What bass should I buy?

[jsilva4]

Hello everyone!
I'm gonna buy a bass this year, somewhere between February/March, and I'm in doubt of which one off these two I should buy.
What do you think is the best?

Sterling by MusicMan SUB Ray4
or
Ibanez ATK200

I have a limit of 400€, so i can't pass that value. Do you recommend other bass?

 

[jsilva4]

Hey guys, need some help over here

 

[James L]

Music man basses are good. They are very versatile. Ibanez has that dark sound that's good for metal and hard rock/alternative. Go by what fits you and the music you're gonna play.

 

[Mossiebass]

I'd go with the squier classic vibe jazz, it's 389 on thomann IIRC

 

[OneAri]

for that money you could have a Fender Modern Player Jazz or Telecaster, both are 400 euros on thomann so it is the whole of your budget but would be so worth it

 

[jsilva4]

Music man basses are good. They are very versatile. Ibanez has that dark sound that's good for metal and hard rock/alternative. Go by what fits you and the music you're gonna play.

The style of music that I play right now it's more of a rock/hard rock and sometimes metal thing, but sometimes that funky style of RHCP and Jamiroquai.

I'd go with the squier classic vibe jazz, it's 389 on thomann IIRC

I don't like the sound of the jazz basses, it's not what i look for, but thanks for the suggestion!

 

[jsilva4]

for that money you could have a Fender Modern Player Jazz or Telecaster, both are 400 euros on thomann so it is the whole of your budget but would be so worth it

Maybe, from those two, I would only consider the Telecaster model too! Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[hgiles]

I bought an Ibanez and I am happy...

Here's what it sounded like today:
http://youtu.be/6Ro5c7KE9zE

 

[jsilva4]

The links to the basses:

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and

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[jsilva4]

up

 

[Marko 1]

Do you have the option to play these basses before deciding?

I’ve never played a MusicMan bass, but do have an ATK305, and it’s one helluva bass.

 

[Hopkins]

I would choose the ATK. I would usually never recommend against MusicMan, but I am not at all impressed with those Sterling S.U.B. basses. The couple I have played felt very cheap and didn't really sound that great. I think they cheapened their brand when they released that line. They should have just stuck with the Sterling Ray34s as their entry level line.

The ATK on the other hand is the only Ibanez bass I actually like. They are well built, sound good, and have pretty decent hardware and electronics for their price point. My only complaint is that they don't offer a maple fretboard. The black with black pick guard would be straight up sexy with a maple board.

 

[danomite64]

I'd get the ATK.

 

[jsilva4]

Do you have the option to play these basses before deciding?

I’ve never played a MusicMan bass, but do have an ATK305, and it’s one helluva bass.

nope, I'm from Portugal there are few places where I can try out basses, and this kind, it's almost impossible to find, like I've seen lately.

 

[Wallace320]

I would choose the ATK. I would usually never recommend against MusicMan, but I am not at all impressed with those Sterling S.U.B. basses. The couple I have played felt very cheap and didn't really sound that great. I think they cheapened their brand when they released that line. They should have just stuck with the Sterling Ray34s as their entry level line.

The ATK on the other hand is the only Ibanez bass I actually like. They are well built, sound good, and have pretty decent hardware and electronics for their price point. My only complaint is that they don't offer a maple fretboard. The black with black pick guard would be straight up sexy with a maple board.

I think I love Portugal, if only I could understand your language more, like with easier spanish

Then:
go with ATK200
View attachment 310385
This one is the Soda Blue limited edition (like a Fenderish Lake Placid Blue) it's the same ordinary ash (very heavy) with maple neck and rosewood fingerboard as other ATK200

Unfortunately it's not the former Indo ATK310 with triplecoil pickup
It really was the closest to Sterlings you can get with a non MusicMan bass: it let you opt between serial, phantom coil and parallel configuration
Present MIC ATK200 sport Ibanez proprietary CAP double humbucker, so the selector can just dial in front/both/rear humbucker. Less versatility yet plenty of punch n'power:
you stay in your price range (mine was €. 300,00) and don't mess with Sterling SUBs, which really aren't on par with Sterling Rays and just feel poor

I can talk of present ATKs for I have the three of them: chinese ATK200 I posted you, Indo ATK800 Premium and Nippo ATK1200 Prestige (they're lighter: select light ash body) with additional front Ibanez proprietary Arch humbucker and maple fingerboard.

