[GT40FIED]

I hear that...I've never been a huge fan of the Les Pauls though. They sound good, but the action is way too high for me and they always feel really stiff. A friend of mine's dad who lives down the street from me owns one of the famed pre-CBS buyout American strats (he's a collector) and I've had the extreme pleasure of playing it (once). I think it was a '64. If you want a Les Paul, he's also got a '56 Gold Top...that's about a $6000 guitar. But I can't complain...I've got an original '67 Jaguar (as stated above). But even new american strats are still top shelf stuff.

Just when you thought 5 strings were too many

Or perhaps one of these is more up your alley:

Fender Squier P-Bass (no, it's not a standard, but they're cool and fairly cheap)

Rogue LX200B...yes it's a Rogue but if you're just screwing around it's hard to beat that price

Ibanez GSR200....a damn good entry level bass

Just a few I picked up off Musician's Friend. They're all well within the price range I think you could sell that BC Rich for.