Just got an email from the gods...

[bbl]

Hi bbl,

Here is your order confirmation:

Left-Handed Ernie Ball MusicMan Stingray Bass
Stealth
4 string
Fretless unlined
Ebony Fingerboard
Single Humbucker

Due in July.

[bbl]

I would've gotten piezo, but they don't do it in lefty.

[Jeroen]

I'm surprised they do the stealth finish on a lefty! Very cool

[andrew]

Congrats on the new bass!

[bbl]

I'm surprised they do the stealth finish on a lefty! Very cool

They do now. EBMM has always been more lefty friendly than most.

However, what they don't do in lefty, fyi:

- HH (except the Bongo)
- piezo

I didn't care about the HH much, but I really wanted the piezo for the fretless.

I searched all over google for a stealth fretless unlined. I haven't seen a single one in righty or lefty. Other than the EBMM logo on the headstock, this bass will be 100% black. It's the only way you can get black hardware from EBMM.

[bbl]

Congrats on the new bass!

Thanks. I still have regrets about selling the Ice Queen. But I've been rockin' my Sterling fretless and have serious fretless GAS now. The Ice Queen is in good hands with Philip (frenchy lefty) and he's right down the street.

Here's my Sterling, fyi, which I bought in 2005 from poor lefty, another poster here:

[Basshappi]

Congrats, can't wait to see it!

[bbl]

I'm surprised they do the stealth finish on a lefty! Very cool

Correction: No lefty Stealth Ray.

An ill-informed rep took my order and said they could do it, then informed me the next day that they can't.

Unless it's a Bongo. So my new bass will be:

Bongo 4 Stealth
Fretless unlined ebony
HH config

I'm now a Bongoloid.

[Addison]

Wow, you switched to an entirely different bass in order to get the finish you were looking for?

Crazy.

[LefThanDed]

Re: Just got an email from the Sterling god

... of BBQ!?!
http://www.bigpoppasmokers.com/p6/BPTV- ... pages.html

Did they throw in a complimentary lefthanded grill tool or lefty firewire skewer?

[bbl]

Wow, you switched to an entirely different bass in order to get the finish you were looking for?

Crazy.

I wouldn't call the Bongo entirely different from the Ray, but I've always wanted a stealth Bongo, too.

[Frenchy-Lefty]

I still have the Ice Queen and it has become my main player - Stingrays have this hefty tone that remains clear and punchy with a cool texture in the upper mid-range. I find them to be a great complement to a Jazz Bass.
BBL, I have been drooling on your SR fretless for awhile (I love the color!) so make sure you don't put it for sale in another moment of total delusion.

[Psycho Ward]

I look forward to seeing your Stealth, I know that will be cool!

I never understood the issue with Stealth in the lefty models, I believe it was Brian Ball that told me it was the black hardware. They would have to order a large amount from their supplier and they didn't think they would sell enough to make any money. This same thing is why there is no pizo offered, Brian said at the open house that the smallest order of lefty pizo's would cost $25,000!

So if they now have black hardware, the Stealth part is just paint and should be available on all models. Or, you very well could be getting a one off!

[pjmuck]

This same thing is why there is no pizo offered, Brian said at the open house that the smallest order of lefty pizo's would cost $25,000!

Not that I'm in any position to challenge Brian's statement, but I fail to see why the piezos would present a problem for a lefty build, not to mention giving us a Stingray HH. The saddles aren't righty specific, so all you'd have to do is reverse there placement in a lefty bass bridge and wire them appropriately. In fact, I'll bet any amount of money that if you were to take a righty piezo-equipped 'Ray and reverse the saddles/restring for lefty that it would work fine, provided the connecting wires were long enough to do it without having to to re-soldering/reconnect. As for a lefty HH, why would routing a second PUP cause a problem for CNC machinery? One push of a button and you've get a lefty configuration setup if you want it.

[Psycho Ward]

You are right about the CNC, but Sterling told me it's the preamp shape and the cavity it fits in, they would have to make a preamp to fit the lefty cavity (or change the cavity). My H/S one offs had to have hand made preamps, the told me they were more expensive than gold.

That said, if they wanted to do it, they could do it. We are less than one percent of their business, they never miss a chance to remind me.

[Jeroen]

I don't get that. What's different about the HS-preamp compared to the regular Sterling or Stingray 5 preamp which also has a pickup switch other than the type of switch and the available switching options? Surely the EQ isn't voiced differently?

[AustinLeftyBass]

Makes me happy I have no interest in a Musicman bass. I got one when they first came out(late 70s?), mine still said Patent Pending on the bridge, never could get a sound out of it I liked and swapped it for my first(of many) Rickenbackers.

[Basshappi]

Sorry Sterling, Carvin makes you a liar.

Carvin has been offering Piezo and HH pickups configurations on lefty basses for decades. Oh the marvels of CNC machinery. Do not pass off your unwillingness to accomodate a segment of your customers (especially that said customers are paying a premium over the usual righ handed instrument config) as anything other than that!

Shame on you!