EBMM StingRay Special Club

[walking_line]

They'd have me if that string winder came in Sea Breeze!

 

[Game Theory]

I let my expectations get too high on the possible colors. Liked the Galactic Pearl in the EBMM vault but it's a 4H special and I was hoping to get a 4HH special or a 5HH special. Been telling myself just wait to see what's at NAMM .. though I'm sure some will really dig the new pastels and I'm happy for those folks .. none of the new ones resonate with me

 

[PrimitiveMan]

I let my expectations get too high on the possible colors. Liked the Galactic Pearl in the EBMM vault but it's a 4H special and I was hoping to get a 4HH special or a 5HH special. Been telling myself just wait to see what's at NAMM .. though I'm sure some will really dig the new pastels and I'm happy for those folks .. none of the new ones resonate with me

I feel like they are making the stock options a bit boring so we buy BFRs...

 

[cholyoke]

N.E.B.M.M.S.S.D. New Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay Special Day!

Brand new Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay 5H Special "Snowy Night."

Congrats! I love mine.

Looks nice! I can never tell, are these more grayish or purplish on the edges? And how much sparkle is in the finish?

Mine is purplish to grey depending on the light.

 

[Eldon Tyrell]

Looks like our local charity shop has the perfect outfit to go with the new Stingray Special pastel colours

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

I feel like they are making the stock options a bit boring so we buy BFRs...

I will admit that I am almost relieved that nothing was introduced that I like better or need more than what I already have. No desire to spend money is a good thing. It is going to take something really SPECIAL to top my 3 Specials.

I think the moral of this story is, If you see something you really like, get it while the getting is good. If they haven't made it yet, keep talking about it and making your request known. Enough people might be able to make a difference. So many people request HONEYBURST. I really think that one deserves to be produced. If all else fails, find a good deal on a used ash model and have it refinished. There is more than one way to skin a cat.

 

[eee]

Friggen love the pastels lmao

 

[Benko]

I will admit that I am almost relieved that nothing was introduced that I like better or need more than what I already have. No desire to spend money is a good thing. It is going to take something really SPECIAL to top my 3 Specials.

I think the moral of this story is, If you see something you really like, get it while the getting is good. If they haven't made it yet, keep talking about it and making your request known. Enough people might be able to make a difference. So many people request HONEYBURST. I really think that one deserves to be produced. If all else fails, find a good deal on a used ash model and have it refinished. There is more than one way to skin a cat.

Yeah same for me...somehow glad, no GAS induced, and it was potentially dangerous with a "kinda" shell pink but the Pueblo Pink does not do it for me

 

[N4860]

Ya I'll echo what some of you are saying. Kind of glad I'm not enticed to buy another stingray at this point. TBH, I was kind of hoping for something kind of new & different. I feel like a Stingray Special with the 2 jazz style pickups from the JDII bass but with an active preamp could be kind of cool. I've heard those pickups are kind of weak but maybe with an active preamp it might totally change them. Probably wouldn't be able to call it a stingray without that bridge PU.

 

[Moonskunk]

I will admit that I am almost relieved that nothing was introduced that I like better or need more than what I already have. No desire to spend money is a good thing. It is going to take something really SPECIAL to top my 3 Specials.

I think the moral of this story is, If you see something you really like, get it while the getting is good. If they haven't made it yet, keep talking about it and making your request known. Enough people might be able to make a difference. So many people request HONEYBURST. I really think that one deserves to be produced. If all else fails, find a good deal on a used ash model and have it refinished. There is more than one way to skin a cat.

I feel the same way about my 3 Specials, I think I chose wisely. I am still paying for the Snowy Night 4H in fact. Keep in mind we still don't know what the prices will be on the new Easter bunny pastels. These should have come with chocolate colored hardware, now that would have been cool! Another price increase may make you feel even better about the 3 Specials you have now. I think once my latest Special is paid for it's going to take something in the order of an updated rerelease of the cutlass or caprice to get me to buy another EBMM, otherwise I'm standing pat.

 

[BobaMosfett]

Last friday I became the happy owner of a lovely blue Stingray Special 4H. I wanted to compare it to my Classic Sabre; I mostly use the bridge pup solo, of wich the tone I always felt was close but no cigar. It was no contest.
The Sabre is now for sale. The only thing I might miss is the sound of the two humbuckers combined, but I really like the simplicity of the 4H.
One other difference is the weight and balance. The Sabre is 8.6 lbs, but has a slight neck dive. Every 3-set gig with the Sabre caused me discomfort and sometimes pain in my neck and shoulders, when heavier basses with better balance did not. So the fact that the Stingray Special is 9.5 lbs is not a problem, because it balances perfectly on a strap.
Plus it plays and sounds so very nice. Can't wait to take it to a gig!
Still I'm wondering if anyone here has a Stingray Special 4 this heavy?

