Left Handed Sterling Guitars and Basses
After taking a look at left handed Music Man guitars and basses, which are a highly regarded, premium guitar brand, I thought I’d check out Sterling by Music Man; Music Man’s more affordable guitar line aimed at beginner and intermediate players.
Let’s have a look and see what left handed Sterling guitars and basses are available right now.
Go straight to the Sterling guitars.
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Who Are Sterling Guitars?
Sterling by Music Man is part of the Ernie Ball Family Brand. As previously stated, they are more affordable versions of Music Man guitars and are manufactured in various parts of East Asia, including Indonesia, China, and Korea.
As they are part of the Ernie Ball Family Brand, you can be comfortable in the knowledge that these guitars are authentic versions of the more expensive Music Man guitars.
Even though they are less expensive than Music Man guitars, they are far from being cheap versions. They still have a reputation for being high-quality, well-built guitars with sound quality to match.
What Do I Think of Sterling Guitars?
As with any premium guitar brand, some of the guitars on offer can sometimes be well beyond our budgets. Right now, I can only dream of being able to afford a real Music Man guitar, so naturally, I’d be more in the market for a guitar that’s between a third to half the price of the lowest-priced Music Man guitar.
That’s where brands like Sterling come in. A more budget-friendly brand, made by the same company that makes the drool-worthy premium guitars, can be a great middle ground for finding a good quality playable guitar.
They’re usually still made with quality parts and designed to high specifications, albeit to a lesser extent than those premium guitars.
So, with that in mind, I definitely think we need these guitars, and I’m all for them. I am a fan of Music Man guitars, so being able to buy a more reasonably priced version is a good thing for many guitarists.
The Different Types of Sterling Guitars
Electric Guitars
There are quite a number of Sterling by Music Man electric guitars on offer:
- John Petrucci Majesty range – Sterling versions of the innovative Majesty guitars. There are three models of each 6 and 7-string Majesties.
- John Petrucci JP range – There are four 6-string and three 7-string JP models available. Based on the original John Petrucci Signature model.
- The Luke – Inspired by the Steve Lukather Music Man Signature model, the Luke was designed with versatility in mind and features a 12dB volume boost.
- The Valentine models – Based on the Music Man Signature models of Maroon 5’s James Valentine, this model was also designed for its versatility and features a 12dB volume boost.
- The St. Vincent models – These models were designed in close collaboration with St. Vincent, offering a style, balance, versatility, and playability.
- The Richardson7 – The Jason Richardson 7-String Cutlass has a very distinctive and unique, highly figured poplar burl veneer top, setting it apart from any other. It features a 12dB volume boost and coil tap.
- The Mariposa – Designed in collaboration with Omar Rodríguez-López (The Mars Volta, At the Drive-In), this guitar has a unique body shape and features a roasted maple neck and custom artist dual humbucking pickups.
- The Jared Dines StingRay – Signature guitar for YouTuber Jared Dines. It’s a 6-string StingRay guitar which has 24 frets, a killswitch, and hot-rodded dual humbucker pickups.
- The Albert Lee model – The Signature model for Albert Lee features an unusual retro, yet modern offset body and humbucking pickups that can be coil tapped for extra tonal variety.
Bass Guitars
A relatively small range of Sterling by Music Man bass guitars is available:
- StingRay Ray 34/35 range – The 4-string Ray34 is modeled after the iconic Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay. Also available is the 5-string Ray35. Both are available with one or two Alnico humbuckers.
- StingRay Ray24/25CA range – Modeled after the iconic original StingRay Classic bass. Vintage seventies tone…Yessss! Available in 4 and 5-string options.
- StingRay Short Scale – 30″ scale for easier playability with a higher output humbucking pickup.
- StingRay Ray 4/5 range – The popular SUB Series line, the lowest priced Sterling bass, available in 4 and 5-string variations.
Left Handed Sterling Electric Guitars
Unfortunately, even though there are numerous Sterling guitar models in the 2020 range, there are no left handed Sterling electric guitars available at all right now! Boooooo!!
Left Handed Sterling Acoustic Guitars
Sterling do not make acoustic guitars right now and as such, there are currently no right or left handed Sterling acoustic guitars.
Left Handed Sterling Basses
Of all the right handed Sterling Bass guitar models, only the StingRay Ray 4/5 basses are available in a lefty configuration, and very nice bass guitars they are too!
StingRay Ray4
Here are the specs of the 4-string version of the StingRay Ray bass guitar:
- STRINGS: 4
- NECK: Bolt-on Hard Maple
- SCALE: 34″ (86.4 cm)
- BODY: Basswood
- FINGERBOARD: Hard Maple with Black dot inlays
- FINGERBOARD RADIUS: 9.5″ (24 cm)
- NUT WIDTH: 1.5″ (38 mm)
- FINISH: Vintage Sunburst Satin
- FRETS: 21 Medium
- TUNERS: Open Gear
- BRIDGE: Fixed Bridge
- PICKUP: H – 1 Ceramic Humbucker
- CONTROLS: 2-band Active Preamp
Check price/availability at:
StingRay Ray5
Here are the specs of the 5-string version of the StingRay Ray bass guitar:
- STRINGS: 5
- NECK: Bolt-on Hard Maple
- SCALE: 34″ (86.4 cm)
- BODY: Basswood
- FINGERBOARD: Hard Maple with Black dot inlays
- FINGERBOARD RADIUS: 12″ (30.5 cm)
- NUT WIDTH: 1.77″ (45 mm)
- FINISH: Vintage Sunburst Satin
- FRETS: 22 Medium
- TUNERS: Open Gear
- BRIDGE: Fixed Bridge
- PICKUP: H – 1 Ceramic Humbucker
- CONTROLS: 2-band Active Preamp
Check price/availability at:
Final Thoughts
Although it’s always nice to see that a guitar company offers guitars in left handed mode, I’m almost always disappointed by how many are actually offered.
In the case of Sterling by Music Man, they only sell lefty versions of the StingRay Ray 4 and 5 bass guitars. While these are really nice basses, I’m sure there are many lefty guitar players out there who’d love to see other models available left handed.
I think it’s pretty bad that not even one electric guitar model is available to us lefties, and only one type of bass guitar is available to us, even though they are available in 4 and 5-string versions.
Come on, Sterling! Give us some more guitars! Pretty please!
What are your views on Sterling by Music Man? Do you have or have you played any of their guitars? What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
Image credits: sterlingbymusicman.com
