hah! glad to hear it.
for me, i cannot justify spending 4 grand on a bass, it wont sound that much different to a cheap 50 quid precison jobby off gumtree, yeah aesthetically the 4 grander would look much nicer but it doesnt necessarily mean that it will play like its worth!
i've had a go in the music shop on a couple of 'expensive' guitars, fenders/gibsons/rickenbackers etc
however they didnt play and sound half as good as my 40 quid encore strat which i've had kicking around since my teens. the liquid smooth fretboard, slightly worn frets, foam light body, pitch perfect intonation (i was bored one day and decided to tweak the bridge) all from a 40 quid argos jobby!!
the sound, for me, boils down to effects board and amplification. if either or are cheap, it will sound crap.
flame me, i dont care, im drunk.