Summertime and the living's easy
Summer's on its way – ready or not. However it came to be that it's somehow already May, we can definitely feel summer start to rear its head. As we've been working through late spring showers and rolling gusts of pollen, the brighter days and long-awaited warmth have us ready for the season.
Summer might get lazy, but as always, we're here to talk about gear. On the chopping block today is a cool release from one of the world's finest in electric basses. We're dealing in classics today – pure bona fide classics, why waste any more time?
This is the Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay Special.
Shop the Music Man StingRay Special
Cool for the Summer
Introducing the Music Man Special Bass Guitar
For those well-acquainted with the classics of bass guitar, the Music Man StingRay needs no further introduction. Originally debuting in 1976, the StingRay has gone on to be a certified icon for electric basses, meaning we're always psyched to see one of these illustrious instruments make an appearance in our shops. The StingRay is a star on any stage so today we're giving it the treatment it deserves. A recent drop of new StingRay Specials graced our store floors with new colors, exceptional hardware, expressive electronics and seamless playability. There's plenty to dig into here, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's lay out some basics.
The StingRay Special is a model that builds off generations of bass excellence. Taking cues from decades of Music Man's electric bass design, there's plenty from which these modern StingRay Specials can pull. What this means is the Music Man StingRay Special is a bass that balances modern and vintage sensibilities. Exceling in both realms, the StingRay Special is a bass players of all stripes can appreciate from its effortless playability to its robust electronics setup. A real bassist's bass, the StingRay Special has a reputation for a reason!
A 'Ray of Light
Music Man StingRay Special Bass Guitar Design
The StingRay Special offers classic StingRay alternatives to established bass norms. This doesn't come at the expense of fine playability and expression, however, but again, we will get there. For starters, the StingRay Special starts with an ash body. Taking Music Man's classic bold, rounded and curvy double-cutaway profile, the StingRay Special fits under the arm or on the hip comfortably and effortlessly. The StingRay Special's specialized contours and curvature make handling the bass an afterthought for players looking to cut right to the chase for speed and maneuverability whether onstage or solo.
The generous weight of this Music Man's ash body ensures an easy pick-up-and-go experience from square one. Moving from there, a roasted maple neck reaches out to connect with the player's fretting hand. Along the back of this neck, players will be met with a profile that balances thinness and fullness for a neck that isn't too narrow nor too chunky. In short, players who favor vintage style necks over modern (or the inverse) have nothing to fear of a neck that caters to all types of playing. Bouncing along with a steady groove or barreling up and down the full scale are both quick endeavors.
With either a rosewood, maple, or ebony fingerboard, every StingRay Special plays quickly with twenty-two stainless steel frets. Once again, the design of this bass enables a playing experience that inspires playing rather than gets in its way. Maybe your bass parts are more fundamental so you thump along on lower registers, maybe they're more technical so you find yourself exploring even the highest frets for extended serpentine selections – in every case, the neck and fingerboard are perfect companions for a bass player to instantly connect with.
A Shot in the Arm
Music Man StingRay Special Bass Guitar Tones and Hardware
This is all well and good, but you may be asking, "Where's the real fireworks, here?" Well, let's talk about it, then.
The Music Man StingRay Special features a single neodymium humbucking pickup. This lone wolf drops in for an already expressive and thunderous sound off the bat. However, we can't discuss this pickup without mentioning Music Man's eighteen-volt, three-band EQ active preamp. Onboard, the StingRay Special loads in a highly powerful and expressive active preamp. Through this preamp, Music Man equips players with a strikingly deep and malleable cut of tonal marble with which to create their own humbucking masterwork. What we mean by that flowery metaphor is that the StingRay Special's three-band active EQ offers extensive tonal mixing across three EQ bands for sculpting unique and varied pickup mixes.
One humbucking pickup might seem limiting early on, but through the EQ section that can boost or cut the StingRay's overall tonal output on a per-band basis, it becomes quite surprising what one pickup can really do. The StingRay Special's neodymium humbucker can shape its tones to prioritize highs, mids, lows, two at once, one at once, or even all at once to come to some really compelling tonal conclusions. Punch up on lows to go thunderously deep for filling a room, spike your highs to cut through a mix for greater precision – whatever you need to do to make you sound like you. The StingRay Special is a bass to meet you where you need to be met.
Alongside these more show-stopping features, the StingRay Special features a number of aesthetic and hardware specifications to really bring everything together. The guitar's lightweight tuning machines make easy work of stringing while ensuring tonal stability and sturdy intonation across the entire instrument. A Vintage Music Man top loading bridge meets at the scale's opposite end for an equally reliable point of contact. Music Man's iconic oval pickguard and unique finish colors join in on the equation to knock your socks off visually. However you like to show off, understated or otherwise, there is absolutely a StingRay Special finish for you with Butane Blue and Fallout Green as two of many options.
Music Man StingRay Special Bass Final Thoughts
Ernie Ball Music Man has always offered some of the coolest collections of bass guitars around. Everyone knows these basses, and for good reason. The StingRay Special is a wonderfully outfitted piece for anybody and everybody, balancing some vintage-style razzle-dazzle with modern function and tone. We're always delighted to see a Music Man in action and these StingRay Specials are absolutely of no exception. Smooth, groovy, dynamic, and dreamy, Music Man's StingRay Specials are classics in real time.
Summer is almost here – ready or not.
