Alright, I have finally scrounged up enough money to buy my second bass (first being the infamous squire p-bass) and i have narrowed the field down to 3 choices. They are, in order of how-much-I-want-them:

1) Schecter Stilleto Elite
2) Ibanez SR800/810
3) (Warwick) Rockbass 'vette classic

All three have active electronics (unless im too dumb to realize one of them doesnt) and all three are around $500-$600. This next bass is gonna have to last me for a while (at least to or through college - i'm only in 11th grade), so what would be my best choice, in your opinion? I have done alot of research, but perhaps I missed something, so feel free to point out any pros/cons of any of the 3.

Thanks in advance.

I'd go for either the Warwick or the Ibanez, but that's only because I happened to have had great feedback on both of those brands. I've not heard much about Schecter, but I'm assuming that since you are looking at it that it might be of some worth. Play around on them and decide what feels good for you.

Okay,

I have the Schecter Stilleto Elite, and I really don't like it. By the way, it's not active Pups, but rather a small 9 Volt tone circuit...not the same thing.

Ibanez are pretty useful basses for the money, but I am quite suspicious of the electronic packages...many repair guys tell me they are notorious for having probs.

I play a vintage Warwick, I love 'em. I've not played the RockBass line, but I'm not overly impressed with any of the new 'Wicks when you compare them to the old.

If I had that much to spend, I'd march right over to http://www.musicyo.com and order me one of those Tobias Toby Pro Deluxe's. They play great, look great, sound pretty good. Last week someone said they thought the preamp sounded thin and nasally, and they suggested a replacement for that. Do a search on these.

Yes, like I said, play around and feel what you like.

And do yourself a favor and take a quick look at the Spector professional series, before you buy. I bought one this weekend. Very, very nice instrument for the money. The one I bought was the NS2000Q4. It has really hot EMG-HZ pickups. I was amazed at how much better it sounds and plays than my Ibanez. Here's a few photos of it on my little bass webpage...

http://herne.tripod.com/bassrig.html

Although it's nice to get a new bass, don't discount buying a used one. If the neck and body are good, you can do amazing things with aftermarket pickups and built in preamps.

I read an article somewhere, talking about wood and how old violins sound better than new ones. They did a test and subjected a peice of wood to music ( a speaker blasting classical music I think ), and after a time, used this wood to create an instrument and compared it to one that had not been preconditioned. The wood that had music played to it sound dramatically better. I have a Gibson Les Paul recording that I bought in 1972, and I can say that this bass sounds way better after having been played all those years.

A used instrument can also mean an upgraded one. You should be able to buy a better bass used, than you could new. And if you're lucky, you'll buy this axe from a bass player who will show you some licks when you buy it. Knowledge and instrument.

Hope you find a great instrument that inspires you.

Well, you asked for my opinion,so here's what I have to say. I'm not really impressed with Ibanez or Schecter. Don't like the way the neck feels. I have respect for Warwick,and that Corvette looks pretty sweet, and also sounds great. Only looking for active? I might recommend are the Deluxe Active Jazz Bass: Well,it's a Jazz Bass .Used Rick?Beats me,up to you to decide.

Hmmm...well first off, i seem to have a fetish with new stuff, rather then used. I find this to be an expensive trait of mine :rolleyes: . Anyway, I took the tobias into consideration and found it to be quite nice; neck through contruction, wenge in the neck, nice look...Mmm. Anyhoo, I kicked the rockbass out of the picture, it's got too much Jazz to it...neck's too thick too (i think...im comparing it to a p-bass). Ibanez doesnt really appeal to me that much anymore either, so basically the schecter and tobias are left. A few of my friends have said to get the schecter, but if dave doesnt like it, then maybe i wont either (but maybe i will...argh). Anyway i gotta buy a car first here, so i got a good month more of thinking on the topic.

More info:

The Schecter I bought was an emergency replacement for my stolen Warwick, so when you compare the two....

The fit and finish of the Schecter is great...nice action. I don't like a finished neck, so, strike one.

