Yeah, I’d heard that too. It’s been repeated over the net, but I’ve never seen one. I did try a unfinished neck on a Squier a few months ago, and I didn’t like it at all. The fuzzy wood fibers were embedded into the skin of my left hand after trying it out. I suppose that might rub out after awhile, but I already owned a sweet Telecaster that had the sweetest smooth satin neck. I wanted that same feeling for my bass.
Now, if this were a kit for $199. Sure, I’d sand away! Nothing to lose!
@kwt7667 with sanding / scotchbrite you’re just looking to take the final gloss layer off the neck, not the finish itself. The aim is not to sand down right to the wood. It takes very little sanding / rubbing with a pad to change the feel of a glossy neck.
to address/add to some of what has been brought up — clearly there is not right or wrong answer here, but as a layperson i am just trying to get a ballpark idea of where generally speaking the line is between basic/good/beginner gear is and great/advanced gear — with the understanding that answer is different for everyone. also very much agree that when i am ready i need to go play a bunch of basses and see what feels right. right now i am very into the musicman stingrays/ray34 but that is based only on reading and watching YT and not picking one up and playing it. this is also quite a while away from me — i am on module 5 of B2B so not sending money to anyone yet. to those who asked: as far as i know my TRBX is doing what it needs to for someone where i am.
my experience with spending money on crafted objects has been mostly about pleasure. eg: i make furniture, and you can get a 3/4" chisel from home depot for $10. you can also get a top of the line best of the best (for western style chisels) from lie-nielsen for $85. i have both. they do exactly the same thing. and if you suck at using a chisel the LN does not cut better than the HD. but… the LN chisel is more enjoyable — its much higher quality, better designed, nicer materials, much more refined. both will cut wood. one is more enjoyable to cut wood with.
yes! i was at HOG once a while back will do need to head back and get my hands on some basses to get a feel for what i respond to.
It also weighs a pound less, which is a factor.
Lighter weight, alder body and flame maple top with a glossy finish vs mahogany and matte, but yeah that’s it.
I’ve got 4 I’ve done this to.
Some using the maroon pad, call it semi-gloss. Works perfectly. Just go slow and press lightly, stop, check etc. it takes more time to tape up the neck than to sand it.
You could also probably return it to glossy with some 2k grit or so as well if you hated it. Seems like a nice simple mod.
My $400 squier classic vibe 70s precision feels better to play and is more resonant than my fender American original 60s precision.
Funny how that works. Sometimes you just pay more for the name.
Everyone will have a different answer to your awesomely complicated question oddly enough, lol. My best answer is it depends. Are you acquiring more basses to sell or personal collections. It would help if you know the type of bass you are getting.
If you want to go mainstream like Fender jazz bass or precision bass, Musicman style bass.
Contemporary style like Yamaha, Ibanez, Spector, schecter
Stepping up is the safest route to go. It takes getting a few basses to find what you like and fit your style.
If you do enough research and have patience you can find great deals on used gears, these would hovers around $500-700 used some rare instances you can score them new.
Like @John_E said sweet spots new is around $1000. Buying new it’s a great idea to contact the store directly and ask if they can give you a deal. You’d be surprised.
As always, if you have any questions just post them here.
You don’t have to spend a lot of money to get a great bass.
So what is a great bass. If you want performance and tone, you don’t have to spend a lot of money. I bought a used ESP LTD Stream 204 for $300, added in two EMG pickups and EQ for another $300. So the bass cost me $600 total.
Compared to an ESP Stream II which starts at $2500 and goes much higher. My 204 has a mahogany body, Sream II has Ash. Both have thin U maple necks and rosewood fingerboards. And now, the exact same pickups and EQ. The Stream II has a fancier finish.
You pay a lot for finish and name. If by great you mean sound, construction, and playability, you don’t have to spend a lot.
I really is a preference thing.
Cost means nothing if you are super happy with the bass you are playing.
Yes, you only NEED one, but many like a few for different tones at an arms length *guilty”, many like to collect (guilty) and some just want one and bond completely to it.
But its that bond that makes an instrument great, not the price.
Same goes for any instrument. I also play sax and many many many sax players believe a Selmer Mark VI tenor is THE greatest sax ever.
Because of this, they go for $8-10K and up depending on serial numbers close to Coltrane’s or Becker’s. Are they better - nope. Unless you think so.
I own 13 saxes, no Mark VIs.
You can find your great bass in one of two ways…
Don’t stress over it, its a very very fun journey.
Good points! I have a TRBX504, I’ll jump on the wagon of supporting that. 
