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2005 EB StingRay Recently Traded to GuitarGuitar Edinburgh


johnDeereJack

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Hi folks,

I'm hoping to trace the previous owner of a 2005 EB StingRay 4-string I recently picked up in GuitarGuitar, Edinburgh. The bass was part of a trade-in and was listed for sale at £969 and came with a MM hard shell case. It's a 2-band / natural finish, with a maple neck, and rosewood board - serial is E45793.

There was a bit of ambiguity regarding the date of manufacture (the ad said 2005, the sales guy said different) so out of curiosity I emailed Ernie Ball Customer Support with the serial number of the bass, along with the configuration (i.e. 2-band / natural finish / maple + rosewood) to get a definitive date. 

EB responded saying the bass left the factory in Feb 2005, but was fitted with a maple board, not a rosewood board, and said the neck had obviously been replaced. I've taken the neck off, and yes, the neck is dated after the bass left EB factory, so it appears that EB customer support are correct in the assumption that the neck has been swapped from the original maple / maple neck to a maple / rosewood replacement. 

Basically, I'm looking to hopefully contact the previous owner (have also asked the store to reach out to them) and find out why the neck was swapped - you can't simply contact EB and say 'Hi, can you send me a replacement neck for my bass, please?' so there has to be a reason..? I know it's most likely a long shot, but hey - gotta try! :)

Anyhoo, here's the bass. Anyone recognise it..?

 

StingRay.jpg

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Could have been a fault with the maple neck

Or perhaps he didn't like the agression of maple and preferred the smoothness of rosewood

Like you say it's difficult to get replacement necks from EB

But there are a few always for sale on eBay, etc

I suspect there are many EB basses with swapped out necks

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Back in the late 90s a big music shop i visited to but my first real Fender, happily swapped the necks on two precisions so I had the configuration I wanted. It could be the distributor or the shop swapped necks for the customer rather than order a whole new bass in the right combination of colours and woods.

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20 hours ago, gareth said:

I suspect there are many EB basses with swapped out necks

 

20 hours ago, Beer of the Bass said:

It might just be a case of someone with multiple basses swapping his favourite neck onto his favourite body. 

Exactly this I suspect. I have two EBMM Sterlings one rosewood and one maple and have switched the necks purely for aesthetics. I will however swap them back to original guise when I come to sell either of them.

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Thanks for all the replies, folks. When I contacted GuitarGuitar they offered to take the bass back, but it's now part of the (ever-growing!) family so it's staying with me. If I had the choice I'd rather have a maple board, but I bought it with the rosewood board, and if I hadn't done that wee bit digging regarding the serial number / date of manufacture, I'd be none the wiser regarding the neck not being original to the body, so I guess it's all a bit of a moot point? :)

I spoke to Guitar Guitar on Friday to see if they had any info regarding the neck swap - they had contacted the fella that traded in the bass, and it turns out he's the second owner; he bought it from his bass tutor in 2011, and had no idea the neck had been swapped. He's offered to contact the original owner and get the story behind the swap, and it would be interesting to get the story behind it, but it's not high on my list of priorities right now. I'm just enjoying the bass for what it it - a really nice EB MM StingRay that looks cool, sounds killer, and plays exceptionally well! :)

Merry Xmas, folks.

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On 22/12/2018 at 10:35, gareth said:

The interesting question then is:-

Does the bass having a different neck from the factory fit decrease its value?

The answer must surely be 

Yes

 

I don't see why

 

edit: unless you're a collector?

Edited by mcnach
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8 hours ago, gareth said:

Originality is everything and lack of it will adversely effect market values

 

I'm just not convinced. It's not on the level of a 1961 Fender Jazz or the like. 

(It is a much nicer bass for a lot less money ;) )

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