Music Man Sterling
Encyclopedia
The Music Man Sterling is a model of bass guitar
designed by the Music Man
company. It was named after Sterling Ball, son of Ernie Ball
, the founder of the parent company.
This bass weighs nine pounds, sporting a solid body made from selected hardwood
s and finished in high-gloss polyester. The bridge
is the traditional Music Man chrome plated
, hardened steel bridge plate with stainless steel saddles and an optional piezo feature for acoustic upright-like tones. The standard pickguard
colour is either black or white. The Sterling uses a long, 34"-scale length with a maple
neck featuring rosewood
or maple
fingerboard
(pau ferro for the fretless variant). Like the other Music Man basses, the Sterling comes with Schaller tuners. The truss rod is adjustable and the neck is bolt-on type with an asymmetrical five-bolt neck plate. The electronics are magnetically shielded and a three-way switch is used for coil selection as well as a three-band active EQ
with separate tone controls for treble, middle, and bass.
The Sterling differs from the famous Music Man StingRay
4-string bass in that it is lighter, smaller, has a different preamp, uses the "phantom coil" pickup technology and features a thinner neck with 22 frets than 21 actually found on the StingRay. It won 'Most Innovative Bass of 1993" in Musician Magazine. Notable users are Colin Greenwood
of Radiohead
, Dave LaRue
(of the Steve Morse Band, The Dixie Dregs, and Bruce Hornsby
), Johnny Christ
of Avenged Sevenfold
, Dougie Poynter
of McFly
, which has light up led inlays, Andy Stickel of 7 Blue Skies
and Roger Manganelli
of Less Than Jake
, Ado Flowers of Ebony Brown and Edin Duranovic of Fall of Reach.
The Sterling was created as a four-string version of the highly popular StingRay 5
, which also uses ceramic magnet pickups and a different preamp than the StingRay's alnico
magnet pickups. New pickup configurations and five-way pickup switching debuted in 2005. Music Man has introduced a five-string version using the same body and pickguard styling as the original four-string since January 22, 2008.
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
designed by the Music Man
Music Man (company)
Music Man is an American guitar, and bass guitar manufacturer. It is a division of the Ernie Ball corporation.-Early years:The Music Man story began in 1971 when Forrest White and Tom Walker talked with Leo Fender about starting a company they would call Tri-Sonic, Inc...
company. It was named after Sterling Ball, son of Ernie Ball
Ernie Ball
Ernie Ball was an American entrepreneur, musician, and innovator, widely acclaimed as a revolutionary in the development of guitar-related products. He began as a club and local television musician and small business entrepreneur, building an international business in guitars and accessories that...
, the founder of the parent company.
This bass weighs nine pounds, sporting a solid body made from selected hardwood
Hardwood
Hardwood is wood from angiosperm trees . It may also be used for those trees themselves: these are usually broad-leaved; in temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen.Hardwood contrasts with softwood...
s and finished in high-gloss polyester. The bridge
Bridge (instrument)
A bridge is a device for supporting the strings on a stringed instrument and transmitting the vibration of those strings to some other structural component of the instrument in order to transfer the sound to the surrounding air.- Explanation :...
is the traditional Music Man chrome plated
Chrome plating
Chrome plating, often referred to simply as chrome, is a technique of electroplating a thin layer of chromium onto a metal object. The chromed layer can be decorative, provide corrosion resistance, ease cleaning procedures, or increase surface hardness.-Process:A component to be chrome plated will...
, hardened steel bridge plate with stainless steel saddles and an optional piezo feature for acoustic upright-like tones. The standard pickguard
Pickguard
A pickguard is a piece of plastic or other laminated material that is placed under the strings on the body of a guitar, mandolin or similar plucked string instrument...
colour is either black or white. The Sterling uses a long, 34"-scale length with a maple
Maple
Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
neck featuring rosewood
Rosewood
Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. All rosewoods are strong and heavy, taking an excellent polish, being suitable for guitars, marimbas, turnery , handles, furniture, luxury flooring, etc.In general,...
or maple
Maple
Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
fingerboard
Fingerboard
The fingerboard is a part of most stringed instruments. It is a thin, long strip of material, usually wood, that is laminated to the front of the neck of an instrument and above which the strings run...