I’ve only been playing for a few months, but as someone who works with their hands. I can see the quality in it.
Actually, I turned my TRBX174EW into a BEAD tuned bass, and took my old Indonesian Squire that I bought many years ago new for $129 and upgraded it. What I did was when I bought a $700 Fender P, I upgraded it with Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder PuP’s, new pot, shielded wiring, and a Hipshot Kickass bridge. Took all that I removed from that bass and put it all into the old Squire and gave it a good setup…. Damn thing plays great for certain songs given the tone that it puts out. Used it in THIS COVER just this past week…
I guess this is just another way of looking at things when you’re looking at purchasing newer (or more expensive “cost wise”) equipment….
When you start to think like this it says to me that the Musicman Stingrays are more to your liking and that is what you should try out if you can.
Put another way if you had a Stingray and a Yamaha TRBX504 sitting side by side which one would you be more inclined to pick up and play. That is the one you should buy.
As the OP was really only asking about a price range, my 504 with a hard shell case and inline tuner cost me a total of about $1,100.00 CAD new, including delivery, delivered to my door. Unfortunately I live in a rural area and trying things out before purchasing is not really an option for me. Gas alone would cost me about $50 for a round trip to the nearest decent music store, and would be an all day trip. I also own several other Yamaha guitars so I knew what their quality was like.
Good Luck on your quest and make sure you let us know what you finally decide 
I do love mine, but it is a very specific bass, has a modern tone. I have a hard time using it for classic rock, old school heavy rock, pop, etc. YMMV.
This is an easy one to go try, as they are quite available in stores, even at the lower levels you will get a feel for what they are about.
One other comment @mgoldst - don’t be afraid to go somewhere and play - poorly. It’s ok to be a beginner and sound like crap. You can also ask someone at the store to play it for you (I had done this a few times early on). They want to sell instruments, they don’t care how you play. I also used to bring a headphone amp to feel more comfortable and always know that the tone I heard was the bass and not the amp they plugged into, but you can often ask for a clean amp to play through. At GC, I always use a Fender Rumble 100, as they generally have them and are good sounding.
I’m truly impressed by the build of the MIM (made in Mexico) basses from Fender.
I would say spend around $650-$750, you won’t be disappointed.
-Doc
Well there are 2 great deals right now at guitar center used. Both are $500 and have roasted maple neck Ray34 one in black and another in natural. I’ve got the natural finish that I put the custom wood Pickguard and control plate on it. I can’t tell the difference between this and several of my music man 5 times the price and that’s not on sound but feel. (Edit: sorry I just checked, both are sold)
You are not going to know if you like it or not til you own it, sadly. Playing at the store will get you about 50% there. That will answer the questions of feel and weight. A word of advice on trying at the store, try to find the amp that similar to what you have. It would do you absolutely no good to plug that in to a $1500 amp you don’t plan to GAS.
When you make enough bad choices buying you’ll absolutely know what’s good and what’s not. I can tell you til I’m blue in the face that all you need is some TLC and elbow grease on your Squier. Spend a hundred or two on the pickups and preamp, b uck and a half on hardware and $50 on setup you are 90% of the Fender USA made bass. But…you won’t be contented with that til you actually personally experience that yourself. It’s in our nature.
There’s nothing wrong with owning nice gears lord knows I’m guilty of that sin but at the end of the day if it’s not for profit from sales I probably won’t be acquiring anymore of the expensive gears. Plus, putting together a new bass is a whole lot more fun than just buying them off the shelf. These are some of my memorable builds.
There is no such thing as a ‘beginner’ bass nor a ‘great’ bass. You wouldn’t go to a car showroom and say “do you sell beginner cars, mate?” would you.
Price also doesn’t reflect quality. Many really high quality(good quality control beyond the initial obligatory setup) basses are available for under £200, and there are lots of lemons for £100,000.
You buy the bass that suits your needs within your budget. You’ll quite often find that when you spend more than around £200 you’re just paying for names on headstocks, frills, exotic woods which typically have no audible influence on a solid body electric instrument, and custom basses where you pay for someone’s time and effort.
With the level of machinery and labour costs, you can get fantastic basses for low low low prices. Some things that can suffer are the pickups the tuners and the bridge, but given that basses are almost entirely moddable there are no disadvantages because the important things and how well it’s put together using automation are done with absolute precision.
Just buy the minimum and add the extras such as preferred tuners and pickups that you want.
I would personally choose something like a Cort, Ibanez, Harley Benton, or Sire and avoid brand names like Fender and others because I think they give really poor value for money… Or any kit would do, and then add the parts that you want.
What is this thing? A poorly drawn E?
