I Tried My First "String Ray" | 2022 Ernie Ball Music Man BFR StingRay Special H Bass Ruby Punch

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I Tried My First "String Ray" | 2022 Ernie Ball Music Man BFR StingRay Special H Bass Ruby Punch
🐕 Episode Guide:
0:00 Intro - Check Links in the Description
0:12 Opening / First Impressions
0:33 Unique Features
2:00 Case Candy
2:57 Inside Look / Specs
8:40 Clean Tones
10:05 Dirty Tones
11:57 Final Thoughts
12:46 What to Watch Next!
🎞️ Videos Mentioned:
3:39 1975 Gibson L6 Midnight Special
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[@snapfinger1]

A smashing success right from it’s introduction. By the late ‘70’s every bar band bassist had one.

[@Qliphirot]

Was it affordable back then compared to Fender's basses?

[@dixiefallas7799]

Thanks Trog I would find the scratches unacceptable for that price straight from the factory! Lovely bass though.🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@sweetnsourchick1761]

I think your demo was pretty good, Austin! That Music Man is gorgeous, but for $3,000+, I would be very upset about those scratches.

[@CapnCyprus]

So happy you decided to do the bass! Thanks for all the hard work you put into the content and culture.

[@TheLocalZeroChannel]

Yet another great Leo Fender design. Not technically the first bass with active electronics, but like so many of Leo's ideas, the first succesful large-scale production model. And like the P and J before it, it remains an industry standard. Dang that Mr. Fender!

[@Mikey__R]

I would guess the first was either Alembic or Wal? But in much lower quantities?

[@JohnnyBGoode9]

@Mikey__R yeah, it was Alembic. They started out modifying basses with active electronics before they even built their first one.

[@lurklingX]

halfway through the sound demo. i'm loving this. it's totally wild to see you do a bass, it looks kickass esp as you're playing. and the playing sounds really good too! i hope you'll keep doing bass demos / documentation. like you did fenders for a while. it would be so great!! lots of bass fans in your ranks, i'm sure. so this is like candy. :]

[@timhatley7000]

Thanks Austin for the in depth review, I can't wait for it to arrive! I've already ordered a black pick guard as well as a clear one, will see what looks best. Also, the forwarding service has been nothing but excellent. Cheers mate!

[@scottclark7592]

Leo Fender knocked it out of the ball park with this design!

[@stonemanguitars]

You could say he knocked it out out the 'Ernie Ball' park.

[@JohnnyBGoode9]

​@@stonemanguitarsdecent pun, but it was just Musicman back when he was hired to design and build the Stingray. The Ball family didn't buy the company until well after Fender's involvement.

[@stonemanguitars]

@@JohnnyBGoode9 I'm aware of that, I was just making a joke, and to be honest, I was so tired when I wrote it that I didn't even remember that I wrote it.

[@edwinstovall3334]

Austin, Mr. Fender was trying to give the StingRay Bass an identity, but he wasn't trying to differentiate from anything by Ibanez, but from his own past. Take a good dead on look at the StingRay's body shape and it begins to look like a Precision Bass, which it almost is. There's not that much that is different between them. Most old-school P-Basses sport those split-coil pickups, and those pickups are humbucking. The biggest differences I'm aware of are the substitution of a traditional side-by-side humbucker for the split-coil, the active EQ, the pickguard shape, the neck mount (trimmed and equipped with 5 bolts over 4), the truss rod adjustment location and the headstock. Even though I'm no real bass player, I've wanted one of these for years. Thanks a lot for this video!

[@jaredcoderre3062]

As a bassist, I’m very glad for this episode

[@chrishansen-crowley3287]

Austin’s bass reviews are better than a lot of the “bass channels” out there. That’s a nice one, but if I had that kind of money to spend, I would definitely get the Nikki Sixx bass in the Trogly shop.

[@lurklingX]

i know, right???? i'm hoping he does more basically for that reason. this is the BEST review channel. i don't always need the super specs, so sometimes i skip that section but if i'm obsessed with a rig, i'll watch that, too. IT WAS SO SURREAL watching him do a bass. how exciting.

