Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay Bass

2005 4 string fretted stingray. Ash body, maple neck, rosewood fretboard. Active 3band eq and humbucking pickup. Excellent, tight music man tuners. made in usa

The Stingray is the Les Paul of electric basses. Big fat gnarly sounds that can also be tight and amazingly detailed depending upon your set up and eq settings.I play hard rock, blues, funky jazz, this bass sounds excellent for all of it. The eq really allows you to dial in any particular sound. There is nothing that I dislike about the sound of this bass.

Factory set up was really ****** and the strings were bad(replaced them with ghs boomers which i really like). Other than spending some time re setting it up this is really a quality instrument. The Stingray in comparison makes the fender basses(even the american ones) feel chinze and lifeless.

The bass overall feels really solid. I had one problem with a seized up saddle when redoing the intonation which turned into a big pain in the *** but other than that I feel like this bass is as solid and dependable as a stringed instrument can get. Great easy access truss rod adjustment.

Contacted Ernie Ball when I had the saddle problem and they were very helpful and easy to deal with. They sent out the part the same day and it showed up within a couple of day. I think the warranty is just one year.

I'd been playing guitar for 10+ years and bought this bass a couple of years ago on a whim because it was on sale. When I bought it I A/B'd it with an American Deluxe p bass which also had an active eq set up and the stingray was heavier, darker, more aggressive but with as much subtlety as the p bass. I've gotten now to where this is the one instrument that I want to play all the time. It seems like it always sounds good no matter what kind of mood i'm in. I recently decided i needed a second bass and went out and played all the fender stuff and then realized I have the one and only bass I need.

2007 Stingray 4-string fretted bass. Natural finish ash body and maple fingerboard. The body is a one-piece body, which is very rare. 3-band-eq. Looks great and balances very well.

One piece of advice: the Guitar Center $1399 price includes a case. I didn't want the case, so I got it for $1299.

I think this bass is definitely made better than earlier models, and here's why:

-Amazing finish - I have bumped this bass really hard and not yet even made the smallest dent in the finish. It is beautiful, shiny and tough. I had owned two Stingrays from the 80's. One had a horrid finish that was gummy, and the other was flaking off little by little.

-3-band eq - I have read (and used to believe) that the 2-band eq had more punch. Judging from the sound of this bass, the 3-band eq is at least as punchy, if not more so. I love the sound.

-Oil-finished neck - didnt' think that I would like this feature, but now I love it! Now it's a pain in the rear to play my other basses with their neck finish.

-Neck truss rod is very easily adjustable. The bass is user-friendly for setups

-Special nut with micro-adjusted tunings so the strings sound super-in-tune. Don't know the theory behind it, but it seems to help.

The overall feel is more solid and high-end than any vintage Stingray I have encountered. Compared to an American Fender, the extra 200 you would spend on this bass is worth it.

Didn't like the Ernie Ball Slinky strings that came with it. I liked the bass even more when I installed GHS bass boomers.

Bass setup at the factory was low, no relief to the neck at all. Thankfully, all that was needed was a tiny twist to the truss rod. The pickup was adjusted great. One small request would be that they could round the edges of the fingerboard a little more. No big deal though.

This bass sounds great on gigs. As the weather changed from summer to winter, I made an adjustment to the truss rod, and everything was fine. The instrument seems totally dependable. Rock solid axe.

Never dealt with Ernie Ball company.

I was really thrilled when I played this bass at a store, and realized how great the new Stingrays are. I was planning on buying a '70's stingray that are so in demand, but they are so expensive. Besides, I really think this bass is better. I can't find any faults with it. I chose this one because of the bright maple fretboard, which sounds great for slapping. Also, it looks just like Louis Johnson's bass, except for a few moderf features. i've been playing 18 years, and I have a Fender Jazz, Fender Precision, and Sadowsky Metro 5-string. Right now, I feel like I'll be using this Stingray a lot more than the others.

2004 Black with black shell pickgaurd, rosewood board fretted, matching headstock. SWEET!!! This is the third one I've owned, and I must say this one has all the mojo! Mojo for me is when you hear those sparklin', sizzlin' highs. Before I even try a bass (any bass), I like to give it a quick slap on the fret board to see if it has any sizzle. I like to hear this unamplified, then I'll plug it in, if those highs ain't there, you can't add them, but if they is there, you can always take em' out with EQ.

