Music Man StingRay

StingRay
The Musicman StingRay
Manufacturer	Ernie Ball MusicMan
Period	1976 — present
Construction
Body type	Solid
Neck joint	Bolt-on
Woods
Body	Ash, sometimes alder
Neck	Maple
Fretboard	Maple, Rosewood, Pao Ferro with a option of both fretted and fretless models.
Hardware
Bridge	Fixed
Pickup(s)	One or two high-output humbucking pickups, with optional piezo pickups located in the bridge, with 2-band or 3-band active (powered) pre-amp. Five-string model includes 3-way coil selector switch. Note - Piezo pickups only available on 3-band model.
Colors available
(Four-string, as of 2006) Black, white, egyptian smoke, sapphire black, rolls burgundy, graphite pearl, blue pearl, teal pearl, carbon blue pearl, candy red, desert gold, burnt apple, butter cream, teal green transparent, natural, lava pearl, radiance red, medallion gold, several variations of translucent and sunburst finishes.

Music Man StingRay is an electric bass guitar by Music Man, introduced in 1976.

History

In 1971, Fender employees Forrest White and Tom Walker, unhappy with the way CBS was managing the company, left their positions with Fender to start their own venture. First known as Tri-Sonic and then later Musitek, Inc., the new company eventually settled on the name of MusicMan, Inc. by 1974. The company began producing a hybrid tube-solid state amplifier co-designed by Tom Walker and Leo Fender, who was participating as a silent partner to the firm due to a "no compete" clause in the sales contract Fender had signed when he sold his original company to CBS in 1965. After the clause expired in 1975, he was made president of MusicMan, Inc., and by 1976 his consulting firm CLF Research had begun producing instruments bearing the MusicMan name.

Designed by Fender, Walker and Sterling Ball (Sterling was a beta tester for the instrument), the StingRay bass appeared in 1976 and, though physically similar to a Fender Precision Bass, was a highly innovative instrument. It employed a "soapbar" humbucking pickup and an active pre-amp powered by a 9-volt battery. The early versions had 2 band EQ (i.e., bass and treble controls), and the range was later augmented by the addition of a 3 band EQ (bass, mid and treble) model, and then piezo pickups located in the bridge became an option with the 3 band model. The StingRay's 3 band equalization system was highly innovative; making it possible to boost midrange frequencies as well as low and high, something which had not been possible on basses without active preamps. Along with its electronic advancements, the StingRay had physical attributes that set it apart from other Fender-inspired designs, such as a heavy satin finish on the back of the neck to allow players' hands to slide effortlessly up and down during play, a symmetrical egg-shaped pickguard and separate chromed "boomerang" control plate, and its distinctive "3+1" headstock (on which three tuning machines are situated on the top and one on the bottom) made it an instantly recognizable and distinguishable instrument.

Early models have through-body stringing at the bridge, which is fitted with adjustable string mutes. Later models omit both features, except for the 30th Anniversary model of 2006, which uses the string-through-body design and features a solid mahogany body finished in a luxurious Crimson Red Transparent finish.

Later advancements on the StingRay included a 5-string version (the StingRay 5), which has a 3-way toggle switch that allows the player to split the humbucking pickup's coils, and a unique truss-rod neck adjustment system that incorporated a Teflon washer which made it highly resistant to rust and corrosion and made adjusting the neck of a StingRay relatively easy.

In the early 2000s a budget version of the StingRay known as the SUB was produced, featuring a textured body finish and diamond plate pickguard. This model was discontinued in 2007 due to rising production costs.

In 2005, two-pickup versions of the StingRay (known as "HH" and "HS") were introduced, following the success of the Bongo Bass, one of Ernie Ball's latest bass designs. This dual-pickup version includes a 5-way switch, allowing the user to select different combinations of pickup coils and thus greatly increasing the diversity of available tones. The dual pickup configuration was also adopted on the StingRay 5 and the Sterling that same year.

In recent years, Music Man has allowed OLP to produce budget versions of the StingRay 4, Stingray 5, StingRay 4 HH, and StingRay 5 HH. More marketing emphasis has been placed on these guitars since the phasing out of the S.U.B.

StingRays are generally known for the punch of their sound, making it very suitable for rock/funk applications and excellent for slapping, and for being of extremely high build quality. The 6-bolt neckplate is an example of this. The neck is also quite wide, especially compared to that of Fender Jazz Bass-type models, as well as having the above mentioned truss-rod adjustment mechanism which means that players do not have to remove the neck to adjust the truss-rod. Some users have also noticed an audiable difference in volume between the lower three strings (E, A, D) and the highest G string, with the G string suffering from a lack of volume. This problem has not been observed in five string StingRays.