[@gazzy_burns]

You’d get the Nicki Sixx?! You are missing out. Musicman make arguably THE best basses on the market. Quality, QC, tone, playability!

[@tremor1001]

awesome to see the guts of one of these. So this isnt a "normal" EBMM Stingray bass, its the "Stingray special" model which they revised in 2018 and funny enough the enhacements are all the things you noticed and liked. Upgraded lightwieght custom tuners Hallowed out saddles on a lightweight bridge More rounded off arm carve Contoured neck heel Higher fret access Neodymium magent pickups for lightweightness and to help the new 18v preamp. sounds like they targeted the right areas if you noticed all these things as pros.

[@picksalot1]

Nice bass, finish, wood, and tones. I think Tim is going to be very happy with it. Good demo.

[@zackh7570]

Bought my first EB musicman stingray special (its a 5 string) 2 years ago and shes definitely become my daily driver so to speak lol. I love mine. Just a note, its actually a gunstock finish on the neck (tru oil, and a wax finish) with a lacquered headstock.* At first i thought the transition to the headstock was a defect in the finish with mine, however this is how they are all finished, it gives a smooth natural neck feel but still gives the headstock some durability against dings and scratches (and probably to hold the waterslide logo on the headstock) Edit: The transition on the headstock finish seems to be well hidden on the bass you have, so my previous statement may be irrelevant here lol. I guess they blend it better on the Ball family reserve models.

[@bassplayer2011ify]

So a few things this is a Stingray “special” BFR. The special denotes the facelift they did in 2018. They made the bridge smaller and lighter. The original bridges were held on with 3 bolts and two studs now they just use three bolts. They added a comfort cut to the back and armrest. The originals are a full slab body. They went to a smaller machine for the tuners. They added a roasted maple neck. They added an 18 volt pre amp that was originally exclusive to the Bongo bass. The originals had your standard 9 volt preamp. And finally they added an extra fret. Then to BFR short for Ball Family Reserve. The are limmited runs that use woods that you won't normally find in your standard stingray which is a swamp ash body with a maple neck. Ernie Balls call them “Tonewoods that work well together” if you believe that stuff. They also do unique colorways. And it's usually a limited run of 40 to 100. IMHO if your going to spend the extra cash for a BFR try and get a translucent color. Because the woods they use in these are on par with what you on that back of the neck on this example. Beautiful flames, quilts, and even a birds eye or two if your lucky. TLDR it rivals Gibson and PRS triple A tops.

[@dawnjones8476]

We asked and Trogly delivered!!! Love Stingrays ever since watching ”Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad”

[@mightyV444]

Very nice! 😍 I've never actually played one either, despite being a bassist more than a guitarist 😅 And if I remember correctly, the original idea behind moving the G-string's tuner to the bottom of the headstock was to eliminate deadspots 🙂

[@Xpyburnt_ndz]

I've had my MM Stingray since 96 and have LOVED every minute of playing it! It's one of 7 basses in my arsenal, but she's my main axe thru and thru! I only wish I had gotten a 5 string version. I have my MM 4 string and the rest are 5's. I can get every tone I desire with the MM electronics thru any amp! Small rehearsal amps to my concert rig. GR8 review Austin!

[@robertgransee8849]

Aside from the compactness of the headstock, the other and main reason for the design of the headstock is that it allows for a straight string pull, which results in better tuning stability.

[@mightyV444]

The original idea behind this was to eliminate deadspots on the G-string, if I remember correctly 🙂

[@deylanshiva6407]

Thx for the bass review! Most indepth and straight to the point video i've seen on the stingrays.

[@max_archer]

A very early 1976 MM, iirc serial number in the 1xx range, was the first nice guitar I ever played, owned since new by my mom, who was a full time musician in SF in the '70s. The current EBMMs aren't really my taste but I always appreciate seeing that the name is still out there and making good stuff.

[@BobMelnik]

More Basses! Thanks Trog!

[@joermnyc]

18 volts gives the boost more headroom. You can have a more complex passive EQ on guitar and bass (like Reverend and G&L do on most of their models), but it can only cut, not boost.

