The Guitar Player's Resource
Half a Century of Low-End Supremacy Demands Proper Celebration. Tony Levin calls his peach-colored StingRay 5 his "Barbie bass" and uses it on 70 percent of everything he records. Flea built the Red Hot Chili Peppers' funk foundation on StingRay punch. Bernard Edwards made Chic irresistibly danceable through that distinctive StingRay growl. Fifty years of bass history don't accumulate by accident - they happen because Leo Fender's post-Fender company got the fundamental recipe absolutely right from day one.
This Molten Gold 50th Anniversary model represents everything Ernie Ball Music Man learned during those five decades of refinement. Limited to just 300 instruments worldwide, this isn't just another commemorative cash grab with fancy paint - it's legitimate evolution wrapped in celebratory aesthetics that actually improves the original formula.
That roasted flame maple neck isn't just premium eye candy. The heat treatment process removes moisture that causes seasonal instability, creating necks that ignore temperature and humidity fluctuations that plague conventional construction. Tour from Phoenix summer heat to Minneapolis winter freeze without worrying whether your bass will still play straight when you hit the stage.
The redesigned neodymium humbucking pickup paired with updated 18-volt preamp delivers phenomenal low-end punch and aggressive midrange growl with impressive headroom that drives long cable runs and complex processing chains without noise issues. That three-band EQ lets you sculpt tone with surgical precision, whether you're laying down progressive metal complexity, jazz fusion sophistication, or funk pocket grooves that make people move involuntarily.
The lightweight poplar body with deep ergonomic contouring won't destroy your back during marathon sessions, while those 22 stainless steel frets on buffed ebony fingerboard provide durability that'll outlast your current band, next band, and probably the band after that. The five-bolt contoured neck joint supplies rock-solid stability while granting easy upper-register access.
Sometimes anniversary models represent genuine improvement rather than mere nostalgia. This StingRay proves fifty years of refinement actually means something.
Features:
Performance-built limited-edition electric bass
Deeply contoured, lightweight poplar body
Roasted flame maple bolt-on neck, hand-rubbed gunstock oil and wax finish
Ebony fingerboard with gold dot inlays and glow-in-the-dark side dots
22 stainless steel frets; compensated Melamine nut
1 Neodymium humbucking pickup
18V preamp with 3-band EQ
Vintage Music Man bridge/tailpiece
Music Man lightweight tuning machines
Easy-access truss rod adjustment wheel
Includes deluxe hardshell case and certificate of authenticity
