The original Stingray design employs a single humbucking pickup placed near the bridge for a tighter sound,[2] and an active pre-amp powered by a 9-volt battery. Early iterations of this preamp came with a 2-band EQ (bass and treble), later augmented by an optional third band (midrange), and piezo pickups located in the bridge saddles. The StingRay's active preamp was sealed in epoxy to avoid reverse engineering of the technology which came to be synonymous with the StingRay bass.
Since Music Man was purchased by Ernie Ball Inc. in 1984, a number of new features and options have been added to the StingRay range. Dual humbucking pickups were introduced in the early 2000s. A five-string variant of the StingRay has become common, in some spaces even outselling the tradition four-string offering.
The StingRay's hardware varies from that of more traditional Fender-style electric basses in several ways. Angled string pull on the headstock is reduced by a distinctive "3+1" design, with three tuning machines on top and one on the bottom.[3] Its six-bolt neck plate supplies more body to neck contact than the more common four-bolt arrangement, with the extra rigidity providing further body sustain. The StingRay is offered in both string through body and top load stringing depending on specification.
The StingRay line has traditionally featured an ash body construction along with a maple neck and either a maple or rosewood fingerboard, finished with an oil coat, as opposed to hard lacquer finishes as used by Fender. In recent years,[when?] the roasted maple neck option has become popular, due to the wood's beautiful aesthetics and its higher resistance to varying humidity. Alongside this, a fretless Pau Ferro fingerboard has become increasingly popular.
