I keep a spare bass tucked in a corner at work. I usually practice with a headphone amp.
I would strongly suggest learning to do setups yourself and skipping the shop. Setups are easy and simple. You will save a lot of time and money learning to do them yourself. I figure I need to setup each bass at least 2/year as the seasons change.
Your first one will take some time as you learn what you’re doing, but after that they’re pretty quick. Honestly tuning the strings between adjustments probably takes more time than the adjustments themselves.
That’s exactly what I’m going to do to the second bass when I get the first back. I’ll have a better idea of what it’s supposed to feel like, then I can replicate a bit easier than just off measurements alone.
I picked up my Yamaha from the shop today. What a difference the setup makes! Started noodling as soon as I got home and got the strap on - I had a set of Grover strap releases put on it while it was in there.
The difference was enough to where I finally hit Billie Jean!