Stingray/Status Build
 

So, I have a 1992 stingray that I love. It's got an amazing wooden neck, and I had Victor Wooten sign it. It's my main bass. But I also have a Jazz with a Status neck. I LOVE the graphite tone.

So I'm trying to build a status stingray. Trouble is, I don't want to waste the neck on my Stingray. I don't know if I should buy a new stingray and sell the neck to compensate, or if I should buy a new cheap OLP from GC. But I don't know if an OLPs measurements are the same Asa real stingray. I just don't know.

I can't find stingray bodies or parts anywhere, so if I were to buy an OLP or something, I wouldn't know where to upgrade its bridge for instance.

I'm just looking for some information, and a push in the right direction.

Thanks

Music Man is very strict on their necks. You will not find one for sale generally anywhere from my findings. You can read up on it on their website, but if you want a neck, you have to write them and get it.

He wants a body, not a neck. He's wondering where to get their hardware, like the bridges.

Well to clarify, my goal is a stingray with a status graphite neck. What I'm having trouble with, is if I should buy a stingray and swap the neck, then sell its original neck to make some money. Or if I should go cheap and buy some cheap sub or sterling version to put a status neck on.

If I go with the first option, I'm losing a lot of money. If I go with the second option, I have to find better hardware, and make sure all the measurements are like a real stingray.

OLP's are garbage but if you are just gutting the electronics and putting a new neck on I would probably go that route myself. A body is a body, unless your one of those tone wood weirdos :hiding: Get a pro lutheir to install the neck and do the finishing touches though.

EDIT: Have you tried to find a Ray body? I have seen them before and a used Ray sells for $700-$900 generally so I would imagine a body would be quite affordable if you really wanted one. Probably not much more than the whole OLP.

Different woods do sound different, but the OLP is probably made of of something perfectly suitable.

I've heard from customers that swapped out the pickups and put a preamp in and they said it sounded just like their vintage Stingray. :)

I had this very same inclination several years ago but never had the money or energy to take it to fruition. At that time folks assured me that the OLP dimensions should match up, but this was a) not necessarily independently verified and b) like I said, it was several years ago so this was regarding the first run of OLPs back in the day. I have no idea if the current crop are based off of the same dimensions.

Well, what wood is the olp body made of? I could handle all the mods and all but I'm curious if all the measurements match a real ray. Also, where to find a good bridge.

You know Music Man has a Sting Ray with the specs you are looking for. They did an anneversary model some time back with a Status or Moses graphite Neck on it. So you could do a search and buy a new bass or go to the moses or status site and see if they still offer it. Or go buy a body blank and build one. You will not be able to buy any true Music Man parts unless you find them off eBay or the MM bass you have has an issue and then you have to send them the bass to have it fixed and they keep the broken part. So you could always go to All Parts and look for something that meets your needs and also look on eBay for stuff. Good luck!

There was one for sale in the classifieds not long ago. May still be there.

I'm thinking about just using the bass I have and storing its current neck to make things easy. Maybe ill buy a stingray one day to put my current neck on since its amazing