Notable Users

The StingRay has been a favorite of several influential bassists, particularly those renowned for their slapping technique, such as Louis Johnson, Bernard Edwards, Guy Pratt and Flea.

Hard rocker Cliff Williams of AC/DC has commonly used the StingRay. Also, Louis Johnson of The Brothers Johnson was one of the first prominent bassists to use the instrument. Tim Commerford of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave used a StingRay on Rage's self-titled debut album before switching to Lakland basses. Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers used various StingRays on recordings including the hit "Me and my Friends", live performances and music videos like "Give it Away" (up until Californication when Modulus began production of his own signature model bass). Mark McKnight of Atreyu has used the StingRay since joining the band in 2004. Also Johnny Christ of Avenged Sevenfold usually uses this bass for recordings and live shows.

Queen's John Deacon was often seen playing a StingRay (his is on display at the Hard Rock Cafe in Cleveland, Ohio.[1]), as was Rick Wills of Foreigner. Randy Jackson (of Journey) had a signature purple/white polka dot Stingray. Tony Levin, a well known user of StingRays and their 5 string counterpart, also commissioning Music Man to build him a custom 3-string version, lacking the top G. Garry Tallent of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band also played a StingRay around the Darkness on the Edge of Town period; he later stopped using the bass due to its excessive weight (around 12 pounds). Tallent also refinished the bass in black as he found the original finish too shiny and light. Supertramp's Dougie Thomson used a StingRay during the Breakfast in America album and tour documented on the Paris and used as a back-up bass on the early part of the ...Famous Last Words... tour during "Fool's Overture". Bernard Edwards of Chic used the StingRay bass almost exclusively; after his death in 1996, his bass was inherited by John Taylor of Duran Duran. Benjamin Orr of the Cars and post-Roger Waters Pink Floyd bassist Guy Pratt also favored the StingRay.

By the mid '80s, the sound of a StingRay played with a pick had become popular with indie and alternative bands, especially in the UK. In particular, Simon Gallup of The Cure recorded almost exclusively with a StingRay during their peak years from 1985 when he rejoined the band, through to their 1992 album, Wish. Bassist Joe Lally of Fugazi played StingRays exclusively throughout the band's career. Bass player Alex James of britpop band Blur used a distorted, double-tracked StingRay bass to create the ultra-heavy chorus for the hit anthem "Song 2". Colin Greenwood of Radiohead also used various StingRays up until the band's equipment was stolen in 1995. He used them to record the albums Pablo Honey and The Bends and for live performances up until the equipment theft, when he switched to Fender Precision Basses. Jonathan Gallant of Billy Talent is also a notable user. Also Mark Hoppus of blink-182 used StingRay basses during the recordings of Buddha (album), Cheshire Cat and Dude Ranch. He also used them recording a few songs on the Enema Of The State album, before switching to Fender Precision Basses. Jesse F. Keeler of Death From Above 1979 and MSTRKRFT is known to play a StingRay as well. Paul Hinojos from experimental post-hardcore outfit At The Drive-In played StingRays.Justin Chancellor of Tool used a StingRay in the songs "H.", "Forty-Six & 2", and "No Quarter". Dougie Poynter from McFly is a fan of Stingray basses and uses them often occasionally.

Music Man StingRays are also commonly used in the ska music genre, notably by Rick Johnson (Mustard Plug), Roger Manganelli (Less than Jake) and Matt Wong (formerly of Reel Big Fish). Matt Wong is known for his signature candy red Music Man Sting Ray 5 bass with a trademark black pickguard and a piezo pickup. Also, Mcfly bassist Dougie Poynter uses commonly a green one and a white one. When Nathan East was with Eric Clapton before he started using his own signature BBNE2 basses from Yamaha in 1995, he played a honey sunburst StingRay 5 with a black pickguard and a rosewood fretboard; this bass has been also used during the 24 Nights concerts in 1991. Dave Bronze used a cherry sunburst StingRay 5 during the Fillmore Blues Nights tour with Eric Clapton in 1994.

See also

• Music Man
• Leo Fender
• Fender Musical Instruments Corporation

External links

• Official MusicMan Website
• Example of vintage Stingray