The bridge seems to be a ripoff of the 2TEK bridge, not really heavy...one way I evaluate a bridge on a bass is: "Can I really vibrate the body by whamming on a string unplugged?" Either the bridge or the wood on my Schecter absorbs the energy, my body is dead, so, strike two.
(By the way, the mounting screws for the bridgeplates are not recessed, this limits the travel of the bridge saddles. I took mine apart, and discovered the Schecter techs had to grind a part of the underside of the saddle so it would pass over the mounting screw to set intonation. It seemed to work, but....)

Finally, I can play the thing all tone knobs turned up and IT'S GOT NO BALLS! Strike 3 and you're out!

Seriously, the EMG-HZ pups are quiet, they are passive humbuckers. This bass has 2 independent volumes (one volume and a pan pot are much more useful) and the only way I can coax a tone out is running everything up full. Remember, I'm trying to get a $600 bass to sound like a $3000 bass, so I may be jaded.

Anyway, as you discovered, the Toby has an unfinished neck, the wenge is better wood than the Schecter, the bridge is definitely more substantial than the Schecter, and the tone circuits, while not a Warwick, are also better than the Schecter.

In addition, I think the looks are substantially better.

Just my thoughts. And remember, it's not the Schecter name I don't like...I play a '80's Schecter Precision which is dynamite, outdoes the Fender Precision in many important details.

And that bass just cost me $100 at a pawn shop; I had to do some minor rebuilding on it.

Wow, great info from everyone especially dave. I didn't know the Schecter's bridge was so poorly constructed compared to others, and the fact that you can't vibrate the body by striking a string is also a negative feature.

Like dave said, the woods on the Tobias are much better, and it seems like the Tobias could handle some real equipment (towers, rack set-up, etc.) much better then the Schecter.

The more I think about it, the better the Tobias seems and the more ludicris it becomes to even think more on the subject...but it is fun

Thanks again all.

One point of interest here: I talked to a friend today, one who knew that i was looking for a bass, so he asked, "Did you get a bass yet?" Of course i say no, but i mentioned that i've pretty much got my mind set on a Tobias Pro-4B.

After this comment, my friend asks "Have you ever played one before?" I answer no, as i have never even heard of Tobias basses before a week ago or so.

Now to the point of this post. He then says "Well, you might want to play it before you buy it." He says this with a tone pointing at a feature that wouldn't appeal to the masses, or something along the lines.

Do you have any idea what he might have been talking about? The unfinished neck? Body style? I can't see anything out of the ordinary with the Tobias...so what did he see?

I haven't heard anything negative about the Tobias, although I don't like the way they feel. That's just personal. A friend of mine loves them. I strongly suggest playing one before you spend the cash. Have you thought about the Lakland Skyline series? I looked on their site and noticed the new Skylines. I'm salivating now and I just read the review in the September Bass Player on the 55-01 and I am jonesing to play one. I may even get rid of my trusty Stingray to snag one. I know they are a little higher than what you're looking at, but the extra cash will be well worth it. Again, I say play all the basses you can before buying. I noticed another post on here where someone was looking to buy a Peavey Cirrus and ended up buying a Warwick. You may find a bass you never considered.
Best of luck to you.

Yeah, it's really hard to feel a bass through another player's fingers.

But I really don't know how you're gonna play one of these basses; I've never seen one hanging on a wall.

Michael Tobias is the genius behind many bass designs. His current line, MTD, are very high end. http://www.mtdbass.com

As is the case with many high end basses (Steinberger, Warwick come to mind) there is just not a big enough market at those prices to keep a production line busy. Companies go belly up and have to sell their name, and the new owner uses that name to bring out a cheaper imitation of the product...like Steinberger and Tobias. Warwick, rather than go belly up, simply began marketing a cheaper imitation themselves (the Rockbass line.)

Tobias and Steinberger are owned by Gibson (not a bad heritage there, after all.) Gibson has tried to remain faithful to the original designs, but lowers production costs by making these basses in Korea, and using some cheaper materials as well.
Virtually ALL basses in your price range are made with similiar compromises.

Gibson also saves major marketing costs by avoiding a dealer network. They market these basses exclusively on their musicyo website (So far as I know.)

I have 2 students who ordered this bass last year and loved it. In fact one ordered a 4, and they sent him a 5 at the 4 price!

I think musicyo has a very reasonable return policy...they have to as a viable internet company. Buying one with the intent to return it may be the only way to play one, unfortunately. Thats what my students did...and neither one would dream of returning it after they played it.