ibanez sr600 vs sterling by musicman ray34
 

hi,

ive been shopping around for a new bass for months now. i like the sterling because of the musicman sound. i like the ibanez because of the slim neck. they both seem that that can produce similar sounds, i was wondering if anyone had tried one. i have one thought about a geddy lee or a mim fender.

please tell me what you think

Kinda depends on whats more important to you- the specific sound of the Ray34 or the neck dimensions of the Ibby.
Personally, I prefer a thicker neck so the Ray34 would be my choice hands down.

I purchased this 2010 SR600, and couldn't be happier. I has a very nice sounding 3band active EQ with a mid freq switch for added tonal range. Bright highs/deep lows, and a nice mid section. The fretwork is fantastic on the 24 fret nice-n-slim Ibby SR4 neck. It has a light ash body, and weighs in at 7.5lbs. The overall quality is vey good.

I had an SR600 and the bass had a HUGE dead spot up from the 3rd to the 11th fret on the D string. Tried a couple of others and same thing. I've played the Ray34 and liked it a lot. It's going to be heavier, but IMO a nicer bass.

SR basses are very consistent in quality...I have a Japanese Prestige and an Indonesian 706...both are exquisite.

SB14
 

Have you considered the SB14? Gets the MM sound, with a little more bite like the MM Sterling does, along with the Jazz like 1 1/2" nut width neck. Might hit both things you're looking for.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=JShLyM1ZCkU

This last one is a good piece of advice
 

The SB is a little cheaper and lighter than Ray34 (basswood body instead of ash) but electronics plays a so huge role on it that it's the ideal matching point between the two

Ray34 is superb, but the walnut satin finish on some of the SR600 is really special

Cheers,
Wallace

I own 3 SR 500's and have played quite a few SR 600's. I also own several Music Man basses and have played tons more. Both are nice basses but the Ibanez basses aren't even in the same category as a Music Man or even a Sterling by Music Man. There was a reason why I switched brands back in 2010. I started out with a Sterling due to it's thinner neck and as soon as I switched, my Ibanez basses stopped being played because they simply did not cut through the mix as well or sound as good or were not as versatile.

the only problem i have with the sb14 is that it doesnt look like a 'man' bass, it kinda reminds me of this skinny kid that was really bad at singing.