[@WAMilyFamily]

Thanks for throwing in some bass content. I love seeing Fender and bass content. It was nice seeing your review of one of Leo's bass designs.😉

[@jeanpaulmare6468]

Great playing Trogly. Awesome to see such a nice bass on the channel and congrats to the new owner.

[@Kahuna54]

I taught my son how to play bass, he loves it. This is a beautiful piece!

[@floydlay9189]

Beautiful,,Thank you Austin,,so much for tossing in a bass now and then,,Love the MM's!

[@davidkurnos3081]

Man o man! Im a gibson guitar guy but I had a MM sting and LOVED it!!!!!

[@jimmyjames2022]

I love the StingRay Bass egg pickguard it's distinctive along with the roundedness. But what's with the scratches, did they give Tim a demo? I wouldn't be happy about that, but the neck is so awesome I'd just have to live with it. I had a sweet Fury bass (Canada made) I sold to a buddy who switched from playing rhythm. But this StingRay might be the first bass I've heard and seen that makes me wish I'd played bass instead of lead.

[@timhatley7000]

They didn't give me a demo, as the order went through to a different shop than where we originally got images from. Trogly was more than happy to send it back if I wanted to, but to me the neck was a lot better on this one and there was also the risk that the other one available was sold/scratched. I'm not too concerned with the scratches, I have a custom paint shop nearby that would clear them up easily, Also, I play the hell out of my basses so wear is inevitable..

[@EdwardJohns-be6ri]

You can't get any more well built bases and/or guitars the music man. They put their tuners on their headstocks that way. So they don't have to have string guides. It has perfect geometry, and they stay in tune better than any instrument on the planet

[@jcout25]

My P Bass, J Bass, Yamaha, Schecters, Ibanez, and Gibson basses ALSO don't have string guides....and they're not 3-1 either. And none of them have turning issues either. Tuning issues mainly come from how you wind the strings around the pegs and if your nut is cut correctly.

[@jr2904]

Never had an issue with tuning on my $400 Epiphone thunderbird

[@ericbgordon1575]

You're not the world's greatest bass player, Austin? Maybe not, but you certainly were able to acquit yourself during your demonstration of the Tony Franklin signature fretless model. If you can rock that sucker, the Stingray is a piece of cake.

[@DrKevGuitar]

Not a satin finish, it's gunstock oil and wax, which is why it feels so great and the flame pops so much. Music Man are well known for this kind of finish since the 90s.

[@jeffwoeber9590]

Beautiful bass! Enjoy it our Aussie friend :)

[@riblet1000]

I always enjoy the bass reviews. Thanks.

[@ssplintergirl]

Still never forget that Rickenbacker 4005 on your channel. For a mainly guitar channel, your bass playing has come a long way.

[@evrgreen_69]

You rocked that thing! Sounded great. Really liked the looks/quality and sound..Had Corvette vibes..Be a cool baritone!..Thanks dude!

[@royaldragonfire2187]

My fav and dream bass but i like the older the 90s ones

[@Masterfighterx]

I vastly prefer the figure and woodgrain on the one on the photos.

[@lurklingX]

yay!! a bass episoooooode. i'm glad you decided to! and those ones are such a good line.

[@anthonyweaver8344]

Great demo!! I have had my music man for 30 years and it still is bad ass!!

[@jeremynebraska]

Beautiful bass!!

[@imthemanntoo]

You did a good job, Austin. I would probably not buy new basses, just to do a break-down, review and re-sell, but I would do an episode on all basses that come through. I have a MM Stingray, but it doesn't look as nice as that one. It would be cool to see an episode running down the history of Gibson basses. Thanks.

[@PeterMoore350]

That neck is stunning. Beautiful bass and Mr T you really rocked that thing!! Cheers from NZ 😎🎸🤘

[@alanscharrer5255]

Thank you T. Beautiful bass that will absolutely sing

[@doctoribanez]

I thought for sure you would pull out the cliff Burton solo. Music man makes nice stuff

[@Tedroy]

OK... I never coment 'cause I'm a bass player, but Dayum. That is a beautiful rock bass. Thanks for sharing!

[@Crumpet_Central_]

Yes, finally! Great video!

