Review: Sterling By Music Man Darkray Bass

Recently, Music Man have put considerable energy into their already successful Sterling by Music Man line, bringing a variety of revamped and classic models into the market.

From the get-go, the direction of the line has always been clear, with a definite effort put into bringing players high-quality guitars and basses at a price point that will fit even the most modest of budgets.

In essence, the Darkray bass fits this mantra effectively, and at first glance, it may not seem to be anything out of the ordinary. After all, the Stingray shape has been a mainstay in the Music Man range for decades and at this point, it can certainly be considered a tried and true classic.

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However, Music Man have done something fresh and exciting with the Darkray. Working in conjunction with Finnish pedal and amplification behemoth Darkglass Electronics, the pair has collaborated on some specially developed onboard circuitry that will make the Darkray a no-brainer for bassists who have a penchant for modern rock and metal tones.

The Darkray itself leaves a striking first impression, with its “murdered out” all-black aesthetic; you can tell that this bass means business. It is also worth mentioning that Music Man have been kind enough to provide a classy gig bag with the bass, these days an accessory that a lot of manufacturers will omit regardless of price point.

The Darkray feels well-balanced, both in the lap and when hung from a strap, due in part to its Nyatoh body. The bass feels substantial but never overbearingly heavy, with this tonewood giving the Darkray a nice, warm and punchy tonality that would be well suited to a variety of modern playing styles.

The same can be said for the instrument’s neck, with Music Man opting for roasted maple with an ebony fretboard. With a width at the nut measuring in at 32mm and 62mm at the 21st fret, the Darkray is a pleasure to play, a trait further enhanced by its contemporary 9.5″ fretboard radius.

From fast single note lines through to hearty slaps and pops, the neck carve is the perfect compliment to the already familiar Stingray body shape. Never feeling either too thick or thin, I feel that Music Man have opted for a “goldilocks” carve that will appease a wide demographic of players regardless of what they may be used to.

But what is a nice neck if it isn’t stable? Well luckily for us, Music Man have incorporated a dual action truss rod with adjustment easily accessible at the heel of the neck via a spoke wheel. No need to be desperately searching for the right wrench or a screw driver, as adjustments can be made on the fly without having to remove any pesky truss rod covers. Not that I ever needed to make any adjustments during my time testing the Darkray, as its baked maple neck stayed solid as could be.

The Darkray’s hardware package is rounded out with a Sterling by Music Man-designed bridge and some no-name open gear tuners. Both of which I found to be of suitable quality given this bass’s price point, the bridge itself makes for easy setup of intonation and action and feels great while playing. Similarly, the tuners work just as they should, with no slipping or tuning instability, even when playing the Darkray for extended periods during band rehearsals.

That leaves the electronics package, and let’s face it: when it comes to this specific model, Music Man have set the stage for the electronics package to take centre stage. Even adopting part of the Darkglass name when christening this model with its namesake!

What we get here is a custom active 2-band preamp that features two blendable distortion circuits, Alpha “Distortion” and Omega “Fuzz. Blending of both circuits is easily controlled by onboard gain and blend controls.

What Music Man and Darkglass have really excelled at here is making these parameters easily accessible, all controlled by a simple 3-way switch with an LED ring indicator signalling what mode the pre-amp is set on.

Red is Alpha, whereas blue is Omega, and of course, the distortion circuits are bypassable, which provides preamp-only mode. If this wasn’t enough, the Darkray possesses onboard controls for easy adjustment of volume, treble and bass.

The circuit itself sounds fantastic, I think Darkglass have really outdone themselves in providing most of what modern players would be seeking in such a well thought out and intuitive package. Not to mention how versatile this bass is, from raging fuzz tones all the way to pristine clean tones, I didn’t have to spend much time with the Darkray to realise just how much of a Swiss Army knife it is when it comes to dishing out modern bass tones.

I think another profound aspect of the Darkray is just how much value it poses, especially to new players. Taking into account that the specially designed onboard Darkglass circuitry will eliminate much of what would be placed on a working player’s pedalboard, the Darkray is a fantastic prospect for any players looking to build their first gigging or touring bass rig.

Hats off to Music Man for yet again stepping it up when it comes to the Sterling by Music Man range. Working with Darkglass on the Darkray is a big move, and one that I think will be celebrated by bassists of all skill levels as this model makes its roll out into music stores worldwide.

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