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The Craziest Bass I've Ever Owned - 3 String Stingray!

mikeowen17

mikeowen17

@mike_on_the_bass
Supporting Member
Jan 28, 2011
231
1,166
Westchester NY
#1
From now on there will never be any hesitation if someone asks me 'what is the craziest bass you own' - as of yesterday I am now the proud owner of this bizarre beast!

A 3 String EBMM Stingray - made by Music Man for Jason Newstead and inspired by Tony Levin's 3 String (which was destroyed in a fire, sadly) - this is apparently #002 (though it doesn't have a serial number), so I assume Tony's was 001? I would love to know if there are any others!

I will be recording a video soon to demonstrate this oddball (any requests?!)

I am also in the market for some 'funk fingers' so I can cover 'Big Time' - so any leads would be appreciated!

In the meantime - feast your eyes on this.......
 

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#3
LadyLoveStingRay5 said:
Now we have to hear the story of how this bass came into your possession.
Click to expand...
I happened to walk into TR Crandall in NYC and they had a ton of cases on the floor that came in from Jason Newstead - they let me pick through them and see what was in there - and once I saw this I knew I had to have it. It's just so.....weird! So discussions were had and a deal was made!
 
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#4
mikeowen17 said:
From now on there will never be any hesitation if someone asks me 'what is the craziest bass you own' - as of yesterday I am now the proud owner of this bizarre beast!

A 3 String EBMM Stingray - made by Music Man for Jason Newstead and inspired by Tony Levin's 3 String (which was destroyed in a fire, sadly) - this is apparently #002 (though it doesn't have a serial number), so I assume Tony's was 001? I would love to know if there are any others!

I will be recording a video soon to demonstrate this oddball (any requests?!)

I am also in the market for some 'funk fingers' so I can cover 'Big Time' - so any leads would be appreciated!

In the meantime - feast your eyes on this.......
Click to expand...


Oh cool - I remember when Jason was auctioning off a load of his gear, a couple of years ago, and that immediately caught my attention. I wasn't in a position to bid, but I wondered what happened to it.

Looking forward to the video.


BTW, I don't have a picture / link to hand, but I remember a U.K. store that had a 2 string StingRay.
 
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#8
mikeowen17 said:
From now on there will never be any hesitation if someone asks me 'what is the craziest bass you own' - as of yesterday I am now the proud owner of this bizarre beast!

A 3 String EBMM Stingray - made by Music Man for Jason Newstead and inspired by Tony Levin's 3 String (which was destroyed in a fire, sadly) - this is apparently #002 (though it doesn't have a serial number), so I assume Tony's was 001? I would love to know if there are any others!

I will be recording a video soon to demonstrate this oddball (any requests?!)

I am also in the market for some 'funk fingers' so I can cover 'Big Time' - so any leads would be appreciated!

In the meantime - feast your eyes on this.......
Click to expand...

G string are not necessary need on Stingray ......... :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
 
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#12
I've thought about a 3 strings bass from time to time, will the following reasoning:
- I'm not attracted by 5 strings, but I'd like to try a BEAD, since I don't play the G string very often (or as often as the 3 others)
- If I can adapt my playing to BEAD, it would also be interesting to try a EAD bass, in the mode "less is more", and because I suppose constraints is source of creativity.

I don't know if it makes any sense…
 
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#14
J Wilson said:
Back in the early days, I played three-string, then I learned to quit breaking strings.

Mine were usually E-broke/gone-D-G.
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In the first month of owning a bass guitar in 1992 i broke the D string AND its tuning peg. I tuned the G down to D and spent the next year and a half teaching myself to play bass, EAxD. Took a little getting used to when I finally got a new 4 string!
 
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#15

The Craziest Bass I've Ever Owned - 3 String Stingray!​


You bet! Strange! Never seen a 3 string electric before.

One time, a long time ago, I saw a live band and the bass player was playing a 4 string bass with no G string (3 strings). I was very suprised to see this. I wondered the reason.

Thanks for sharing your "Craziest Bass"! Crazy indeed!
 
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#16
One of my upright basses was originally a three-string, but was converted to a four sometime in the early 1900's. I was thinking about doweling up the pegbox and redrilling it into a five but I'm afraid the guys over on the DB side of this joint will put a price on my head... :nailbiting::help:
 
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#20
DrBnz said:
I'm trying to understand it all. Why? And it costs thousands more to get one with one less string. And yet I'm still kinda intrigued. So what is it strung up as??? E - A - D or what?
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It apparently started as a bit of a joke; EBMM kept trying to talk Tony Levin into a signature model and he kept declining because he felt that an off-the-shelf Stingray was all he needed. At some point they tried to entice him with more string options - six string? Seven string? Tony jokingly told them he only needed three strings and so they - also jokingly - built it for him. It turned out that the wide string spacing worked well with his “funk fingers” so he ended up using it a lot until it burned up in a fire.

That’s how I heard the story, anyway. I can’t attest to its accuracy.
 
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