[@howardtyler7]

Sounds EXACTLY how a Musicman Stingray should! Bernard Edwards from Chic had an original ‘76 string through version, bequeathed to Duran Duran’s John Taylor.

[@stockholm1752]

Yep. Very cool bass. Now do Fender’s new Vintera II 60s Bass VI, please.

[@pauloyo3648]

beautiful sound !

[@Photognick521]

Your demo was damn good for a non bass player. I’ve been wanting to start playing bass.

[@nealhathaway2004]

Guitar player calluses are on the tips of their fingers. Bass players have calluses on the tips, the sides , and if you're Billy Shehan, the back of your hand. You rock Trog!

[@seanwoodburn2616]

Thanks for doing the Stingray!

[@ethanhitchcock5431]

ExcellentO ! Love the Musicman bass ,ive been curious about them for years , I love playing bass as well as guitar, it is a guitar after all, aint it !? ...Ive been wanting a Rickenbacker bass !...Man that one is beautiful and it sounds great !...Thanks Trogly !

[@cataclysmicconverter]

I have 3 EBMM instruments, a Cutlass and original lineup of the St. Vincent (rosewood neck) along with a Bongo bass. Still a family run business and makers of some of the finest out there IMO.

[@cgtbrad]

Love Stingrays! I recently sold my 2006 30th Anniversary 4 string. They only made 700 of them. Mahogany body and lacquered birdseye maple neck combined with a string through bridge made it quite unique and also pretty hefty at 10.0lbs. I've got an Indonesian Sterling that I got off a guy who buys and sells Amazon pallets. The finish is really banged up, but I'll probably try to do some kind of relic job on it. I installed a series/parallel switch and am in the process of building a 70's style preamp PCB for it. Honestly, I think the thinner neck of the Sterling suits me better. The extreme contours you noticed are a new feature in recent years. Same for the 18V system. The neck on that bass is stunning!!!

[@brianstatom9567]

Love the Budgie!

[@larrynoe6162]

I have the Sterling version of the Stingray. Also have a Sterling Majesty. They are both pretty sweet budget guitars.

[@lurklingX]

i have a sterling too. :) the look is iconic. plays well, too.

[@ronaldwilson9525]

I also have a Sterling. I have the all black Stingray HH.

[@larrynoe6162]

@@ronaldwilson9525 mine is black with one humbucker. It is awesome and comfortable to play.

[@ronaldwilson9525]

@@larrynoe6162 I absolutely love mine. The 2 humbuckers and eq make quite a few tone differences. Love the roasted maple neck and rosewood fingerboard. It’s been my #1 since I got it 3 years ago. I also love the fact I only spent $800 on it instead of $2300 for a Music Man.

[@jeffryallred2174]

Thank you!

[@RokDAWG1]

For only running into Logic it sounds pretty nice! Though, those scratches at that price point would have annoyed me a lot.

[@4XFX1]

What is the exact model name and number. I like to order it

[@silvernuggets1285]

Love it.❤ killer neck, big fat tone. Hope those scratches buff out.

[@dustins3960]

Thank you Trogly very cool

[@TemkaUwU]

10:05 Is that the riff from Hari no Yama/mountain of needles by Ningen isu I love ningen isu

[@sqidvishus]

Ah, man. Missed opportunity to play Waiting Room by Fugazi. Joe Lally was a Music Man Stingray user and that bass line is iconic. Thanks for the review, Austin!

[@thorngristlebody3298]

This is probably a dumb question, but can anyone tell me what song is Trogly playing from 10:36 to 11:55? Sounds so familiar but I'm drawing a blank.

[@elamon51]

Woot woot Trogly's guitars 🎸 🙌

[@mr.timebombman2230]

That thing is pretty sick actually

[@lurklingX]

A+ episode, trogly! thank you so much! (- aspiring bassist)

[@lz4005]

The Stingray was not the first active EQ bass. Alembic was making them in the 1960's.

[@myoptik3x103]

Oh man, what a beauty! Edit: Your Flea riffage brought a smile to my face!

[@mightyV444]

And also to mine! Because of Pat Finnerty! 😄

[@peterpellerin1374]

You done good!

