Thanks Bill....good point on getting them to set it up before taking It home.
That's about the price range I was thinking as well....although I haven't completely made up my mind, I've been thinking about the Ibanez gsrm20 short scale bass.
A few weeks back, I made a quick stop at Sam Ashe and played one......felt pretty good and sounded very nice. I'll still be checking out a few more and spend some time at the music shop.