The first one I had was a little dead, 2001 Black Sparkle, maple with matching headstock. The second one had about the same mojo as this one, 1993 Vintage Sunburst, rosewood, beautiful birdseye neck, but a little boring on the body, must have been alder, not much grain.

I seriously considered a Sterling but I love the classic looks and durable feel of the Stingray, but I gotta say the strings feel really far apart and I appreciate the smooth feel of the Sterling. This bass is made to be played hard and I'm a little bit of a soft player, so there is a little bit of a mis-match here.

I also own two Warwicks, a Streamer LX5 and a Thumb 4 Neck-Thru. This bass is pretty basic in comparison, but I like that. I wanted a bass that could be my main workhorse bass......for my 6 gigs a year, OK OK, I'm a gear freak!!!!

I'm in two bands. Both are fairly loud, one is a RnB, soul band. We play older Mowtown stuff, with a mix of some current and older rock. The other band is current heavy pop rock with a sprinkle of classic rock, I'm also the lead singer in this band.

I don't know if I can describe how it suits the music. I think if you give something enough time, you just get used to it. Overall I don't have to tweak the sound much. Occasionlly if I want a little more balls, I'll adjust the bass just a smidge. Otherwise, I pretty much leave the EQ flat and rely on the basic sound. Because I'm singing leads and running the sound system, I don't have a lot of time to fiddle with it.

Due to some problems with PA set up and the demands of the band and issues with being the lead singer, I have completely ditched my Amp and dedicated bass speakers. I now run entirely through the PA and I gotta tell you I've never been able to hear myself so clearly. I highly recomend this set up. Instead of spending a bunch of cash on bass amps etc, spend it on PA gear.

Of coarse this means you may need more foot pedals. Here is my set up:
Bass(es) > A/B switcher > Boss Pedal Tuner > Boss Limiter > Boss GEB7 EQ > MXR EQ > SansAmp Bass Driver > Mixer XLR in.

I use the Warwick 5 string for drop tuned songs so I have the Boss EQ set up for the Warwick and I use the MXR for the Stingray. I use the SansAmp for a DI and very rarely have it on. I think these things suck the life out of your bass and make everything sound like a Pbass through and Ampeg.

Simply Beautiful. Nothing to fault on this. The neck woods are pretty plain, but the glossy black finish on the headstock and body, and the smooth neck make this unit a pleasure to play.

I always try to be really careful with my stuff, but I'm letting go of this and frankly I don't care much if I scratch it. I payed good money for this and I just wanna play it and not get all freaky worried about it. I've smacked this bass a few times, but there is hardly a mark on it.

It is a musical instrument and could be damaged any time, but there is nothing about it that feels delicate.

Never dealt with them. Registered on-line and didn't get the strings, oh-well I got some with the last one I had. Everything I have heard about them has been great. I'm not worried.

I've been playing Bass for about 4 years. I grew up playing drums and played guitar for about 20 years before bass but I love playing bass, I feel totally at home.

If this bass were lost or stolen I would definately replace it, but I might consider the Sterling again.

I've had the privelage of owning and playing some really good basses. I like this one mostley for it's utility. It just does what you need.

I traded a USA Precision Bass and a speaker cabinet plus $100 for this bass. It's black with a white pickguard - simple yet classy. It has a 21 fret bolt-on maple neck and a 3 band active EQ. I also got a hardshell case with it, very nice. That's about it and that's all you need. Oh ya, I forgot about the pop-up battery compartment. I love this feature!

BEEFY! The sound is what it is. "The Music Man Sound" is unique only to this bass and no other company has copied it quite right. "Punchy" is probably the best adjective to use, though "tight" and "focused" would also work. I play a bunch of different styles from jazz to rock to latin. This bass can fit into all situations with a minor tweak of the EQ and change of right hand position. I'm using an SWR SM-500 head and two Acme Low B1 cabinets. I'm getting a smoking audiophile clarity that cuts through really well. I play with fingers only, but know you can get a very sharp attack with a pick for punk and other fast stuff.

The finnish is perfect with no ripples or "orange skin" bubbles that you see on lesser basses. I love the natural feel to the neck, it really lets your thumb glide around. The neck was a little dirty due to people playing it, but a little wood cleaner did the trick. The action was a bit high for me, but every bass I've ever played in a store was too high. I just adjusted a few things and it was perfect.

I've known many people who swear by these. Some people like Tony Levin have had them for 30 years without any problems. If I can guage by that I'd say they are very tough. The bridge and tuners are top notch and the 6 bolt neck joint has no movement. I installed Dunlop Straplocks to keep it from falling off during a show.

