Original Stingray Prototype

[Kinjin]

Very cool thread, and excellent picture source Gav! My wife and I were just geeing out over the pics, and comparing that to my 2014 Stingray, very little has changed; when you nail a design, there's no need to change anything, am I right?

 

[Colin]

Gav you are amazing! we need to catch up for a beer soon?

 

[nurnay]

Wow, over $22k US! That would be really cool to own.

 

[Luke_EB]

These worked out great. Thanks Gav!

 

[danny-79]

Very nice thread thanks !
I'm half looking for an old one, I want one from the year I was born (1979) what are the serials from and to for that year ?

 

[ldmm]

I have to agree... this is a very nice thread indeed.
Having the sound clips on that page is a very useful reference.

 

[BrockLee]

B001000 and G001000 are not the firsts. Those plates were set aside for Forrest, #'s 1 were set aside for Tom. Tom never used his. Forrest's were used in December 1976. #2-8 of each scheme were the true first production instruments (all completed 6/23/76). However, production is used very loosely here. It was a few months before they actually were making instruments every single day. They also made at least one X number bass after using 40-50 standard serial number plates.

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

B001000 and G001000 are not the firsts...

On reflection, that would be correct. Just looking at some 1976 Ray's on my site which are dated June, July, Aug. 1976. B001000 is dated Sept 1976. Perhaps "Fender. The Inside Story" means, symbolically, B001000 is the first production Bass.

 

[BrockLee]

B001000 has the wood dates of September 16, 1976 on the neck and October 19, 1976 on the body. G00100 also has a September 16, 1976 neck, but a November 7, 1976 body. That date is only when the wood component passed the woodshop quality control. The employees earned a bonus for the day of completion and every body and neck was logged. It could be in the paint shop for just about any length of time. Necks spent a minimum of a week in there, bodies a minimum of 3 weeks. If a body or neck was at the bottom of a stack, it could takes months to get used. My point is, and something to always remember, those dates on bodies and necks are not completion dates. Usually not even close.

Forrest could very well have grabbed the necks early on and used them later. September is when "real" production kicked in. Meaning they were actually building instruments every day. Prior to mid September 1976, they were not building instruments full time. Just a few a week.

 

[Big Poppa]

Brock whats your history since Music Man? G and L? Tell the crew about yourself...thanks a bunch

 

[BrockLee]

I am just a fan. A while back I managed to purchase most of CLF Research's files spanning before CLF Research (Musitek/Trisonix) to January 1, 1979 (with some misc files that go beyond that). Amongst these files are:

Instrument production logs from start to January 1, 1979.

Instrument invoice carbon copies (the invoices sent to Music Man for payment). Same period of time

Repair logs.

Wood shop weekly production forms (shows each day)

Paint shop weekly production forms.

Music Man purchase orders and production schedules.

And all of the small stuff in between. The materials ordering invoices, the financial stuff, employee stuff, etc. It is pretty much all of the stuff long assumed to have been discarded.

 

[drTStingray]

Wow this thread gets better and better - I guess you can tell, for instance, the production volumes by colour for basses, for example, such as Inca silver, or walnut etc.

 

[BrockLee]

Wow this thread gets better and better - I guess you can tell, for instance, the production volumes by colour for basses, for example, such as Inca silver, or walnut etc.

Kind of.

I can tell you what was ordered and what was initially made. But there were major issues at that place during these golden years. The amount that came back due to finish issues is staggering..and sometimes they went back out in a different color. I have been working on making a spread sheet of all this info over the past 10 months. I am about half way through the repair logs. Even then, everything I have stops cold at January 1. 1979. I have no record of the ones that were sent back after that date.

Unfortunately the finish department logging does not list colors. It just logs how many bodies and necks were finished each day so they could pay the employees the proper bonus. So you don't really get to see the colors until final assembly. I need to look closer at the production schedules and orders and see if I can find an earlier date of order placement somewhere in there.

 

[Big Poppa]

wow how did you score those? thats amazing

 

[bovinehost]

It really is fascinating. Crazy info!

 

[T-bone]

wow how did you score those? thats amazing

Hey wait a minute. We didn't just fall off the ole turnip truck. Come on….spill it.



tbone

 

[BrockLee]

The back story is hearsay. When I confirm it, I will be happy to tell it. Otherwise, I would rather not.

I can tell you this..I am glad I got them when I did. Animals had made nests in some of it and had started eating some of it. Luckily the stuff damaged was things filed in triplicate. Judging from the UV damage, the animal damage, how old some of the nests were..I am wagering these sat out in a shed for 20-30 years.

 

[pacop]

Brocklee, I want to thank you for giving me all the information on my beloved 1977 preeb stingray, otherwise I couldn´t find in this forum. Regards.

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

I was aware that material like this (if not the same) existed when I first saw it on Ebay...perhaps a year or two ago. They wanted big bucks so I passed.

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

.
Brock..you'll have to show the original pickguard designs they considered before deciding on the oval shape pg which is instantly recognisable today.