Musicman Stingray Fretless... 1985??

[LiverpoolBassPlayer]

Hi Basschatters,

 

My first 'proper' post on BC!!

 

So, wandering through post-covid Farnham, Surrey some 3 years ago, my son, who was interested in buying a Strat at the time, dragged me into Guitar Village. Not that I needed much cajoling, of course as Guitar Village is just an amazing place, with great staff and a great selection of instruments. The building is double cool too!

 

Anyway, wandering past the bass section, a fretless Stingray on the wall called my name. I didn’t partake at first but suggested I might have a play before we leave. When eventually got my hands on it, that ‘play’ lasted for about 90 mins and I was smitten. Long story short, I eventually bought it, double prompted by wife & son.

 

 

The Stingray is wonderful to play and gets gigged frequently. I was keen to understand the history so entered the serial number into BC to see if it had appeared before, and sure enough she had popped up in this post from 2012 - 

 

 

Seemingly the seller was unwilling to give additional details to confirm the age of the bass, but those who participated in the original thread may be interested to know the missing details.

 

As suggested by the learned chatters at the time, the neck does infact have a 1985 stamp, and I can further confirm that at least one of the pots has a code of R13783. You can hear the bass on these 2 tracks...

So, that's the story of my Fretless Stingray.

 

Thanks for reading!!

 

Pete

 

[bigthumb]

A great period for stingrays and wish I wish I wish I kept my '86 Ray but there we are. Sounds great on them tracks 👍

[LiverpoolBassPlayer]

Thanks, bigthumb. Yeah, totally agree. I have a 1983 Stingray fretted too, which is a lot heavier (slab body) but is just fantastic.

[SurroundedByManatees]

That looks awesome. Honeyburst is my favorite MM finish

 

As the 3 band eq was introduced in 1987, it's probably not older than that. Assuming that the preamp is original. 

 

Maybe they had some fretless necks in the warehouse that they could fit in the orders for fretless basses for the upcoming years.

 

(The control plate might be dated in the inside).

Edited April 7 by SurroundedByManatees

[LiverpoolBassPlayer]

Thanks, SurroundedByManatees,

 

Yes, the Honeyburst is lovely. Unfortunately the nitro (or whatever they used) is cracked significantly, but she's still a looker from a distance

 

The 3 band is the oddity, so you are likely right. I didn't look at the control plate when I removed it, so I'll take another look, but ultimately she seems like she's a hotchpotch of leftover parts.

Edited April 7 by LiverpoolBassPlayer
Spelling mistakes

[NJE]

  On 07/04/2025 at 11:13, LiverpoolBassPlayer said:

Thanks, bigthumb. Yeah, totally agree. I have a 1983 Stingray fretted too, which is a lot heavier (slab body) but is just fantastic.

Expand  

So jealous, I search daily for 1983 Stingrays. Stupidly took my time on one that Bass Bros had a while back and missed out. 

[LiverpoolBassPlayer]

  On 07/04/2025 at 13:09, NJE said:

So jealous, I search daily for 1983 Stingrays. Stupidly took my time on one that Bass Bros had a while back and missed out. 

Expand  

I'm lucky to have had the '83 fretted since about 1993, NJE and she's my number 1 bass. That said, I'd just bought a TRB 6 which, if I can get my hands around the string spacing, she may come a very close 2nd!

[NJE]

I don’t play 6 strings, but even I was tempted once after playing a John Patitucci JP2. Lovely basses the TRBs

[LiverpoolBassPlayer]

Yes, it’s my first foray into anything but a 4 and although it will take me a while to transition, the bass itself is wonderful. 

[Grahambythesea]

Beautiful, I’m jealous. But did your son find a Strat?

 

[LiverpoolBassPlayer]

Good question, Graham. ultimately he did, but not from the shop we visited on that day. Very nice it is too!!

[LiverpoolBassPlayer]

I’ve just noticed that the original post from way back when didn’t stick to my original post. You can find it here:

 

[uk_lefty]

I would love a fretless Stingray!! Lovely sound on those recordings, and in general, really decent tracks! Will listen some more tomorrow!

[LiverpoolBassPlayer]

Thanks for the kind words, uk_lefty. Really appreciated. That’s my Mrs on vocals and I’m v proud to say that we did our first gig together 41 years ago this month. We still gig regularly and write/record frequently with the output being on Spotify infrequently. 
 

cant talk highly enough about the Stingray. You should definitely get one 😉