Ernie Ball Music Man

Ernie Ball Music Man Electric Basses — The StingRay and Beyond

The story of Ernie Ball Music Man begins with one of the great what-ifs of electric instrument history. When Leo Fender sold his company to CBS in 1965, he signed a non-compete clause that kept him away from instrument design for ten years. The moment that clause expired, he was back. Music Man was originally formed by Leo Fender, Tom Walker, and Forrest White in 1972, and the instrument that came out of that team in 1976 changed the bass world permanently: the StingRay, the first production electric bass with active onboard electronics, a humbucking pickup, and a three-band EQ that gave players tonal control no passive bass could approach.

Sterling Ball purchased the company in 1984, joined later by his sons Scott and Brian, and has built it into the most celebrated family-owned electric instrument manufacturer in America. Every Ernie Ball Music Man instrument has been crafted in San Luis Obispo, California since 1984, and the Ball family is the last of a dying breed, a family business making guitars and basses exclusively in the United States. Every fret is individually hand leveled and crowned. Every neck is hand sanded through multiple stages. Every instrument is set up and intonated before it ships. The difference, as the brand has always said, is in the details.

The StingRay

The StingRay is one of the handful of electric bass designs that genuinely changed the instrument, and its influence on bass playing, bass tone, and bass design since 1976 is impossible to overstate. The oval pickguard, the 3+1 tuning key configuration, the ceramic humbucker, and the active preamp that Leo Fender and his team developed for the original instrument are all still present in the current lineup, refined and improved over nearly fifty years without losing the essential character that made the original famous.

The StingRay Special retains the same signature features it has had for forty years, including solid roadworthy construction, the iconic oval pickguard, 3+1 tuning key configuration, and the ever-popular Music Man humbucker, all of which combine to produce a look, feel, and sound that is remarkably unmistakable. The Special upgrades the platform with an ash body, roasted maple neck, 22 stainless steel frets, and an 18-volt three-band preamp with neodymium pickups that deliver powerful, clean output in one or two-pickup configurations, making it the lightest and most versatile StingRay yet.

The artist roster built around the StingRay bass reads like a master class in influential bass playing: Tony Levin, Tim Commerford of Rage Against the Machine, Cliff Williams of AC/DC, John Myung of Dream Theater, Joe Dart of Vulfpeck, Stefan Lessard of Dave Matthews Band, Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy, and Pino Palladino, one of the most recorded session bassists in history, have all made the StingRay their instrument of choice.

The Models

StingRay Special — The flagship of the Music Man bass lineup, available in four and five-string configurations and in single humbucker (H) and double humbucker (HH) pickup arrangements. The 18-volt preamp, neodymium pickups, ash body, and roasted maple neck make this the definitive modern StingRay and one of the finest production basses available at any price. The Ball Family Reserve editions, featuring spectacular spalted maple tops, highly figured maple necks, and abalone block inlays, represent the absolute pinnacle of StingRay production.

StingRay Short Scale — The full StingRay voice and aesthetic in a 30-inch short-scale platform with a passive neodymium humbucker that delivers the big, bold StingRay character in a lighter, more comfortable package. A favorite among players who transition from guitar or simply prefer the warmer, more elastic feel of a shorter scale.

Tim Commerford Signature StingRay — Co-developed with the Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave bassist whose aggressive, driving bass lines helped define the sound of 1990s and early 2000s alternative rock, the TC StingRay is built for players who play hard, play loud, and demand an instrument that can keep up.

Pino Palladino Signature StingRay — Developed with one of the most in-demand session and touring bassists in the world, the Pino Palladino StingRay Collection reflects his legendary versatility and refined musical sensibility. A bass built for professional players who need an instrument that sounds as good on a jazz session as it does on a rock stage.

StingRay Classic — A vintage-specification StingRay built to capture the feel and tonal character of the earliest production instruments, with a flat slab body, two-band active preamp, and narrower nut width that gives it a distinctly vintage playing feel.

Cutlass Bass — A single-cutaway design with a more traditional, refined aesthetic than the StingRay, featuring a passive pickup configuration and the classic playing feel of a bolt-on maple neck bass filtered through the Music Man quality standard.

Sabre Bass — The twin-pickup flagship of the Music Man range, offering the most versatile tonal palette in the entire bass lineup. Independent volume controls and a comprehensive switching system allow the Sabre to cover more sonic territory than any other Music Man bass, from round and warm to bright and aggressive.

Valentine Bass — Music Man's most elegant and visually refined bass model, featuring a contoured semi-hollow alder body, a warm and articulate tonal character, and the kind of refined aesthetic sensibility that makes it as appealing visually as it is tonally.

Custom Design Experience

For players who want a StingRay bass built to their exact specifications, the Ernie Ball Music Man Custom Design Experience allows direct configuration of four and five-string StingRay basses in both right and left-handed orientations, with a choice of thirty unique finishes, multiple hardware and pickguard options, and a full range of neck specifications including fretted and fretless options.

Browse our full selection of Ernie Ball Music Man electric basses, and reach out if you'd like help choosing the right model or configuration.