Ernie Ball Music Man S.U.B.

You should be familiar with the specs from other reviews. For what this bass is, it has plenty of features.

This is a great sounding bass. As you would expect, it is very similar in sound to a stingray. I have owned 2 stingrays in the past (one a beat up one I sold because I just wasn't playing bass much in those days, and one that was like new and beautiful I was scared to take out). On a recording I would be hard pressed to tell the difference between this and a stingray. There are many sounds that you can get, and most are usable. A few I like are : 1) Bass full up, treble all the way off - good classic rock sound not far off from a P-bass. 2) Bass full up, treble at half - a really punchy bright sound - great for rock, really cuts through. 3) Treble and bass both full up - the normal funk stingray slapping tone. Of course there are many gradiations in between these settings. I wish the tone knobs had a center detent, like the 3 EQ knob stingrays do. For what I paid, I have to give this high marks for the sound.

Note - a lot of people compare these to the OLP basses. I have played a few of those, and they are not even close. This bass is really similar to a Stingray in playability, and identical in sound (to my ears). The OLP falls short on both.

Bass was flawless, and action was pretty good. I did a slight set up, but I always do. Truss rod adjustment on Ernie Balls is the easiest/best of any bass. Finish is pretty neat actually!

This seems like a very solid instrument. Finish seems sturdier than on the more expensive Ernie Balls. On the stingrays I had, I was a little worried about the unfinished neck, but not so on this bass as the neck is finished black. It seems as solid to me as a P-bass. I am replacing the stap buttons with schallers.

I bought this on Ebay from Shanghai music. Ernie ball honored the registration, and sent me a free pack of strings. I have the feeling the would be better than most companies to deal with.

First off, I'd like to say that every Ernie Ball/musicman instrument I have ever played has been very good. Their quality control must be super, because I have yet to play a bad bass or guitar from them. I was reluctant to order this sight unseen, but it sounds as good as the 3 or 4 I played locally. To me this is a cheap stingray, with no birdseye, expensive finish, etc. It has the sound and playability, but without the worry of damaging it.

I did a goofy test with some of my basses. I would hold them up to my ear (unplugged), and hit the low E as hard as I could, and count the seconds that the note sustained. The P-bass and Jazz bass both sustained about 26 seconds, and older P bass I had sustaing 16 seconds, and this bass sustained 36 seconds. A lot of people feel that the amount of sustain a bass gets unplugged is a indication of quality, not sure about this myself, but it is an interesting test.

I have several other basses, P-bass, J-bass, Carvin B4, Spector Rex, and this gets a sound that only the spector gets close to. If I lost this, I would try to get another.

Bought new in 2002. Poplar body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard. Odd crinkled finish to the body, chequer plate scratchplate. 2 band EQ, two Music Man humbuckers. Medium jumbo frets, open heavy duty tuners, 9V active system. Same shape as a StingRay.

Played through a Fender Sidekick Bass 50. No effects necessary. this bass rocks, sings, slaps or howls. It only sounds wrong for early Beatles/Eagles stuff, where the bass sound is dead. Wide tonal palette suits just about any style of music.

I expected a cheap and cheerful bass like the OLP. WRONG. rock solid construction, set up well from the box. Everything was well finished. 6 bolt neck is never going to move. The only oddity is the pots, which, like all 2 band StingRays, don't have a centre detent. Finish is 100%.

Gigged and practiced, lugged about in a jeep with no suspension, dropped twice. Not a mark on it. The finish is suposed to be for working bass players who expect their pride and joy to be a little care worn. It works. After a year, and the above involuntary abuse, it looks like new. Nothing has moved, all buttons, knobs, plates and pots all solid as a rock.

No idea. Unless we get nuked I'll probably never know.

This is my active bass. The passive is a fender Sting. Leo builds brilliant basses. I expect God plays a StingRay, but if times were a bit hard, He'd have one of these. Bottom line: this is a 2 band StingRay for just over half the price of a real one. If stolen, lost or destroyed I'd probably commit a crime to get another. I love it all and hate nothing about it.

poplar wood, 21-fret rosewood fingerboard, diamond plate aluminum pickguard, Music Man Humbucking pickup...2 band active EQ. finished neck...i was wary about this but it plays awesome! i have the black one...it looks so bad-ass. really nice finish, the hardware kicks ass! nice looking bass.

all of this is available in greater detail at:

http://www.ernieball.com/musicman/sub/sub_specs.html

awesome tone. very rich. punchy. i've only had it a week, but i can tell already i can do it all with this thing and get a sweet tone. everything sounds good...triplets, hammerons, taps, slaps....and the slides sound unbelievable...the E ride makes me cum. kick ass. i play it through an old traynor mono block amp...i love that amp. i run it through a peavey 4x10 cab. it sounds awesome.

no complaints about the set-up, pickups were fine, the textured finish was sweet...flawless. only complaint, the controls were every so slightly loose. by this i mean nearly unnoticeably loose. it's a detail, but it annoyed me.

the bass looks like it's built to last. very solid. i mean, it's not made out of stone, and it doesn't weigh a tonne, but it looks like it could withstand abuse. i'm an alcholic, and i drop my basses all the time. i need something that takes abuse. the way the finish is, i would have to take a hammer to this thing to dent it.

i've been playing for around three and a half years...the only other bass i owned was a yamaha rbx 260 so you can understand why i'm taken by this bass. it's nice to have something good. i had money saved for a warwick, but i spent it all on booze so i bought this. it was either this, a korean spector, or an ESP C304. they sold out of the C304. i liked the C304, a lot, in fact i think it was put together better, but the music man tone was a better sound for me. i went with this. i am satisfied...especially for the cheap-ass price i paid.

Ernie Ball Musicman S.U.B.
2003 - Made in USA

21 frets
Rosewood neck w/Black headstock
Custom Musicman tuners
Musicman humbucker pickup
2 band EQ (treble,bass) active pre-amp
Volume control
Custom textured white finish

Well, what can I say? If you know the Stingray sound then you'll know what to expect with this bass. I keep the bass and volume controls on max and dial in more treble if I need extra bite/ growl. I play through a Boss TU-2 into a Trace Elliott 715SMC and all I need to do is turn it up! I'll engage the amp's pre-shape if I need a slightly warmer tone but otherwise just plug and play. No fuss.

This bass came with a sublime set-up. The fit and finish is immaculate with no visible blemishes. The action is also a joy to play - low, smooth and fast. Everything feels well constructed and solid giving the bass an air of indestructability.

I can't really comment on this as I've only had it a week but I can already tell that this thing is very solid. Due to its unfussy finish, you are unlikely to be worried about minor scrapes that may occur in a live setting.

n/a

I've been playing for just over a year now and decided to treat myself to a decent quality instrument. I was looking at a Stingray but once I saw this bass I was hooked! It offers that Stingray sound and build quality for a fraction of the price. I also own a couple of Arias and an OLP 5 string MM clone and this is by far and away the best of the bunch. I almost think of this bass as a 'no-frills' Stingray. No fancy gizmos just great playability.


If you're looking to upgrade to a 'decent' bass or just fancy another instrument then you can't really go wrong with the S.U.B. I know that the Stingray tone is not to everyone's taste but if you like it then I say go for it.