sterling vs Roscoe beck IV vs G&L asat vs fender MIA jazz

mantaraya · #1 08-27-2010, 10:36 PM

Hi there all you TB community¡¡¡
Let me tell you my case: At this moment im playing in a rock-pop band. Influences: U2, coldplay, maronn 5. That kind of things. at this very moment im doing it with a musicman stingray. Love the sound of this bass ( not perfect, but quietly). The problem is i find the neck too much chunky to my small hands, and so the body ( big body). I leaning toward a slimmer neck and downsized body. i have GAS for any of this 4 babys: musicman sterling- roscoe beck IV- G&L asat and fender MIA Jazz. The point would be this: altough i find the sound of the MM stingray pleasent ( more at live than studyng for sayng) at some point i kind of miss the old vibe of my, not so reputate, peavey fury 92 MIA. The passive sound of this bass at rehearsing is nice, at live setting is kind of junk. th stingray sounds freaking good at live setting, not that quiet at rehearsing and persnoal study.
What would you advice to me to buy, money is not an issue, from this 4 basses. My points are:
-downsized body (no light, just downsized cause im small guy)
slimmer neck (so no precisions type necks)
smooth sound but DEFINED and men¡¡¡¡ this is were the stingray stands proud and tall....
The big problem... im buying it eyes-closed cause i cant try them.
Pros and cons:
sterling: pro: seems to satsify all needs but i would get a smoother sound???
Roscoe beck IV: Dont know anything abouth this bass but men¡¡¡ i love roscoe playng and sound, is the neck wide???? is the body big??? dont know.
G&L Asat. always atracted to this bass. havent heard this before, maybe some nostalgic ideas..... so the RB IV
fender MIA deluke or standard jazz. but .. would it lose some defined sound of my stingray??? snifffff. but woul i get some more smoothnes??? hyper:
Sorry for the long thread. this is not like kind of "maybe i would buy this" This is a desperate case that i need to resolve within 5 days. I need to buy one of this right now¡¡¡¡ Thanks to all for their replies.

zachoff · #2 08-27-2010, 10:41 PM

The Roscoe IV is pretty much a P neck. I love that bass. MIA jazz... Sorry all you J guys, but it lacks the balls of the Roscoe. Plus, IIRC, the Roscoe can coil tap either or both pickups and basically "be" a Jazz if it wants to. I don't have any experience with the ASAT, but I think they're really cool looking. I generally don't love EBMM basses. The neck shape bugs me and I really really want them to move the bucker out of the bridge position. Yeah, the Bongo has that ability, but it looks like a toilet seat.

mantaraya · #3 08-27-2010, 10:48 PM

Didint know the roscoe was more like a precision neck???? All information states that´s a Jazz neck??? Interesting...

zachoff · #4 08-27-2010, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mantaraya

Didint know the roscoe was more like a precision neck???? All information states that´s a Jazz neck??? Interesting...

You're right. I'm todd-it.

JimmyM · #5 08-27-2010, 11:33 PM

if i were downsizing, i wouldn't get a jazz. the jazz body is larger and heavier than the precision body. yes, you nitpickers, there are occasionally jazz basses that are light and precisions that are heavy, but as a general rule, i am right. i had to quit playing jazz basses because of it.

not familiar with the asat too much...played one a long time ago at a store. looks cool, but the strap button being so far away from the 12th fret means i'd have to stick my hand out an extra 3 inches, which is why i can't deal with basses like the thunderbird or the explorer.

that leaves the roscoe and the sterling. sterlings are very nice if you like the mm sound, which i think is cool for some things, but i could never use one as my only bass.

that leaves the roscoe, which is a very good sounding, versatile, and fun to play bass imho. will you like it? don't know. but i do.

therefore, the roscoe wins.

zachoff · #6 08-27-2010, 11:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

if i were downsizing, i wouldn't get a jazz. the jazz body is larger and heavier than the precision body...i had to quit playing jazz basses because of it.

Surprising... I quit playing my pseudo-jazz (Reverend XL) because I thought a P sounded better... Plus I didn't want the Rev to get stolen but that's another reason for another thread. Really though, I generally do like the sound of a P over a J and wouldn't care about weight at all when making that decision.

JimmyM · #7 08-28-2010, 12:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zachoff

Surprising... I quit playing my pseudo-jazz (Reverend XL) because I thought a P sounded better... Plus I didn't want the Rev to get stolen but that's another reason for another thread. Really though, I generally do like the sound of a P over a J and wouldn't care about weight at all when making that decision.

nothing wrong with that. me, i have a bum shoulder from 35 years of playing bass so every pound counts.

zachoff · #8 08-28-2010, 01:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

nothing wrong with that. me, i have a bum shoulder from 35 years of playing bass so every pound counts.

