Music Man Stingray from 1993

[paulo]

http://www.leftybass.com/e_start.htm

[Addison]

I seriously doubt it's a '93... they didn't start regular production of lefties until '96 and they still had string mutes in '93.

Mine is a '96, serial number L00084. I ordered it from Bass Center in LA the same day they announced lefty production at NAMM.

I'd be curious to see what the serial number is on it.

[paulo]

I seriously doubt it's a '93... they didn't start regular production of lefties until '96 and they still had string mutes in '93.

Mine is a '96, serial number L00084. I ordered it from Bass Center in LA the same day they announced lefty production at NAMM.

I'd be curious to see what the serial number is on it.

Cool! I've heard the same before.
But what about this one, they say it's a 1979
https://reverb.com/item/2024060-musicma ... tone-burst

[andrew]

That probably is a '79. Musicman made a small amount of left handed basses in the 70's and then EBMM didn't make any lefties until '96.

[gravesbass]

This 79 is an early one. They are killer. There were small production runs of these in left handed. Ernie Ball didn't start normal production of lefties until 95/96. I had one of the original Black with Rosewood board lower serial numbers L00042 (might be off by a digit)

FYI: The Guitar Broker listed the same bass at 3999 3-tone and 4999 2-tone

https://reverb.com/item/2024060-musicma ... tone-burst

https://reverb.com/item/2081388-musicma ... e-sunburst

[bhunt1]

Late 70s Musicman guitars/basses were made at Leo's factory on Fender Ave. in Fullerton which is now G&L. Some of the late Leo era Musician instruments were made at the same time G&L was just getting started in 1980. Leo was lefty friendly

[tim]

Leo was lefty friendly

One of his many great qualities!

[paulo]

Thanks for the info guys!
The 79 Stingray looks killer! But also a pocket killer!

[Addison]

But what about this one, they say it's a 1979

Yes, as others stated, there were a handful of lefties built before Ernie Ball bought the company in the early 80's (like Fender, the late 70's weren't exactly great years for Music Man either... lots of turmoil within the company and QC wasn't always the best). There were maybe a few more built after that in the custom shop for artists (I remember seeing a picture of one with binding on the body while I worked for GC in '93), however, regular lefty production didn't start until beginning of the second quarter of '96, with earliest "born on" dates in July '96.

Outside of the official EBMM records (which are actually quite good), this is the most extensive serial number database I know of...

http://www.musicmanbass.org/mycustompage0028.htm

Scroll down until you start to see the "L" numbers and that's when lefty production started. They were announced in January '96 at NAMM and began taking orders immediately. Earliest dates in this database are from July, '96... and serial numbers do not go in sequence as can be seen by the October '96 bass with the L00009 serial number.

I asked about this one time and the guy told me that the bridges were stamped during manufacture, wrapped in tissue and packed in a box. They were pulled randomly as they were installed, so it's possible that L00001 wasn't officially born until '97.

Anyway, that's about all I have on the subject... Which is way too much and, hopefully, mostly accurate.

[gravesbass]

Hmmmmmmm, if these production dates are true, I was giving incorrect info on my StingRay when purchased. The dude claimed it was a late 95 early 96 build.

http://www.musicmanbass.org/mycustompage0028.htm

^^ The serial database does not have my bass in it in provided link above. I have pictures on one of my many drive backups somewhere. The bass was freaking fantastic. Heavy. They don't make them like that anymore. Wish I still owned it. The only complaint was the sharp pickup poles. They were really sharp. Not an issue if you play with a pic but I don't.

[Addison]

Hmmmmmmm, if these production dates are true, I was giving incorrect info on my StingRay when purchased. The dude claimed it was a late 95 early 96 build.

Then you were probably given incorrect info because they didn't even start taking orders on them until NAMM '96. First orders started shipping in July of that year.

And, again... this is based on the info I got several times over the years from EBMM and my experience ordering one in January '96. Maybe they made a batch of lefties in '95 before it was officially announced. I don't know for sure, but I've never heard of it and I've never seen another lefty from that year.

http://www.musicmanbass.org/mycustompage0028.htm

^^ The serial database does not have my bass in it in provided link above. I have pictures on one of my many drive backups somewhere. The bass was freaking fantastic. Heavy. They don't make them like that anymore. Wish I still owned it. The only complaint was the sharp pickup poles. They were really sharp. Not an issue if you play with a pic but I don't.

Those are all submitted to the guy who runs the database by the owners. So, if yours isn't there, then it was never submitted.

If you can dig up the exact serial number, it would be easy enough to get a "born on" date. They keep pretty good records of that stuff.

Mine is about 9.5 lbs... Not too heavy at all. It was my first real bass... sold it once and regretted horribly. Luckily, the person who bought it from me is an angel and let me buy it back. I won't make that mistake again.

It's actually in a different state getting a full fingerboard level, refret and a Plek... can't wait to get it back.

[leftybassatl]

You can submit your sernum to EB and get the exact completion date and where it was originally shipped. They got back to me about a week after submission, which appears to be their regular cadence.
Here's the link:
http://forums.ernieball.com/ernie-ball- ... e-733.html