Sterling by Music Man S.U.B. Sting Ray 4 VSS

Bought this bass for some home use and possible gigging with it. Shipping came in about 1-2 days as promised. Impressed with Thomann and their customer service.
Does not come with a gig bag, but does come with a truss rod adjustment tool and an allen key for adjusting the bridge (both of which were used a lot in my experience. Read on.)

Pros:
Humbucker sounds excellent, extremely versatile. All electrics work without issue.
Finish on the instrument is great. Looks really nice. No concerns there.
Satin-finished maple neck was really comfortable in my hands.

Cons:
The set-up on this instrument out of the box is - without excessive exaggeration - absolutely shockingly awful. Fret buzz like you would not believe. Action was far too low. I understand it's not an expensive bass, yet I am disappointed even so.
Pickup sounds good but is not balanced so well - the E-string sounds far louder than the G-string, making slap-bass an extremely inconsistent-sounding option of play-style for this bass.
Slight fret sprout at the 13th fret. Not catastrophic, but still a QA oversight on the part of the manufacturer.

I spent a long while attempting to repair the instrument - firstly by restringing with Fender 9050L flatwounds (a personal preference) and then by getting to work on fixing the action. I spent perhaps 2 hours adjusting the truss rod and saddles on the bridge. I am yet to fix it. Very frustrating.
The buzz has abated a little but is still noticeable. So expect to pay some more money for a professional set-up when purchasing this instrument.
When playing the low E-string open, it sounds like there is a subtle modulation effect on the note - something akin to a wah or a flanger or a chorus, which is strange. I am still looking into resolving this.
Overall I have to say I am quite disappointed with this bass. It's going to be a lot of work (or money for a set-up) before she sings. I would recommend checking out a different instrument if you intend to buy for/as a beginner. It might just deter you from learning bass.

Ho comprato questo Sterling dopo averne provato uno in negozio e averne letto in giro sul web, e devo dire che conferma le aspettative sul prodotto. Non si tratta ovviamente di un Musicman e lo si può vedere da tante cose: la scelta dei materiali: il manico del mio esemplare ha un paio di piccolissime e irrilevanti imperfezioni, anche la verniciatura non è perfetta al 100%, ma la sostanza (che è ciò che conta) c'è tutta. Ottimo sound, robusto, scorrevole. Ho dovuto regolare la truss rod e l'action perché le corde erano parecchio distanti dal manico, ma a parte questo ne sono felicissimo. Davvero un ottimo basso per principianti o bassisti intermedi, o per chi vuole portare sul palco un basso che non costi una fortuna... ma lo sembri!