Absolutely this.... ^^^^^^^^^
Trying the basses out would help, you’ll know what weight suits or even if it’s a factor, what neck type suit you best (p and J necks vary quite a lot, you may want an even slimmer neck)
Your tone will depend on your pickups, whether you want active or passive and your amp and cab aswell, if you are trying a bass out in a shop on £2ks worth of amp and cab it isn’t going to sound quite the same as your home rig, so, if you can, try the bass on a rig the same or similar.