Opinion Needed

[Stapletunes]

I'm new to the bass (played guitar for about 18 years now) and am looking to purchase one as a Christmas gift to myself. I've been looking at different sites and am interested in a 5-string. I've narrowed it down to 2 choices:

• The Rogue LX205b
• A used Ibanez EDB605 in pristine condition.

The Rogue is about $70 cheaper after tax/shipping, but the EDB605 seems to have slightly better reviews. I was thinking of heading down to Guitar Center to try them both out and get a feel for each, but they no longer make the EDB605 and the one I am looking at is not near my location to try out. Any opinions on either model? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Maxdusty]

Well, I can speak for the EDB605- I have the four string version, the EDB600. You can see it in my user pic. I would definitely take it over the Rogue- the EDB Ergodynes are roughly comparable to the current SR500 series in terms of tone and EQ (so if you want to get an idea of how it sounds, I would go to GC and try the SR505.
Keep in mind the body is made of Luthite, not wood. Some people don't like that material, but personally, it works well for me.
The body is molded and contoured, neck is slim and has a 3 band EQ. You'll be getting a great bass for the little money you're spending.
That Rogue Model, I haven't tried personally, I've had another one. Other than their Beatle Bass clone, the quality is a little iffy and would usually require quite a bit of modding and upgrading to get it to sound decent.

Just out of curiosity, are you considering other models as well? If you want a Fender style instrument, there are Squier VM or CV basses that may be within your price range too.