In 1971, Forrest White and Tom Walker formed Tri-Sonix, Inc. Walker had previously been a sales representative for Fender. Walker approached Leo Fender about financial aid at the foundation. White had worked with Leo Fender since 1954, in the early days of Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company as factory manager, becoming vice president. Fender didn’t like the name of the company, so he first changed to Musitek, Inc., and in January 1974 the final name, Music Man appeared.
In June 1976, production started on guitars, and in August, the bass followed, designed by Fender and White. The 1976 catalog shows the first offers; A two-pickup guitar called “StingRay 1” and StingRay Bass. Both instruments had screwed neck designs; the basses featured a distinctive 3 + 1 tuner arrangement to help eliminate “dead spots”, The StingRay Bass featured a single large pickup (located slightly towards the bridge, but not adjacent to it) with a fixed frequency equalizer of two bands. A row of ropes was on the bridge. The basses were produced in worn and fretless versions.
In November 1979, Leo had enough of Music Man’s pressure and ties were severed, Music Man was sold to Ernie Ball on March 7, 1984. Music Man’s remaining physical assets were sold on June 1, 1984.
The first bass to be developed by Ernie Ball Music Man, the StingRay 5 was launched in 1987 and has been an industry standard for extended range basses since then. With its powerful and striking sound, added flexibility of additional pickups and a totally comfortable body, the StingRay 5 satisfies even the most demanding of bass players.
They also introduced a series of new electric bass models, including Sterling Bass (1993) and Bongo Bass (2003) (whose futuristic appearance was designed in conjunction with the BMW DesignworksUSA team).
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