NBD (NFFD? New fretless fretboard day?) Fretless Stingray Conversion

[Cairobill]

A NBD of a sort. After searching high and low for a decent late eighties fretless ray and failing miserably in my quest, I've had the fretboard replaced on one my late eighties Stingrays.

A fretless ray (in my head at least) isn't rosewood or pao ferro, it's ebony; so I went for a dark (old stock) ebony with partial lines on the edge. 

It's been 100% successful; this is easily the perfect fretless for me and a staggeringly good bass.

The ebony and the two band gives you that Levin 'ping' with the treble up, and crafty tweaking of the bass vs treble on the 2 band EQ brings out the bark in the ebony to give a passable Karn-esque honk. It also does that languorous mwah like no other fretless I've owned. That singing, Pino style is there on tap.

Playability is 10/10 with the late 80s ray neck profile and world class, exquisite work from the Bass Gallery, who are the best.

And it weighs 9lbs! Ahhhhh...

Quick pics!




 

Edited December 17, 2021 by Cairobill

[Linus27]

That is gorgeous. I get my fretless Stingray with pau ferro board back from my luthier tomorrow. I so can't wait.

 

May I ask how much this cost to have done and how long it took? I'm not sure if I like the Pau Ferro board on mine and have been considering getting a Status neck but this may be another option.

[uk_lefty]

Have oft considered buying the cheaper Ray34 and getting this done...! Very interested

[Hellzero]

It looks like an excellent work. Glad you like it.

[drTStingray]

15 hours ago, Cairobill said:

A NBD of a sort. After searching high and low for a decent late eighties fretless ray and failing miserably in my quest, I've had the fretboard replaced on one my late eighties Stingrays.

A fretless ray (in my head at least) isn't rosewood or pao ferro, it's ebony; so I went for a dark (old stock) ebony with partial lines on the edge. 

It's been 100% successful; this is easily the perfect fretless for me and a staggeringly good bass.

The ebony and the two band gives you that Levin 'ping' with the treble up, and crafty tweaking of the bass vs treble on the 2 band EQ brings out the bark in the ebony to give a passable Karn-esque honk. It also does that languorous mwah like no other fretless I've owned. That singing, Pino style is there on tap.

Playability is 10/10 with the late 80s ray neck profile and world class, exquisite work from the Bass Gallery, who are the best.

And it weighs 9lbs! Ahhhhh...

Quick pics!




 

Noting you mention the ebony, of course we all know wood makes no difference to the sound (so say some 😂 ) however you have a fine trans red Ray there, which is almost certainly on an alder body - and alder bodied Stingrays have a certain warmth and mellowness which the ash ones have less of (note this, ‘wood makes no difference naysayers’) - unless you’ve tried them back to back, you won’t know. 
 

This also reminds me that the Stingray fretless is one of the best fretless instruments which used to be available - and occasionally is in limited numbers from the factory. I still love mine and go all fretless every so often!

 

Fabulous bass you have there, and the neck job looks excellent. 

[Cairobill]

Yup, fretless Stingrays are rare birds and factory fitted ebony boarded ones even rarer. So I took matters into my own hands so to speak. Fingerboard wood choice is central to the sound a fretless makes of course (unless you cover the wood with epoxy).

And indeed, this is one of those alder trans red Rays. Sounds fabulous and, compared to my Ash/maple (that's only 6 months away from it on the production line), it has an audible low-mid bump which is also visible in the frequency spectrum. 

[BassAgent]

Pwoah, that's absolutely gorgeous. Love the colour, too. I have considered having the same thing done to a Ray34 or old SUB before I found my current fretless Sterling (with a fretless Status neck). But this is something else, beautywise. Terrific.

[Cairobill]

10 minutes ago, BassAgent said:

Pwoah, that's absolutely gorgeous. Love the colour, too. I have considered having the same thing done to a Ray34 or old SUB before I found my current fretless Sterling (with a fretless Status neck). But this is something else, beautywise. Terrific.

Yup, it's a beauty. One benefit of going a bit further back with Musicman basses is the quality of the maple on even a standard Stingray. Flamed Birdseye no less!

[MattM]

I’ve been fortunate to have had a couple of fretless ‘Rays in my time, both Pau Ferro, one lined, the other unlined and I’m fortunate to be enjoying a fabulous Tony Franklin Precision neck on ‘78 P body bass (bitsa kinda insults it as it’s so goddam good) courtesy of a great WTB response by @eadof this parish.   A ‘Ray would’ve been my first choice but, like yourself, decent fretless variants are thin on the ground.  
 

My second favourite bass sound after a 2EQ ‘Ray is a decent Precision with flats, and this delivers that in spades.  The combination of Chromes and ebony fretboard is incredible, easily the most playable fretless Ive ever owned.   The fretless P/Chromes combo was, of course, beloved by David J and I’m literally going to get killed by all my family if I play ‘Bela’ one more time…

[drTStingray]

2 hours ago, Cairobill said:

Yup, it's a beauty. One benefit of going a bit further back with Musicman basses is the quality of the maple on even a standard Stingray. Flamed Birdseye no less!

My Ray fretless from 93 has a neck virtually the same as that (sans skunk stripe) - you are right, most Rays up to 2002 or so have figured maple necks - in fact the Classic series basses were based on the late 80s spec largely AIUI. Whilst we’re talking fretless Rays here’s my 93 - snapped up off EBay around 12 yrs ago for £751!!

