http://www.leonhouse.info/musicman-stingray/
Musicman Stingray Bass or Rickenbacker 4003 bass?
For bass players, which plays better? for the average Joe, which one looks better?
Your questions are very subjective, so It’s hard for someone else to pick it out for you.
They are both cool basses, which looks better is an opinion.
I’ve had both, I think the Musicman wins on both counts.
It is a much more flexible bass,
capable of a much larger variety of sounds, all good.
You can get a nice fat bass tone out of a MM, but not a Rick.
You want to play the exact bass you are buying, BEFORE you pay for it, as one poster mentioned, SOME Musicman basses are sorta heavy, but NOT all,
I’ve played some very nice light ones.
Some are northern ash, (heavier)
some are swamp ash (lighter)
some are alder (usually the lightest)
The Ricks are good, for their one sound,
if that’s what you want, but not a lot of variety.
A very bright, snappy sound.
Necks are an opinion again, usually the Rick is slightly narrower.
(on the side, the Rick’s scale is slightly shorter, about 33″ vs the MM’s 34″)