Ernie Ball Music Man and Darkglass Team Up For DarkRay Bass
Ernie Ball Music Man has teamed up with Darkglass Electronics to unveil the DarkRay 4-string Bass. Available in Obsidian Black and Granite Stone finishes, the bass takes the StingRay Special model and fits it with new electronics.
“The DarkRay features a modern 2 Band EQ and brand new preamp which was designed by Darkglass Electronics. This preamp offers three modes with very distinct sounds. Each one is selectable with a 3-way switch and indicated by a bright color coded LED ring,” EBMM writes.
The bass’s signal is clean with the switch in the off position. The Alpha position, denoted by a blue ring, is a distortion while the Omega, visualized with a red ring, is a fuzz. The company adds that the bass is “every bit a StingRay Special” with a contoured body, neodymium humbucker, roasted maple neck, and 22 stainless steel frets.
The Ernie Ball Music Man Darkray bass is available now for $2,499 for the Obsidian Black version. The Granite Stone colorway is limited to 100 basses worldwide and will go for $2,699. It includes a numbered backplate and matching headstock.






Ernie Ball Music Man DarkRay Bass Specs:
Construction: | Bolt-on |
Scale: | 34″ |
Body: | Select Hardwood |
Neck: | Roasted Maple |
Fingerboard: | Ebony |
Inlays: | Dot |
Frets: | 22 Stainless Steel |
Pickup: | Single Humbucking with Neodymium Magnets |
Electronics: | Custom Darkglass® 2-band active preamp with two distinct distortion circuits (Alpha and Omega); vol, gain, blend, treble, bass |
Switching: | 3-way lever distortion selector; Preamp Only, Preamp+Alpha Distortion, Preamp+Omega Distortion |
Bridge: | Vintage Music Man® top loaded Black plated, steel bridge plate with vintage Black plated steel saddles |
Tuners: | Custom Music Man, lightweight with tapered string posts and ergonomic clover design |
Finish: | Granite Stone, Obsidian Black |
I’m totally dig’n on this! By the way, is that Josh Paul demoing the bass?
Good eye – that is indeed Josh Paul.
LOLLOLLOLLOLLOL!!!! -A purty colored light ring around an unnecessary control on a bass? I guess bassists who buy into this weirdness will be playing this rig with ‘distortion’ or ‘fuzz’ alla time just to see the purty lights…?? LOLLOLLOL!!!
The ‘lighted’ knob appears to be a gain knob of sorts for the level of fuzz/distortion. I find it hard to believe a quality builder such as EBMM would put a knob in the electronics that has no ‘sound’ function to it.