I've been playing for 15 years and it's been a dream of mine to have one of these. That dream has come true and I can now die in peace. I have four basses in total and this is my only fretted bass, so it's kind of my "I wanna be a slacker tonight" bass and will get quite a bit of play time. My main bass will always be my Warrior Studio 6 string fretless (absolutely sweet bass), but I think I will enjoy this as a sonic deviation of the MM from time to time. Music Man is a great US made bass and will always be a common fixture on the band stand, MTV, in the studio and in our hearts. Solid bass, solid value, 10 out of 10 here.

I bought my Music-Man StingRay Bass in 1979. According to the factory, it was made in 1977. It has active electronics, with the original 2-eq tone controls, maple neck and solid ash body. The neck reminds of the older fender Telecaster bass. It has three- bolt neck, with the original Music Man huge alnico pick-up. It has 'string-through' body, and there is a brass plate under the bridge, and a brass nut (weird, but cool).
You have to 'string' from the back of the bass. (great for tone and sustain)
It came with a hardshell Music Man bass case.

This bass has a monstrous tone. I run a recording studio, and it is the main studio bass. It is perfect for 'slapping', has the 'growl and grind' through an old Metaltronics (Lee Jackson tube bass pre-amp). The two-band eq. is more than versatile for a variety of sounds...Fender, Ricky, Gibson,,et.
Live, I play it in a funky blues r&b band, and I some jam with some 'metal' dudes. This baby delivers all the time.

Great right out of the factory. I use GHS Super Steels, light gauge, low action...(good for Chapman stick simulation)..

This bass has played rock/funk sessions in the UK, has played 'roots reggae' in Jamaica, and countless live rock shows in Canada. No worries here, mate.

I once wrote to Music Man (Leo Fender) to get info on all my Music-Man collections, (I also own Music Man guitars and amps). They were prompt, courteous, and gave detailed information, and schematics that I requested and at no charge at all. With the technical information, I was able to 'customise' the Sting Ray, by replacing the original pick-up with a Bartolini (4 extra sounds) at the bridge position, and Bartolini (Precision split pick-up near the neck) for a two-output monster bass.
This bass is a hybrid monster. This bass ALWAYS WORKS. No repairs needed, ever.

Been playing for over 30 years.
This bass has everything I ever wanted in a bass.
If lost or stolen, I would find another (Leo Fender) Music-Man Sting Ray, other wise, I have to settle for the Ernie Ball version (that's cool too, in a different way).
I traded a Fender Jazz Bass for the Sting-Ray, and never regretted the decision.

Don't know what year it was made. Manufactured in the USA, 24 frets, 4 strings, big fat Ernie Ball Humbucker, active electronics...you know the drill. Does everything it should nothing it shouldn't.

I've always loved the sound the MM Stingrays have. They're perfect for rock and roll, funk, and whatever else you want to try with it. The active pre-amp lets you adjust the sound however you want. I play this bass through an Ashdown MAG 2x10 combo with a 1x15 extension cab. The only word to describe the sound is massive.

I bought this bass used, it came from Michigan to Colorado. I was surprised at how well it played after the trip to lower humidity, no warping at all. After a set of new strings, a few tweaks of the intonation, and lowering the action a bit, it plays great. I haven't had to mess with it at all since.

This bass is a tank, I would feel confident playing without a backup even though I do have a backup for it. The hardware is in good shape, only thing I've noticed is the treble pot is a bit hard to find the middle on. The bridge is great, afterall its what they based the Badass series on.

Haven't Needed them

I bought a Stingray because I wanted something that would work for the band I'm in now and for the duture. The Stingray is the bass everyone thinks of for Rock and Funk. I've had this thing for almost 2 months without a problem. Its simple to get the sound you want out of it quickly which is how I like it, overall a good bass.

2 band active , one alnico humbucker, ash+birdseye mapple, top notch hardware except the "easy-battery" compartiment that could be chromed metal and easy yet. Pots could be centerpointed

Well, I recently discovered that I can sound vintage with this bass: in fact several reviews or contacts with ernie ball made me understand that the sound is kinda passive when the pots are set in the center. Quite surprisingly, I find the sound much fatter this way, cause one other thing I discovered after years of tone quest is that mids (especially lowmids) are the key of my tone, maybe yours: you cut thru in a musical/powerful way, and you have a power reserve-anyway, I only push the active as an effect by now. Great for slap, but same thing: bass 6 treble 4, or I have to use my ebs multicomp to get rid of that harshness

It is absolutely stunning! Some cheap guitars have quilt tops, individual string bridges and so on, but the real quality isn't here. Construction reaches perfection. Look inside the control cavity and you'll understand what I mean.

cf supra

I never, never part. If it was lost or stolen, I would be really sad, then I would buy another.

