Sterling StingRay Ray35

About the Sterling StingRay Ray35

The Ray35 pairs a Nyatoh body with a roasted hard maple bolt-on neck and a 34-inch scale, built around a single alnico humbucker feeding a 3-band active preamp - the same basic signal chain concept Leo Fender built into the original 1976 StingRay, scaled down to an Indonesian production line rather than Ernie Ball Music Man's US facility. Depending on the specific production run, the pickup selector appears either as a simple 3-way toggle or a 5-way switch that one dealer describes as splitting the humbucker's coils for a vintage single-coil voice in the middle position and running both coils in parallel at the far end - giving the single pickup meaningfully more tonal range than its 'one humbucker' spec sheet suggests on its own. A sibling HH configuration (Ray35HH) swaps in two purpose-designed Sterling by Music Man pickups with a 5-way blade switch for even broader tonal coverage. Within Sterling's own lineup, the Ray35 sits a clear step above the budget SUB StingRay series: where the SUB line leans into affordability first, the Ray35's single-humbucker, 3-band-EQ layout tracks the original StingRay formula more directly, trading some of the SUB line's rock-bottom pricing for a configuration closer to what Ernie Ball Music Man's own US-made basses actually offer.

Where to buy

• eBay BWARE Sterling StingRay RAY35 Bass, Dorado Grün 669 EUR Best price View details
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• Reverb Sterling by Music Man StingRay 5 Ray35 HH Bass Guitar | Charcoal Frost | Brand New | $95 Worldwide Shipping! 1.025 EUR View details
• Reverb Sterling by MusicMan - StingRay Ray35 5 Vintage Sunburst Tastiera Acero Roasted 1.058 EUR View details
• Reverb Sterling StingRay 5-Sring Bass - Rosewood - Dorado Green 1.085 EUR View details
• Reverb Sterling StingRay 5-Sring Bass - Rosewood - Dorado Green 1.085 EUR View details
• Reverb Sterling StingRay Ray35 with Roasted Maple Neck 2018 - 2023 - Black 1.089 EUR View details
• Reverb Sterling By Music Man Stingray Ray35 5 Vintage Sunburst Tastiera Acero Roasted 1.090 EUR View details
• Reverb Sterling StingRay 5-String Bass - Roasted Maple - Vintage Sunburst 1.103 EUR View details
• Reverb Sterling StingRay 5-String Bass - Roasted Maple - Vintage Sunburst 1.103 EUR View details
• Reverb Sterling by Music Man StingRay StingRay 5 Ray35 HH Spalted Maple Top Bass Guitar | Blood Orange Burst | Brand New | $95 Worldwide Shipping! 1.118 EUR View details
• Reverb Sterling by Music Man StingRay 5 Ray35 HH Bass Guitar | Chalk Gray | Brand New | $95 Worldwide Shipping! 1.118 EUR View details
• Reverb Sterling by MusicMan StingRay Ray35 5 Vintage Sunburst Tastiera Acero Roasted 1.164 EUR View details
• Reverb StingRay RAY35 Vintage Sunburst Sterling by Music Man 1.189 EUR View details
• Reverb Sterling by MusicMan StingRay RAY35 HH Chalk Grey 1.269 EUR View details
• Reverb Sterling Stingray 5 RAY35 2025 - Sunburst 1.327 EUR View details
• Reverb Sterling By Music Man Stingray Ray35 HH Charcoal Frost 5 string 1.513 EUR View details
• eBay Sterling MUSIC MAN StingRay RAY35 HH Spalted Maple Natural Satin Gebraucht 2.349 EUR View details
• eBay Sterling Music Man Stingray Ray35 HH Spalted Maple Top Blood Orange Burst Geb... 2.349 EUR View details
• eBay Sterling MUSIC MAN StingRay RAY35 HH Spalted Maple Natural Satin Gebraucht 2.349 EUR View details
• eBay Sterling Music Man Stingray Ray35 HH Spalted Maple Top Blood Orange Burst Geb... 2.349 EUR View details

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Sound character of the Sterling StingRay Ray35

Forum and review feedback consistently describes the Ray35's tone as landing close to the modern Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay, with the active 3-band EQ capable of dialing in notably warm tones alongside its more traditional punchy, scooped StingRay voice. One reviewer specifically praised an excellent low-end foundation paired with detailed highs well suited to solo passages, while a separate account of the four-string sibling found the tone came out boomy with the EQ controls centered - resolved by moving the bass and treble away from flat to recover the clarity associated with the US-made original. That combination suggests a genuinely versatile but EQ-dependent voice: the raw ingredients for the classic StingRay growl and punch are there, but getting the best out of it means actually using the active preamp rather than leaving it at a neutral default.

