Sterling by Music Man®

B

brendon

New member
All Sterling by Music Man® models are now available at BGW.

We will like to invite you to share your reviews and feedback so that we can better cater to your needs.
 
Last edited:
For those meaning to DIY set up your guitar, Sterling actually provides a few measurement guides on how to do that.

Can always follow those specs, then alter to your own liking after...

Its under Support > Setup Guide.
 
STERLING BY MUSICMAN JP50 REVIEW

Contrary to popular belief that subsidiary brands are inferior to its parent brand, Sterling by Musicman JP50 is a guitar is of high quality and excellent playability. Comes with the solid and very well-crafted guitar is a heavily padded gig bag that will keep the guitar safe from hard knocks.

Sound:

The pickups on this guitar are better than expected. The sound from the neck pickup is smooth, not muddy and not as fat sounding as most neck pickups are. The combination of sound from both the neck and bridge pickups offers a good lead tone and all the pickups are as noiseless as they can get. They are definitely for keeps. The fact that the guitar body is made out of basswood may worry some potential buyers but despite the fact that it is so, the tonal quality of the instrument is not being shortchanged as i believe quality basswood is being used. This is however subjective as different people have different receptivity to sound so it is best if you try it out yourself. Personally, in terms of sound and weight, the guitar meets my expectations.

Action, Fit & Finish:

The guitar has a beautiful glossy pearl red burst finish to it but without direct light over it, it appears to be black in colour. The satin finish on its thin neck profile coupled with the low action contributes a whole lot to the playability of the guitar. It is almost effortless to do runs up and down the fretboard. Even though the guitar has a bolt-on neck, the curvature design of the joint makes it easy to reach the high notes near the end. Do not worry that the guitar will go out of tune after the use of its whammy bar as present on board the guitar are locking tuners that will keep the guitar well in tune. In addition, the guitar has a forearm contour which provides great comfort while playing.

Impression:

This guitar is definitely a good bang for the buck considering it is less the half the price of its parent model, the Ernie Ball Musicman JP6. Needless to say, there are noticeable differences if you compare both the JP50 and the JP6. However, if you’re looking for a reliable and durable guitar for the cost of under $1000 with excellent playability and tonal qualities, the JP50 is a recommended guitar of choice. The versatile JP50 is possibly the best guitar one can get in comparison to other guitars of the same price range.
 
Last edited:
ray 35 review

Sterling by Musicman Ray35 Review

So yeah, I just got one last week :) kudos to Brendon for great sales service, so yeah, on to the review.

The bass is pretty solid, a lot heavier than what i'm used to, but i think i will get used to that too.
otherwise, its pretty balanced, and the neck feels great. (i got the natural finish, with the maple neck and fingerboard).

It comes set up with a low action, and a great tone overall. The low B string holds out pretty well, it could be tighter i guess but maybe thats just me, its much better than most that ive tried, definitely better than my previous 5-string (palmer deluxe 5). The low tones are nice and growly, and the high tones are not overly sharp, pretty much what i was looking for.

I've got an ashdown 15W amp at home that i plug it into, with a bit of tweaking, i can get a nice warm tone. No complaints from the neighbours yet, but i'm working on it :twisted:.

My only gripe about the guitar is its weight. (i guess its because i've been playing a much lighter one for about 6 yrs) But all in all, its a solid bass, and definitely a good buy.

Cheers,

Russell
 
Review for Sterling 34 Bass

Just got this guitar a month or so ago from Brendon. A little background here, I just started on the bass not long ago and before that I was looking around for an instrument before I settled for this bass. And anyway, here goes the review.

Features: 8/10
I got the bass in natural finishing and the specifications can be found here
HTML: 
http://www.bgwguitars.com/data/sterlingray34nt.htm
A very neat and simple package altogether, just the pre-amp with the volume and tone knobs. The guitar has a very good balance as well.

Sound: 9/10
I tried both versions of the bass, maple neck with fingerboard and maple neck with rosewood fingerboard. From what I could discern, the maple board has more punch to it than the rosewood board. I run it through a Hartke A35 combo amp and it produces a really great sound and tone. Everything is there (bass, mid, treble) with the standard pre-amp and pickup, gets the job done pretty well :p

Action, Fit and Finish: 8/10
Factory set-up. Had to do some minor adjustments to the neck truss rod for fret buzzing a few days after buying it, I figured that the guitar was acclimatising, nothing major; so no problems there for me.
Grain of the wood on the body is wavy like and looks beautiful, if I am not wrong it might be same guitar in the link above and the neck is in satin finish.

Reliability/Durability and Playability: 10/10
Everything is working just fine. Construction feels solid and sturdy, probably could take a couple of knocks here and there. Not that I would want to try it.
The fret spacing is just nice for me and the neck profile allows for smooth easy playing up and down the fretboard.

Customer Support: 10/10
Good customer service pre and post sales. Timely response to questions asked over the phone when I needed help with adjusting the neck truss rod. Polite and patient, you can't go wrong with Brendon.

