Misdee

That sounds like a lovely selection of Stingrays. There's always been a discrepancy between what a Stingray is worth and what you can get for one. Their usefulness, quality and formidable reputation undermined by the laws of supply and demand. There's just so many available that it's bound to drive the price down. That said, really nice Music Man basses like you've got will always command a better price than less desirable examples. You could always find bargain-price Stingrays. (Ancient history I know, but I paid £315 for a mint pre-EB in 1989. In 1992 I stumbled on a used EBMM in a guitar shop in Bradford for £400), and that won't have changed. Someone who paid £750 for used Stingray fifteen years ago who needs money might well sell nowadays for £1000 or less and feel like they had done okay on the deal. When it comes to Stingrays, if you've got cash in your hand and you're patient you can still pick up a bargain. It's likely to be an older model, though. As for Specials, even if they go for two grand secondhand, that's a big depreciation the new retail price. The harsh reality is that if you really need to sell, things are worth what you can get for them. The intrinsic value is irrelevant.

I've got a Sire Z3 for plunking on when the mood takes me and it's sounds more like a vintage two band Stingray than my Stingray Special does. The older vintage basses have the treble EQ shelved higher, so it's got that top end slice. They've got a more scooped-out tone than the newer iterations. Around the time Ernie Ball took over production of MusicMan I had a vintage Stingray, and a very nice example it was too. However, for my taste those new EBMM basses I was trying in the shops were superior in every way to my pre-EB Stingray. I would have cheerfully done a straight swap. The Specials have got enough of that vintage sound though, and you can easily EQ it in. The Special is a bit richer in the mids and a more focused tone overall. It's all in my mind, I know, but the Stingray Special being lighter makes it seem even more punchy when I play it. The subtle changes in design have really improved comfort overall. I really like them ( At the moment I'm actively looking to buy a second one to put flats on). If other folks prefer the older basses then good for them, though. As the saying goes, you pay your money and take your choice.

I totally agree about the build quality from EBMM. Arguably the best on the market from that kind of production. I've had several EBMM basses, all bought new, and only one of them was slightly under-parr, and even that one was better than most upmarket USA Fenders. EBMM set themselves high standards. I meant more the consistency from string to string. The weak G on the some of the older Stingrays was a bugbear that took a long time to get sorted out. The Stingray Special doesn't have that problem.

Stingray Specials definitely go for more. FWIW, I think the Specials are by far the best Stingrays ever. The older basses had all sorts of problems that the Special version solved. They don't sound the same as a vintage Stingray, that's true, but I prefer the sound of the Special. It sounds enough like a good Stingray for my needs, and its so much more consistent and comfortable to play. Build quality is superb and the overall design is so well thought out. It's just a shame so many of the stock finishes are so bloody awful that it hurts my eyes to look at them. Try playing a vintage-style Stingray with a slab body weighing ten pounds and upwards for a while and then pickup a Special and it's a relief.

I bet the bloke with the spiky hair was someone famous you didn't recognise. I was once negotiating a purchase at a music shop and Ronnie Size walked in. In an instant it was as if I became invisible and inaudible. I think the staff were all deeply in love with Ronnie.

If you mean for a used Stingray then the best answer is "very variable", but if your patient and look round a while you can get a bargain. The resale on Stingrays can be pretty low compared to the price of a new one because they've been making them a long time, they're very popular, and there were always plenty available in the shops. Consequently, there's loads of them in circulation of various vintages. If you find someone selling one they bought used, you might even pick one up for under a grand. Probably not on Basschat at that price, though.

