Upgrade for Used Milestone III Bass

[ChuckDav]

Pardon my newb status guys, but I really would love some experienced input on my issue.

I just bought a used Peavey Milestone III at a music store to back up my son, who is really progressing rapidly on guitiar. I am a musician so I have an ear. Although I am a complete Bass newb, it appears to play pretty well. I made sure to play it for two weeks so I could hear and feel differences in other basses. I played a Warlock, Fender American P and J basses and a Fender Squire last night for two hours. There was obviously no comparison in feel or tone to the Warlock or Fender Americans. The Millstone III played quite a bit better (seriously) than the Squire and a few other 200.00 models of basses. The Squire and others rattled a lot and the tone degraded with more aggressive play.

The tone was much more centered on the Fender J's, and the low end especially, I could play aggressively with the tone staying focused. My Milestone sounds fine on the low end, but can lose tone if too aggressive for sure.

I am playing my Peavey on a new Create 25 watt amp.

I was considering upgrading to get mine a little better. I have read through a LOT of posts on string and pickups - which are very specific.

My question is...is it worth putting in another 150.00 or so for good quality pick ups? I am faily certain these are stock pick ups. Would I really get that much more out of the instrument or is it too subjective to make a real difference?

The store said the put new strings on, but didn't know what brand. I highly suspect Ernie Ball Slinkys, since that what they had on the shelf. The strings for sure are rougher than the ones I played on with the Fender.

I could use the money to put towards a nice case. Should I just save my money and look to put towards a used Fender later?

I don't mind spending a little more money - I just want some value out of it.

Thank you for any input!

[bassmanrocke]

While the Milestone is a budget bass, it is a pretty good budget bass. It may or may not be worth upgrading depending on how well you like it. But after reading your post I would have to say that your money would be better spent upgrading your amp. 25 watts is plenty for practicing guitar, but it is very difficult to produce solid bass tones with that little power. Typically 60-65 watt practice amps with 10 or 12 inch speakers will do a much better job. There are a multitude of good quality amps from a variety of companies that will fit the bill. I am partial to the Ibanez Soundwave series, but Acoustic, Peavey, Fender,and many others make quality pieces. I really think upgrading your practice amp will do more to reach your goal than upgrading your bass.