Active Bass Recommendations - Possibly a Spector?

[Jonesy]

Well, GAS being GAS and all.......

 

I think it may be time for a change in the stable and I've got a hankering for something active and modern sounding/looking. All of my basses have been traditional looking and passive and I've got a bit of a GAS driven inclination to try something new. I've just got a hold of a fretless Aria SB1000 and (although it's not really modern in the whole grand scheme of things) I'm starting to change my mind on active basses, so am on the look out for something active. Problem is I've never really looked into brands like Ibanez, Warwick, Spector, even Music Man etc because I've always thought they weren't for me, so I know nout about them. And this is where you guys come in 😃

 

So, I'm asking the collective brain of BC to help me find a new bass.

 

Budget wise I'd say somewhere in-between £300-800

Happy to go 2nd hand

Zero preference on pups/preamp

4 strings

Fretted 

Ideally it won't look like a P bass

 

In my head I'm thinking of a Spector, but don't really know enough about their product range to know what to look out for and what's the best bet when looking for budget vs features etc. Is the performer line worth looking at - I know it doesn't have the reverse P's and will have a cheaper preamp etc. The Legend line has some older models that are classic and customs, newer ones have reverse P's - any recommendations there?

 

Happy to look outside of Spector's too, so feel free to chuck some recommendations my way!

 

[tauzero]

Preferences for neck profile, through neck or bolt-on? Push the boat out and go headless? There's Cort and Hohner as well as your list, and you might even find a Shuker at a bargain price.

[Jonesy]

1 hour ago, tauzero said:

Preferences for neck profile, through neck or bolt-on? Push the boat out and go headless? There's Cort and Hohner as well as your list, and you might even find a Shuker at a bargain price.

 

I don't really have any preference when it comes how the neck is attached.

 

I'm fairly flexible on profile too, not to fussed on radius. I'm happy on my Jazz with its 38mm neck and Rick with its 44mm neck. If it is on the chunkier side at the nut then ideally it'd be slimmer back to front, rather than a baseball bat, just to keep things manageable. 

 

In an ideal world the neck will be glossed or painted, but it's not a deal breaker.

 

I've seen a Fender Player Plus PJ, which very much looks like a P bass, but is acceptable as it's a metallic snot green. No idea what they're like though and I've read mixed things.

I've also seen a Sterling 34 in seafoam sparkle that is pretty tempting.

 

 

 

Headless might be a bit too far, one step at a time, eh? 

Edited 26 minutes ago by Jonesy