Nearly two years after teaming up with Music Man for a signature StingRay model, YouTuber, Dragged Under guitarist, and gear guru Ryan “Fluff” Bruce has brought the build’s tonal versatility to more accessible price points with a Sterling by Music Man signature guitar.
The budget-friendly model was first teased alongside two other takes on artist Ernie Ball models at NAMM 2025, with Rabea Massaad’s Sabre and Tosin Abasi’s futuristic Kaizen also receiving a refresh.
With Fluff’s premium model prized for its utilitarian sounds, this latest collaboration has sought to strip “things down to the essentials without sacrificing performance”.
Priced at $879.99 – which is more than $2k cheaper than the $3,199 flagship model – it brings together a nyatoh body with a bolt-on, roasted maple neck with differing fingerboards based on its colorways. The Amana Boat Blue axe (yes, that’s a deliberate wordplay) has a roasted maple ’board, while it’s rosewood for the Rula Thumb Red variant.
Notably, the blue finish is a take on his original Dragged Under tour guitar, of which only 50 Music Man guitars were released.
“It just made sense to have a Sterling version of my main touring guitar,” Fluff explains. “It’s my favorite guitar, I use the hell out of it.”
Hardware specs include a hardtail bridge, vintage-inspired bent saddle and own-brand locking tuners to ensure the six-string – which ships in drop #C with Ernie Ball Beefy Slinky guitar strings – can hold its tuning and sustain.
Fluff has kept the classic StingRay’s offset, double-cutaway body, but equipped it with Seymour Duncan humbuckers via a JB Jr. Strat pickup (SJBJ-1) in neck, and a JB Trembucker (TB-4) at the bridge. Packing high-output and power galore, they’ve been chosen as a best-in-class alternative to the Fishman Fluence ’buckers found on his main six-string.
It delivers, we’re promised, “the classic hot-rodded humbucker sound with a powerful growl,” while keeping the price tag comfortably below $1k.
Discussing the pickup choices in more detail on his YouTube channel, the guitarist says the bridge humbucker “works with literally anything. You wanna play super trashy metal, big old rock stuff, or heavy grunge? You can do that. The JB for me is a do-it-all pickup.”
Onboard controls are sleek and simple, with only a Volume dial and a three-way toggle switch atop the chrome plate, which nestles beneath a pickguard that also changes with the colorway. The guitar has a 25.5” scale length, and there’s a dual-action truss rod.
“Working with Sterling By Music Man on these signature guitars has been surreal,” says Fluff. “It’s built to reflect how I actually play – simple and effective, with everything I need to create.
“What excites me most is that this version makes it accessible for more players to pick up a guitar that feels inspiring right out of the box. I hope it helps someone chase their sound the way I’ve chased mine.”
The Sterling by Music Man Ryan Fluff Bruce StingRay is out now.
Head to Sterling by Music Man for more.
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