Music Man tried a cheaper "SUB" line of stripped-down instruments in the late 1990s and dropped it in 2006 once production costs made the pricing unworkable; Sterling by Music Man, launched in 2008 and licensed to Praxis Musical Instruments, replaced it with basses built overseas to a lower cost base while keeping Music Man's core specs. Guitars followed in 2009, aimed at bringing the StingRay and Cutlass shapes under $1,000 rather than the roughly triple that a US-built Ernie Ball Music Man instrument costs. It's since become the entry point plenty of players use before stepping up to the full Music Man range, including a run of genuinely affordable signature models. New Sterling releases and artist collaborations are what we cover most. Here's what we've written.
Go deep with the 2026 Sterling by Music Man StingRay Baritone in Toluca Lake Blue. Featuring a 27.5” scale, roasted maple neck, and locking tuners for elite low-end stability.
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The affordable, imported line of Ernie Ball Music Man designs. Music Man itself was founded in 1974 in Fullerton, California by Forrest White, Tom Walker and Leo Fender and is now a subsidiary of Ernie Ball Inc.; Sterling is listed among its subsidiaries and offers the same shapes at a fraction of the price.
Where it is built and what goes into it. Ernie Ball Music Man instruments are made in San Luis Obispo, California; Sterling instruments are produced overseas with different pickups, hardware and finishes. The body shapes, headstocks and general layout are shared.
From Sterling Ball, Ernie Ball's son, who ran the company for many years and remains a key figure alongside chief executive Brian Ball. It is a family name rather than a marketing invention.
It is a licensed, factory-built version of the same design from the same company rather than a copy, which is a meaningful distinction. It will not have the US instrument's pickup, preamp or finish quality — but it is the genuine article at the level it is sold at.
