If your just looking for something to mess around with then I'd recommend the Ibanez GSR series. Strong neck, great sound, not too pricey. Ive had my GSR 205 (5 string) for 7 years now, and recently played a gig with it, and it sounded as good as it did when I first bought it, which was around 125 Pounds. I honestly can't think of a better starter bass, either just messing around or taking seriously.

I ended up getting a new Ibanez Gio but I'm not sure which model, can't see it anywhere on the body. I thought it sounded clean so I got it even though I think the neck is a bit shorter. I like the longer necks. Does the size/length make a huge difference in the sound?

shorter neck would generally mean slightly looser strings so a bassier sound and not as much punch in the high end.

http://www.gregbennettguitars.com/images/rlb4_medm.jpg
Greg Bennett Samick Royale 4

Can get for 200. I have not played bu friend has one and it sounds/looks INCREDIBLE for the price. The Samick Royale line for guitars and basses are also made quite well (better than most others in there price range). I own a RL2 guitar and it hasnt failed me yet.

Im most cases, yes. But there are exceptions to this. I've played a few short neck with amazing pop up high.

As for cheap basses, you can't really get any thing decent (new) for less than about 280-300 $.

Yeah mine was $280 new (Canadian).

I have a noob question- I just noticed on the E string, the 14th, 17th and 18th fret are really distorted. It looks like the string is partially touching the fret after it... I'm wondering if I should get it repaired/adjusted since there's a warranty (don't know if it covers this type of issue) or if it's even worth it. Are those frets used often?

you can try to squeeze it in under warranty. it's hard to say if it's bad frets or a bad setup. bad frets should be covered under the warranty, setting up your instrument is generally your financial responsibility though.

I got some sort of "extended warranty" so I'll check it out. What do you mean by bad setup though? Cause the other strings are all fine so I don't think it's the fret.

Your string might be too large as well. are you playing on a 105 or a 100?

if it is a 105, try a 100.

or it could be your neck needs adjustment. that could hurt your action a little bit but might fix minor distortion issues. in that area of the neck.

Great, thanks for the advice!