I went to Steves' Music downtown Toronto

The gentleman there showed me this bass for roughly 450.

ESP Viper-254 (least I think that's the one) (colour black)

It has a active pickup battery operated (I believe was the term) But holy smokes I played it... what an amazing warm-deep sound... perfect for metal.

Blew my other suggestion outa the water.

The neck was extremely comfortable and moving on the frets was much easier.. The body is a bit small.. I would prefer something bigger... but honestly playing I completely overlooked it...

What do u guys think?