Musicman Stingray
Home Bass Guitar Reviews Musicman    Stingray	91% Overall Features 8 Sounds 10 Finish 9 Reliability 10 Overall 10 Taken from 2 reviews

Submitted by: Tobias Baars on 04 August 2007

PricePaid: 800 GBP (S/H) Purchased From: N/A Model Year: 2006 Features: [8] I got the bass very recently, came over from Calaforina. The finish is desert sunset I beleive. made mostly of maple. 21 frets. elephant ear machine heads. Sounds: [10] I play rock to jazz. it is great for rock but can be a bit to puchy for jazz. it has a brilliant tone very warm. Action, Fit & Finish: [9] the one I have is quite heavy but this realy lends itself to the tone. Reliability & Durability: [10] super reliable it's built so solid it's untrue! Overall Rating: [10] I am hoping to possibly getting another but fretless because it is just so good.

Submitted by: Ricky on 06 July 2007

PricePaid: 700 GBP (S/H) Purchased From: Secondhand Model Year: 1990 Features: [8] When Leo Fender sold Fender he went on to make Musicman which later got sold out to the Ernie Ball company. This is one of the early Ernie Ball Stingrays. They're all made in the 'States. It's got an alder body (I think) which is quite light for its size, and a maple neck. I went for the 3 tone active model. It has active treble, middle and bass plus a volume pot. Tonally, you can get a wide range of sounds although it tends to sound best with everything cranked up to 10! When you back off any of the pots it just sounds as if something is missing. In the centre (passive) position, it sounds quite flat Sounds: [9] I've used this bass for all sorts of gigs and recording but it's best for modern, funky or rocky styles - it's a bit too punchy for some of the jazz and dance band gigs I've done. I play it through a Hartke 3500 head and Ampeg 410 cab. It's a bright punchy tone with loads of bottom end which cuts right through. Even when I've used it with a valve amp and 1x15 cab it's still got bite. The active circuit is really quiet and I don't get any hiss or hum. Action, Fit & Finish: [9] The only thing I didn't like about it is that it came with a satin finish on the neck. Thankfully, it's polished up nicely with a bit of playing. I guess this could be a problem if you liked the satin finish in the first place as it ends up a nice gloss finish on the back of the neck after a year's worth of gigs! I bought this second hand and it was already nicely set up. When I've experimented with different string gauges it's been really easy to tweak the neck and adjust the truss rod to get it back into place. It's a quality made instrument. Reliability & Durability: [9] This is a great instrument. It's powered by a 9v battery. The only problem I've ever had is that once I let the battery go flat on a gig and it cuts the whole sound out and the bass goes silent. Don't get caught out! The paintwork has held nicely and the chrome is like it's new. Overall Rating: [9] I've got a load of other basses (Fender Precisions and Jazzes) that I use from time to time but I keep coming back to the Musicman. I'm currently looking for a fretless version - if you know what the fingerboard wear is like can you post a review for me?!!

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