Ernie Ball Music Man DarkRay 5-String Electric Bass – Starry Night

Unleash Stellar Bass Tones with The Ernie Ball Music Man DarkRay 5-String Electric Bass in Starry Night

Designed in collaboration with world-renowned bass accessory manufacturer Darkglass Electronics, the DarkRay unlocks a whole new range of sonic capabilities.

At the heart of every instrument is its tone: in this case, a modern 2 Band EQ preamp was designed by Darkglass specifically for the DarkRay. This preamp offers three modes with very distinct and useful sounds: Clean, Alpha (distortion), and Omega (fuzz). Both distortion circuits are fully mixable via an onboard gain knob and blend control manipulated to the user’s preference. Astonishing clean, slight gain, or a brutal fuzz tone is obtainable, all with no low-end loss. A bright LED ring and the 3-way lever switch indicates which mode the bass is in.

The DarkRay is every bit a Stingray Special with neodymium humbucking pickup, roasted maple neck, comfort contoured body, 22 stainless steel frets, and the familiar 4+1 headstock configuration.

Roasted Neck

The DarkRay features a roasted maple neck, ebony fingerboard with stainless steel frets, and matte black hardware.

DarkRay 5 Preamp

The 2-Band preamp includes volume, treble, and bass controls with a separate blend and gain knob to achieve the desired tone and output.

Custom Darkglass Clean 2-Band Active Preamp

The DarkRay is equipped with a new modern 2 Band preamp that Darkglass specifically designed. The preamp is extremely clean and quiet with adjustable volume, gain, bass, treble, and blend controls to achieve the desired tone.

Alpha and Omega

The Darkglass preamp offers two highly regarded drive circuits, Alpha(tight distortion) and Omega(fuzz). Both distortion circuits are fully mixable via an onboard gain knob and blend control manipulated to the user’s preference with no low-end loss. Via the 3-way lever switch, a bright color-coded LED ring is illuminated, signifying which mode the bass is in.

Darkray = Stingray

The DarkRay bass is every bit a Stingray Special with neodymium humbucking pickup, roasted maple neck, comfort contoured body, 22 stainless steel frets, all black hardware, and the familiar 3+1 headstock configuration.

SPECIFICATIONS

Body

• Size: 13-3/8″ wide, 1-5/8″ thick, 45-3/4″ long (34.0 cm wide, 4.1 cm thick, 116.2 cm long)
• Body Wood: Select Hardwood
• Body Finish: High Gloss Polyester
• Pickguard: Black

Neck

• Scale Length: 34″
• Neck Radius: 11″ (27.9 cm)
• Headstock Size: Only 8-3/4″ (22.2 cm) long
• Frets: 22 – High profile, wide, stainless steel
• Neck Width: 1-3/4″ (44.5 mm) at the nut; 2-3/4″ (69.9 mm) at the last fret
• Neck Wood: Roasted Maple
• Fingerboard: Ebony
• Fret Markers: Dot
• Neck Finish: Gunstock oil and hand-rubbed special wax blend
• Neck Colors: Natural
• Neck Attachment: 5 bolts – perfect alignment with no shifting; Sculpted neck joint allows smooth access to higher frets

Hardware

• Bridge: Vintage Music Man® top loaded Black plated, steel bridge plate with vintage Black plated steel saddles
• Tuning Machines: Custom Music Man, lightweight with tapered string posts and ergonomic clover design

Electronics

• Electronic Shielding: Graphite acrylic resin coated body cavity and aluminum lined pickguard
• Controls: vol, gain, blend, treble, bass
• Switching: 3-way lever distortion selector; Preamp Only, Preamp+Alpha Distortion, Preamp+Omega Distortion
• Pickups: Single Humbucking with Neodymium magnets

Miscellaneous

• Strings: 45w-65w-80w-100w-130w (Regular Slinky Bass #2836)

Manufacturer: Music Man
Model: 129-SN-50-01-CS-BM
SKU: I698787-N-0-WHXA
UPC: 749699111856

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Since 1958, Chuck Levin’s Washington Music Center has been the trusted destination for musicians and audio professionals across Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Family-owned and operated, our legendary music store delivers Everything in Music®—from instruments and recording gear to pro audio, rentals, and repair services.

Our team of musicians and industry experts lives and breathes gear, helping you build the perfect setup for your next performance, studio session, or installation. As an authorized dealer for top brands, we also offer our award-winning CHUCKSCLUSIVE line—exclusive, limited-edition instruments and collaborations recognized with the NAMM Top 100 Dealer Innovation Award for redefining what a music retail experience can be.

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