The Fall Out Boy's bassist worked with Sterling by Music Man to create a passive workhorse bass featuring custom loon inlays, vintage-voiced tone, and road-tested durability.
Pete Wentz has spent two decades defining what bass sounds like in pop punk, and now the Fall Out Boy co-founder has a signature instrument that captures that ethos. Sterling by Music Man’s new Pete Wentz Artist Series StingRay is a signature model, sure, but it’s also the company’s first full-scale passive bass, designed to deliver vintage warmth without unnecessary complexity.
This passive workhorse is powered by an Alnico V humbucker that provides the punch and clarity Wentz needs, whether he’s playing at front of house or out on the lawn. Paired with straightforward volume and tone controls, the passive electronics keep things simple and dependable – exactly what a working bassist needs when moving between garage rehearsals and stadium stages.
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“The StingRay is the best tone that we’ve had from a live show to date,” Wentz explains. “These basses come backstage, they go out – I play at front of house, or I go out and play near the lawn, and they’ve held up for all that.”
Visually, the bass carries Wentz’s distinctive aesthetic with black hardware and an anodised gold pickguard that stands out under stage lights. Perhaps most striking is the custom loon inlay at the 12th fret – a design Wentz describes as “beautiful but really spooky.” Available in both black and Fiesta Red finishes, this bass definitely catches the eye.
Performance features include a roasted maple neck and fingerboard, a 9.5-inch radius for comfortable playability, and a 3+1 headstock configuration that delivers improved tuning stability. The nyatoh body is contoured for comfort during long sets, while the Sterling by Music Man-designed bridge and dual-action truss rod ensure the bass stays road-ready tour after tour.
Beyond the specs, Wentz was clear about his broader vision for the instrument. “At the end of the day, I think that punk rock and punk rock music should be accessible,” he says. “I think it’s very cool to be somebody’s potential first bass.”
Currently doing duty on Fall Out Boy’s So Much for (Tour) Dust headline tour, the Pete Wentz StingRay proves that simplicity and character can coexist – a philosophy that’s defined both the bassist’s playing and the genre he helped shape.
Visit Sterling by Music Man to learn more. For local enquiries, head here.