(pau ferro for the fretless variant). Like the other Music Man basses, the Sterling comes with Schaller tuners. The truss rod is adjustable and the neck is bolt-on type with an asymmetrical five-bolt neck plate. The electronics are magnetically shielded and a three-way switch is used for coil selection as well as a three-band active EQ
Equalization
Equalization, is the process of adjusting the balance between frequency components within an electronic signal. The most well known use of equalization is in sound recording and reproduction but there are many other applications in electronics and telecommunications. The circuit or equipment used...
with separate tone controls for treble, middle, and bass.
The Sterling differs from the famous Music Man StingRay
Music Man StingRay
Music Man StingRay is an electric bass guitar by Music Man, introduced in 1976.- History :In 1971, Fender employees Forrest White and Tom Walker, unhappy with the way CBS was managing the company, left their positions with Fender to start their own venture. First known as Tri-Sonic and then later...
4-string bass in that it is lighter, smaller, has a different preamp, uses the "phantom coil" pickup technology and features a thinner neck with 22 frets than 21 actually found on the StingRay. It won 'Most Innovative Bass of 1993" in Musician Magazine. Notable users are Colin Greenwood
Colin Greenwood
Colin Charles Greenwood , is an English musician and composer, best known as the bassist of the rock band Radiohead. Apart from bass, Colin plays keyboards, synthesizers and works on sampling on the electronic side of Radiohead...
of Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
, Dave LaRue
Dave LaRue
Dave LaRue is a bassist who has performed with the Dixie Dregs since 1988 and with the Steve Morse Band since 1989. He also has worked with Dream Theater's John Petrucci, Mike Portnoy and Jordan Rudess...
(of the Steve Morse Band, The Dixie Dregs, and Bruce Hornsby
Bruce Hornsby
Bruce Randall Hornsby is an American singer, pianist, accordion player, and songwriter. Known for the spontaneity and creativity of his live performances, Hornsby draws frequently from classical, jazz, bluegrass, folk, Motown, rock, blues, and jam band musical traditions with his songwriting and...
), Johnny Christ
Johnny Christ
Jonathan Lewis Seward, , better known by his stage name Johnny Christ, is the bassist of the American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold. Johnny was the fourth bassist to join Avenged Sevenfold in 2002, replacing former members Matt Wendt, Justin Sane, and Dameon Ash...
of Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California. Formed in 1999, the group consists of vocalist M. Shadows, lead guitarist Synyster Gates, rhythm guitarist Zacky Vengeance, bassist Johnny Christ....
, Dougie Poynter
Dougie Poynter
Dougie Lee Poynter is an English musician and the bass guitarist and vocalist for the pop rock boyband McFly.- McFly :...
of McFly
McFly
McFly are an English pop rock band who first found fame in 2004. The band consists of Tom Fletcher , Danny Jones , Dougie Poynter and Harry Judd . They were signed to the Island Records label from their 2004 launch until December 2007, before creating their own label, Super Records...
, which has light up led inlays, Andy Stickel of 7 Blue Skies
7 Blue Skies
7 Blue Skies is an alternative rock band formed in 2004. The group is well known for their high energy live performances, as well as for always performing barefoot...
and Roger Manganelli
Roger Manganelli
Roger Manganelli is the bassist and one of the two lead vocalists for ska-punk band Less Than Jake. He is also the lead vocalist and guitarist for Rehasher, and drummer for Greenhorn...
of Less Than Jake
Less Than Jake
Less Than Jake is an American ska punk band from Gainesville, Florida. Originally formed in 1992 as a power pop trio, the band evolved into a hybrid of ska punk. Less Than Jake have also been cited as showing influences from a wide variety of genres including post-grunge, heavy metal, alternative...
, Ado Flowers of Ebony Brown and Edin Duranovic of Fall of Reach.
The Sterling was created as a four-string version of the highly popular StingRay 5
Music Man StingRay 5
Introduced in 1987, the StingRay 5 was the first all-new Music Man bass designed and built in San Luis Obispo by the Ernie Ball team. The five-string's styling is based on the classic look of the Silhouette guitar...
, which also uses ceramic magnet pickups and a different preamp than the StingRay's alnico
Alnico
Alnico is an acronym referring to iron alloys which in addition to iron are composed primarily of aluminium , nickel and cobalt , hence al-ni-co, with the addition of copper, and sometimes titanium. Alnico alloys are ferromagnetic, with a high coercivity and are used to make permanent magnets...
magnet pickups. New pickup configurations and five-way pickup switching debuted in 2005. Music Man has introduced a five-string version using the same body and pickguard styling as the original four-string since January 22, 2008.