maple underneath.)
In more recent times, S.U.B. has become a brand identity in its own right for EBMM Indonesian and Chinese-made budget products.
In that case, you would enjoy the string spacing on the "import" Sterling and 'RAY models. The only USA model with Jazz Bass neck proportions is the Sterling. (See how the re-use of names can quickly become confusing.) I cannot remember what the options were on the Bongo.
mk1 Sire V3 bass guitars are nicely constructed at the Cort factory in Indonesia. The popular grumble about them is their inconsistent weight. Try several. Find one that is comfortable for you.
Scott's advice is aimed at beginner to intermediate level students. There is little point paying a premium for four extra semi-tones if you have no use for them. There is also a huge debate about getting a low B string to sound like the other four (or five) and to have similar tension on it. (I shall not divert your search by opening that particular can of worms here.)
Fair price for the product. Be warned, however, that the retailer has found an example with attractive grain figuring for the product photograph. Many examples have unsightly grain and knots. Possibly wiser to purchase one with an opaque finish.
I strongly advise that you try the five string bass in person. If the low B feels floppier than the other four, it will sound different, reducing its functionality to little more than a long, flexible thumb rest.
The scott bass video about buying a five string got me thinking, its not like getting a 7 string. And even then id want to pay more than £300, so i suppose thats similar to a five string bass in that regard?
You're right though they've chosen a nice catalogue image with a grain in and it's best to try them out.
Use the forum search engine to find a 2018 Discussion started by an owner who decided to strip off the black neck paint. He wanted the feel of skin against maple. Through his efforts, he got it but the maple sure as hell was ugly.
Speaking of ugly things, I have never been a fan of the Stingray V scratchplate. If I were ever to purchase one, I would insist on the black plastic with black finish or white plastic with white finish. This should minimise the visual dissonance. (Shallow, aren't I?)
Several of the instruments on your Under Consideration list are made in the same factory. At any given price point, the quality is pretty comparable. Hence, the S.U.B. RAY is on a par with Squier Vintage Modified and Standard instruments. Some of the lower price bracket Yamaha instruments probably also originate from there. With this thought in mind, if you are evaluating instruments sourced from Cort, you might as well investigate the ones that they put their own name on.
Much of the hardware and electronics is identical. The problems must lie elsewhere.
At the sub-£300 price point, some of the perceived quality difference comes from details such as fingerboard edge tumbling. On instruments with unvarnished fingerboards, you can do this yourself.
I'd go Sire every time. Admittedly I'm slightly biased as I own a V7 ash five-string (version 1). The only mods I've made are:
https://tshop.r10s.com/c9f/4f4/76a2/2215/7088/0543/d0d6/11c7e9a8832c600c429022.jpg
https://images.talkbass.com/attachments/bass_retainers-jpg
I'm not some sort of drug-taking alcoholic git.
I'm just a git.
They came back with a Sire, said it just felt so much better put together than anything else at the price point.
Funnily enough he owns a USA EBMM Sterling, as in the original smaller bodied US model and I’ve got the USA SUB Sterling and we spent a bit of time comparing them. His is definitely the more finessed piece but in terms of playability there really isn’t a lot in it