Ibanez SR300E

The SR300E series, I think it's the biggest bang for your buck at the $350 range. I mean, I have played so many different basses at my local music sto...

It's a lot harder to get bad sounds out of this bass. That said, I do still like the Ibanez. I kind of like how aggressive it can sound, and it would ...

It's got a little bit less color to it, but it sounds more full and round, more like a warm sound. So this bass comes highly recommended for beginners...

I decided to pick up bass again, bought the Ibanez SR300E which I really love. I decided to pick up a 5 string bass 2nd hand (LTD, cheap one) because of the wide spectrum of songs we cover in our cover band.

I have an SR300E; I would definitely consider a 305E if I wanted that fifth string. The one I have is a nice enough bass that I know any deficiencies are almost certainly me, not the instrument--which means it's good enough for my purposes (which sound similar to yours). My own inclination would be to spend the extra money in other places--perhaps a compressor or preamp pedal or toward an amp upgrade. But considering the lifetime of the instrument and your time with it, the price difference isn't huge.