Ernie Ball Music Man Sting Ray 4 Fretless (Modified) 2000 Natural Ash

This is a consignment piece. We will consider reasonable offers, but they will require the seller's approval.

This is an interesting bass. It sounds really good and performs well, just like you’d expect from a Music Man Sting Ray. The reliable Music Man electronics work exactly as they should; the satin finish on the maple neck makes it an easy player; the action is low and comfortable, and the truss rod works in both directions; and as with any fretless bass, tuning is only an issue if the player isn’t up to the task.

On the flip side, its backstory is a little unusual. According to the serial number and Ernie Ball’s records, this started life as an unlined fretless with a Pau Ferro fingerboard, but the board has been modified at some point. It has been painted black (over the Pau Ferro) —yet you can faintly make out dots and maybe a few fret lines. The black “refinish” also appears to have spilled over onto the binding at a few places (nothing horrible, but certainly not indicative of a pro paint job). So the conversion is confusing.

There’s also a ding on the lower rim (cracks in the polyuethane, near the jack plate — see photo), but it doesn’t impact the performance in any way. And the binding on the bass side is getting some crackling near the body, nothing too bad. In short, we wouldn’t have done a “conversion” the way this was done—but it’s still a very serviceable, useable fretless bass. A hardshell case is included.

• Body:               Ash body w/ urethane finish
• Neck:               Maple w/ satin finish
• Fingerboard:    Pau Ferro, painted over
• Nut:                   1 5/8”
• Radius:             7.5”
• Scale:               34”
• Pickup:             Music Man humbucking through 2-band active preamp
• Controls:           Volume, Pan, Treble and Bass
• Bridge/tail:       String-through-body chrome-plated steel bridge w/ stainless saddles
• Pickguard:       4-ply tortoiseshell  (replaces original black pickguard)
• Tuners:             Schaller BM
• Case:               Hardshell