Given this climate, the StingRay guitar was quietly dropped from the line, while the Sabre guitar production continued until 1984. A graphite-neck StingRay Bass debuted in 1980.
Fender had been opposed to the idea. The guitar was called the Cutlass (with a 'Cutlass II' variant with two pickups) and had a neck was made by Modulus and new translucent finishes. The new guitars were able to turn the financial tide and by 1984 the company was near bankruptcy. After looking at a few offers
Music Man was sold to
Ernie Ball on March 7, 1984. Music Man's remaining physical assets were sold on June 1, 1984. The production of amplifiers, which were manufactured at a separate factory, ceased.