new bass guitar purchase

[kneeseb]

hey there,

ive recently decided to upgrade bass. im looking to spend roughly $600/£300. bass guitars that i am considering are

4 strings-

Aria STB GT4 Bass

yamaha bb414

5 strings-

WARWICK ROCKBASS FORTRESS 5

yamaha rbx375

yamaha bb415


i havent quiet the decision whether to buy a 4 string or a 5 string. i have owned enough of both to feel comfortable with the two. for me having a five string is just having more range. anywayz, please tell me ur opinions

[Annoying Twit]

The Yamaha RBX375 basses come up on ebay quite often (as well as in the for sale forum here), and sell for very modest prices. I don't claim expertise, but they look like an amazing bargain to me.

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/YAMAHA-RBX375-SILVER-5-STRING-BASS-GUITAR-/160461359425?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_Video_DVDPlayers_Recorders&hash=item255c3e0941"]sold for £102 + £22.99p&p[/url]

[Bassassin]

This topic would fare better if moved to the "Bass Guitars" forum, I think. Oi - Mods!

I've actually got an Aria STB-GT. It's a gorgeous-looking bass but came with a couple of issues which I'd be unhappy with if I'd paid new shop price for it (which being a cheapskate pikey, I didn't).

First of all the fretwork was a bit scruffy, with some ragged ends up the dusty end of the board, and a bit of buzzing & rattling here & there. I'm quite happy to roll my sleeves up and sort out stuff like this but I appreciate that most people aren't as hands-on.

Secondly, the active preamp has a nasty habit of eating batteries, even when the lead's disconnected. I've been unable to find out why it does this so I have to remember to take out the battery when not using the bass. I'm not a huge fan of actives so my intention is to bin the preamp & original pup & replace it with a decent passive MM type with splittable coils, and try playing around with some interesting wiring options.

Jon.