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EBMM StingRay Special Club

Hey folks, quick question. My Stingray Special has seen a bunch of gigs and rehearsals now, and the back of the neck has picked up its fair share of sweat, oil, and grime. It’s lost that smooth satin feel and is kind of uneven now. Pretty sure the original wax is long gone, which I figured would happen.

So, what’s the best way to bring it back? I know the factory finish is gunstock oil with wax. I was thinking about laying down a couple coats of Tru-Oil and topping it off with some wax. But before I do that, should I clean off all the built-up sweat and gunk first? And if so, what’s safe to use? Dish soap? Or would that mess with the gunstock oil finish that’s already there?
I would light steel wool then truoil oil and wax
 
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Hey folks, quick question. My Stingray Special has seen a bunch of gigs and rehearsals now, and the back of the neck has picked up its fair share of sweat, oil, and grime. It’s lost that smooth satin feel and is kind of uneven now. Pretty sure the original wax is long gone, which I figured would happen.

So, what’s the best way to bring it back? I know the factory finish is gunstock oil with wax. I was thinking about laying down a couple coats of Tru-Oil and topping it off with some wax. But before I do that, should I clean off all the built-up sweat and gunk first? And if so, what’s safe to use? Dish soap? Or would that mess with the gunstock oil finish that’s already there?
I would contact the factory and see what they use, I mean, why not?
 
Hey folks, quick question. My Stingray Special has seen a bunch of gigs and rehearsals now, and the back of the neck has picked up its fair share of sweat, oil, and grime. It’s lost that smooth satin feel and is kind of uneven now. Pretty sure the original wax is long gone, which I figured would happen.

So, what’s the best way to bring it back? I know the factory finish is gunstock oil with wax. I was thinking about laying down a couple coats of Tru-Oil and topping it off with some wax. But before I do that, should I clean off all the built-up sweat and gunk first? And if so, what’s safe to use? Dish soap? Or would that mess with the gunstock oil finish that’s already there?
Follow EBMM’s instructions:
 
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Whoa look at that flame! Bass is killer, super light but perfectly balanced.

After being in a 4 string phase for the last year, I've actually been playing a ton of 5 string again so not sure if really need 2 Stingray Specials (a 4 and a 5). But let's see 😂
 
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I love this bass. The tone. The look. The playability. Over the last 10 months my playing has really shifted into high gear. Fretless just feels, normal now. These custom gauge nickel Elixirs just feel and sound great on this bass. I’m not 100% sold on the tapered B though. Get a tiny bit of warble that I don’t hear while playing along with my band or with music through headphones, but can hear it when just doing solo playing with headphones. I really can’t imagine not owning and playing this sweet beast for the rest of my life.

Busted out my old (1997 bought in ‘98) Ibanez ATK305… ahem… “StingRay killer”…that I haven’t played in close to 5 years. It’s still a great player. The electronics are super noisy and there’s a ground issue somewhere and the volume pot needs to be replaced and it’s surprisingly more neck heavy than I remember but it has that StingRay tone and vibe. Parallel ATK sounds dead on to parallel StingRay. Brings back a literal TON of nostalgia and memories.
 
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I love this bass. The tone. The look. The playability. Over the last 10 months my playing has really shifted into high gear. Fretless just feels, normal now. These custom gauge nickel Elixirs just feel and sound great on this bass. I’m not 100% sold on the tapered B though. Get a tiny bit of warble that I don’t hear while playing along with my band or with music through headphones, but can hear it when just doing solo playing with headphones. I really can’t imagine not owning and playing this sweet beast for the rest of my life.

Busted out my old (1997 bought in ‘98) Ibanez ATK305… ahem… “StingRay killer”…that I haven’t played in close to 5 years. It’s still a great player. The electronics are super noisy and there’s a ground issue somewhere and the volume pot needs to be replaced and it’s surprisingly more neck heavy than I remember but it has that StingRay tone and vibe. Parallel ATK sounds dead on to parallel StingRay. Brings back a literal TON of nostalgia .
That lovely StingRay should be displayed between 2 lovely purple basses. ;)💜
 
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Do I have a type?

Maybe someday I’ll get a couple of those nice 5-6 instrument stands and just keep everything out ready to grab and play.
Love the neck and headstock on the fretless!

And I’ve always liked your purple one. The pearl pickguard looks great on that color (I like pearl, especially white pearl, almost as much as I like tort) and the white pickup cover is the right touch with that pickguard.

Nice looking ATK, too.
 
Love the neck and headstock on the fretless!

And I’ve always liked your purple one. The pearl pickguard looks great on that color (I like pearl, especially white pearl, almost as much as I like tort) and the white pickup cover is the right touch with that pickguard.

Nice looking ATK, too.
Thanks. The fretless BFR is truly stunning person. The neck looks like water even while playing it. I’m not a “sit still” player. I move around quite a lot so the neck is constantly moving and I’m seeing different angle highlights. It’s a joy to play. Sounds great even with an old set of stainless Elixirs.

My wife’s purple StingRay is a stunning example of what Music Man was doing back in the late 90’s. The tone, the playability, the look… it’s really unmatched. It sounds epic with Ernie Ball Super Slinkys but my wife prefers stiff flats so Chromes it is. Happy wife happy life.

