The universe unfolds as it should (early Stingray 5 content)

So a couple weeks ago I picked up two very nice Music Man Basses – a Stingray 4 2-banded and a cool medallion gold Sterling. The Stingray ended up being cool but not cool – yes it was a 2 band and trans orange, but shortly after I posted my NBD thread I found out that the 2 band was an aftermarket mod, and the bass still had the side of body hole for eve jack. Argh! Still have to decide what to do about that one – bass still sounds great though so I’ll probably wait to find a OEM 3 band setup and swap it back in at some point.

The Sterling was a lot of fun, but I kept having this nagging “I want a 5 String in the house” feeling. Then seemingly out of nowhere a very early Stingray 5 appeared. Beet low serial (2 digit), looked like it had been taken care of but *played*. Looking it up in the serial thread it came back with a completion date in July 1988, which makes it a very early example in the first few months of production. Seller was looking for a 4 banger, and I decided to take a shot. Long story short we worked out a deal and the Stingray came home with me. One of my longest serving and favorite basses was an early 2000’s Stingray 5 with the ceramic pickup. Wasn’t sure what to expect of this one but i am definitely a fan or the original alnico pickup and pre amp voicing. The bass has some real wear, including a chunk of the back that apparently was grafted on after a particularly nasty fall. According to the guy I got it from, he had bought it from the second owner, with the original owner being a touring bassist in a country band. Wondering if it’s that players initials (HB) that were carved by the bridge?

So I’m a very happy camper. My world feels much more balanced with a Stingray 5 back in the house, and it’s just a killer bass that I’m thinking the honeymoon is going to linger for a while.

Enough talk – I know pics are the reason you’re here…

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