Gear News
Ernie Ball Music Man Introduces 40th Anniversary “Old Smoothie” StingRay Bass at NAMM 2016
Ernie Ball Music Man Introduces 40th Anniversary “Old Smoothie” StingRay Bass at NAMM 2016…
At NAMM 2016, Ernie Ball Music Man, one of the world’s premier guitar, bass and amp manufacturers, introduced its 40th Anniversary StingRay electric bass, “Old Smoothie,” named for a prototype from 1976 featuring a one-of-a-kind design and unique tonal characteristics. The bass features a rare ten (10) pole piece pickup design, resulting in a smooth, full tone that gives Old Smoothie its name and is reminiscent of the highly-sought-after vintage 70’s Music Man StingRay sound.
“Since its introduction in 1976, the Music Man StingRay bass has been embraced as one of the world’s classic electric bass designs, and Old Smoothie was an interesting – and great-sounding – variation given to me by Leo Fender during the time I spent testing and developing the original prototypes back in the 70’s,” said Sterling Ball, CEO for Ernie Ball. “We recently revisited the bass and were knocked out by its rich, deep, beautifully sweet tone. We knew we had to make it available to today’s bass players and celebrate one of the most iconic instruments of our time.”
The Ernie Ball Music Man “Old Smoothie” 40th Anniversary bass is a faithful reproduction of the original, with its custom-made ten (10) pole piece pickup design precisely reproduced. “We analyzed the original with a spectrograph, micrometer and other measurement tools and examined and re-created it to the smallest detail to deliver the exact tone of the original,” said Sterling Ball. All the other attributes of the original Old Smoothie have been duplicated, including its body, headstock and pickguard shape, 34-inch scale maple neck and fingerboard, frets, active electronics, hardware and exclusive chocolate-burst finish.
