![]() ![]() The production of amplifiers, which were manufactured at a separate factory, ceased. ![]() Music Man's remaining physical assets were sold on June 1, 1984. Music Man was sold to Ernie Ball on March 7, 1984. The new guitars were unable to turn the financial tide and by 1984 the company was near bankruptcy. The guitar was called the Cutlass (with a 'Cutlass II' variant with two pickups) and had a neck made by Modulus and new translucent finishes. A graphite-neck StingRay Bass debuted in 1980. Given this climate, the StingRay guitar was quietly dropped from the line, while the Sabre guitar production continued until 1984. When CLF stopped making necks Jackson made those also. A contract was given to Grover Jackson to build bass bodies and assemble the instruments with CLF necks and the remaining CLF hardware. G&L was incorporated in May 1980, although some early models with the moniker "G&L" have body dates from March 1980. Fender formed another company, partnering with former Fender company designer George Fullerton to form G&L Musical Instruments. In November 1979, ties were cut with Leo Fender. Since Music Man did not pay CLF Research until the instrument finishes were deemed acceptable, a rift developed between CLF and Music Man over payment. Problems with fibers in the finish caused Music Man's inspectors to reject a high percentage of the instruments, and return them to CLF for refinishing. The instruments were made at CLF and shipped to the Music Man warehouse, where each instrument was inspected and tested. Fender made the guitars and basses, while White and Walker's company made the amplifiers and sold accessories. Both sold poorly.ĬLF Research and Music Man were treated as separate companies, CLF was headed by Fender, White and Walker headed Music Man. A redesigned guitar bearing the same name followed. In December 1978, a two-pickup bass was introduced called the Sabre (discontinued in 1991). ![]() The StingRay Bass sold well, but the guitar met with little success. The preamps were coated with epoxy to prevent reverse engineering. They were the first production guitar and basses to use active electronics which could boost levels in selected frequency bands. Tom Walker played a large part in the design of the bass preamp. Basses were produced in fretted and fretless versions. The StingRay Bass featured a single large humbucking pickup (located somewhat toward but not adjacent to the bridge) with a two-band fixed-frequency EQ. The basses featured a distinctive 3+1 tuner arrangement to help eliminate "dead spots," while the guitars came with a traditional, Fender-style 6-on-a-side tuner array. Both instruments featured bolt-on neck designs. The 1976 catalogue shows the first offerings: a two-pickup guitar, the StingRay 1, and the StingRay bass. These instruments were designed by Fender and White. In June 1976, production started on guitars and in August basses followed. ![]() By 1976, it had built a manufacturing facility for musical instruments and was contracted to make Music Man products. Fender also operated a consulting firm, CLF Research, in Fullerton, California. In 1975, Fender's legal restriction expired and, after a vote of the board, he was named the president of Music Man. The number of designs rapidly increased, and 15 of the 28 pages from the 1976 catalogue were dedicated to amplification. In 1974, the company started producing its first product, an amplifier designed by Leo Fender and Tom Walker called the "Sixty Five," a hybrid of tube and solid-state technology. Fender did not like the corporate name, so it changed first to Musitek, Inc., and in January 1974 the final name, Music Man, appeared. Eventually, he became vice president, and stayed on after the company was sold to CBS, but grew unhappy with their management and resigned in 1966. White had worked with Leo Fender since 1954, in the very early days of the Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company as the plant manager. Because of a ten-year non-compete clause in the 1965 contract that sold the Fender companies to the CBS Corporation, Leo Fender became a silent partner. Walker approached Leo Fender about financial help in the founding. Walker had previously been a sales representative at Fender. In 1971, Forrest White and Tom Walker formed Tri-Sonix, Inc. History Early years StingRay bass in Trans Gold finish, 2001 model In 1984 it was acquired by Ernie Ball, the subsidiary of which is branded as Ernie Ball Music Man. Originally formed in 1971 by Forrest White and Tom Walker, along with Leo Fender as a silent partner, the company started manufacturing electric and bass guitars under the Music Man name in 1974. Music Man is an American guitar and bass guitar manufacturer. ![]()
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