2018 USA built Ernie Ball Musicman Stingray
This is the brand new designed Stingray from Musicman. Actually although it looks broadly the same there are a lot of improvements, and these “improvements” actually do improve the bass, and not just done for the sake of it.
First off it’s really light – 8.4lbs and you notice it the first time you pick it up. This is down to the new light weight tuners, the aluminium hardware and the ultra light swamp ash body. However, you don’t miss out on tone – this is the best Stingray I’ve played.
Other new features include 22 frets (up one from the old Stingray) and these frets are made from stainless steel – very hard wearing and also they keep their shine. They really looks great set against the new darker, roasted neck, which is another new feature.
The pick up has been re-designed, and it now has neodymium magnets (sounds good to me) and still sounds like a Stingray should. The other change is the neck joint – it now has 5 bolts and is sculpted for easy top fret access. All in all this is a great bass.