I'm a bloke in my 50's or 60's (can't remember which!) but I really don't fit the rest of the stereotype. You're quite right though, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Yes, I'm sure Status have grown in reputation and desirability since their voluntary demise. Losing the brand has emphasised it's value. Put it another way, what else can you go out and buy for the equivalent of what a Status bass used to cost? If I remember rightly my Streamline cost about £1600 in late 2016. It was just after Brexit and the pound had crashed against the dollar so UK-made basses looked a good option at the time. That would be equivalent to £2225 today. That's a lot less than a Spector Euro or a USA MM Stingray retails for at the moment. Considering the esoteric designs using woven graphite and the overall quality, Status basses were very reasonably priced in comparison to a lot of other brands. If they relaunched and doubled the prices they still wouldn't be priced out of the market in comparison to their peers. Folks might grumble for a while but they'd get used to it. Luxury goods of all kinds have become more expensive across the board. Look at Wal basses. A MK1 Wal during their heyday in the late 1980's cost the equivalent to £2360 in today's money, and yet people now pay nearly four times that for one. In the '80's Status basses cost substantially more than a Wal Custom. It's all about how the brand is perceived in the eyes of the public.

It's looks like Rob and Dawn are slowly but surely clearing out everything they had knocking about at the factory. I was offered one of those basses in the link about twenty years ago, maybe more I'm pretty sure that run of special basses they did before they stopped doing graphite instruments was a way of using up various bits and pieces they'd had lying around the workshop for years. Nothing wrong with that, I hasten to add, good luck to them. Customers get a beautiful bass to cherish and Rob and Dawn get to add to their retirement fund. Everybody wins. Status made a couple of basses for me in the past and as I've said before, they were top-class people making top-class basses. I've still got my Streamline, and if I could I'd get them to build me something else to keep it company.

I know it will never happen, but if Status Graphite were resurrected and able to offer the same range of instruments again they could charge double what they were before Rob's retirement and their order book would be full. I'd buy one.

I'd be very interested to know how these reissue Aria SB100 basses compare with the originals. I notice these Cliff Burton models are made in Indonesia rather than Japan where the regular SB1000 basses are made nowadays. Are the pickups and electronics ect the same as the original ones and do they sound the same? I'm showing my age now, but the SB1000 was a new model around the time I started playing and it was an iconic bass for me in those days. There were three (one in each finish) in a local music shop. I used to love to look at them, especially the one with a red stain finish. Oh, how I longed for one, but alas they were way beyond my pocket. Lots of top players like Jack Bruce were using them and reviewers (in the back pages of mainstream rock music papers like Sounds, not really any specialist UK guitar magazines in those days) said they exemplified stellar Japanese build quality that was putting companies like Fender to shame. Aria used to be a byword for quality in those days.

I don't get out much.

It was intense.

Each to their own, I'm not hating on it. it's just that whole generic indie scene of the late '80's was not my cup of tea musically. Most of just sounded like a racket to me. Still does now. I have always been out of step with fashion when it comes to what music I like, though, going back as far as I can remember. That said, I've got some great memories of those days, including going to to gigs by bands like Fudge Tunnel, Silverfish,Galaxy 500 et al with various indie chicks and pretending to enjoy myself. There were some very notable exceptions though, like Curve who I went to see at their first few gigs and who had something very special from the beginning. Only one bass player, but a very, very good one.

Neds Atomic Dustbin! I'm having an early '90's flashback! At the time I used to share a house with a girl who was one of their friends from Stourbridge. So I got more than my fair share of Neds Atomic Dustbin. Two bass players, one with a Rickenbacker playing the high parts, one with a Stingray holding it down. On paper a really interesting idea, but unfortunately in reality it just sounded like the typical indie-dirge-by-numbers that was so prevalent in those days. I can't remember any of the songs nowadays but I do remember they sold an awful lot of t shirts to students.

Thank you so much, that's an incredibly kind offer. Yet another example of what decent people bass players tend to be, especially those on Basschat. However, I will politely decline as I have decided it's time to drag myself into the present and see what newer tech has to offer. But thanks anyway, I really appreciate the offer. I'm currently looking at the Sonicake Pocket Master, and also getting an I Rig to play via my phone and downloading some nice amp models to use with it for more serious playing sessions. Money isn't really the issue, it's more ease of use and convenience. My favourite time to play the bass and do some meaningful practise is when I first wake up in the morning and I'm still bleary-eyed, probably because I'm not able to think too much, so I just want something I can switch on and go. I've got a Sire Z3 I keep near my bed and I will plug that in and play to my heart's content. The fact that the Sonicake has Bluetooth for streaming from my phone is one less wire to deal with and a big plus for me.