Music Man Stingray question.

[Quickie]

I owned a couple Stingrays a few years ago. I am considering another one. I owned a black one and later on, a honey burst one. The difference in sound was noticeable. The black one seeming more "nasty", but in a good way.

My question is this. Did or does Music Man use basswood or have they ever used basswood or another wood for their black basses? I was told a couple of years ago they used a different grade of wood for their black bass as they did not need to worry about a "pretty" wood grain to show for their "translucent" finishes.

Anyone know?

 

[mynan]

They may have used poplar on some of the older SRs with solid colors, but never basswood AFAIK.

 

[cheezewiz]

I think the Bongos are made of basswood, but none of the other models.

 

[BioDriver]

Bongos are made of basswood and Stingrays have used poplar and alder in the past, so that might be it. But keep in mind that you could build 2 instruments with the exact same specs and they'll still sound different, since no 2 pieces of wood are alike.

 

[Quickie]

But keep in mind that you could build 2 instruments with the exact same specs and they'll still sound different, since no 2 pieces of wood are alike.

That's a very good point. I'll keep that in mind. Do you happen to know if they use a different wood in today's builds? The black model with the maple neck is what I'll be getting. It is reasonably priced (aka....I won't need to give blood) on AMS.....

 

[mynan]

Today, it's only Ash for SRs.

 

[Dave W]

What type of fretboard was on both of the basses you owned? Maple usually sounds a little brighter than rosewood, so if you had a black/maple and a honeyburst/rosewood that might be the difference as well.

 

[mikeswals]

Well Scott Ball said since 2000 only ash is used for StingRays.
But before that it was mostly ash, but possible for alder and poplar to be used depending on the finish.
Correct, the ugly pieces get used for solid finshes. Ash is such an inconsistant wood as far as weight goes, doesn't seem to matter who the builder is.