What owners of the Sterling StingRay Ray35 say

Across forum discussion, dealer feedback and individual reviews, the Ray35 is consistently framed as a genuinely close, significantly cheaper approximation of the US-made Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay rather than merely a StingRay-shaped budget alternative - several sources explicitly use language like 'super close' in tone and playability. The most consistent complaint across multiple independent sources concerns tuning machine quality and electronics that read as 'scratchier' than the US original, with isolated reports of neck dive on heavier individual units rather than a universal build flaw. On value, several sources position it alongside mid-range Mexican-made Fender instruments in terms of build quality, explicitly marketed and received as the practical, far more affordable alternative to Ernie Ball's own StingRay5. One long-term owner's flawless two-year report, set against other buyers' hardware complaints, suggests real unit-to-unit variation in quality control rather than a single, predictable experience across the whole production run.

Playability & handling of the Sterling StingRay Ray35

A detailed customer review (10/10, two years of ownership, their first five-string bass bought specifically to cover parts where singers tune down) praised the neck as very good for soloing in the upper register and reported no build defects at all, with weight as the only drawback mentioned. A forum poster who'd tried the four-string sibling Ray34 found it sounded and played 'super close to the modern EBMM StingRay,' calling it a great instrument he'd highly recommend and was himself considering stepping up to a Ray35 five-string. Other owner feedback is more mixed on the details: one buyer described solid overall construction but needed an adjustment period for the body weight and wider neck, while separately reporting that their tuning machines failed twice - a quality-control complaint echoed by other owners, particularly on certain finish variants - though that same reviewer specifically praised the retailer's service in resolving it. Reports of neck dive vary by individual instrument rather than being universal, consistent with a production line where component quality and weight distribution aren't perfectly uniform across units.

Recommended accessories & strings for the Sterling StingRay Ray35

Several owner reports point to the stock tuning machines as the component most likely to need attention or replacement, with failures reported on at least one unit and quality-control complaints specifically tied to certain finish variants - a sensible first upgrade target for anyone keeping the instrument long-term. On the electronics side, one forum report about the four-string sibling found the tone came out boomy with the active EQ's bass control centered, and resolved it by dialing the bass and treble controls away from center to get clarity closer to a US-made StingRay - a reminder that the active preamp here rewards some initial tuning rather than sounding ideal at its default flat setting straight out of the box.

Technical data for the Sterling StingRay Ray35

Price history for the Sterling StingRay Ray35

Cheapest seen: 669 EUR  ·  Most expensive seen: 2.349 EUR

The history of the Sterling StingRay Ray35

The Sterling Ray35 extends Music Man's StingRay design to five strings with a single-humbucker layout, built in Indonesia as part of Sterling by Music Man's accessible StingRay range.

About Sterling as a manufacturer

The original StingRay bass debuted in 1976, co-designed by Leo Fender together with Tom Walker and Forrest White, with beta testing input from Sterling Ball - it was the first mass-produced bass guitar with an onboard active EQ, paired with a distinctive 3+1 headstock and a single Music Man humbucker. Fender had left his namesake company in 1972 and co-founded what became Music Man, taking over as president in 1975 right as a 10-year non-compete clause from the Fender/CBS sale expired. The 'Sterling' name itself goes back further than this mid-price line: it honored Sterling Ball, Ernie Ball's son and later head of Ernie Ball/Music Man, when a dedicated 'Music Man Sterling' bass carried his name in 1993. The current Sterling by Music Man brand launched at the 2009 Winter NAMM Show as a mid-price alternative engineered alongside Ernie Ball Music Man's own team but built in Indonesia - and within that brand, the Ray35's single-humbucker, 3-band-EQ layout tracks the 1976 original's formula more directly than Sterling's own budget-tier SUB StingRay line, reflecting a deliberate tiering strategy rather than one single 'cheap StingRay' approach.