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

Last friday I became the happy owner of a lovely blue Stingray Special 4H. I wanted to compare it to my Classic Sabre; I mostly use the bridge pup solo, of wich the tone I always felt was close but no cigar. It was no contest.
The Sabre is now for sale. The only thing I might miss is the sound of the two humbuckers combined, but I really like the simplicity of the 4H.
One other difference is the weight and balance. The Sabre is 8.6 lbs, but has a slight neck dive. Every 3-set gig with the Sabre caused me discomfort and sometimes pain in my neck and shoulders, when heavier basses with better balance did not. So the fact that the Stingray Special is 9.5 lbs is not a problem, because it balances perfectly on a strap.
Plus it plays and sounds so very nice. Can't wait to take it to a gig!
Still I'm wondering if anyone here has a Stingray Special 4 this heavy?View attachment 5033188

I think that is one of the best blue colors that Ernie Ball has ever put out. Ive seen some that weigh in the range. The bottom lime is that it balances perfectly for you. Enjoy it. Welcome and congrats.

 

[Moonskunk]

I think that one is called Speed Blue. I came that close to picking up one just like yours someone had returned with some minor scratches from Sweetwater at a reduced price but had enough will power to stop myself because I was still paying for a Tectonic Blue Sparkle 4HH at the time.

 

[Richard I]

Bridge pickup sounded the same to me as I tried a Special 5HH first before going with 5H. But you lose out on the 3 way switch for the bridge pickup which was the dealbreaker for me. I found the series setting on the 5H more useful for me than the additional pickup on the HH. But I may buy a HH at some point myself as there are some great tones there for sure.

Yeah that's a good point. My HH Ray is a 4 string so I usually would compare it to my 4H Ray. I do have a 5H as well and that 3-way switch really makes the 5 string Ray it's own thing. It's too bad they don't offer that on the 4H.

I don't really mind that selector, I use the first (normal H sound) position only. I found the other two being kinda useless.

The guitar announcements were more exciting. I kind of feel like their focus was there and then last minute they were like, “Oh crud, need to do something with the Rays. Okay, Fender colors with our own naming convention. Throw in matching headstocks to make it not too obvious that no thought was put here.”

Heck, I wouldn’t be too upset if they rereleased some of the original Special colors that have already come and gone. HD Yellow, Aqua, and Charcoal sparkle would all be nice to see again. Oh, and natural.

HD Yellow (ebony board, black hw) and Charging Green (maple neck) were my favourite, I tried to look for a Charging Green H, but I couldn't find one in Europe. Such a shame.

anyone have a stingray special with an ebony fretboard? How you you like the sound? Is it brighter sounding then a maple fretboard?

I have one, but I cannot compare it to a maple neck special.
I only can tell that I like the ebony, because I like the feel under my fingers and the contrast it makes with the colour (Ghost Pepper).
Every other shade of sound gets way much more affected by other factors rather than fretboard wood (imho)

 

[PrimitiveMan]

I don't really mind that selector, I use the first (normal H sound) position only. I found the other two being kinda useless.



HD Yellow (ebony board, black hw) and Charging Green (maple neck) were my favourite, I tried to look for a Charging Green H, but I couldn't find one in Europe. Such a shame.



I have one, but I cannot compare it to a maple neck special.
I only can tell that I like the ebony, because I like the feel under my fingers and the contrast it makes with the colour (Ghost Pepper).
Every other shade of sound gets way much more affected by other factors rather than fretboard wood (imho)

If you don't use the switch on the 5H then I think you should go with the HH for sure.

 

[chazsundance]

What happened to the Sterling MM (not sterling by mm)? Website says new colors coming, emailed them and says nothing new planned with the sterling.

 

[N4860]

What happened to the Sterling MM (not sterling by mm)? Website says new colors coming, emailed them and says nothing new planned with the sterling.

They haven't been producing them for the last 2 or 3 years I believe. Same goes for the Stingray Classic. I recall them saying that they were focusing their production on the more popular models for the time being but they did make it sound like they weren't being discontinued permanently. I'd guess that supply issues and production limits caused them to focus on the flagship models until things normalize.

 

[OllieDox]

In the other release thread I mentioned that this was disappointing and that the colors look similar to the Ray 4’s. I was hoping for a production run of short scales. Also Sterling’s NAMM 2023 releases have nothing for bass. I emailed them asking if anything is planned. I’ll post their reply in this thread.

Sterling replied to me promptly and said that as of this moment they do not know if there will be any new bass releases this year.

 

[Jeff K]

2015 StingRay SLO Special
View attachment 5009212 View attachment 5009213

Sorry for quoting myself, but it was easier than searching my photos. Anyway, I finally got around to weighing this beauty. I knew it was on the heavy side, but it's now the heaviest bass I own. All the others are under 10 lbs., some by quite a bit.

This monster comes in at 10 lbs., 2.1 oz. But I have a nice 4" wide Italia strap for it, and it doesn't feel bad at all. I think it helps that it balances really well.

 

[Moonskunk]

It will weigh more than that when you put strings on it.