Music Man StingRay 1979 BASS. Original CLF. Historical. Rare. Leo Fender.

1979 Music Man StingRay Bass - Pre-Ernie Ball - Aaron Burr (Delta Clutch) - Rebuilt & Signed by Jon Mouradian

DESCRIPTION (paste everything below into Reverb's description field)

1979 MUSIC MAN STINGRAY BASS

The Aaron Burr / Jon Mouradian Bass

Serial B011994 - From the Richard Davis Collection, International Guitar Museum

Most vintage basses carry their history on the outside. This one carries it on the inside. Pull the neck and you'll find Leo Fender's 1979 factory date stamps, and right beside them, in ink: "Property of Aaron Burr," along with two dated signatures from the Mouradian Guitar Co. repair bench in Massachusetts.

This bass tells three stories: a StingRay built in the last year Leo Fender's own CLF Research factory made basses for Music Man; the working bass of a Boston/Providence club-circuit bassist; and a two-stage rebuild signed by Jon Mouradian, son of the late Jim Mouradian, at the father-and-son shop whose clients included Joe Perry, Chris Squire and Kurt Cobain.

THE INSTRUMENT: A LEO FENDER STINGRAY

Music Man was founded by former Fender executives Forrest White and Tom Walker, with Leo Fender as partner and, from 1975, president. Leo's company, CLF (Clarence Leo Fender) Research in Fullerton, California, built the guitars and basses. The StingRay, introduced in 1976, was one of the first widely produced basses with on-board active electronics, and its punch changed the sound of rock, funk and R&B bass.

CLF Research stopped building instruments for Music Man in late 1979. Leo moved on to G&L, and Music Man was sold to Ernie Ball in 1984. That makes 1979 the final year of the pre-Ernie Ball StingRays built under Leo Fender's own roof.

This bass has the period hallmarks:

-Three-bolt neck plate with micro-tilt adjustment

-String-through-body stringing

-One-piece maple neck and fingerboard, walnut skunk stripe

-Original Music Man logo and "StingRay Bass" headstock script (no Ernie Ball branding)

Factory date stamps:

-Neck heel: FEB 6 1979, with circled "1"

-Body neck pocket: JAN 1979 (day partly obscured by a screw hole), with circled "2"

THE PLAYER: AARON BURR

Aaron Burr came up on the mid-1990s Boston-Providence club circuit. His first band there was Mother Jefferson, an independent rock group formed in 1994. He then held down the bass chair in Delta Clutch, a five-piece the Providence Phoenix called a "Boston/Providence musical alliance": Nate Leavitt and Chris Cugini on guitars, Paul Everett on vocals, Paul Myers on drums, and Aaron Burr on bass.

-Early 1996: Delta Clutch released "Rye" (Blackberry Records), a seven-song record.

-1997: Delta Clutch competed in the WBCN Rock and Roll Rumble, Boston's premier battle of the bands.

-October 1997: Delta Clutch released their full-length album "Hard Luck Machine," with a release show at the Met in Providence. Burr's former band, Mother Jefferson, was on the bill.

The Providence Phoenix's feature on the album said Delta Clutch "may well represent the past, present and future of gin-u-wine American rock." (Michael Caito, October 1997)

Delta Clutch members Leavitt, Cugini and Myers went on to form The Blizzard of 78, which has played with or opened for Coldplay, Alex Chilton, Snow Patrol and Throwing Muses.

THE LUTHIERS: JIM AND JON MOURADIAN

Jim Mouradian (1950-2017) repaired guitars out of Cambridge Music Center in Porter Square for two decades before he and his son Jon opened Mouradian Guitar Co. in Winchester, Massachusetts. American Lutherie wrote that "with his son Jon, Jim ran the largest guitar repair shop in the New England area." The two worked side by side for 25 years.

The shop's reputation rested on Jim's work and his clients:

-Joe Perry of Aerosmith called Jim "somebody you could always count on in a pinch" (Boston Globe).

-Jim designed and built a bass for Chris Squire of Yes, who played it on tour and in the "Owner of a Lonely Heart" video.

-Jim mentored a young Pat Badger, later the bassist of Extreme.

-In the early 1990s Jim repaired the broken neck of Kurt Cobain's Fender Mustang after a Boston gig. Cobain later sent a letter and a copy of "Nevermind" in thanks.

-Jim was a bassist himself, with Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters for many years, and built his own lines of electric basses.

The hand on this bass is the son's. Both inscriptions are signed by Jon Mouradian, Jim's son and partner at the bench, who carries on the shop today.

THE 1996 MOURADIAN REBUILD: SIGNED TWICE

In spring 1996, just as Delta Clutch released "Rye," Aaron Burr took his road-worn StingRay to Mouradian Guitar Co. The bass records the work in two dated stages, written in ink on the bare wood (see photos):

APRIL 1996, NECK HEEL:

"NECK REPAIRED By Jon Mouradion 4/96"

"Property of Aaron Burr"

MAY 1996, BODY NECK POCKET:

"Rebuilt by JON MOURADIAN 5/96"

The neck was repaired rather than replaced, so the original 1979 CLF neck stays with the instrument. The body was refinished in the deep green it wears today. The heel inscription is an ownership record written on the instrument itself during Aaron Burr's ownership. (Note the casual "Mouradion" misspelling, typical of genuine shop notes.)

THE CASE: STICKERS FROM THE SCENE

The bass comes in the case that traveled with it:

-A Mother Jefferson band sticker, from Aaron Burr's first band

-A fIREHOSE "Flyin' the Flannel" sticker, from the band of Mike Watt, one of the most influential bassists in American independent rock

These are the marks a working musician leaves on his gear, placing this bass squarely in the mid-1990s New England club scene.

CONDITION AND ORIGINALITY

We describe this instrument plainly, because its story depends on accuracy.

-Body: Ash, refinished in deep green during the 1996 Mouradian rebuild. Glossy finish with honest playing wear: small chips and dings along the edges. The original factory color is not claimed.

-Neck: Original 1979 CLF one-piece maple neck, dated FEB 6 1979. Structurally repaired by Mouradian in April 1996 and signed on the heel. Deep amber patina on the fingerboard from age and play.

-Hardware: Music Man chrome bridge with felt mutes, string-through ferrules, chrome control plate, three-bolt neck plate with micro-tilt, open-gear tuners. All the correct period type.

-Electronics: Music Man humbucker with active preamp; volume, treble and bass controls.

-Case: Aaron Burr's vintage black hardshell road case with blue plush interior. Heavy tolex wear and chipping from years on the road. Presented as the bass's working case, not as a factory-original Music Man case.

-Includes an Ernie Ball strap.

The refinish and neck repair mean this is not an "all-original" bass. That trade-off is what gives it its story: the work was done during the bass's working life, for the musician who played it, by one of New England's most respected shops, and it is signed and dated by the luthier.

SPECIFICATIONS

-Model: Music Man StingRay Bass, 4-string, pre-Ernie Ball

-Year: 1979

-Serial: B011994

-Built by: CLF Research, Fullerton, California, for Music Man

-Body: Ash, refinished deep green (1996)

-Neck: One-piece maple, bolt-on, three-bolt plate with micro-tilt

-Fingerboard: Maple, black dot markers

-Frets: 21

-Scale: 34"

-Nut width: approx. 1-5/8"

-Pickup: Music Man humbucker, active preamp

-Controls: Volume, treble, bass (2-band active EQ)

-Bridge: Music Man chrome, string-through-body, adjustable felt mutes

-Tuners: Open-gear, 3+1 headstock

-Pickguard: Black

-Case: Vintage black hardshell road case with period band stickers