The Ernie Ball 2018 Stingray Special

[fretmeister]

Prices will get worse when poor little UK is left out of the big trade deals and the Orange Dipsh1t starts swinging his tariffs around more.

 

Lovely.

[Ghost_Bass]

2 hours ago, NJE said:

I was really not impressed by the changes when I first heard about them, but I have done a bit of U-turn. I think they have made some valid and purposeful changes to the bass rather than just change the colour and tweak a pickup. The roasted necks look superb and the sculpted neck joint is lovely, but I still think this is big lump of money for a Stingray.

Perhaps I haven't got with the times on what things cost, but when I first started playing and fairly recently, I have bought second-hand Stingrays in immaculate condition for less than 1k, so I don't understand buying one for more than double that. I am a fan though and I have to say if I had the spare money I would love to pick up a second-hand Smoothie or Classic Ray which are a premium.

Good on them though, a really nice set of updates to a classic bass and you still have the option for a classic reproduction if they aren't your cup of tea.

Well... when a Fender sets you back close to 1.5k and doesn't have half the QC, Fit&Finish and attention to detail i can't say that Musicman is an expensive brand. They're absolutely flawless basses. well worth the 2k price tag in comparisson with the competition. It's still too rich for my pocket though.

[mcnach]

48 minutes ago, Ghost_Bass said:

Well... when a Fender sets you back close to 1.5k and doesn't have half the QC, Fit&Finish and attention to detail i can't say that Musicman is an expensive brand. They're absolutely flawless basses. well worth the 2k price tag in comparisson with the competition. It's still too rich for my pocket though.

 

That's a good point...

[NJE]

1 hour ago, Ghost_Bass said:

Well... when a Fender sets you back close to 1.5k and doesn't have half the QC, Fit&Finish and attention to detail i can't say that Musicman is an expensive brand. They're absolutely flawless basses. well worth the 2k price tag in comparisson with the competition. It's still too rich for my pocket though.

Yeah totally agree, my stingray is incredibley well made. I think on the whole I can’t quite believe how much American made basses are, I remember paying £650 new for my first American standard precision but then that was about 18 years ago now 😬

[drTStingray]

I checked up on progress with my order yesterday and they should be here mid August - so the Stingray Specials should be in stores then as well. 

[Chiliwailer]

As if my GAS wasn't bad enough already...

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/the-2018-stingray-special-color-poll-w-pics.1352598/

Post 12 has pics of all the 4-string colours too.

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

1 hour ago, Chiliwailer said:

As if my GAS wasn't bad enough already...

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/the-2018-stingray-special-color-poll-w-pics.1352598/

Post 12 has pics of all the 4-string colours too.

There’s a couple of colours there I really like - Ivory White/~Maple, Jet Black/Rosewood, Burnt Apple, Dropped Copper, but the one I like best is Charcoal Sparkle which is unfortunately a bit too close to two I already have i.e. the Sledge and Starry Night 😬

[fretmeister]

The copper one is lovely - needs a black plate though.

[Chiliwailer]

4 hours ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

There’s a couple of colours there I really like - Ivory White/~Maple, Jet Black/Rosewood, Burnt Apple, Dropped Copper, but the one I like best is Charcoal Sparkle which is unfortunately a bit too close to two I already have i.e. the Sledge and Starry Night 😬

I’m liking the Jet Black and Burnt Apple too, plus the two Sparkles. I’ve already got a white Ray, which is weird as I usually don’t like owning white basses, but she’s a good’n. Tough choice for you though with the Charcoal, wonder which you’ll get... cos we all know you’re getting one!  

I’ll be driving past Bass Direct in September, that could be dangerous... 

[drTStingray]

5 hours ago, Chiliwailer said:

I’m liking the Jet Black and Burnt Apple too, plus the two Sparkles. I’ve already got a white Ray, which is weird as I usually don’t like owning white basses, but she’s a good’n. Tough choice for you though with the Charcoal, wonder which you’ll get... cos we all know you’re getting one!  

