Everything about Music Man Stingray totally explained
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 (for example, 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 hadn't 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.
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 don't 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 hasn't 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, 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
Fender Jazz 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 (up until
Californication when
Modulus began production of his own signature model bass). 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.
(External Link
)), 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 also favored the Stingray.
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.
Colin Greenwood of
Radiohead 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 used them for live performances up until the equipment theft in 1995 when he switched to
Fender Precision Basses.
Music Man Stingrays are also commonly used in the ska music genre notably by
Rick Johnson (
Mustard Plug) 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 with 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
Nathan East Signature Bass from
Yamaha he used a
Honey Sunburst with a
Black Pickguard StingrayFurther Information
Get more info on 'Music Man Stingray'.
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