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Ernie Ball Music Man Custom Design Experience

minionwrangler

minionwrangler

Apr 21, 2019
33
73
Limington, ME
#1
Has anyone used the Ernie Ball Music Man Custom Design Experience? I really want an unlined fretless StingRay so I'm looking at this because the pricing is comparable with the very few that show up on Reverb. I'm wondering how closely the color choices resemble the actual instrument finish. If anyone has ordered through the Custom Design shop I'd love to see pictures. Thanks!
 
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#2
BigBigGuy44

Thread 'Music Man Custom Design Experience coming!'

Saw this at the bottom of a NAMM email blast:

Building your own Music Man bass is now a reality! The Ernie Ball Music Man Custom Design Experience will allow customers to design a factory-built StingRay bass with customized options. Build your own custom bass your way, available online spring 2024.

I am super excited about this announcement! I'm hoping it is more similar to G&L Build to Order than Fender's Mod Shop. Either way, this sounds like a EBMM is moving in the right direction.
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#4
Golden delicious. I’m pretty pleased with mine. I made the same decision you’re thinking of. A beat up fretless Ray from 2003 is still $2700 on reverb. I just built one. Sounds great.
 

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#7
I got a CDE bass recently.

jamesog

Post in thread 'EBMM StingRay Special Club'

New bass day! And I finally join the Stingray Special club 😀

This is a custom build from the CDE. Blue Dream finish, black hardware, ebony fretboard, flamed roasted maple neck.

Blue Dream really is the right way to describe this. It's absolutely stunning. I've only played it for a short while since it arrived but I think this is the most comfortable bass I've ever played. Instant favourite. It's so light as well. I picked it up out of the case and was amazed at the weight. Unfortunately I don't have anything to weigh it with so can't tell you what the actual weight is, but it's...
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This is "Blue Dream" and is nothing like the render on the configurator, so definitely look around for photos or as mentioned above, ask Music Man for photos.
 
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#11
Dasgre0g said:
Lots of people have used it. If you follow them on social media they sometimes post pictures of different customers' custom orders. Some are pretty creative, some are perfectly normal but clearly the combination of options someone wanted. Some day I may give in....
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It's a sign of how efficient Instagram's algorithm is at not showing me what I want to see that I had forgotten I follow the Music Man account. Looking at it now I see some examples of colors available at the CDE. Thanks!
 
#12
jamesog said:
I got a CDE bass recently.

jamesog

Post in thread 'EBMM StingRay Special Club'

New bass day! And I finally join the Stingray Special club 😀

This is a custom build from the CDE. Blue Dream finish, black hardware, ebony fretboard, flamed roasted maple neck.

Blue Dream really is the right way to describe this. It's absolutely stunning. I've only played it for a short while since it arrived but I think this is the most comfortable bass I've ever played. Instant favourite. It's so light as well. I picked it up out of the case and was amazed at the weight. Unfortunately I don't have anything to weigh it with so can't tell you what the actual weight is, but it's...
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  • Wow

This is "Blue Dream" and is nothing like the render on the configurator, so definitely look around for photos or as mentioned above, ask Music Man for photos.
Click to expand...
DAAAAAAAAAANG! That is stunning! You're not wrong about how different it looks on the configurator. I had looked at the Blue Dream because I have a StingRay Special 4HH in Pacific Blue Burst that is a glorious finish, but was put off by how green it looks on the render, which I see here isn't really what it really looks like. I can see why you're so stoked with yours. Also, the delivery time on yours was pretty good, much shorter than I assumed was to be expected.
 
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#13
minionwrangler said:
It's a sign of how efficient Instagram's algorithm is at not showing me what I want to see that I had forgotten I follow the Music Man account. Looking at it now I see some examples of colors available at the CDE. Thanks!
Click to expand...

You're very welcome. It would be cool if they posted every single one of them, but they're probably pretty choosy. However there are definitely some good examples!
 
#17
I got Gold Sparkle with every gold option available. It’s completely ridiculous. Hard to show in pictures what it really looks like in person, but these pics are close. Mine took about 5-6 weeks from order to pickup (I live 15 minutes from factory so no shipping). Mine was competed mid-April so I’ve been gigging it for a few months and it’s by far the best feeling neck I’ve ever played.

Sparkle Gold 4H
Matching headstock
SLO Special neck
Roasted flamed maple neck
Ebony fretboard with block inlays
Gold hardware (even the screws, 1/4” jack, strap buttons, etc)
Gold pole pieces on the pickup.

GOLD
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#18
To add, I first got mine with the Mono case, but I use a reunion blues continental to gig so this case would stay at home. The Ernie Ball mono case was much BIGGER than any of my other hard cases, where I had expected it to be close to the same size or smaller. Since it was bigger than desired, and felt like it didn’t offer great protection, I exchanged it for the hard shell case which is MUCH thinner and smaller all around, but with more protection. The hard case is so thin, in fact, it has trouble standing on its side on carpet or soft flooring and is easy to tip over. I’m not really stoked on either of the cases. But like I said, the hard cases are for home storage, my reunion blues is for functional gigging.
 
#19
SLO Surfer said:
I got Gold Sparkle with every gold option available. It’s completely ridiculous. Hard to show in pictures what it really looks like in person, but these pics are close. Mine took about 5-6 weeks from order to pickup (I live 15 minutes from factory so no shipping). Mine was competed mid-April so I’ve been gigging it for a few months and it’s by far the best feeling neck I’ve ever played.

Sparkle Gold 4H
Matching headstock
SLO Special neck
Roasted flamed maple neck
Ebony fretboard with block inlays
Gold hardware (even the screws, 1/4” jack, strap buttons, etc)
Gold pole pieces on the pickup.

GOLDView attachment 7291423View attachment 7291424View attachment 7291426View attachment 7291427View attachment 7291428
Click to expand...
That looks great. I think I'd smile every time I played it.
 
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#20
minionwrangler said:
4HH, Blue Dream, unlined fretless, chrome hardware, black pickguard.
Click to expand...

I'm very curious to see this. When I ordered my Blue Dream I went for black hardware as I wasn't sure I'd love chrome with an otherwise dark looking instrument (ebony fretboard too). I do love the dark look of the whole thing but sometimes I wonder if a bit of shiny from chrome would look good too
:)
 
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