What's the going rate for Stingrays nowadays?

[Misdee]

1 hour ago, drTStingray said:

You may have been able to buy a used Stingray 15 yrs ago for £750 - the operative phrase being 15 yrs ago! These days I’d say £1500 for a standard one (not a Special, Classic or anything else unusual), with price increasing dependent on model. 
 

The Specials appear to be around £2000 used but that can vary upwards dependent on pick up spec, colour etc etc, much along the lines suggested by @hiram.k.hackenbacker

 

Talking of whom, I bought a particularly special Stingray he once owned last year, courtesy of @MM Stingray 62 (thanks both of you). It’s basically a factory spec 3 band Stingray, with strings through body, a Status made graphite neck - called a NAMM 100 bass (basically a Cutlass with strings through and a 3 band preamp). Now this bass (which cost nearly twice what I’ve just been talking) normally sits locked away but I got it out for a couple of recording sessions - blues/funk type of thing - and it sounds fantastic - absolutely thunderous Stingray sound! I also used my 4HH Stingray Special and whilst sounding slightly different (actually slightly darker), that sounded great as well. I couldn’t have asked for better recorded bass sounds (I got three tracks - a DI, one speaker on the upper of an ‘isolated’ Mark Bass 2 x 10 Traveller and one on the lower one). 
 

I also did some recording work with my Stingray Classic (I bought it when they were first announced in 2010) - that bass I’d fitted with TI flats - once again a great Stingray sound but slightly different (down to the flats more than anything). I used that bass for a ska gig very recently and from some ambient vids taken, the bass sound is great. A nice balance between supportive bassy sound and poky mids, which allow the notes to be heard. 
 

In none of this was there any issue with ‘weak G string’ syndrome - in fact my experience is it doesn’t occur in recording work - and if it does live, it’s usually down to stage EQ, other band members (eg keyboard players/ guitarists) playing in the wrong register too often, and room dynamics. However my experience has shown this to be a stage sound issue - generally not an issue in FOH. I have rarely encountered it with any of my Stingrays - the worst experience I had with D and G string absence was on a Fender Jazz but this was compounded by the factors mentioned above!

 

So £1500 is a reasonable used value in my view, £2k for a Stingray Special and more for some of the more esoteric versions. And don’t forget the early 2000s US built Subs - these are 2 band EQ and appear to command various prices up to £750 last time I looked - again dependent on colour etc etc. 

 

 

That sounds like a lovely selection of Stingrays. 

 

There's always been a discrepancy between what a Stingray is worth and what you can get for one. Their usefulness, quality and formidable reputation undermined by the laws of supply and demand. There's just so many available that it's bound to drive the price down.  That said, really nice Music Man basses like you've got will always command a better price than less desirable examples.

 

 

 

You could always find bargain-price Stingrays. (Ancient history I know, but I paid £315 for a mint pre-EB in 1989. In 1992 I stumbled on a used EBMM in a  guitar shop in Bradford for £400), and that won't have changed. Someone who paid £750 for used Stingray fifteen years ago who needs money might well sell nowadays for £1000 or less and feel like they had done okay on the deal. 

 

When it comes to Stingrays, if you've got cash in your hand and you're patient you can still pick up a bargain. It's likely to be an older model, though. As for Specials, even if they go for two grand secondhand, that's a big depreciation the new retail price.

 

The harsh reality is that if you really need to sell, things are worth what you can get for them. The intrinsic value is irrelevant.

Edited 1 hour ago by Misdee

[lowregisterhead]

2 hours ago, fretmeister said:

 

Put an old 2 band in it then! The 2 band is the vital component. There's a few good videos looking at the EQ curve and shelving of the 2 band compared to the later preamps. The 3 bands don't just slap another control in the middle, the entire thing is different.

 

My bitsa Pingray has the Aguilar M  pickup and their spot on recreation of the original 2 band and it sounds like an original - and no weak G string either.

 

Sorry, but that wouldn't do it for me. I put an East MMSR circuit into a 2007 Stingray 5 once, and it did improve the tone, but if I was to replace the circuit in a Special with a two band, then I'd need to replace the frankly rather characterless Neodymium pickup they put in it with an Alnico, lacquer the neck, fit a chunkier bridge, and string it through the body. (OK, maybe not the last one!) I don't disagree that the fit, finish and feel of the Special is very nice (I briefly owned a Special 5) but they're a completely different animal to all of their predecessors for a whole host of reasons. Sadly, I feel they've lost the essence of the original design along the way, IMHO.

