Pre-EB Stingray Buffs.....Look!!!!

[Rick's Fine '52]

Not cheap, but what an item to own. 1st ever 'Ray. Holy Grail

Lovely

[url="http://www.andybaxterbass.com/details.php?id=385"]http://www.andybaxterbass.com/details.php?id=385[/url]

[Wooks79]

Wow, that really is a one in a lifetime bass! Very nice, and great that its still in such good condition!

[MB1]

[b]MB1. [/b]
[b]...Hanging on a string? [/b]

[Fat Rich]

He's had some nice stuff in recently, the stack knob Jazz was rather nice.

[stingrayPete1977]

Not many Rays have a white guard on natural, my '82 does and its grown on me and stands out from the common natural with black ones, It's quite nice that mine looks like the first one

Here is my look alike!
[attachment=123790:Pre EB 1982.jpg]

Edited November 14, 2012 by stingrayPete1977

[RichF]

now this is a truly amazing bass. I think relatively cheap!!! It's significantly more "important" than so many old Fenders I have seen.

[rOB]

I wonder if the first Fender Precision still exists somewhere.

[KiOgon]

I know nothing about Rays, but that is beautiful & I'm sure every Ray lover & collector will be selling vital body parts to get their hands on that one!

[stingrayPete1977]

Already asked the wife to see if we can raid the savings, "no"

[GuyR]

Although it's a lot of money, it's not too dear for what it is. I don't think that will be listed for long........

[Rick's Fine '52]

[quote name='Meddle' timestamp='1352929029' post='1869575']
It is amazing how little the design has changed. I'm speaking the bleeding obvious here, but I'm still amazed!
[/quote]

Like most things Leo was involved in, he got it right first time, if it ain't broke......

[obbm]

I was always led to understand that the early Stingrays had "radio knobs". This one doesn't which makes me suspicious.

[Rick's Fine '52]

[quote name='obbm' timestamp='1352932855' post='1869634']
I was always led to understand that the early Stingrays had "radio knobs". This one doesn't which makes me suspicious.
[/quote]

I'm no expert either on MM's, but I read somewhere that the first ones had white pickup covers? Sure someone will put the record straight on these two issues??

[Count Bassy]

[quote name='Rick's Fine '52' timestamp='1352929147' post='1869577']
Like most things Leo was involved in, he got it right first time, if it ain't broke......
[/quote]
If that were the case then surely the jazz and the stingray need never have existed.

[Rick's Fine '52]

[quote name='Count Bassy' timestamp='1352939017' post='1869724']
If that were the case then surely the jazz and the stingray need never have existed.
[/quote]

Eh?, different instrument, the same as a Strat is a different instrument to a Telecaster. The point was, and as examples, the Stratocaster you buy today, is the exact same format and construction as it was in '54, and still the best selling guitar, how many brands can say that they are unchanged since their first production model?, the same can be said for the telecaster, jazz bass, precision, and even most of the early amps. Your reference to the stingray?, obviously he couldnt go and make another precision after he left, as that was a Fender product, so he had to do a variation on a theme, take the pickguard of a stingray, put in split coil bucker and a precision pickguard, and its almost identical, including body and neck shape. He experimented with electics, circuits, and pickups because he was an inventor, thats what they do. But the instruments he made in the 50's are still made today, and are still the best selling, and instrument of choice of the vast majority of players, both guitarists and bass. That was the point, and its a fact, not my opinion.

[Musicman20]

Nice rare bass there! Seems a fairly decent price for how rare it is. It all depends how genuine it is.

I used to have a lovely Natural/maple board Ray, (my first gateway drug to the world of Musicman) and I must admit I do miss it. If it was a variant of something I have already (eg it was a 2 band instead of 3) I would have kept it.

IMO, the Stingray is the peak of Leo's designs. The P and J are fantastic, but the Ray really does it for me.

[Dingus]

[quote name='Rick's Fine '52' timestamp='1352929147' post='1869577']
Like most things Leo was involved in, he got it right first time, if it ain't broke......
[/quote]

+1 on this point , big style . Leo Fender came up with a series of designs that were almost incomprehensibly brilliant , and were pretty much perfect right from the get- go . No one has bettered any of them to the present day . That's why most people have given up trying .


[quote name='Count Bassy' timestamp='1352939017' post='1869724']
If that were the case then surely the jazz and the stingray need never have existed.
[/quote]

Leo Fender came up with a series of designs - Precision Bass , Jazz Bass , Stingray , G&L- that were each worthwhile additiond to bass guitar design in their own right . They weren't neccesarilly trying to improve on each other , more that they each added to the palette available to bass players . A Precision won't do what a Jazz does , and vice versa. They were each "right the first time" .


