

There's no denying that the Ray4 is one of the best budget bass guitars on the market today.įor some, a full-scale bass guitar can be more terrifying than inspiring. But really, that's a miniscule price to pay if it means this bass comes to you for a tenth of the price of a full-fat USA model. Where the flagship Music Man StingRay 4 models have an active 18V pickup and preamp with 3-band EQ, the Ray4 has got the 9V active pickup and preamp combo with simplified 2-band hi and low cut/boost controls. Perhaps most notably in the electrics, there has been some downsizing. Altogether it feels like a pretty grown-up bass. The StingRay neck profile offers a taste of its top-dollar sibling’s feel, and, likewise, the fully adjustable bridge gives you a similar amount of control over string height and intonation. You can still tease all kinds of inspiring tones out of this, from the electric bounce of funk to more bruising low-end thunder for rock’n’roll, or simply roll back on that treble for woody jazz. It looks like a StingRay, it feels like a Music Man StingRay, and yet it comes in at the 300-buck mark. The SUB, or “Sports Utility Bass,” Ray4 is the sort of instrument that makes you do a double take when you see the price tag. Long-scale format might be cumbersome for younger players
