Bass Guitar recommendations

[Shaftoes]

So I recently got a new job and felt the urge to go out and play in a band again.

My instrument of choice is the bass guitar, and I have been playing on and off for about 6 years now. I play a mixed bag of rock and metal stuff.

Unfortunately my guitar got damaged while I was moving house, but hey this gives me the excuse to go out and get a shiny new one!

My first Bass was the peavy millennium 5 bxp : http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-39TmyjokBf...20/p-m5bxp.jpg, which I mostly picked because it looked awesome :P
It actually turned out to have quite a nice sound though and I was muchos impressed with it.

So help me decide which new bass to get FHC!

Budget is around £200-400

[KaiDoh]

I played bass a bit years ago, was never that good and only owned a shitty fender squire but I always loved playing the fender jazz bass at my local music shop, rich sounds and nice tight positioning of strings. I'd recommend going along to music shops and trying out as many different models as you can, see what takes your fancy and buy where ever you can for the best offer.

[Don Pellegrino]

My best suggestion is to go to a store with a nice selection and try them out, but generally for that kind of music you'll want "fat" pickups, like humbuckers, soapbars or active pickups (EMG style) and avoid single coils because they sound too thin*. Just go and try some stuff really and don't forget to try them in a combo/amp that is similar to yours because that will totally change your results and preferences. EDIT: I just clicked on that picture of your old one and yeah, a 5 string is ideal for metal.

* I play electronic music and sometimes old punk/ska and my single coils J with an active preamp is perfect for this.