First of all, from the moment you pick one of these basses up you can't help but notice the quality of construction and the solid feel of the instrument. All the hardware is sturdy and sensitive to adjustment. All in all a very well made instrument.

While playing it unplugged, I was also impressed by the Sterling's playability. The action can be set fairly low, and the oiled neck is fast. After six years of playing on a P-Bass, the neck felt nice and slim, and overall this bass is a joy to play.

As for looks, the finish on the Sterling was flawless, but I found the tiny headstock a little strange, and have never been a big fan of the MusicMan egg-shapped pickguard. That's a purely subjective thing, however.

When I finally plugged this thing in I was abit surprised and frankly a little disappointed. After playing the above mentioned Fender for so long, I'm used to a solid, warm bass sound, one that you can feel in your gut... and the Sterling just doesn't have it. With the EQ set flat, it sounds abit nasal and "middy". If you try boosting the bass on the preamp at all, you get a very boomy undefined low end. The only way I could get rid of the nasal "bark" was by turning the mids down to almost zero. The Sterling does have a great slap tone, however and believe it or not also sounds great with the bass EQ cranked while played with a pick to give some definition. That said, sound and tone preferences are very subjective and lots of bassists like the way both the StingRay and the Sterling cut through in a live situation; so go check it out for yourself.

Overall, I would say that the Sterling is a solid, well-made and fairly versatile instrument worthy of any bassist's consideration.

Construction	95%
Appearance	85%
(ugly pickguard and headstock...)
Playability	90%
Sound	85%
(100 % if you play alot of slap...)
Value	75%
(worth it's price, but no bargain)
Overall	85%