Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay Special 4 H
Price: 2.114 EUR – 2.750 EUR
Price history
Availability: 6/10 (Common)
A refined evolution of the original StingRay: a roasted maple neck with an ebony fingerboard, stainless steel frets, a redesigned neodymium humbucker, and lightened hardware that trims roughly a pound off the classic bass's weight.
About the Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay Special 4 H
The StingRay Special keeps the original StingRay's silhouette and single-humbucker "soapbar" pickup concept while revising nearly every detail underneath it. The neck is roasted maple - a heat-treatment process that increases stability against humidity and temperature changes - paired with an ebony fingerboard and stainless steel frets for long-term durability against wear. A 5-bolt neck joint, rather than the classic 4-bolt design, is intended to improve neck-to-body coupling and sustain.
The single pickup is a redesigned neodymium humbucker with substantial pole pieces and heavy windings, aimed at greater punch and a wider frequency response than the original StingRay pickup, run through an 18-volt active preamp with 3-band EQ for extended tonal shaping range. Lighter-weight tuning machines and hardware trim roughly a pound off the total weight compared to a standard StingRay, and the neck finish uses a blend of wax and gunstock oil rather than a hard lacquer, for a more open-pore, resonant feel.
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Reverb 2.566 EUR View details
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Reverb 2.750 EUR View details
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Source: https://reverb.com/item/97869213-ernie-ball-music-man-stingray-special-4-h-2024-sea-breeze
Sound character of the Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay Special 4 H
A single humbucker positioned close to the bridge, driven through an active preamp with onboard EQ, is what gives the StingRay Special its aggressive, punchy growl - the bridge-adjacent placement emphasizes upper-midrange bite that a neck-position pickup would not.
Technical data for the Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay Special 4 H
| Body | Select hardwood |
|---|---|
| Neck | Roasted maple, 5-bolt |
| Fretboard | Ebony |
| Frets | Stainless steel |
| Pickups | 1x redesigned neodymium humbucker |
| Electronics | 18V active preamp, 3-band EQ |
| Weight | ~8 lbs 10 oz (reduced hardware) |
Price history for the Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay Special 4 H
Cheapest seen: 2.114 EUR · Most expensive seen: 2.750 EUR
The history of the Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay Special 4 H
The original Music Man StingRay, designed with input from Leo Fender in 1976, was the first mass-produced bass with active electronics and remains one of the most widely copied bass designs in the industry. The StingRay Special line, introduced decades later, applies modern refinements - roasted necks, stainless frets, a redesigned pickup, and weight reduction - to the classic formula without changing its fundamental identity.
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