Overall Rating: 9/10
At just around the $1000 price range, this guitar is great value for money and manages to find a balance between playability and affordability. A good choice if you are a beginner with the budget for it or just simply looking to upgrade.
 
STERLING JP50 BY MUSICMAN

Guitar overview
Designed based on the hugely popular John Petrucci’s JP6 Musicman guitar, the JP50 sports a basswood body, maple neck, rosewood fretboard, locking tuners and two direct mount high-output humbucking pickups. This particular model is made in Indonesia. Before you start rolling your eyes and sigh at that sentence, please hold on to your seat and continue...

Construction
Lightweight basswood body, Jumbo 24 fret maple neck and rosewood fretboard. The two direct mount humbucking pickups are controlled by a single master volume, a single master tone and a 3-way pickup toggle switch. The JP50 are available in stealth black or pearl red burst finish. Excellent paint job done, no smudges or paint botches found. Even the electronics and trem cavity are clean. All JP50s was sent back to Musicman factory in Orange, California USA for final QC checks.

Playability
This guitar has been hailed as an ergonomic triumph for its design. The body has a custom-contoured forearm cut that offers greater comfort and accuracy for the picking hand. The neck is designed to be flatter on the bass side so it fits the natural curve of the players hand and the back of the neck is matte satin and flat, a liking for you shredders out there. The bridge is a non-locking Sterling ones and the vibrato arm bar tension can be adjustable by a grip screw. Although there are no double locking tremolo, rejoice for dive bomb fans out there, their in house locking tuners makes sure the guitar stays in tune. The master volume and tone knobs are positioned comfortably within the players reach. The toggle switch was set at an angle whereby it is in the flow of the player’s hand. Impressive!

Sound
The in house pickups which bear the name “High Output” was a little disappointing for me but surpassed other default pickups by other well known guitars. Very good clarity on cleans and on overdrive mode, a good dose of edge was present. This guitar still retains the Musicman vibe and the “twang” that is evident in its models. It would be awesome if the piezo system was included with this guitar.

Conclusion
This professionally setup, well balanced, comfortable guitar is very addictive. I would definitely buy it again if I loose it!

Pros:
Professional look
Ergonomic design
Price over quality ratio
Well padded Sterling gig bag

Cons:
Pickups could have been better
Vibrato arm locking system


A special thank you to Brendon from bgwguitars :)
 
Last edited:
Sterling Ray 34 Review

I just recently bought this bass about 2-3 weeks back and since then, I've been hooked on to playing bass again.

Sound
The winning point of this bass is the seemingly endless tonal varations that you can get out of it. The 3 band preamp of the Ray 34 allows you to get just about any sound that you want. I bought the maple fingerboard version of the Ray 34 and the brightness and clarity of it without compromising any of the signature stingray growls is what drew me to this bass.

Action, Fit and Finish
When I first got the bass, the action was a little high, but of course with the wonderful service by BGW guitars, it was all sorted out and it's really very comfortable to play. The hardware on it is sturdy, and all in all well built bass. The best part to me was how it all sounded great but the look of it is just fantastic. With the natural finish and maple fingerboard, it truly looks like a classic Musicman bass and I'm telling you, when I got it I could just stare at it for hours :D

Overall
Thus overall I will say that until now I've been playing much more bass than I have been prior to getting this bass. The sound, the look, the construction and feel of it is perfect. The tones you can get out of it is limitless and will suit probably just about any kind of genre. Fantastic bass and absolutely no regrets getting it.
 
Sterling Ray34 by Musicman

Hi all, I just got the Ray34 in October and I really love it. I’ve been playing bass for about 2 years and acoustic guitar for about a year as well. I first learnt about the Ray34 from the BGWguitars site after my friend recommended that I order Elixir acoustic guitar strings from Brendon by email. Thanks to that turn of events, I’m now a happy owner of a Sterling by Musicman Ray34 bass guitar.

I got mine in the Silverburst finish:
http://www.bgwguitars.com/data/sterlingray34svb.htm
http://www.sterlingbymusicman.com/main.html?dir=bass_ray34
http://www.sterlingbymusicman.com/instruments/RAY34-SVB_.png

Sound:
I personally prefer the warmer tone that humbucker pickups provide when I play in a band setting, and the distinct growl that the Ray provides for the occasional solos, basslines and riffs. The 3-band active preamps offer a versatile spectrum of tones that one might not expect from a subsidiary brand or a single humbucker pickup. I’ve come to love the ability to adjust my bass tone to fit the song and my playing style, previously not possible on my passive preamp Stagg bass with only volume and tone knobs. After trying out the various models available at Brendon’s showroom, I settled for the rosewood fingerboard over the maple one as the rosewood fingerboard grants the bass a nice warmness to the overall tone, which I prefer over the brightness of the maple one.

