New Stingray Special 5 - want to confirm I did not receive a returned bass

[Girthbrooks]

Hello everyone,

My Stingray Special 5H in Butane Blue arrived today. This bass was manufactured in February 2025 per the serial number lookup tool.

I bought it from Musician’s Friend and I have a couple of questions to help me verify this was a brand new instrument and not a return that got sold as new. I have bought stuff from MF that arrived clearly used and returned albeit nothing on the higher end so my guard is up.

Couple things I’m curious about.

In this unboxing video the bass has a bubble wrap protection around the headstock and body:

Kiwi Green unboxing

Mine did not have that. The bass was bare in the Mono case. I understand this Kiwi Green model is from a couple years back so perhaps they no longer ship newer production models with the bubble wrap. I watched other unboxing videos and there always seems to be some type of protection in the case. A forum member on another site mentioned that his bass did not have anything, so who knows?

This is how the case and contents looked upon arrival:

Bass + Case Photo

In addition, I bought a Sterling Ray34 a while back and the tuning pegs had plastic wrap to protect them, etc. No such thing on the Stingray Special 5H. Just struck me as odd their lower end Indonesian models had this while this bass did not have that.

Most new instruments I have purchased have had some type of protection on them either on the tuning pegs, plastic around the controls, etc. so I got a bit concerned there was nothing like that with this bass.

Final thing is the pick guard does appear to have a very small gouge underneath the B string. I have not removed the wrap off the guard yet, but it feels deep enough to have penetrated the pick guard.

Pick Guard Gouge

Thanks everyone! If consensus is that this is a new bass I’ll bring it to my tech tomorrow for a professional setup.

 

[DrKev]

Welcome to the forum family and congrats on a great bass!

I don't think Music Man ever used bubble wrap, or the plastic on the tuner buttons (that's a manufacturing/supplier thing with the Sterlings and nothing to worry about).

They used to put instruments in a clear polythene bag and then in the case. I don't know if they still do. Quick perusal of unboxing videos online suggests they don't. But the lack of it does not suggest anything untoward. When I worked in the warehouse of a big music store here in France, most instruments were checked for damage in shipping to the store and then verified as working and tuned before I shipped it. On a busy day, polythene bags didn't get put back.

Re: the pickguard gouge, contact Musicians Friend and Music Man and have a new pickguard sent out to you.

 

[MarkF786]

One thing to check is if there's still film on the pick guard. A prior owner removing it is a give-away.

I had a strange situation when I was sold a returned bass as "new" via Alto Music. There were other problems with the bass (though I hadn't yet realized it was a used/returned bass). When I contacted EBMM's support about the issues with my "new" bass, they weren't helpful in any way, so I gave up on that route. So I decided to order the tools & supplies I needed to repair the bass myself, then I noticed the film was missing from the scratched up pick guard: I lost my patience and shipped it back for a refund.

Oddly enough, I then bought a new bass from Musicians Friend - and surprisingly there was a huge gouge in the pick guard (still with the film), but luckily I had ordered a new one already from the last attempted repair, so I just replaced it and ate the loss.

Overall, my confidence in EBMM's support seriously tanked. Maybe if you want to ride their a** repeatedly you'll get support, but I gave up after a few attempts. If you have skills with working on guitars, just fix their defects yourself.

 

[nebadon]

One thing to check is if there's still film on the pick guard. A prior owner removing it is a give-away.

I had a strange situation when I was sold a returned bass as "new" via Alto Music. There were other problems with the bass (though I hadn't yet realized it was a used/returned bass). When I contacted EBMM's support about the issues with my "new" bass, they weren't helpful in any way, so I gave up on that route. So I decided to order the tools & supplies I needed to repair the bass myself, then I noticed the film was missing from the scratched up pick guard: I lost my patience and shipped it back for a refund.

Oddly enough, I then bought a new bass from Musicians Friend - and surprisingly there was a huge gouge in the pick guard (still with the film), but luckily I had ordered a new one already from the last attempted repair, so I just replaced it and ate the loss.

Overall, my confidence in EBMM's support seriously tanked. Maybe if you want to ride their a** repeatedly you'll get support, but I gave up after a few attempts. If you have skills with working on guitars, just fix their defects yourself.

Yes my experience with EBMM CS wasn't pleasant or helpful: I released was on my own but I am very content with Overall build, finish and Tone/Sound of Special 4H

PS Best to deal with selling Retailer and let them deal with CS if Bass has perceived problem in this case simply send back for refund and get another or go to different Store