| Thanks for your gracious post.
$3,000-3,500 is a ton of money at the Sherry household and I am sure at yours too. However, honesty compels me to note that it's not a lot of money at the bass shop.
It might buy you:
a) A perfectly nice new hybrid bass -- solid top, plywood back and sides -- or a used one maybe with some change;
b) A stylin' plywood bass, with change if bought used;
c) The wreck of an old sold-wood bass, temporarily in one piece but waiting to explode in the first stiff breeze;
d) A new solid-wood bass of the cheapest variety that might not sound as good as the crate it ships in; or
e) Something else if you get lucky. But your chances of getting lucky increase if you go see a bunch of basses.
The two points here are, "Don't focus on brands" and "Go see a bunch of basses." If you're far from bass shops maybe you can talk your folks into it by fitting a bass-shop trip along the side of a college-scouting trip.
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"We can give to those who listen to the essence the best of what we are. But to do that, at each stage we have to keep on cleaning the mirror." -- John Coltrane
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