 

If it's not already apparent, I'm a Stingray fanboy - in the 50 years I've been playing I've owned 18 Stingrays, a Sabre, a Bongo, and a USA Sterling. Yes, I have a list, but oddly enough, I don't currently own one.

 

But to stop hijacking the thread and get back to the question posed by the OP, 'regular' USA Stingray 1200 and up, Special/Classic 1800 and up, pre-EB think of a number and double it! Good luck with your sale/hunt, @Supernaut.

[drTStingray]

15 minutes ago, Misdee said:

That sounds like a lovely selection of Stingrays. 

 

There's always been a discrepancy between what a Stingray is worth and what you can get for one. Their usefulness, quality and formidable reputation undermined by the laws of supply and demand. There's just so many available that it's bound to drive the price down.  That said, really nice Music Man basses like you've got will always command a better price than less desirable examples.

 

 

 

You could always find bargain-price Stingrays. (Ancient history I know, but I paid £315 for a mint pre-EB in 1989. In 1992 I stumbled on a used EBMM in a  guitar shop in Bradford for £400), and that won't have changed. Someone who paid £750 for used Stingray fifteen years ago who needs money might well sell nowadays for £1000 or less and feel like they had done okay on the deal. 

 

When it comes to Stingrays, if you've got cash in your hand and you're patient you can still pick up a bargain. It's likely to be an older model, though. As for Specials, even if you get two grand for one, that's a big depreciation the new retail price.

 

The harsh reality is that if you really need to sell, things are worth what you can get for them. The intrinsic value is irrelevant.

Thanks, and yes, I think you’ve hit the nail on the head there! It’s the same with everything people sell to be honest - if people need the money quickly they may be more willing to accept less than a sensible price. 

 

I agree re Stingray Specials although I bought mine new for not much more than £2k - is it really nearly 8 yrs ago - I’ve got a 4HH and a 5HH, both in, to my mind, pretty colours. I hardly ever use the 5 - if I play a 5 it’ll be my ceramic pick up natural/maple 5H, which I still love despite its 10-11 lbs weight (the Stingray Special 5HH is just north of 8 lbs)! 
 

I wonder if the new ones will become more affordable here with the weakening dollar? Not holding my breath though!! 
 

For those officianados who really want to weep, I bought my immaculate 1993 Stingray fretless in sunburst, crazily figured neck, for £752 just over 15 yrs ago!! I don’t play it often but I absolutely love it!! They fetch quite a lot more these days and are pretty rare.. 

Edited 1 hour ago by drTStingray

[fretmeister]

I just wish there were more SLO neck versions.

[mcnach]

1 hour ago, Misdee said:

I've got a Sire Z3 for plunking on when the mood takes me and it's sounds more like a vintage two band Stingray than my Stingray Special does. The older vintage basses have the treble EQ shelved higher, so it's got that top end slice. They've got a more scooped-out tone than the newer iterations.

 

Around the time Ernie Ball took over production of MusicMan I had a vintage Stingray, and a very nice example it was too. However, for my taste those new EBMM basses I was trying in the shops were superior in every way to my pre-EB Stingray. I would have cheerfully done a straight swap. 

 

The Specials have got enough of that vintage sound though, and you can easily EQ it in. The Special is a bit richer in the mids and a more focused tone overall. It's all in my mind, I know, but the  Stingray Special being lighter makes it seem even more punchy when I play it). The subtle changes in design have really improved comfort overall. I really like them ( At the moment I'm actively looking to buy a second one to put flats on). 

 

 If other folks prefer the older basses then good for them, though. As the saying goes, you pay your money and take your choice.

 

I have a Sire Z3-5, and I feel it's closer to my 2002 EBMM Stingray than the SBMM Ray35 I've got (and it doesn't weight more than the Moon, unlike the Ray35). 

 

I haven't used my Stingray at least in a couple of years. It's a 4-string, and I'm rarely playing 4-strings anymore. I sometimes think of selling it, as it's worth a few GAS-tokens... but it's a lovely bass (and natural/maple too, yum) and I'd struggle to justify spending what they go for these days, should I want one again later.