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  • Sterling by MusicMan

stu42

Well-known member
Joined
May 18, 2007
Messages
562
Location
Calgary, Alberta
Yup. New hardware, different contours, 18V preamp and neodymium pickup(s).

Very cool. I hope I'll be able to find one at a store so I can check it out. I definitely miss not having the Bongo 5H as an option but if the new SR5 comes close that might be a great alternative.
 

stu42

Well-known member
Joined
May 18, 2007
Messages
562
Location
Calgary, Alberta
BTW...where can a guy see all the new colours for the SR4 and/or SR5 models? I checked the website and have seen some of them in the videos but is there somewhere you guys are looking to see all of the new colours and their names etc? Thanks!
 

tbonesullivan

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 24, 2012
Messages
2,429
Location
New Jersey
IMHO, HS is the most versatile pickup combination offered. You can get so many different sounds out of it, combined with the EQ. I hope that they eventually start offering the HS on the SR4 and SR5 again. I find it to be more useful than HH. THe "neck" H is just too mushy for my tastes. The S tames that.
 

stu42

Well-known member
Joined
May 18, 2007
Messages
562
Location
Calgary, Alberta
Correct and correct.


DSC2815-Custom-1.jpg



That looks awesome. In the Long & McQuade video A.J. referred to this as Envy Green. Is that the same Envy Green as the one from several years ago?
 

Dargin

Ernie Ball Customer Service
Joined
Jan 27, 2004
Messages
3,135
Location
San Luis Obispo
I just checked the website and it shows that both the SR4 and SR5 are available in HS (as well as H and HH). :)

2018 Stingrays are only available in H / HH. There are 64 combinations of the Stingray available this year. We didn't add fretless (l think 10 to 20 total last year) or HS (less than 50). Matching headstocks take a lot of extra work and the up charge would price itself out of the market.
 

Joeglow

Active member
Joined
Dec 28, 2017
Messages
38
The Classic Series retain the clear gloss finish while the revamped SR4/5 have oil/wax treatment on the roasted neck. You could probably lightly scuff the gloss neck with a 3M green pad to get a closer to raw wood finish without having to fully strip it down.

Yeah, I've done that to other necks I've owned. Still not really the same IMO. I might just strip the palm side of the neck and oil it. I'm not concerned about the fretboard as much as the palm rest side of the neck. I also don't want to remove the logos from the headstock so I'll tape off the entire neck and reveal the back, strip it and sand it off, then oil it.
 

Michael Murphy

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 10, 2011
Messages
121
Location
San Francisco, California, United States
2018 Stingrays are only available in H / HH. There are 64 combinations of the Stingray available this year. We didn't add fretless (l think 10 to 20 total last year) or HS (less than 50). Matching headstocks take a lot of extra work and the up charge would price itself out of the market.

Thanks for that info. It's really interesting to see the reasons behind decisions like that. Really appreciated!
(Though i'm pretty surprised there were that few fretless Stingrays ordered.)
 

RocketMusic

Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2017
Messages
13
Location
Blacksburg, VA
This lovely bass passed through my store last week. If I hadn't sold it as it was on the way to me, I would have bought it. I cried a little, on the inside, as I shipped it. Knowing I couldn't order another one just like it.

6623-FRONT-1200.jpg
 

Musicfreak1988

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 10, 2004
Messages
131
Location
Antwerp, Belgium
2018 Stingrays are only available in H / HH. There are 64 combinations of the Stingray available this year. We didn't add fretless (l think 10 to 20 total last year) or HS (less than 50). Matching headstocks take a lot of extra work and the up charge would price itself out of the market.

Why no lefties this time? I won’t say I’m not disappointed a little bit, but I understand it’s probably about cost (?). However, the ‘Ray is so iconic that I wonder why the Sterling is available and the ‘Ray is not. I guess because of the new bodyshape and neck, whereas the Sterling remains the same, so no adjustments to your hard- and software are needed. I love everything about the new ‘Ray, including the finishes. Needless to say that I would have ordered one if it were available as a lefty. Now for the big question: will the ‘Ray be available as a lefty any time soon? Thanks.
 

tbonesullivan

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 24, 2012
Messages
2,429
Location
New Jersey
I would guess it depends on how well the new stingray goes over. The guitar/bass industry is full of people who are purists that hate things like change. Not all are that way, but there are some who run screaming from any type of change. I don't see that it would be a problem, but you never know.
 

bass-slinger

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 6, 2009
Messages
52
Hi all, have not been on here in a while, in Dec. just bought a Chili red Stingray HH to go with my trusty Bongo. I had a couple of questions about the new stingray...
-will the pickup switching for the HH be the same?
-will the neck-throughs still have painted necks or will they be unfinished (the oil finish)?
 

PeteDuBaldo

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 16, 2004
Messages
10,192
Location
Central Connecticut (Manchester) USA
This lovely bass passed through my store last week. If I hadn't sold it as it was on the way to me, I would have bought it. I cried a little, on the inside, as I shipped it. Knowing I couldn't order another one just like it.

6623-FRONT-1200.jpg



Gorgeous blank plank! Evidently the fretless models were all ordered and built around the same time, we've had several come through lately.
 

Randracula

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 10, 2005
Messages
2,485
Location
Fontana,CA,In The Valley Of The Dirt!
Wow, I had no idea when I ordered my new bass last October that fretless, 2-eq, and SLO Special necks were soon to be a thing of the past. The good news is that the new stuff is killer. I’m already GAS’ing for another bass...
 

tbonesullivan

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 24, 2012
Messages
2,429
Location
New Jersey
If the SLO necks were popular, I can imagine that they will be back for the new stingrays. EBMM just went through a MAJOR revamp of the entire stingray line. They've gotta get that right, and then maybe the SLO necks will come back.
 
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