Sterling Musicman JP50

[guysullavin]

So this is that new(?) guitar that JP has out thats the slightly lower end model. From what I've read its amazing, but I want to know what you guys think of it before I venture out into a fairly expensive route ($700ish). Meanwhile in the other hand I've been looking at building an RG-Prestige for a Retro-Petrucci look (includes a paint job like the old Ibanez JPM Picasso design) which before the paintjob puts me in about the same boat.
So far I've been able to gather some stuff about each one:

JP50
  Basswood Body
  Maple/Rosewood neck
  Petrucci Neck carve
  Locking Tuners
  24 Medium Jumbo Frets
  Recessed tremolo
  2x Sterling Modern Humbuckers (aka no-name brand p/ups)
  3 Way Selector Switch
  Heavy Duty Gig Bag Included
Price: $600-$800 USD + tax & ship depending on where I get it

Ibanez Build (all parts are MIJ Quality)
  Basswood Body
  Maple/Rosewood neck
  Ibanez Prestige Wizard Neck
  Locking Nut
  24 Jumbo Frets
  Floating Edge-Pro Trem
  INF pickups (in terms of both guitars, p/up upgrades are a must but until then stock p/ups ftl)
  5-way Selector switch
Price: ~$900 USD + tax & ship

Like I said under Ibanez, I will definitely upgrade pickups in both, and pretty sold on Dimarzio D-Sonic/Air Norton combo for that pre-Black Clouds and Silver Linings sound (sorry, not a huge fan of that album).

[Basekick]

Before comparing the guitars, I want to mention that A)  The Sterling JP can be found in a satin black finish for $500 and B) an RG1451 Prestige can be found for $800.

With that out of the way, the main difference between these guitars, outside of the pickups (which you mentioned you're swapping), is the neck in each.  If you're a guy who loves a smooth slim neck, go with the Prestige.  If you're a fan of a bit thicker, unfinished maple neck, go with the Sterling.  The other variables, such as headstock, body shape/wood (both are basswood though), machine heads, etc. are much less important than the general feel of the guitar, which starts at the neck.  I will say though, as someone who has played both recently, the string tension is certainly better on the Prestige, as the Sterling felt a bit stiffer moving around the notes and bending freely. 

Just my two cents mate.

[guysullavin]

Before comparing the guitars, I want to mention that A)  The Sterling JP can be found in a satin black finish for $500 and B) an RG1451 Prestige can be found for $800.

Yes, but also from history I knoe for a fact that Matte Black finishes wear really horribly and look ugly when they have, and in this case the RG1451 does not come with a tremolo, which is a big downside in my eyes, plus its set up in an HSH setup rather than the dual H p/up setups, which can be easily changed by some rewireing, but still looks uglier.