Cool... had no idea.

osuok88 · #9 08-28-2010, 07:35 AM

Get the Roscoe Beck IV. I have one and IMO, it it a great bass. I will never sell mine

Aspidites · #10 08-28-2010, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

nothing wrong with that. me, i have a bum shoulder from 35 years of playing bass so every pound counts.

Sounds like it is time to hit the weights.

On topic it would be a hard choice for me between the ASAT and the RBIV. They both have killer electronics and are equally versatile so ultimately it would come down to which one felt the best in my hands.

**Freddels** · #11 08-28-2010, 07:51 AM

I don't believe Fender is still producing the Roscoe Beck model. If that's the case, then you'd have to find one on the used market (or a store with old stock). You should try out the new Sterling Classic and see if that tone works for you.

mantaraya · #12 08-28-2010, 08:12 PM

Is there any huge difference betwenn classic musicman and the standard ones in termos of tone, playabilty etc??? thanks

Handyman · #13 08-28-2010, 08:23 PM

The ASAT is a great bass, but it neck dives like a crazy. If this is an issue for you, the L-2000 is the same aside from the body styling.

mantaraya · #14 08-28-2010, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Handyman

The ASAT is a great bass, but it neck dives like a crazy. If this is an issue for you, the L-2000 is the same aside from the body styling.

Damn it¡¡¡ I struggled with the peavey fury MIA for 10 years with that special moving (dancing up/down) neck. ¡¡¡ I just cant afford that¡¡¡ Thats one of the thing i really like about the ray.. stablity..

mantaraya · #15 08-28-2010, 09:42 PM

Thanks to all for their replies.... i was thinking:
Is the roscoe beck IV body bigger than a EB MM stingray 4. ????
Is there any big difference tone wise between sterling H and HS. ???
Is the body from the fender MIA standard and MIA deluxe jazz alkike or the deleuxe series is really downsized as fender clamis???? Thanks

**RaginRog** · #16 08-28-2010, 09:46 PM

I saw the American Jazz is a great standard, and should cover everything you've mentioned. The Deluxe model may be the best option for you though.

The Sterling is a nice bass also, and the smooth sound is achievable if you eq it right. Keep the voulme rolled back about 25%, then add some lows, while cutting the highs about 50%.

Both have the neck your after, and if you happen to like your Stingray's tone, the Sterling is comparable.

mantaraya · #17 08-28-2010, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

if i were downsizing, i wouldn't get a jazz. the jazz body is larger and heavier than the precision body. yes, you nitpickers, there are occasionally jazz basses that are light and precisions that are heavy, but as a general rule, i am right. i had to quit playing jazz basses because of it.

not familiar with the asat too much...played one a long time ago at a store. looks cool, but the strap button being so far away from the 12th fret means i'd have to stick my hand out an extra 3 inches, which is why i can't deal with basses like the thunderbird or the explorer.

that leaves the roscoe and the sterling. sterlings are very nice if you like the mm sound, which i think is cool for some things, but i could never use one as my only bass.

that leaves the roscoe, which is a very good sounding, versatile, and fun to play bass imho. will you like it? don't know. but i do.

therefore, the roscoe wins.

The fender web site claims that their MIA deluxe jazz is downsized body compared to their MIA standard version....

Aspidites · #18 08-28-2010, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mantaraya

Damn it¡¡¡ I struggled with the peavey fury MIA for 10 years with that special moving (dancing up/down) neck. ¡¡¡ I just cant afford that¡¡¡ Thats one of the thing i really like about the ray.. stablity..

And I would say the L2000 is just as much if not more stable.

Aspidites · #19 08-28-2010, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Thanks to all for their replies.... i was thinking:

Don't strain yourself.

Quote:

Is the roscoe beck IV body bigger than a EB MM stingray 4. ????

A little.

Quote:

Is there any big difference tone wise between sterling H and HS. ???

Some yes, I am not a fan of Sterling's personally.

Quote:

Is the body from the fender MIA standard and MIA deluxe jazz alkike or the deleuxe series is really downsized as fender clamis???? Thanks

The Deluxe is smaller.

mantaraya · #20 08-30-2010, 08:14 AM

I have down narrowed my search to the al mightys fender deluxe jazz actve IV and the sterling IV. Any suggestions about configuration about PU. H ; HS or HH. Let me tell you wht i hink about the stingray: sounds fantastic, sounds fatfattt¡¡¡, crispy, articulate.... but somehow i think it doesnt deliver the round, full sound of a passive lets say fender (altought the fender would never touch the Ray in terms of punch and definition). so my guess is the PU configuration about this 3 models can bring inth sterling a litle bit a smoothnes, full, round and somehow "dull sound"" thanks.