| StingRay | |
|---|---|
 An Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay | |
| Manufacturer | Ernie Ball Music Man |
| Period | 1976 — present |
| Construction | |
| Body type | Solid |
| Neck joint | Bolt-on, Neck-through (as of 2015) |
| Woods | |
| Body | Ash, alder, basswood |
| Neck | Maple |
| Fretboard | Fretted: maple, rosewood, ebony Fretless: pao ferro (lined and unlined options available) |
| Hardware | |
| Bridge | Fixed |
Music Man StingRay is an electric bass by Music Man, introduced in 1976.
Designed by Leo Fender, Tom Walker, and Sterling Ball, the StingRay[1] bass appeared in 1976 and, though somewhat similar to a Fender Precision Bass, had a number of distinctive features.
It employed Humbucking pickups both placed near the bridge for a tighter sound, [2] and an active pre-amp powered by a 9-volt battery. Early iterations of this preamp came with a 2-band EQ (bass and treble), later augmented by an optional third band (midrange), and Piezo pickups located in the bridge saddles.
The Stingray also had the distinctive "3+1" headstock (on which three tuning machines are situated on the top and one on the bottom).
The typical Stingray line has traditionally featured an Ash body construction along with a maple neck with either a Maple or Rosewood fingerboard. In recent years, the 'Natural Roasted Maple' finish has become popular, due to the wood's beautiful aesthetics and more satisfying and natural feel to the player due to there being no hard lacquer coat over the top. Alongside this, a fretless Pau Ferro fingerboard has become increasingly popular.