I’ll be driving past Bass Direct in September, that could be dangerous... 

I think the charcoal one is great but possibly very similar indeed to the starry night. I went for the aqua sparkle - it's a deeper blue in some of the pictures I've seen compared to the front on view on Talkbass - I guess the colour shifts with the lighting - they're all pretty good colours though. 

And even the 5 strings are quoted as about 8.5 lbs. 

[Chiliwailer]

5 hours ago, drTStingray said:

I think the charcoal one is great but possibly very similar indeed to the starry night. I went for the aqua sparkle - it's a deeper blue in some of the pictures I've seen compared to the front on view on Talkbass - I guess the colour shifts with the lighting - they're all pretty good colours though. 

And even the 5 strings are quoted as about 8.5 lbs. 

Great colour choice, I’d quite like that one hanging on my wall

There are some tasty upgrades but it’s the weight that’s probably got me drooling the most....

[fretmeister]

I've started finding all the little things I've got that I never use in the hope of raising some cash.

 

Pickups, parts, guitars, amps etc. Even old DVDs and stuff.

I really want a 4 string with that dark maple board.

[Chiliwailer]

That didn’t take long...

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/2018-ebmm-stingray-special-4h-charcoal-sparkle-yes-one-of-the-new-ones.1354375/

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

1 hour ago, Chiliwailer said:

That didn’t take long...

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/2018-ebmm-stingray-special-4h-charcoal-sparkle-yes-one-of-the-new-ones.1354375/

Madness 🙄

[drlargepants]

2 hours ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

Madness 🙄

Argh my eyes, that’s hideous !

[Chiliwailer]

9 hours ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

Madness 🙄

Like those nutters that list Old Smoothies for sale 🤭

[NancyJohnson]

I've never owned a Stingray and I doubt I will any time soon, but in the unlikely event Sterling called up and said, 'Hey Paul, we love what you're doing, go ahead and pick a bass,' I think I'd have to go with a 4HH in the black and ebony combination (I just pulled this off the configurator):

...interestingly, there's a bass shown on the current EB Stingray promo that has blocks on the neck, so those over dots please.

The 5-stringers have never done it for me...I've often wondered why MusicMan have a different design set for the 5; the champfers, that monstrous scratchplate.  Why can't they just make a 5-string version of the 4-string?

Edited July 25, 2018 by NancyJohnson

[stingrayPete1977]

3 hours ago, NancyJohnson said:

 

The 5-stringers have never done it for me...I've often wondered why MusicMan have a different design set for the 5; the champfers, that monstrous scratchplate.  Why can't they just make a 5-string version of the 4-string?

They do

[drlargepants]

20 minutes ago, stingrayPete1977 said:

They do

Quite rare though no ?

[stingrayPete1977]

screen capture tool

 

Here's mine, 2010 tobacco burst. 

Rarer than a typical stingray five or four but available new, at a price. 

[stingrayPete1977]

I didn't realise what they cost new now or how hard to find in five strings they are, Thomann was the only place I found one, £2801. 

[drlargepants]

Madness 

[HazBeen]

On 05/07/2018 at 12:47, mcnach said:

And only a couple of years ago you could buy a Stingray 4-string for almost £1000 less...

I remember buying my 1st Stingray in ‘93, it was a 2 band Sea Green (blue green) 4... obviously an H. Cost me an arm and a leg, I was 19 at the time. Nowhere near the ridiculous prices they are now..... still, such is...Fender has also increased prices over time and to me a Stingray = better value for money.

[HazBeen]

19 minutes ago, stingrayPete1977 said:

I didn't realise what they cost new now or how hard to find in five strings they are, Thomann was the only place I found one, £2801. 

Custom built in UK or Germany prices...

[drlargepants]

I’ve never got Stingrays to be honest, which is a shame as they are plentiful secondhand. 

I believe there is one with a jazz width nut though, so that might be worth a shot.