Appearance and build:
The Ray34 with a lightweight swampash body is a significant amount lighter than my other bass, and many other 4-string basses I’ve tried. It’s pretty important for me as the lighter weight means greater comfort while playing, whether during long hours of practice or up live. The bass has a silverburst finish, which is appealing but not too attention-stealing or distracting, and shiny chrome hardware. I’m not too much a fan of chrome hardware due to its predisposition to scratches, but I’m nevertheless captivated by the tone of the Ray34. Just a matter of preference again, but I prefer soapbar pickups to the exposed magnets on the Ray34’s pickup as the magnets aren’t exposed to corrosion and all, but with a little conscientiousness the Ray34’s pickup will still do just fine for me. The sanded neck of the bass really allows for quick playing and eases the resistance when sliding up and down the neck. Lastly, I must add: the Sterling basses really do look a lot like their Musicman counterparts!

Overall impression:
The Ray34 is a really good instrument for any avid bassist, and for just over a thousand it’s a real steal as well. I mean, like, no kidding. I’m also really impressed by the soft velvet padding material on the inside of the included gig bag, and it’s such careful detail that further assures me that I’ve made a right choice in purchasing the Ray34.

Further comments:
I’d really like to thank Brendon for his time and superior effort in familiarizing me with the different features of the Ray34, as well as letting me have a go with the different models he had at the showroom. The service at BGWguitars is really, really good, and I’m not frivolous with my compliments. From trying out the different models to finally settling on one, it has been a thoroughly enjoyable experience thanks to Brendon. Cheers to you and keep up your efforts!
 
Review of the Sterling JP50

Hello everybody i just bought the Sterling JP50 from Brendon of BGW Guitars recently and here's my review of the guitar.

Appearance: I got mine in Pearl Red Burst and i have to say it looks very smooth and the paint job is excellent. It almost looks the same as a JP6. No smudges and paint botches. All of the electronic wiring are quite neat and tidy too....The color seems more like plum to me. It appears almost black when there is no light shining on it. The fretwork is amazing too, it shines alot and the edges are very smooth too.

Playability: Playability and the feel of the guitar is good too.... The forearm contour makes it very comfortable to play as it lets ur forearm rest at an comfortable angle. The unfinished neck is very smooth and fast too... And acces to the highest frets its the best i encountered ever...Even with my very small hands i could reach the higher frets without strecthing to much of my thumb which i always do on other guitars. The locking tuners stays in tune really well too. And would be a breeze to change strings or doing drop tuning since alot of the guitars that has a whammy require you to use an ellen key to unscrew the locks and is very troublesome and time consuming.

Sound: The stock pups are actually good. I dont know what brand/model it is...But i tink its enough to impress you for stocks pups. But it would be much much better if you change the pups that John Petrucci uses or other better ones. I tink you would need to change the pickup selector switch to so called like more heavy duty ones as it actually feel kinda lose and not so smooth..

Overall this is a very good guitar for the price. Almost identical to the JP6. And its worth your money if u cant afford the JP6. They also gave away a very well padded gig bag. Looks kinda tidy to me haha...

And lastly i wanna thank you Brendon for the excellent excellent service that you provided. It was raining that day and he actually walked all the way and brought and umbrella for me to use !!! Very patient guy and nice to talk to with... I absolutely recommend to deal with Brendon for all your guitar or bass needs.

Thanks Brendon !!! :))
 
New Sterlings by Musicman models for 2011.

New SBMM models for 2011

• John Petrucci JP100 (Transparent Black)
• John Petrucci JP60 (Black Metallic)
• Axis AX30 (Cherry Burst)
• Axis AX40 (Transparent Red) *2011 Limited Edition*
• Sterling SB14 (Tobacco Burst)
• Stingray RAy-34 (Tobacco Burst)
• Stingray RAy-34 (White) *2011 Limited Edition*
• Stingray Ray-35 Lefty (Honey burst)
• Stingray Classic Ray34CA (Mint Green)
• Stingray Classic Ray34CA (3 Tone Sunburst)

Download the complete 2011 SBMM Catalogue here.
http://www.bgwguitars.com/Sterling2011.pdf

More details available at www.bgwguitars.com
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Daniel Purnomo
Duo Guitar is the New Solo Guitar - Music Showcase
Replies
0
Views
179
Daniel Purnomo
Daniel Purnomo
SolidRocker
Looking for Alt-Rock Vocalist/Guitarist or Vocalist/Keyboardist
Replies
1
Views
201
Cloudsky
Cloudsky
S
Looking for Jazz players: Bassist & Keys!
Replies
2
Views
308
AGS
A
N
  • Locked
SOLD WTS - Sterling by Music Man Ray24 Classic 4-String Bass Guitar, Toluca Lake Blue
Replies
2
Views
2K
nitsel
N
B
LF Lead Guitarist -- Forming Original Shoegaze/Dreampop/Alt-Rock Indie Band
Replies
2
Views
2K
SHne
S

Latest posts

Share this page

Back
Top