I Love Stingrays, but $7,000?

[Wood and Wire]

We did a podcast Striking a Chord with Cliff, and the last 20 minutes Blair Ridings (THE MAN) talks about the level of detail he achieved over the two years he spent on this project.

Hey Scott, do you have a link to that podcast?

Cheers!

 

[Nomad5]

Hey Scott, do you have a link to that podcast?

Cheers!

Striking A Chord | Ernie Ball

 

[Wood and Wire]

Striking A Chord | Ernie Ball

Thanks!

 

[Low Main]

You have to look at it on an overall value basis. They're charging less than $1000 per unfilled pickguard screw hole.

 

[John Eland]

Maybe because it's handmade?

Well so are Rickenbackers! Attaching a name to a bass doesn't make it any better.

 

[PhatBottomBass1]

Cliff Williams | Basses | Ernie Ball Music Man
I love my Stingray, and most things, Ernie Ball, but this is a little over my head.

What do you think?

Mike

Without reading all replies, but reading the entire EB ad for this Bass...

26 total produced
All proceeds going to an Alzheimer's charity
A butt-load of R&D costs
Hand made

Not seeing TB as the "Target Market"...!

I could be wrong, and you should consult with you Tax advisor or accountant. But I think this could possibly be a Tax deductible donation for Tax right off.

There is defiantly a market for 26 units worldwide for this $7000.00 Bass.

$182,000.00 for Alzheimer's benefit!

Great fun...

Good on you Ernie Ball/Music Man!!

 

[brother21]

All proceeds are donated.

 

[WarningTap]

Had I not found Sandberg basses a couple years ago I would’ve probably bought this. I used to be a diehard Stingray fan, but then I discovered Sandberg and I’ve never looked back.

 

[Tiavarone]

No matter how good it is, no slab is worth that as new retail. The mere fact that you can solid body custom built for less (hence a 1-off) is telling. I make my own design acoustics so I know what goes into them.

 

[Mr. Headless]

It ought not be a surprise that an active topic on TB can be started by any sort of a post about a bass with a high price tag, since it seems to happen ad nauseam. I recall seeing a Ritter bass with a price around $20,000, largely because it had good-sized diamonds set into the control knobs. So what you had there is maybe a $5,000 bass with $15,000 of diamonds on it (but I'm SURE they add magic to the tone . . . ).

If you like it and want to buy it, great! If no one likes it or buys it, the maker has to adjust pricing or try again. Capitalism is a beautiful thing.

This situation is like a fan of 1970 Volkswagen Super Beetles rescuing these cars from junkyards, completely disassembling them, rebuilding them from the ground up with the best possible parts, and selling the result for $95,000. Some people might want one, for reasons that have nothing to do with car-buying economics, and that's a perfectly fine thing.

 

[Alan Schefsky]

Cliff Williams | Basses | Ernie Ball Music Man
I love my Stingray, and most things, Ernie Ball, but this is a little over my head.

What do you think?

Mike

I love seeing these kind of posts. I bought a String Ray the first year they came out which was around 1978. I paid about $800. Today, an ****AMERICAN MADE**** quality bass like that will be $5K and up. Minimum wage back then, adjusted for inflation, would be $18 to $20 today. Making it easier to afford. We didn't have cheap, made in third world nation guitars back then (driving down USA wages like today).

 

[bcouper]

Guess if you wanted to buy Cliff's actual 79 it would be worth this and Musicman did a very thorough job of replicating it. Still, that's a lot for a bass that is new (not actually 40 years old).

 

[enricogaletta]

Definitely agreed with the thread title, latest stingrays and ernieball basses in general are too much expensive for the value of the instruments. Overrated
Save moneys guys and invest on other brands, fortunately now there is a huge wide field of options

 

[Glenn Hall]

Cliff Williams | Basses | Ernie Ball Music Man
I love my Stingray, and most things, Ernie Ball, but this is a little over my head.

What do you think?

Mike

I have an old Stingray from 1979. I love it to death! Ive been told it's when Leo Fender was still with Musicman. Ive been offered $3,000 for it but 7,000 seems high.

 

[Drezy]

Now this is a "Classic" Stingray!

 

[Baba Emir]

Hi Guys. Never had a 5 string, just Fender Jazz 66. Went into Guitar Center recently and played every 5 string in the store. Sterling SE 5 HH was the winner at 399.99. Offered 300 cash for the demo, but no go. Smeet, I like what you said. You must have had a similar experience as I did. I'll probably go for Amazon at the same price if I don't find it or a Yamaha BBNE2 in my mailbox LOL.

 

[Yango]

... He could be playing a Ric or a potato for all the difference I would hear.

LOL!!

 

[Johnny Znuff]

I’m actually relieved a bit- I play in an AC/DC tribute, and took the plunge on a Stingray 4 Classic just before the CW Icon was announced. I paid about $1600 (used), and was, like, “oh, crap, for a few more bucks, maybe I could’ve had this!”. But seeing it come in that high instantly put me out of reach. Here’s what I “settled” on- I love the tinted birdseye maple neck!

 

[tony caskey]

I'm thinking about having G&L make a kiloton that looks similar, as a matter fact I was thinking about it last year, MM beat me to it

 

[tony caskey]

I’m actually relieved a bit- I play in an AC/DC tribute, and took the plunge on a Stingray 4 Classic just before the CW Icon was announced. I paid about $1600 (used), and was, like, “oh, crap, for a few more bucks, maybe I could’ve had this!”. But seeing it come in that high instantly put me out of reach. Here’s what I “settled” on- I love the tinted birdseye maple neck!

Looks cool,