My old ATK has a couple hundred gigs and countless hours of playtime. Despite it being 28 years old it plays just as easy as it did when I got it.
 
Hi EB MM Team,

I recently purchased a second hand Special in Grape Crush which I adore and is nicer to play than my other bases:

1.Fender Flea active bass (the one with the single humbucker)
2. G&L L-2000
3. Sandberg Panther

Now, I stumbled across the Design tab on the Musician website and the magpie in me now wants an Amethyst Sparkle bass with gold hardware. Unfortunately being from the UK I have to pay a big amount of tax and if I go mad on the spec with the flame neck, ebony fretboard, matching headstock that tax is around £600 on top of the bass price.

I have found a similar bass without the matching headstock, without the flame neck and with a rosewood fretboard. I can live without the flame neck and matching headstock but I wonder if there will be any difference in feel between ebony and rosewood? I found a video on YouTube doing a sound comparison and to my ears it was negligible difference.

Also I have noticed that the Grape bass weighs 8.4lbs and the Amethyst (now called Lavender) one would weigh 8.8lbs, I guess that would be to the gold hardware and paint job. I don't think the weight would make much difference to overall feel so not too concerned about that. Main question is around the fretboard really.

Anyway, my bass attached.
 

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Hi EB MM Team,

I recently purchased a second hand Special in Grape Crush which I adore and is nicer to play than my other bases:

1.Fender Flea active bass (the one with the single humbucker)
2. G&L L-2000
3. Sandberg Panther

Now, I stumbled across the Design tab on the Musician website and the magpie in me now wants an Amethyst Sparkle bass with gold hardware. Unfortunately being from the UK I have to pay a big amount of tax and if I go mad on the spec with the flame neck, ebony fretboard, matching headstock that tax is around £600 on top of the bass price.

I have found a similar bass without the matching headstock, without the flame neck and with a rosewood fretboard. I can live without the flame neck and matching headstock but I wonder if there will be any difference in feel between ebony and rosewood? I found a video on YouTube doing a sound comparison and to my ears it was negligible difference.

Also I have noticed that the Grape bass weighs 8.4lbs and the Amethyst one would weigh 8.8lbs, I guess that would be to the gold hardware and paint job. I don't think the weight would make much difference to overall feel so not too concerned about that. Main question is around the fretboard really.

Anyway, my bass attached.
Congratulations on your grape 🍇 crush Special. Lovely bass.

The Amethyst Sparkle is my all time favorite finish and I have one with matching headstock. To my eyes, that’s the way that bass should have been designed in the first place.

Ebony , rosewood , and maple all sound and feel different under the fingers. I’ve owned all 3 on StingRay Special. I’d love to own a Cruz Teal Special but don’t because Ebony isn’t for me on this bass. I’m also not a fan of the black hardware.

Ebony has a more piano like sustain and the notes bloom in a way that takes it away from that vintage StingRay sound. It doesn’t sound bad. The notes are very even . It has less of that signature StingRay “bounce “ to the notes. Ebony feels great. I could say it’s between rosewood and maple in brightness.

I have 5 different Specials . The rosewood is very warm in tone. I love it paired with bright flats . Mids are nice and robust. The trebles are rounds and the bass is smooth and deep.

Maple has more snap and a little less mid forward. Nice classic StingRay sound. I have highly flamed necks and fingerboards on some of my Specials. Some are roasted , other are not. They all feel and sound great. However, the roasted are more stable and sound more broken in with warmer tone. Not as warm as rosewood but warmer than my non roasted maple . The non roasted is very bright and snappy . Those basses growl and snap like a beast !!! Slap is so lovely .
 
Congratulations on your grape 🍇 crush Special. Lovely bass.

The Amethyst Sparkle is my all time favorite finish and I have one with matching headstock. To my eyes, that’s the way that bass should have been designed in the first place.

Ebony , rosewood , and maple all sound and feel different under the fingers. I’ve owned all 3 on StingRay Special. I’d love to own a Cruz Teal Special but don’t because Ebony isn’t for me on this bass. I’m also not a fan of the black hardware.

Ebony has a more piano like sustain and the notes bloom in a way that takes it away from that vintage StingRay sound. It doesn’t sound bad. The notes are very even . It has less of that signature StingRay “bounce “ to the notes. Ebony feels great. I could say it’s between rosewood and maple in brightness.

I have 5 different Specials . The rosewood is very warm in tone. I love it paired with bright flats . Mids are nice and robust. The trebles are rounds and the bass is smooth and deep.

Maple has more snap and a little less mid forward. Nice classic StingRay sound. I have highly flamed necks and fingerboards on some of my Specials. Some are roasted , other are not. They all feel and sound great. However, the roasted are more stable and sound more broken in with warmer tone. Not as warm as rosewood but warmer than my non roasted maple . The non roasted is very bright and snappy . Those basses growl and snap like a beast !!! Slap is so lovely .
What an amazing reply, thanks so much!!!

Where do I find a pic of yours with matching headstock??

The absolute number 1 thing about the Stingray for me is that growl and slap tone so interesting thoughts on the fretboard woods. Thanks again!

I'm now thinking I should go with maple!
 

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