It just backs up what I've said many times, you don't [i]have[/i] to spend a fortune to have a great bass. There are loads of "budget" basses out there that knock spots off their more expensive counterparts.
I had an old Japanese Squier Precision until recently, that was head and shoulders above any other Precision I'd ever played. I sold it for peanuts too, and I wish I hadn't had to, it was worth double the price.
I've had an OLP Tony Levin, and I've had MM Stingrays. My experience was the they were two very different beasts, even though they looked similar from a distance, and the build quality of the MM, in my case, was head and shoulders above that of the OLP, but both certainly had their place, and both were worthy of a place in anyone's gig bag.
I generally use the G&Ls most of the time, but I'm more than happy to wheel out my Fleabass for gigs too, it looks great, it plays great and it sounds great, although admitedly it is modded. It's a budget bass, although it is overpriced, and I love it.