In the year 1981, Pino Palladino requested 350 dollars from his tour manager for a bass guitar, an acquisition that significantly impacted his career - now, this unique fretless StingRay has been replicated as a signature model.
Ernie Ball Music Man has unveiled three new four-string signature bass guitars, paying tribute to one of Pino Palladino's most cherished instruments - his 1979 fretless StingRay. These new models aim to capture the iconic tone and feel associated with Pino, offering both vintage and modern features.
Pino Palladino Fretless StingRay Bass (79 Burst)
Inspired by Pino's legendary 1979 fretless StingRay, this model delivers his distinctive tone and unmatched playability, meticulously crafted to reflect the original's character and feel. The Pino Palladino Fretless StingRay Bass (79 Burst) features a hand-rubbed finish, hand-sanded and finished with high-gloss polyurethane coats, and each fret is individually hand-leveled and crowned for comfort.
Pino Palladino Artist Series Fretted Bass
This model offers a pure vintage look, sound, and feel, equipped with the new Ernie Ball Pino Palladino Smoothie Flats flatwound strings specifically developed for his tone and playability preferences. The Pino Palladino Artist Series Fretted Bass features a poplar body, hard rock maple neck, and rosewood fingerboard, string-through-body bridge with brass saddles, Graph Tech nut, micro-tilt three-bolt neck joint, and vintage-style Alnico pickups.
Ernie Ball Pino Palladino Smoothie Flats Bass Strings
Available for all these models, the new Ernie Ball Pino Palladino Smoothie Flats bass strings feature a cobalt alloy ribbon for a rich, deep, smooth vintage tone combined with modern flexibility and low tension. This results in an ultra-smooth feel and nuanced sound that balances vintage warmth with playability.
Icon Series Model: A Museum-Grade Replica
An Icon Series variant of the signature bass guitar has been dubbed a "museum-grade replica" of the original. This model recreates the career-altering bass in intricate detail, including an aged sunburst finish, authentic relic'ing, NOS hardware, a Wales Rugby sticker, and Pino's signature. However, only 15 Icon Series Pino Palladino StingRay basses will be produced.
Pricing and Availability
The Icon Series model costs $5,999, while the Artist Series models are priced at $3,499 apiece. Two Artist Series versions of the signature bass guitars have been released, one fretted and one fretless.
Pino Palladino, a maverick session bass guitar player, songwriter, and producer, has worked with artists such as Jeff Beck, David Gilmour, John Mayer, Eric Clapton, Nine Inch Nails, and Adele. He first crossed paths with a Music Man bass when he was a youngster in a music store in Wales, but he didn't get the chance to play it then. Instead, it was in a New York music store in 1981 that he encountered a fretless Music Man bass, which he eventually bought and used exclusively on recordings from 1981 to 1996, solidifying his reputation as a fretless bass player.
