Music man or fender

[Pbmwhitehouse]

Hi guys new to all this but wanted to get some advise I,m in a pickle I, a left handed bass player and last year I bought a nice new music man sterling ray34 left handed bass thinking that he I spend a little more money I would be very happy as there are not many shops you can go in and try out different left handed basses, but last week I bought a second hand fender squire bass for £70 and I love it compare to the music man, it plays and sounds better to me but I,m gutted I spend so much on music man don't know what to do any advice please guys

[steve-bbb]

enjoy the squier !

seriously though i experienced the same phenomenon with a TRB and a Squier J - i plan to put some wizards in the squier when i have the beer tokens but apart from that its great as it is and i gig it regularly

[noelk27]

Buy a G&L Tribute L2000 and have the set.

[Pbmwhitehouse]

I was thinking of trading both in to get an American fender p or jazz bass

[Duarte]

Don't forget that a squier and sterling by music man are [i]not [/i]Fender and Music Man.

Try before you buy!

Edited September 23, 2012 by Duarte

[Pbmwhitehouse]

I would love to try first but I don't know of any shops that stocks a good selection of left handed bass if any one does know of one please let me know thanks

[The Dark Lord]

If you find a bass that you really like ... your Squier for example .... Just go with it. I'll bet if you tried lots of othe seemingly identical Squiers, they wouldn't be the same. Sell the MM and buy some more bass gear - like an amp or pedals or even lights or whatever you don't have.

[zero9]

If you can afford it, keep both. You might miss the ray34 once it's gone. When you get more 'into' the different basses, you may discover that each has it's place with a different sound / feel.

[Pbmwhitehouse]

Thanks for all advise , going to London in a few weeks will go to Denmark street have a look around

[Thor]

[quote name='Pbmwhitehouse' timestamp='1348403686' post='1813156']
Thanks for all advise , going to London in a few weeks will go to Denmark street have a look around
[/quote]

Hmm, Denmark Street - now there's a whole new can of gossip fodder! Devon to Denmark Street is a bl00dy long way to travel for what, in my humble opinion of course, is an overpriced load of tat! Each to their own of course but I wouldn't bother. There's been loads of discussion about DS - I'd search the forums first.

Back to the main thread, I love my Squier and it's been a regular gig bass of mine - I always take it to the "rougher" places we play!

[Pbmwhitehouse]

Just wanted to say what I feel the difference is between them I can't seem to get the tone range on the MM compared to the squire as it has a jazz pick up and a precision pickup, it's lighter and the neck is slightly thinner making it easier to play. I use a harke BH 500 head and a trace Elliot 2x10 cab.

[Wil]

Remember there are far more options out there than Fender and Musicman. G&L, Ibanez, Yamaha, for instance.

I had a Sterling but like you preferred the natural bottom end afforded by a precision pickup so went back to my mongrel P bass. Horses for courses, the Sterling would have been great for funk but didnt have the body I needed for rock.

[risingson]

Remember that price has little bearing on personal preference. I've played £200 basses that to my ears and hands play better than £2000 basses I've played.

I tend to find that I get on well with Stingray pickup configuration quite well i.e. that single humbucker in the sweet spot that your Sterling will have, but I have my reservations that have stopped me owning one, namely I don't think it's got the same kinds of lows and low mids that I can get from a P-Bass for example and therefore wouldn't cut it in my band. Others will disagree though, that's why your own personal preference is more important than anyone else's. If you feel more comfortable on the Squier then play the Squier.

[Thor]

[quote name='risingson' timestamp='1348405748' post='1813179']
Remember that price has little bearing on personal preference. I've played £200 basses that to my ears and hands play better than £2000 basses I've played.

that's why your own personal preference is more important than anyone else's. If you feel more comfortable on the Squier then play the Squier.
[/quote]

Well said, I'd second this, I think playability is much more important than what's written on the headstock.

[gjones]

The Ray 34 should be able to get a pretty decent range of sounds. I've had two Musicman SUB Stingray basses and I really liked the sound but I've also own a standard Squier Jazz bass which I love the lightness, thin neck, feel and sound of. None of the 4 other Jazzes I've owned felt as nice to play as my Squier even though they cost 5 times as much. I recommend you don't sell your Squier to pay for an American Jazz because you'll probably regret it (I've moved on my other Jazzes but I still have my Squier).

Edited September 23, 2012 by gjones

[Blademan_98]

[quote name='Thor' timestamp='1348406193' post='1813184']
Well said, I'd second this, I think playability is much more important than what's written on the headstock.
[/quote]

So do I and you can always put a Fender logo on it

[attachment=119130:jazz_head.jpg]

The chap I bought my Squier from did just that lol

[TheGreek]

That's the thing about different basses - they have different attributes.

I own far too many basses but they all have something different about them which allows me to justify having more than one and keeping them. Every time I sell one I regret it and start to reminisce about the things I loved about them.

Enjoy the differences and keep them both...

[Lozz196]

If a bass doesn`t have the right sound for you, no matter how good it is, you`ll never be satisfied (been there, done it, didn`t work, with so many basses, and sooooo much money spent). If you`ve identified Precisions as the right sound/bass for you, I`d recommend selling the Ray, and getting the best Precision you can for the money, with the Squier as a very able backup (not saying this just because I have a Precision up for sale, by the way).

I tried to get on with`Rays earlier this year. They play great, sound great on their own, but in the band mix I just didn`t feel like I was "me" so realised my folly, and went back to my Precisions.