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Ernie Ball Music Man Custom Design Experience

Cliff Williams Icon Series

moderith

moderith

Administrator
Joined
Jun 13, 2007
Messages
84
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Check out the Product Page here

The all-new Cliff Williams Icon Series StingRay Bass is the first in a series of limited handcrafted replicas made to capture the look, sound, and essence of iconic Music Man instruments. Initially dubbed “The #1 Workhorse,” Cliff's 1979 Stingray has been his favorite bass for more than 40 years. Built to the exacting specifications of his original, every detail and characteristic was carefully examined and addressed. Body contours, neck carve, pickup construction, and decades of wear and tear were dutifully replicated by Music Man’s team of master craftsmen. The resulting outcome is a finely crafted period-correct instrument that looks, feels, and sounds just like Cliff’s #1 Stingray bass.

Only 26 available worldwide.

Listen to the podcast episode with Cliff Williams and Ernie Ball Music Man engineer Blair Ridings.
 
Bert

Bert

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 16, 2011
Messages
434
Location
(FenderOli) Hessen Germany
Big respect for building it so exactly.
I don’t get that the bass originally is from 1979. I know it is not that important.
The change to EB knobs is easily done, but TM at the headstock, no MM logo at the bridge like a B00, longer pickup magnets sounds more 1978 or earlier.
I can be wrong.
 
D

Dargin

Ernie Ball Customer Service
Joined
Jan 27, 2004
Messages
3,136
Location
San Luis Obispo
Hi Burt, I asked Blair Ridings (He spent two years almost exclusively on the Cliff) to write up a little blog post to address a few of your questions. Here it is:

When Dudley Gimpel and I started dissecting the bass (which was in our possession for over a year), we were calling it a 1977 due specifically to the pickup construction. The 1" long, 3/8" diameter pole pieces and specific wire gauge are known as the hallmark characteristics of a 1977.

However, upon disassembly we found the factory date stamp in the neck pocket. The final number of the year is hard to make out exactly because of some of the original sprayed on paint hiding just enough. What we can clearly see is there is no way that last number is a "7". It certainly looks like a "9" to me. This had Dudley and I scratching our heads. When Cliff confirmed that he has always known this bass to be a 1979, we found no reason to argue.

Keep in mind that we are talking about the month of February of said year as well, which is very early on. Additionally, the stamp was obviously placed on the body before paint. Who knows how long after milling this body was painted, then buffed, then set up, then shipped out. The documentation and records of Pre-EB Music Man production is not the most thorough thing in the world. This could also speak to why Cliff's pickup has more windings than most of the others of this type of Stingray, i.e. the factory was changing over to the newer style of pickup.

There are other small nuances that can help decipher the true year of a Stingray of this era (Serial # placement on the bridge plate or neck plate, etc.), but ultimately we created the bass exactly as Cliff plays it today.
 

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