Few basses can claim to have made entire crowds rise for decades. Yet this 1976 Musicman StingRay, formerly owned by Cliff Williams, has done exactly that. It was the third in the rack, and it has certainly been played hard!

When he joined AC/DC in 1977, Cliff Williams played a Fender Precision, perfectly suited to his powerful, pick-driven style. Meanwhile, the Californian brand Music Man, also founded by Leo Fender, had launched the StingRay bass — keeping the simplicity of the P Bass but adding higher output and extra punch, ideal for the evolving rock sound of the time.

Cliff adopted the StingRay permanently in 1979, on the tour following *Highway To Hell*. A sunburst version shows its wear in the film *Let There Be Rock*, recorded in Paris late 1979. That same bass appears in *Live At The River Plate* in 2011 and continued through the *Rock Or Bust* World Tour ending in 2016. Over 37 years, Cliff owned only five StingRays. This one, number 3, shows extensive wear, a testament to the stadiums it has shaken. Few basses can claim such a legacy!

Find this bass in our shop: Cliff Williams’ 1976 Music Man StingRay