As a result of becoming chartered recently I'm due to receive a bonus from work, which obviously means NBD is going to happen. My budget for this is going to be around the £500 mark, and after a lot of debating on this subject (@Merton can confirm!) I've narrowed my choice down to either a new Sterling Sub Ray 5 or a secondhand G&L L-2500 Tribute. I tried out the Ray 5 a few months ago and was very impressed, and the neck felt extremely comfortable to my tiny hands, but I suspect if I were to buy this it would become a mod platform, with some mostly aesthetic changes to the bridge and tuner and possibly an upgrade to the preamp at some point. I've always been a bit GASsy towards the G&L, and have watched a fair few reviews and know it would be an awesome bass. I have, however, heard that the necks are pretty chunky, and having dispensed with my one and only previous fiver for having a tree trunk for a neck that made playing it very awkward I'm keen to not repeat the experience with a reward to myself.
My problem is that new L-2500s in the wild are few and far between, as are secondhand ones, obviously a testament to how good they are. What this means though is that I can't try any out (the nearest one I'm interested in is in Nottingham, a 1½ hour drive away), which is where I hope some of you good people come in. Can anyone who has tried both comment on the difference in neck profiles? I've also dismissed a Warwick Rockbass Streamer for the same reason - are these really chunky as well?