I have £1000 to spend on a new or used bass, can I have some suggestions please?
 

I have a budget of £1000 (I might be able to stretch to £1100, but I'm not sure). I ordered a Gibson Thunderbird Non-Reverse in December, but they gave me an estimated shipping date somewhere in June. And I refuse to wait six months for something I paid £850 for!

I already own two Fender Precision basses, so I do not want another one for the time being.

EDIT:

I play alternative rock music, and my amplifier is a Fender Rumble 30.

Holiday , or just tuck the money away . You're bound to see something you want sooner or later ...

Yay! First to vote!!

Obviously I'm saying this with no knowledge of your musical/sonic/tonal/esthetic tastes. That being said, if I had that much money dedicated to purchasing a new bass, I'd drop it on a genuine Japanese Fender. Certainly, I love my export-model Aerodyne, but there are some exquisite non-export Jazz models from the Land of the Rising Humidity Sun.

http://www.fenderjapan.co.jp/products.html

There are a lot of colors to choose from and no shortage of matching headstocks (a touch that I feel is sorely lacking here in the West). Plus, there's plenty of P/J configurations among the Jazzes, another personal preference o' mine. And yet, with all the non-standard colors available, the walnut model just screams "CLASSY" to my eyes.

http://www.fenderjapan.co.jp/jb62-wal.html :cool:

Just my two-pence-worth.

Cheers and have a blast picking something out!

I vote stack, you already have two nice basses. Since your profile includes the word "metal" then go big. :bassist: 2X410, 1X810, 2x212, 1X412, or a Barefaced Super 15 and an amp in the 700 to 1000 watt range.

Non metal, a 410 or 212 and 300 to 500 watt head.

Warwick Corvette/Streamer
 

It's what I'm goin' to do in these days, for approximately same price, for a Corvette Pro 6er (not havin' that money, I'm actually plannin' to sacrifice a Precision alike bass - way better than that instead - of mine just to do that)

Cheers,
Wallace

If you want to get something immediately, this won't help, but if you can wait a few weeks (less than 6 months!), I can highly recommend the ACG Graft range. A British-built custom instrument to your specs for the same price as a US factory-built model, and fantastic quality.

If you choose a body that's already built it will cut the time down - the following links have the pricing at the top:

J Type bodies

Recurve bodies

Finn bodies

For a better idea of what the end products look like, check out the ACG Graft thread and my recent NBD thread.

For that money, a used US made quality bass .. given you have a precision then #1 would be a Fender jazz.. but G&L, EBMM etc.. ..something to your liking... say 2-8 years old in minto condition.

1. it will be the equivalent of a current $1300 guitar
2. it will never be worth less than you paid for it
3. With luck it will appreciate slowly over time

From a retained value perspective i would steer clear of anything not built in the USA or any small, less known or boutique company.

p.s.

looked hard for the "donuts" option in the poll!!

Just looking at your profile, what amp do you currently own?

If you really want a bass, go used. You can really get a lot of bass for the money.

If I was from the UK, I'd do the following:
1. Go on holiday to the US (New York or Philadelphia)
2. Browse their Guitar stores. You will have tons of choices, and could easily score a MIA Jazz for around 450 GBP. Mass transportation is readily available in this part of the US, so you won't really need a rental car.
3. Or check out Craigslist in advance, and secure a meeting in a public place if you find a bass you like while in the US.
4. This way, you get to vacation, and grab a nice bass.

Just curious:
You don't happen to have any American military friends that are stationed in the UK?

How about importing the non rev Thunderbird - they were on ebay at seven hundred and something - or best offer a few days back.

I was curious to why the Precision bass was not on your list of choices until I read your first post :p

I would say if you are happy with the Fender brand then perhaps give a Jazz bass a try. Most Fender exclusive players either use both a P and J, or use P's or J's exclusively however either own or have used the other sometime in their career.

Get the 4003. If you don't like it I'd bet that a used 4003 in excellent cond. gets more $$ than most of the rest of that list.

I love spending other people's $$ :-)

Your profile doesn't say what rig you have, but If you already have a couple of basses I'd make sure I have a decent rig to pay 'em through. Not knowing what music you play or in what context makes recommendations a crap shoot.

I have updated the original post with more information :)

If you only own a 30 watt Fender combo amp, I'd suggest purchasing something more substantail before adding another bass.

SPECTOR bass look them up..

As much as I wanted to vote for the Rickenbacker, you should probably get a good amp. Can't go wrong with a good Ampeg stack.

If you are having fun through a Rumble 30, and want to ever play with a drummer/band, then a real rig is definitely a priority. I'd get an amp that pushes 500 watts into 4 Ohms and a pair of matched (=identical) 8 Ohm cabs (112 or 210). You could use both cabs for loud occasions and 1 for practice/ on your own. Not sure what's available near you, but you should be able to do fine with that budget.

If I planned on spending around that amount on a bass right now I'd probably be looking at a Lakland Skyline or Spector Euro series bass. Not that it has anything to do with what you may prefer but that's just my $0.02. :bassist:

If you're gigging I'd say amp. Otherwise I stand by my original suggestion.