Ernie Ball Music Man expands its squadron of electric guitar and bass

Ernie Ball Music Man has updated two of its main lines of electric guitars and bass with new six- and seven-string models from Jason Richardson and a much-anticipated five-string version of DarkRay bass—both with limited-edition trim options.

Let’s start with DarkRay 5. It’s the first time the brand’s next generation StingRay, designed in collaboration with Darkglass Electronics, is available in a five-series format.

Like the four-series DarkRay, this is a reimagined StingRay with a Darkglass preamp. The preamp offers a dual-band clean EQ and a 3-way switch to choose between clean mode, distortion or omega fuzz mode.

This bass comes equipped with a large humbucker positioned near the bridge, and an ergonomic surround structure consisting of select hardwood tuners and a Music Man pattern.

DarkRay 5 has a limited edition Starry Night Edition, as well as the White Sparkle Edition, the latter being limited to 100 instruments worldwide.

a Ray 4 It’s also available in White Sparkle, but it’s limited to just 25 units. DarkRay 5 Starry Night has a price tag of $2,799 while DarkRay 5 White Sparkle has a price tag of €2770. DarkRay 4 White Sparkle costs 2,680 euros.

In the guitar section, signed by Jason RichardsonCutlass is now available in a gorgeous Majora Purple finish, with a embossed surface applied to a solid alder wood body, featuring a very luxurious cut.

As with DarkRay, Ernie Ball Music Man offers limited edition finishes, with Jason Richardson’s Cutlass available in opaque Empress White, a model with maple top and black hardware, and Majora Purple maple.

Both models are equipped with a pair of dedicated controls, an active speaker with silent circuit, a three-way pickup selector, and a custom vibration.

Jason Richardson’s new Cutlass models are priced in line with the Natural Black Burst and Rorschach Red models, with the six-string model set at €3449 and the seven-string model at €3632.

More details here.