I would go
Feel is the most important IMO but your basic point stands - just don’t worry about the bass tone for now. Or maybe ever; there’s so many ways to modify it that the original bass tone is much less important than people think.
Feel and look, on the other hand, are much harder to change.
I remenber that has a complete beginner, I went to the shop and tried a few bassess TRBX from Yamaha and GSR from Ibanez . I didn’t even know how to old a bass… so feel was akward anyway 
So I asked the person in the shop to play them and which one he liked best… he said Ibanez so Ibanez it was
If you’re interested in buying a bass online, I strongly recommend you order from Pitbull Audio rather than either Guitar Center or Sweetwater. I have had nothing but outstanding experiences from dealing with Pitbull.
Pitbull’s prices are totally competitive with any other vendor, but they excel at customer service, fast shipping, and (if you’re not a California resident) no sales tax. Winner, winner, chicken dinner!
I’ve bought a bass and a lot of other gear from Pitbull. They’re a class act, all the way.
Incidentally, if you’re in the market for a Yamaha, here’s a link to Pitbull’s offerings:
If you’re interested in checking out the superb Sire models for sale, here’s a link:
https://www.pitbullaudio.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=Sire+bass
I have purchased an instrument and many things from Sweetwater. I have nothing but positive things to say of them what’s your opinion as to why not?
My one and only order from SW was outstanding; emails from the tech updating the entire process and a phone call from the tech the day it shipped asking about my experience, if I had any questions, which, if any, bass I currently used, my intended use, etc. I’ve never received a call from any business like that. I was impressed for sure.
As I mentioned, Pitbull doesn’t charge sales tax (unless you’re a California resident). On big ticket items, state sales tax adds a significant amount to the purchase price.
I’ve ordered a bass from Sweetwater as well as one from Pitbull. Pitbull delivery was really quick; Sweetwater took longer.
All this said, Pitbull works best for me. Do whatever you’re good with.
I did check with them based on a previous recommendation you made. They just didn’t have what I wanted in stock.
Thanks for the info. I appreciate it. I’m not getting one yet but soon. I’ll definitely give them a look.
Retailers don’t determine sales tax. States collect sales tax.
You will still be charged sales tax based on the state you are in. (Yes. I tested this.)
Yeah I wish I don’t live near Pitbull/ MusicStore Live so I can get no tax. That said, on the bright side, several things I order come faster than Amazon I ordered my Short Scale Sterling Stingray and it showed up the next day.
It depends on your rep. Granted SweetWater reps are excellent. My original rep “Blake” was the “only” reason I have so many basses, 
then he left, my next guy is not as good. If your rep is not too busy, he’ll call back and touch up with you on how you like your purchase, but only when they are not busy and/ or need more sales.
How about this to counter, I bought a Yamaha BBNE2, it’s a $3000 bass, Special order only. Their famous 55 point inspection is severely tested here.
I received the bass and plug it in and no sound. I freaked out (inside) WTF!! Check everything, cable, connection, my amp, etc. Not until I checked the last thing, BATTERY! The battery was not there. I was not happy for so many reason in so many levels.
Last thing first, I contacted Yamaha at the end of this and got the answer, due to explosive potential threat of a 9v battery during transport, Yamaha do not ship battery with their (expensive) bass only the cheap ones, 
Back to SweetWater, the questions are
Did they even perform the 55 point inspection, a big part of that especially on a high(er) end instrument is to make sure that it works and sounds good. In order to do that they have to install battery to produce sound on an active preamp.
Then even bigger question is
If the tech installed the battery to check the preamp, is it SweetWater policy to then remove the batter after checking? and ship the bass without the battery and expect the customer to do that himself?
Which one is the acceptable answer for the customer service point of view. I brought it up to my rep when he called me a month later, you know what he said? well some basses do not come with batteries installed, ok then, Did you check it? or installed and checked then took it out, which is it? He never called me again.
Great service? may be not. Give me Guitar Center any day, my GC rep and I have the understanding, GC gives me good deal and if they F’ed up they give me something to calm me down.
I bought the Fretless BFR from SweetWater (battery installed) no problem.
Bought the 40th anniversary StingRay from GC no problem but even preorder only, my rep gave me 15% off no question asked.
SW is just another store. Not the fastest shipping, definitely not the best price, gimmicky customer service. If you buy one or two things per year, sure go for it. GASsing as much as I do/ did there are much better venue for it, PitBull Audio for example.
I’ve tested it, too, several times, and successfully.
I’ve made many, many purchases from various vendors around the country. This is what I know: I haven’t paid a penny in sales tax on Pitbull transactions and on a few others, from other states.
Mileage invariably varies. 
Okay… I actually looked up the laws, and I’m seeing that sales tax is required if the retailer has a physical presence in your state. So if they have a retail location or warehouse.
So it’s going to vary a LOT person to person.
I’m in Ohio, which is one of the biggest logistics hubs in the U.S. (something like 1-day by truck to 50% of the U.S. population), so of course pretty much everyone has some sort of presence here.
Same as California. It seems like every companies in the world has some kind of office here (maybe for their tax reasons). So we pay tax on just about everything.
@Al1885, a good friend of ours ordered a Sire V8 from Sweetwater. He had bought many instruments from them prior to that, so he was used to a reasonable degree of reliable customer service.
The “new” Sire arrived in very obviously not-pristine condition. It showed visible evidence of having previously been played/handled, and not gently.
55-point check? Not hardly.
In short, it was a non-starter, and it went back immediately.
That said, SW has definitely provided consistently good customer service in the past. But there apparently has been considerable churn in their reps and/or management.
Yep. 
For a company that’s known for service and not lowest price, things are changing rapidly. They can fool some new comers but it’s difficult to do that to more experience hoarders, a bag of candy is not gonna do it
If my local shops are any good I’d happily spend my money without any discount to support them. Sadly they suck so bad, they should be in a vacuum business.
Yep, I knew that.
Texas is a very business-friendly state. As a result, almost every national company has a presence here, also virtually every multi-national entity.
And, apparently, so does Sweetwater, in some shape or form.
In contrast, Pitbull Audio is a smaller company. In my experience, they run a tight ship, providing a remarkably extensive inventory and stellar customer service.
For my money, they are my go-to. What’s not to love?
A couple grand of gear from Sweetwater over the last year and half. Perfect every time. A call from rep Tony the same day as order is placed, then follow-up call a day or two after gear arrives. When a set of strings got lost in shipping (Fed Ex mistake Tony noticed before I did) Tony sent a replacement set overnight and said to keep the original order if it ever arrived (it eventually did). As Mike C mentioned regarding his fav Pitbull… what’s not to like. (BTW… the Sire bass I’m ordering from SW is the same price at both dealers)
It’s become a household joke when a SW order arrives…
“I ordered you some more Sweetwater candy hon and look what they sent me for free!”
If you’re not a California resident, maybe you could check if a potential Pitbull order for that Sire would charge you sales tax?
Just a thought, but it could possibly save you a chunk of change,
Maybe a basic question, but what do you mean by the following “categories”:
“Classic” - passive pickups with the P or J pickup?
“Versatile” - a P/J bass to give both pickup styles/position?
“modern” - Active pickups? Humbuckers?
Thanks!
Mike C,
Thanks for the idea but then I’d have to buy candy to quickly shove in the Pitbull box or wife would start thinking all this music stuff was costing me money
(And Mr. AI says Pitbull has to charge sales tax in my state)