[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1352976966' post='1869960']
Nice rare bass there! Seems a fairly decent price for how rare it is. It all depends how genuine it is.

I used to have a lovely Natural/maple board Ray, (my first gateway drug to the world of Musicman) and I must admit I do miss it. If it was a variant of something I have already (eg it was a 2 band instead of 3) I would have kept it.

IMO, the Stingray is the peak of Leo's designs. The P and J are fantastic, but the Ray really does it for me.
[/quote]

To me , the Stingray is the most idiosyncratic of Leo Fender's bass designs . It's such a weird bass tone compared to a Fender that you have to salute his single- mindedness in creating such an individualistic sounding instrument , whether by choice or by accident . Probably quite inadvertantly , Leo created a bass with a voice that would be ideally suited to the sound of pop music in the decades to come.

About this bass , I am surprised it is for sale on the open market like this ; I would have expected it to be in a bank vault or a museum already . I wouldn't want it myself , but I'm sure it will make some rich fella happy for about ten minutes .

On the question of radio knobs , I think they were on the first production run from 1976 , but this being an early prototype could have had whatever knobs Leo had knocking about put on it . Early Stingrays did have white pickup covers too , I have played 76 and 77 'Rays with them on . And the early ones do sound a bit different , too.

Edited November 15, 2012 by Dingus

[4 Strings]

[quote name='Rick's Fine '52' timestamp='1352933057' post='1869636']
I'm no expert either on MM's, but I read somewhere that the first ones had white pickup covers? Sure someone will put the record straight on these two issues??
[/quote]

Sure can - or at least our Anzacian friend can, taken from the site of he that knows about Musicman, http://myweb.ecomplanet.com/TOWN8019/

[size=4][i][color=teal]"B001000[/color]..First production model MM serial number. Reference "Fender The Inside Story" by Forrest White. Production commences June 1976. Natural with Flamed Maple. White pg. Black PUP. Knurled metal knobs."[/i][/size]

From the same source is a known earlier bass (although, to be fair, not 'production';
[i]"[color=teal][size=1]X00205[/size][/color]..1976. "X" denotes a prototype. See pics at page 9 of 1976 MM Catalogue. Black with maple. White pg. Plastic "radio" Knobs'."[/i]

He's a helpful sort and knows everything(!), helped me sort out my Pre-EB 'ray which is one of the many with no date stamps on neck pocket and neck but plenty of other details to place it date wise.

While I'm not sure how cheap this is for an historic bass, the non-historic but just old Fenders being sold for this sort of price can only find homes in those with more money than sense (and I'm very aware that some have plenty of sense, but even more money!). Wish I did, I'd have this about as quick as I could write the cheque.

[stingrayPete1977]

Its listed on the musicman.org site, I checked it yesterday as soon as I saw this thread, It's also when I realised it looks just like mine

[cocco]

I wouldn't have bothered making it in any other colours. That looks fantastic!

[Kiwi]

I'm fairly confident Sterling Ball would be onto this like a rat up a drainpipe...if he knew.

[Musicman20]

Word has it that it was sold in the USA recently for quite a lot less than that.

[Rick's Fine '52]

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1353052952' post='1870892']
Word has it that it was sold in the USA recently for quite a lot less than that.
[/quote]

Interesting. Any evidence of that?

[Musicman20]

Apparently, it is said over on the EBMM forum, it was around $10,000.00 on GC's Platinum site. No idea if this is da truth.

No idea what that would work out as once you've imported it. But, you could quite easily go over on a holiday and bring it back through customs and chance it.

[Count Bassy]

[quote name='Rick's Fine '52' timestamp='1352972750' post='1869878']
Eh?, different instrument, the same as a Strat is a different instrument to a Telecaster. The point was, and as examples, the Stratocaster you buy today, is the exact same format and construction as it was in '54, and still the best selling guitar, how many brands can say that they are unchanged since their first production model?, the same can be said for the telecaster, jazz bass, precision, and even most of the early amps. Your reference to the stingray?, obviously he couldnt go and make another precision after he left, as that was a Fender product, so he had to do a variation on a theme, take the pickguard of a stingray, put in split coil bucker and a precision pickguard, and its almost identical, including body and neck shape. He experimented with electics, circuits, and pickups because he was an inventor, thats what they do. But the instruments he made in the 50's are still made today, and are still the best selling, and instrument of choice of the vast majority of players, both guitarists and bass. That was the point, and its a fact, not my opinion.
[/quote]

Yeah I know, I was just sort of making the point that "perfect" is an absolute, and has to taken in context. One man's perfect can be another man's useless. I play a five string at the moment, so the original P bass, Jazz or Stingray would be perfect for me, however good they might be.

Perhaps I should have sprinkled some smilies around.