“A collection designed to offer exceptional quality and player-friendly features at an accessible price”: Sterling By Music Man unveils entry-level Intro Series, offering a Cutlass for $199 and a StingRay for $249

Sterling By Music Man has doubled down on its affordability bona fides with the unveiling of an all-new entry level series of electric guitars and bass guitars. The aptly named Intro Series is just that, an introduction to the Music Man brand, and offers two beginner-friendly versions of its iconic Cutlass and StingRay.

The Intro Series Cutlass and StingRay each arrive with the choice of four solid colour finishes and they are eminently affordable instruments, with the four-string full-scale StingRay nailing the look and vibe of its high-priced siblings at just $249.

Ditto, the Cutlass. But it is even cheaper, retailing for a very accessible $199. Sterling By Music Man says this underscores the brand’s commitment to offering instruments to players of all abilities and budgets. 

“Whether you’re a beginner looking for your first high-quality instrument or a seasoned musician seeking an affordable yet high-performing addition to your collection, the Intro Series provides the perfect solution.”

It is then no surprise that the Cutlass would be the first guitar in the series. This is a guitar for all seasons, with its HSS pickup configuration, 5-way pickup selector, and vintage Fulcrum vibrato making for a super-versatile platform.

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This Intro Series Cutlass is offered in Sunrise Orange, Electric Blue, Canvas White and Black, all with a white pickguard to contrast.

You get a maple fingerboard with the black and white models, amaranth (aka Purple Heart) with the Electric Blue and Sunrise Orange. All have a solid poplar body and a hard maple neck that joins the body with a five-bolt joint.

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The design DNA of its higher-priced USA-made siblings is writ large in that 4x2 headstock. The Cutlass measures up similarly, too, with a 12” fingerboard radius and a 25.5” scale length.

There is no mistaking the provenance of the StingRay either. You’ve got the shape, that double-cutaway body with the oval pickguard. Again, like the Cutlass, this pickguard is white – and, again, the finish options are very sweet. There’s Misty Green, Electric Blue, Black and Sunrise Orange, with the latter two options coming with the amaranth fingerboards, hard maple on the former.

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The build is similar. SBMM has used poplar for the body, hard maple for the next, with the big difference being that there is a six-bolt join. 

This is a simple single-pickup bass, featuring a large ceramic humbucker at the bridge position, with a single volume and tone to dial in your tone. That bridge is tidy four-saddle affair, and as for your essential stats, this measures up at a 34” scale, and it has a 9.5” radius on that 21-fret fingerboard.

The Intro Series models are available now. See Sterling By Music Man for more details.