Ernie Ball Music Man Releases Pino Palladino Series, Including a Museum-Grade Replica of His Iconic StingRay

Ernie Ball Music Man has unveiled the Pino Palladino StingRay Bass Collection, which they call a “tribute to the unmistakable tone and legacy of one of the most revered bassists in modern music.” The lineup has two models in the Artist Series (a fretted and a fretless) as well as one in the Icon Series, which is a meticulous recreation of this original 1979 fretless StingRay. EBMM only built 15 of the Icon Series basses for the entire world.

The Artist Series models are also based on his ’79 and deliver the essence of the instrument. They are built with a poplar body finished in the ’79 Burst, a hard rock maple neck, and a rosewood fingerboard. For a more modern touch, the new basses have a custom asymmetrical neck carve. EBMM equips them with a vintage-style Alnico pickup and a hand-wired 2-band preamp, voiced with a 500k treble pot, just like Palladino’s original. Other features include brass saddles with a string-through-body bridge and adjustable mute pads, a GraphTech NuBone hand-shaped nut, and an Artist Series Neck Plate. The fretted version ships with Palladino’s signature Flatwound strings, while the fretless ships with custom Slinky Nickel Wound strings.

The Pino Palladino Icon Series StingRay Bass is described as a museum-grade replica of his original bass. “Every detail has been scrutinized and faithfully reproduced—from the nitrocellulose lacquer finish and genuine late-‘70s bridge plates (with era-correct serial numbers) to the placement of the headstock decal and string tree,” Ernie Ball Music Man writes.

The Icon is built with a hand-selected poplar body, a slab rosewood fretless fingerboard, and NOS bridge plates with brass saddles and spring mutes. Other features include a custom-wound pickup with 5/8” Alnico V magnets and 42-gauge wire, a period-correct active preamp, CTS pots, a vintage waterslide decal, and a Wales Rugby sticker replica. Palladino hand-signs each headstock.

“Since I bought that bass, it really changed my career. I became known as a fretless bass player…” the bassist states. “I used that bass exclusively on nearly all the recordings I did from ’81 to ’95.”

The Ernie Ball Music Man Pino Palladino StingRay Bass Collection is out now with prices of $3,499 for the Artist Series. The limited edition Icon Series, which has a street price of $5,999, has already sold out.

Ernie Ball Music Man Pino Palladino Artist Series StingRay Bass Specs:

Ernie Ball Music Man Pino Palladino Icon Series StingRay Bass Specs: