At its core is a custom Darkglass 2-band EQ preamp with master volume, bass, and treble, plus two push/push controls: a gain knob that toggles between the Alpha and Omega distortion voices, and an octave knob that selects octave up or octave down. LED rings on both knobs illuminate when engaged and change color to indicate the selected mode. A 3-way lever switch selects the core tone, octave only, or octave combined with distortion.
The DarkRay II is every bit a StingRay Special, with a neodymium humbucking pickup, roasted maple neck, ash body, ebony fingerboard, 22 stainless steel frets, black hardware, and the iconic 3+1 headstock. It ships with Ernie Ball rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and is available in Black, Showtime, Spectralite, and Mean Green Burst.
Black 1 / 9
Your Custom Options:
- Model:
- DarkRay II Bass
- Color:
- Black
- Neck:
- Roasted Maple w/Ebony Fretboard, Matching Headstock
- Pickguard:
- Black
- Hardware:
- Black
Build Code
131-01-51-BB1-MB-BM
Street Price
Exclusively at
DarkRay II
Highlights
-
DarkRay II Preamp
The custom Darkglass 2-band preamp includes volume, treble, and bass controls, plus a push/push gain knob for Alpha and Omega distortion and a push/push octave knob for octave up or down.
-
Roasted Neck
The DarkRay II features a roasted maple neck with a gunstock oil and hand-rubbed wax finish, ebony fingerboard and 22 stainless steel frets.
-
5-Bolt Neck
The neck is secured by a 5-bolt attachment for perfect alignment and no shifting. A special Darkglass logo is applied to the neck plate to signify the DarkRay II edition bass.
In detail
See & hear it
Two LED rings. One switch.
Light it up
The 3-way switch decides what’s on. Push a lit knob to flip its ring between orange and purple.
Interactive
Try it: tap the switch and the knobs below.
Switch
Distortion + octave
Distortion
Alpha
Tight distortion, blended with your clean signal through the gain and blend controls.
Omega
Fuzz, mixed in with no low-end loss.
Distortion off
Distortion engages with the switch in position 3.
Octave
Octave up
Polyphonic octave up: a voice an octave above everything you play, chords included.
Octave down
Polyphonic octave down: a voice an octave below everything you play, chords included.
Octave off
The octave engages with the switch in position 2 or 3.
Your signal
StingRay Meets Darkglass
Polyphonic Octave Up and Down
The DarkRay II adds fully integrated polyphonic octave up and octave down effects to the custom Darkglass® 2-band active preamp. Push the octave knob to switch between octave up and octave down, then use the 3-way lever switch to run octave only (middle position) or octave combined with distortion (neck position) — moving easily from tight, punchy bass tones to massive, harmonically rich textures.
Alpha and Omega
The Darkglass preamp offers two highly regarded drive circuits, Alpha (tight distortion) and Omega (fuzz); push the gain knob to toggle between them. LED rings on both the gain and octave knobs illuminate when engaged and change color to indicate the selected mode, providing instant visual feedback.
DarkRay II = StingRay
The DarkRay II bass is every bit a StingRay Special with a neodymium humbucking pickup, roasted maple neck, ash body, 22 stainless steel frets, all black hardware, and the familiar 3+1 headstock configuration. It ships with Ernie Ball rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.
Specifications, Schematics & More
Specifications
| Size | 13-1/2" wide, 1-5/8" thick, 44-7/8" long (34.3 cm wide, 4.1 cm thick, 114.0 cm long) |
|---|---|
| Body Wood | Ash |
| Body Finish | High gloss polyester |
| Body Colors | Black, Showtime, Spectralite, Mean Green Burst |
| Bridge | Vintage Music Man® top loaded Black plated, steel bridge plate with vintage Black plated steel saddles |
| Pickguard | Black |
| Scale Length | 34" (86.4 cm) |
| Neck Radius | 11" (27.9 cm) |
| Headstock Size | Only 8-3/4" (22.2 cm) long |
| Frets | Stainless steel — .047 × .104 in |
| Neck Width | 1-11/16" (42.86 mm) at nut 2-1/2" (63.5 mm) at last fret |
| Neck Wood | Roasted maple neck |
| Fingerboard | Ebony |
| Fret Markers | White Dot |
| Neck Finish | Gunstock oil and hand-rubbed special wax blend |
| Neck Colors | Roasted - Spectralite, Mean Green Burst, Showtime; Headstock Matches Body - Black |
| Tuning Machines | Custom Music Man, lightweight with tapered string posts and ergonomic clover design |
| Truss Rod | Adjustable - no component or string removal |
| Neck Attachment | 5 bolt, sculpted neck joint |
| Electronic Shielding | Graphite acrylic resin coated body cavity and black plated aluminum control cover |
| Controls | Volume, Gain (push to toggle between Alpha and Omega), Octave (push to toggle between octave up and octave down), Treble, Bass |
| Switching | 3-way switch (no effect, octave, octave and distortion) |
| Pickups | Single Humbucking with Neodymium magnets |
| Left Handed | No |
| Strings | 45w-65w-80w-100w (Super Slinky Bass #2834) |
Compare Specs
| Specifications | DarkRay II | — |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 13-1/2" wide, 1-5/8" thick, 44-7/8" long (34.3 cm wide, 4.1 cm thick, 114.0 cm long) | |
| Body Wood | Ash | |
| Body Finish | High gloss polyester | |
| Body Colors | Black, Showtime, Spectralite, Mean Green Burst | |
| Body Bindings | ||
| Bridge | Vintage Music Man® top loaded Black plated, steel bridge plate with vintage Black plated steel saddles | |
| Pickguard | Black | |
| Scale Length | 34" (86.4 cm) | |
| Neck Radius | 11" (27.9 cm) | |
| Headstock Size | Only 8-3/4" (22.2 cm) long | |
| Frets | Stainless steel — .047 × .104 in | |
| Neck Width | 1-11/16" (42.86 mm) at nut 2-1/2" (63.5 mm) at last fret | |
| Neck Wood | Roasted maple neck | |
| Fingerboard | Ebony | |
| Fret Markers | White Dot | |
| Neck Finish | Gunstock oil and hand-rubbed special wax blend | |
| Neck Colors | Roasted - Spectralite, Mean Green Burst, Showtime; Headstock Matches Body - Black | |
| Neck Binding | ||
| Tuning Machines | Custom Music Man, lightweight with tapered string posts and ergonomic clover design | |
| Truss Rod | Adjustable - no component or string removal | |
| Neck Attachment | 5 bolt, sculpted neck joint | |
| Electronic Shielding | Graphite acrylic resin coated body cavity and black plated aluminum control cover | |
| Controls | Volume, Gain (push to toggle between Alpha and Omega), Octave (push to toggle between octave up and octave down), Treble, Bass | |
| Switching | 3-way switch (no effect, octave, octave and distortion) | |
| Pickups | Single Humbucking with Neodymium magnets | |
| Left Handed | No | |
| Strings | 45w-65w-80w-100w (Super Slinky Bass #2834) |
Control Function Diagrams
Product Registration
Register your instrument to activate its warranty and hear about updates for it.
California Proposition 65 WARNING: Cancer and Reproductive Harm www.P65Warnings.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)
Related Instruments
The Factory Tour
Since 1984, Ernie Ball Music Man has been crafting instruments in San Luis Obispo, California. Watch the factory tour and see how the difference is in the details.
Watch NowJoin the Family
Get our official newsletter for news, updates, and special offers
