1979 MusicMan Sabre fretless bass guitar

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Here we see a beautiful example of the rarely seen, and some would say more aesthetically pleasing, sibling of the Stingray bass guitar, the MusicMan Sabre. This fretless example features two of MusicMan's own now legendary design pickups as opposed to the Stingray's single unit and also boasts its own unique preamp design, with Bass and Treble EQ knobs for both boost and cut, as well as a bright switch and a phase reversal switch, making for an incredibly versatile instrument. According to the seller's blurb, "the classic alder and maple tone wood combination [gives] this bass has a bell-like upper midrange and warm pleasing low end that translates well through the pickups, while the preamp allows you to dial in plenty of treble zing, or as much warm pillowy low end as you'd need, while also allowing you to dial back the bass for a tight, cutting, well defined sound."

Dating from 1979 means that this bass probably pre-dates Ernie Ball's acquisition of the Music Man company which happened at around this time. Certainly the headstock does not have the Ernie Ball logo (see pics above). The Sabre would have been designed by Leo Fender and Forrest White, who also designed MusicMan's other early period instruments, and the Sabre bass itself was produced between 1978 and 1991, but apparently was not a big seller.

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of US $2,299.99.

G L Wilson

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1978 Music Man Sabre 1

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Usually I don't care for strat-shaped guitars but the Music Man Sabre has an interesting story and it's not a mere copy, since it was conceived by Leo Fender himself during his short time in the company. By the time the hugely successful stratocaster shape had become an industry standard, so it was not improper for Mr Fender to re-use his own design, even if he was not owing Fender anymore.. 

The Sabre has the cool sternness of 1970s guitars and its almost awkward big metal control plate feels like they needed room for extra electronics and controls, too bad for the design… The massive bridge with tele-style saddles seems more reliable than Fender models and like the Stingray - the other guitar Leo Fender made with Music Man, humbuckers have been favored to single coils, but by then guitars are not made for country music any more, but for rock! 

Bertram D

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Music Man Sting Ray II guitar from 1977 (back when they were cool)

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Music Man had as one of its founding members a certain Mr Leo Fender, who had sold his previous eponymously named company to CBS in 1965. They started out in the early 1970s producing hybrid solid-state/tube amps, but by 1976 had started production of guitars and basses. This particular Music Man Sting Ray II guitar dates from 1977, their second year of guitar production. Its Fender pedigree is quite apparent in the design - you can see how this instrument could represent the next logical development following the Telecaster and the Stratocaster.

The original Music Man guitars were not as well known or as popular as their basses; some would say that this was because they weren't particularly good instruments, but I can't believe this to be true. I've personally seen one in the hands of Doggen Foster (sometime guitarist with Julian Cope and Spiritualized) and he certainly made it sound incredible. Of course this guitar dates from well before Ernie Ball got their mitts on the Music Man brand; their later guitars would become very popular, endorsed by the likes of Eddie Van Halen, Albert Lee, Steve Lukather, and John Petrucci. Note how this pre-Ernie Ball Music Man features a headstock with six machine heads in a line a la Fender, as opposed to the later ridiculously small headstocks with a 4+2 tuner arrangement that Ernie Ball nicked from certain Gretsch and Teisco guitar design from the 1960s and then claimed was their own copyrighted trademark.

Currently listed on eBay with a starting bid of $1,090.

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Music Man Stingray II guitar from 1977

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Several years following the CBS buy-out of Fender, ex-Fender employees Forrest White and Tom Walker founded Music Man in 1971. Initially they were concerned with the production of hybrid tube/solid state amps, but in 1976 with Leo Fender installed as president they started producing guitars. One of the earliest designs was the Stingray. The MusicMan Stingray II guitar pictured here is from 1977 and the design heritage is obvious. It shows a natural evolution of Fender's designs and gives a hint of how Fender might have progressed in a parallel universe where the company wasn't sold to CBS. The controls on the chromed plate are 4-way switch to select the three pickup positions plus a setting to split the bridge pickup into a single coil, treble boost switch, volume, treble, and bass contols.

I am also reminded of the more basic G&L SC-2, another of Leo Fender's post-Fender designs, Leo's own G&L company being founded in 1979 with old friends and ex-Fender colleagues George Fullerton and Dale Hyatt.

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Music Man Bongo Bass

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Music Man, Leo Fender's first post-Fender guitar company, are known for their guitar and basses (some would say especially the basses) which are usually quite conservative in styling. But here we see that with the Music Man Bongo Bass they decided to break the mold and go for quite an almost space-age design.

It was the result of a partnership with DesignworksUSA, a design consultancy known for its work with BMW, and features a 24-fret rosewood fingerboard and 4-band active EQ powered by an 18V supply. This lefthanded model, currently being offered for sale on eBay with a Buy It Now price of £1,200, features a pair of Music Man humbuckers, although other pickup combinations were also available. It is also custom fitted with Orange front-face magnifying Sims LEDs whereas stock models would have had moon-shaped inlays.

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!