[@kushking420]

The neck has a zebra wood type of look, really nice

[@lurklingX]

3:08 kinda want a diff color pick guard. like..... the black would set off the candy red color better, i think. they make 'em like that stock. but the white pearloid to me is getting in the way of that beautiful red finish. gotta be other colors that would pair nicer with it.

[@mightyV444]

I totally was expecting a black pickguard myself, and it took me a moment to get used to this one. It does kinda make sense (to me) together with the binding of the fretboard, though.

[@Gordanovich02]

I must be honest I preferred the older style MM bridge with the studs going down into the wood. Then again I would also prefer the older-older style with string mutes, so maybe I'm just a traditionalist.

[@Justin-hb6cg]

Finally, another bass. Good review, thanks.

[@robertcouch9021]

I wish you would do a review of a Brian May guitar

[@jessestrong5863]

Man you need to do more bass videos, I'm a guitarist as well but love and play bass. I'd love to see you do some old gibsons or perhaps an ovation magnum of some sort. Or something else a little out of the norm.

[@KainzMusic]

The Stingray is a reeeeeally nice bass, the 5 string version is forever on my wish list...

[@mightyV444]

...oh, and I had to think of a great video on Pat Finnerty's channel about that RHCP song at 8:56 😁

[@sinakaedwards2009]

Ernie Balls are top of the line similar to gibson les pauls. Active vs Passive is a big arguent in the bass comunity as well as pick vs finger.

[@MrAg127]

I'm sure I heard you playing Breadfan by Budgie. Excellent.

[@andrewbecker3700]

The bound ebony fretboard and block inlays look odd to me. I prefer the roasted maple fretboard and small dot inlays. The bridge and saddles are really poor quality for that price. The bridge on my Sterling Stingray ray34 is way beefier than that. Maybe those specs are why it has a thinner tone than I'm used to hearing out of Stingray basses? Mine sounds nothing like that. Only other differences are the 9volt active 3 band and 6 bolt neck plate. Alnico magnet humbucker might be another difference? Not sure what these new 18 volt units have, maybe ceramic?

[@mightyV444]

I admit I too was surprised at how basic the bridge is constructed. It doesn't even have those little grooves in the base plate that keep the saddles in place!

[@SuperKazmierski]

Why don't you have more subscribers? Such reliable content. Always informative and entertaining.

[@johndixon-fp1su]

Nice bass

[@gonzalolagares2589]

Yeahhhhh basses!!!!! Thanks Trogly!

[@houseomiller]

Gotta love a little Breadfan! Nice bass, but that a lot of coin!

[@andye3684]

👍

[@marktibbetts3799]

That's a beauty

[@billyblackwell3495]

As a guitar guy, stingrays are my favorite. P/j s are my next.

[@leagueofotters2774]

I had the "Dargie Delight" for a few months then moved it along

[@wooferdevlin3571]

Nice review. A lot of great tones from that, even with out neck pup'. Ü ♫

[@FransvandenBergeMuziekschuur]

THAT is one NICE Musicman bass.

[@adamstrachn]

Awesome review brother. I'd love to see your take on the Sterling By Music Man StingRay RAY34PB bass. It's around $1,000 and looks ridiculously promising in comparison to the USA models.

[@gregoriyefimovichrasputin4931]

Nice!

[@jessemiller1774]

Trogly, your not to bad on Bass. Right on.

[@davidkurnos3081]

not a fan of the bound neck but the rest is amazing

[@BudiPrasetyoHarsono]

You should review Music Man DarkRay

[@thomasbonnett4800]

$3,500 with scratches like that…I’d send it back in a heartbeat.

[@rcyalater...2305]

Was just gonna comment something similar. Lol. $3500 bass with free scratches SMH

[@f3uibeghardt522]

And the bridge screw penetrating all the way through the battery cavity is disheartening.

[@andyschwarm]

I never "got" why those Music Man instruments were so expensive. WTF?

[@zoeherriot]

You won’t get the neck again though.

[@zoeherriot]

@@andyschwarmsmall company, so their number of sales is smaller. And they are generally extremely well built instruments (occasional flaws not with standing).

[@G3kk0852xbox]

Sounds like you were having fun with that dirty bass preset.