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Which boutique brand will do a Stingray-style first?

rojo412

rojo412

Sit down, Danny...
Supporting Member
Feb 26, 2000
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15,077
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Cleveland, OH.
#1
You can order a "JAZZ" or "PRECISION" styled bass from any number of custom, boutique brands. You can plunk down a deposit, wait a year, and end up with the best playing, super fantastical Fender-styled bass you ever did see...

But no one has jumped on the Stingray yet. Not fully, at least. Some guys dabble in the pickup configurations or something along those lines, but no one has just flat-out "Super-Stingray'd" yet.

It's not like they don't have parts to choose from:
There are Nordstrand MM pickups (and others)...
There are East MM preamps...
There are guys making their own pickups and preamps to suit their "Super _____" needs for other basses.

So why not the Stingray?


I realize that Lakland kind of started doing that a while ago, but they ended up creating a whole new market and kind of abandoned any need to try to make an Ultra 'Ray.
I'm really not talking about that, so much.

Ernie Ball Family Reserve basses aside, who do you think is going to attempt the market for the Boutique Stingray market?
 
#2
The original TBCs were boutique Stingrays, and you already mentioned the Lakland 55-76. As others have mentioned, the level of quality that Ernie Ball maintains, plus the fact that are almost priced at the boutique level makes actual boutique Music Man inspired basses redundant.
 
#4
See, I kind of think that they are pretty much on par with Fender for their stuff.
American Jazz bass vs Stingray is pretty close ($1300 vs $1400-1600 on MF).

Yes, they both have fancy models and sky-high prices to match, but if you boil it down to the essence of the companies, the more standard models, it just seems like they are darn close.

But if you look at the custom market, you see guys buying what is in essence a Jazz bass, but with...
Custom preamps
35" scale
Gold hardware
Exotic woods
Custom string spacing or pickup placement...
But it ends up looking essentially like a Fender bass in the end.

If I had the scratch to even consider it, I'd be inquiring about a Valenti Custom one. I'd just want to have it made in the style of the SR5 body, not just a P or J body with the pickup spacing correct and a roundish pickguard.
 
#8
I just find it hard to believe with all of the people who gripe about what needs to be changed on a Stingray that there isn't someone at least dipping their toes in the water of a "Custom version."

Or from another perspective, all of the people who play and love Stingrays, but want something custom made with different woods or lighter weight or passive electronics or whatever drives people to order custom basses. Where are they with the demand for more variety in "Classic meets Custom" ordering?

Personally, I freaking love the shape of the SR5 I have. I'd be quite happy with a custom made, boutique version of it. But no one does it, despite its obviousness as the next logical step.
 
#9
rojo412 said:
I just find it hard to believe with all of the people who gripe about what needs to be changed on a Stingray that there isn't someone at least dipping their toes in the water of a "Custom version."

Or from another perspective, all of the people who play and love Stingrays, but want something custom made with different woods or lighter weight or passive electronics or whatever drives people to order custom basses. Where are they with the demand for more variety in "Classic meets Custom" ordering?

Personally, I freaking love the shape of the SR5 I have. I'd be quite happy with a custom made, boutique version of it. But no one does it, despite its obviousness as the next logical step.
Click to expand...

What would you change to make it custom?
 
#11
If I had my druthers, I'd order one with a Nordstrand pickup (or 2), an East preamp, passive tone and preamp bypass, really nice wood on the neck (flamed or birdseye maple), exotic fingerboard (morado or mac ebony), ultralite tuners, body made with an exotic top of some sort...

Pretty much the same kind of things one would order if one were getting a custom Jazz-style bass made.
 
#13
While I love my SR5, I have back problems, and at 10.5 lbs, it's quite hard for me to wear for 3 hours without a break.
I wonder if there is a builder who makes a boutique SR5 as well. I know Sadowsky will do one if you really want one, but any other builder or make you guys can think of?
 
#14
There are alot of components that goes into a ray, that make it a ray. Things such as its bridge, the pickup, the placement of pickup, tone woods used, etc etc.

In my (limited) experience the most significant component is the preamp, it just sounds like a stingray and not to many aftermarket companies have managed to get close to it.

But to answer your question, i dont think any company will - the recent changes and innovations coming out of ernieball/stingray are keeping them ahead of the curve.

Unlike just say fender, who have been complacent when they were ahead and allowed other budding companies to come up and tackle them at their own game
 
#15
My SR5 is only 9 lbs, and I love it!
Don't get me wrong... I see where people have a love for the product that exists.

However, there's got to be a market for the custom stuff! Hell, just getting a regular one with Black or Gold hardware isn't even possible. You have to get a "Limited Edition"?!?! PLEASE!

I'll be willing to bet that Hipshot ends up making upgrade bridges (and tuners even!) in the near future. They have plenty of products for all types of stuff and Musicman will eventually make their list.

As for EQs, they're already being made.
The East pre claims to have the same type of EQ curves that the older models had, with slight tweaks.
The pickup placement is easy enough to replicate.
The bridge is nice, but there are plenty of makers out there with bridges as sturdy. And if they wanted to, anyone could design a similar system.

But definitely right on Fender's complacency by comparison.
 
#17
The original premise of this thread begs a really interesting question and one I can't quite answer: WHY do people want to mod Fenders but not Rays? I have no idea why that is. It's obvious that that's the way it goes but I don't know why it is. Hmm... maybe it's just the culture? Modding Fenders seems like "the thing to do" and modding original Rays just isn't done. I'm gonna think about that one for awhile.
 
#18
gazman_res said:
There are alot of components that goes into a ray, that make it a ray. Things such as its bridge, the pickup, the placement of pickup, tone woods used, etc etc.

In my (limited) experience the most significant component is the preamp, it just sounds like a stingray and not to many aftermarket companies have managed to get close to it.
Click to expand...

I kind of get what you're saying. The unique components of a Ray are part of what makes it what it is... but why don't people feel that way about stock Fenders? Why isn't there that attitude towards a stock Jazz, for example? You can't say that components in a USA made Jazz Standard are crap because they're not. It's also a quality instrument right out of the box but people are always wondering who to make it more unique, make it their own. People seem to get a new Ray and never think of that.
 
#19
rojo412 said:
See, I kind of think that they are pretty much on par with Fender for their stuff.
American Jazz bass vs Stingray is pretty close ($1300 vs $1400-1600 on MF).

Yes, they both have fancy models and sky-high prices to match, but if you boil it down to the essence of the companies, the more standard models, it just seems like they are darn close.
Click to expand...


FWIW, most people modding Fender basses are modifying Squiers and MIM Fenders, not the MIA's, which is where you did your price comparison.
 
#20
FunkMetalBass said:
FWIW, most people modding Fender basses are modifying Squiers and MIM Fenders, not the MIA's, which is where you did your price comparison.
Click to expand...

That's true.

I think the culture of modding Fenders started back when Fenders were the only option and people wanted more. But then it continued because Fender released MIM and Squier models that leave people wanting to get closer to the MIA models.

Music Man never had that same model... they first came out in a world where boutique bass builders were giving players more options and have continued (up until recently) creating instruments in the US only.
 

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