 

[gareth]

Well done what a great result - ebony a terrific choice

[Misdee]

That looks like a lovely bass, and I'm sure the sound more than matches the good looks!

 

EBMM basses of this era always make me wonder "why don't they make them like that anymore?" Stingrays never look right to me without that bridge with the mutes, even though I never used the mutes on my Stingray when I had one.   Late 80s/early 90s was a golden age for these basses ( and for bass playing in general, but don't get me on to that...😐). I don't remember Stingrays feeling heavy in 1989 either, but that must be because I was thirty-odd years younger. And a bit more optimistic.

 

It's looks like the Gallery have done a superlative job on this one. I've got an ebony board on my Lakland 44-02 fretless and it sounds wonderful . I hope those round wounds don't mark that beautiful fingerboard too much. It's a work of art in itself.

[Cairobill]

11 hours ago, Misdee said:

EBMM basses of this era always make me wonder "why don't they make them like that anymore?"

I'm with you on that. Mid 80s and earlier are too big a spend for me. But the late 80s are really cheap for what they are and, most importantly, they have a beautiful, narrowish neck profile. Both of mine are from 1989 and this red one is a hair over 9lbs. Plus the 2 bands just sound fantastic.

Edited December 28, 2021 by Cairobill

[Misdee]

4 hours ago, Cairobill said:

I'm with you on that. Mid 80s and earlier are too big a spend for me. But the late 80s are really cheap for what they are and, most importantly, they have a beautiful, narrowish neck profile. Both of mine are from 1989 and this red one is a hair over 9lbs. Plus the 2 bands just sound fantastic.

The thing is, I think we are both being slightly disingenuous when  we claim to wonder why EBMM don't make them like this nowadays. It's obvious that they would be much more expensive!😊 If EBMM are asking three grand for a Stingray Special, what would they charge to for a bass like this one?

Edited December 28, 2021 by Misdee

[Cairobill]

Just now, Misdee said:

The thing is, I think we are both being slightly disingenuous when claim to wonder why EBMM don't make them like this

 Yup - I actually went back to Stingrays via a very nice ivory white Classic 'Ray from 2010 or so. And soon discovered that you can pick up a late 80s Ray for a lot less. And in a number of ways the older bass is a better instrument for me (although I really like the Classics).

[Misdee]

I missed out on a 9 pound Classic they had at Bass Direct a couple of years ago and I'm still miffed about it. I am still sans-Stingray, although my Bongo and Reflex make up for it a bit. 

I much prefer  the feel and durability of a laquered neck on most basses to the oil and wax they use now. So many manufacturers, not just EBMM, go the way of oil and wax precisely because it is much less expensive to apply. Oil and wax can get to look very grubby after a few years unless you really maintain it. I've got enough chores to do already.

[drTStingray]

The roasted maple necks of current Stingray Specials don’t discolour and feel absolutely exquisite - they also feel like they have a slightly narrower profile.
 

Whilst I like my Classic Ray with its lacquered neck, the oil/wax roasted maple take it for me - I guess we all have our preferences. The BFR instruments with lacquered, figured roasted maple necks are quite stunning (the fretless variants have tempted me).

 

However I do agree these late 80s/early  90s instruments are fabulous - and very good value. 

[Misdee]

23 hours ago, drTStingray said:

The roasted maple necks of current Stingray Specials don’t discolour and feel absolutely exquisite - they also feel like they have a slightly narrower profile.
 

Whilst I like my Classic Ray with its lacquered neck, the oil/wax roasted maple take it for me - I guess we all have our preferences. The BFR instruments with lacquered, figured roasted maple necks are quite stunning (the fretless variants have tempted me).

 

However I do agree these late 80s/early  90s instruments are fabulous - and very good value. 

The Stingray Special has its own strengths and charms, for sure. I would love one myself. I just can't quite bring myself to fork out three grand for a Stingray. They sound wonderful to me, no doubt about that though.

 

I think all unlaquered necks are inherently vulnerable to over time. The good thing about roasted maple  cosmetically is that it is much darker so less likely to show the marks. However, I would expect any neck finish from any manufacturer that didn't seal the wood to potentially be more prone to humidity ect . I've got oil/wax finished necks and old fashioned laquered ones too. I don't notice too much difference in terms of stability, but then again I'm only playing them at home in my bedroom and imagining that I am on a world tour. If I was on an actual  world tour in real life it might be a different story.😄

Edited December 29, 2021 by Misdee

[drTStingray]

My earliest unlacquered roasted maple neck is on a 2014 Classic Sabre - the neck hadn’t discoloured on that - I’ve had an SR5 with standard oil and wax finish on maple neck since 2003 and that has changed colour - it’s basically darkened significantly and started to develop some figuring, which to my eyes is quite pleasing - it doesn’t simply look dirty though I know what you mean as they can do. Whilst neither have been on a world tour 😂 they have both been gigged extensively. 
 

As I said before, we all have our preferences - my Classic Ray with lacquered neck is equally playable on gigs than the other but in you get chance, try a Special - the necks are exquisite - they do pop up used occasionally though mine are going nowhere!! 
 

Edited December 29, 2021 by drTStingray