Hardware varies: on ATK200 you got Wilkinson machineheads, on ATK800 Premium you got Hipshot light machinehads, on ATK1200 Prestige you got Gotoh precision Vintage machineheads.

Cheers,
Wallace

 

[jsilva4]

I think I love Portugal, if only I could understand your language more, like with easier spanish

Then:
go with ATK200
View attachment 310385
This one is the Soda Blue limited edition (like a Fenderish Lake Placid Blue) it's the same ordinary ash (very heavy) with maple neck and rosewood fingerboard as other ATK200

Unfortunately it's not the former Indo ATK310 with triplecoil pickup
It really was the closest to Sterlings you can get with a non MusicMan bass: it let you opt between serial, phantom coil and parallel configuration
Present MIC ATK200 sport Ibanez proprietary CAP double humbucker, so the selector can just dial in front/both/rear humbucker. Less versatility yet plenty of punch n'power:
you stay in your price range (mine was €. 300,00) and don't mess with Sterling SUBs, which really aren't on par with Sterling Rays and just feel poor

I can talk of present ATKs for I have the three of them: chinese ATK200 I posted you, Indo ATK800 Premium and Nippo ATK1200 Prestige (they're lighter: select light ash body) with additional front Ibanez proprietary Arch humbucker and maple fingerboard.

Hardware varies: on ATK200 you got Wilkinson machineheads, on ATK800 Premium you got Hipshot light machinehads, on ATK1200 Prestige you got Gotoh precision Vintage machineheads.

Cheers,
Wallace

Yeah it's a very beautiful country thanks where are you from specifically?

So, everyone here is saying to go with the ATK, so i'm really considering of getting it, but I'll wait for more opinions.

 

[placedesjardins]

Hmm, I got a Yamaha BB714BS, a discontinued model, for under $400 US. I don't know if it would be beneficial to buy from a US store or not. 400 euros is a pretty good budget.

 

[Wallace320]

Yeah it's a very beautiful country thanks where are you from specifically?

So, everyone here is saying to go with the ATK, so i'm really considering of getting it, but I'll wait for more opinions.

My nick goes Wallace320 for it was my "battlename" during my military call of duty
I served an Italian Aeroforce rifleman and, the movie Braveheart was successfully out everywhere, I came from a full tour of Scotland right before heedin' my call
My italian surname goes Vallese, which is actually of helvetic origin, but it turns into Valais in France, Wallis in England and Wallace all over Celt's regions.
So you know: I was straightforward minded, I always stood on younger rookies' side, I was audacious as a madman during tactic simulations, my name could easily turn into "Wallace": I simply became private Wallace, 320 being my enrolement course

And, down to Yamaha BB714 recommendation, I once owned both lava red and black one
They (Yamaha BB714 and Ibanez ATK200) can be compared down to a mere output point of view, but with same setup, Ibanez has a chunkier neck, a three band active equalizer and a punchier (pickup on trebleside sound) Yamaha, that costs twice as much for new and it's more on €. 400,00 if secondand, has a thinner (nearly jazzish) neck, is passive and with a thunderous neck ceramic dualcoil that can get dramatically distorted if you keep same ATK's (or Sterling's wise) settings

Cheers,
Wallace

 

[darkstorm]

Try very bass in your orice range that you can by various mfg. I'm not a fan of the ibanez atk basses but do like the soundgears.

 

[klejst]

I say go for the Sterling