2001 model. 5 string sunburst finish, maple neck, pearloid white pickguard, stock preamp and pickup, 4 knob - bass, treble, mid, volume.

Too brassy on some settings. Overall good sound. Noisey with high treble settings. Use with a Harke amp.

has small bubbles in the finish between pickguard and knobs. Only noticed it after two years. Bubbles broke and finish is marred. After 6 months of playing I noticed the single coil setting volume was intermittent. Pulled the pickguard off and found the problem. One of the wires had a cold solder joint into a printed circuitboard via hole. Upon further examination I noticed that the via hole was way too large for the gauge of wire they were using so it didn't make a solid fit in the hole. I resoldered the connection. Bad design on Ernieball's part. Except for that, the bass plays great. Has great action and really thunders thru subs.

Is reliable now that i've fixed it.

Been playing 8 years. The bass as it was designed is a great bass. This bass as Ernieball manufacturers it, is not worth the price you pay for it. I will probably change out the preamp in the future to a bart or a seymour.

2 band EQ maybe 6years old
beautiful natural birdseye mapple neck-fretboard
sometimes wish I have a neck pickup and active/passive switch, for vintager tones (?)and slightly thinner neck but you never have everything in one axe and this one is very versatile in its (her) way, and I find it so much beautiful than jazz basses (+ much lower action than deluxe JB's I owned)...
I love it, I need it, I bleed (on) it (not often)
I even wrote a novella 'bout it

As I said, it's versatile, because it's a "vintage-modern" instrument, with character, but billies or 60-70 rockers (I'm in a 70's grooverock band) may not find it vintage enough; the sound is agressive or it can be very fundamental and dark, but it hasn't the softness (warmth) of a passive instrument in itself. nevertheless, I can get a really cool vintage tone with the tube-modelings of my BassPodXT, or tweaking the tube gain of my svt3pro to zero. I also turn down the treble a little cause it can cut glass, but I found out I didn't want (and my playing is really far from perfect, so I don't wish to highlight it so much, especially when you folks know singers and guitarists are superegoed enough). SO, In fact, the holy grail is this with a tube amp (but the V4BH is only 100watts and the Svt is so expensive and heavy...), anyway with the pod it's really cool (Irecommend the xt)
For those who like modern tones, everyone knows it's perfect.
choose your amp well

it's perfect (action, fretwork, lacquer...)
maybe the sterling is easier to play for the small-handed,
but it looks better, and I love the feel of this neck

Is there something to say?

very helpful, always answered my mails, that sometimes were nevrotic.

Expensive, but I don't care, I'm really happy with it, and Cedric of Broc'n roll (Nimes, France)is happy too I've found my love in the end (maybe I had 20 high-end basses, Vigier, Fenders, Zons, Pedullas, wwcks, Tobias, Status, Schacks, and so on, within the 2years before I met it.) If it was lost or stolen, I would sing "child in time" way better than Gillan did in Japan.

3 band eq ernie ball 4-string musicman. the pickup is good, bridge is heavy, neck joint is attached with 6 bolts and is very steady. swamp ash body, maple neck.

i bought this expecting something to blow me out of the water, and instead i got a bass that i can get great sounds out of but that isn't even really heads and above my old peavey. it's very bright, and a tad bit trebbly, but it's cool. sounds great with distortion. i mean, i'm not dissappointed: it's a great bass, and it's my first really nice instrument, but i was expecting something to blow my mediocre bass out of the water, and i guess there's really not that much of a difference between really high-end stuff and average ($400-$500 stuff). oh yeah, and it makes noise. i might need to check some of the solder joints, which looks like it'll be hard considering the setup of the electronics cavity

mine was used, but it has a nice setup. i'm not a big fan of the neck radius on this, but it's a credit to the people who set it up that playing this wasn't irritating

i seriously doubt anything would actually happen to the hardware of this instrument. the neck joint has 6 bolts, for christsakes.

but... i worry about the hum when the treble is higher coming out of this. it has a battery, too, so i wouldn't gig without a backup.

bought it used

it's a nice bass. i definitely won't get rid of it.