Jazz73, I like your thinking!
The Mrs had said that if she had the money, she'd buy me whatever bass I wanted. She doesn't begrudge it at all.
It's more a case of curiosity.
I had given some examples of what might make a bass dearer, such as the wood used, the electronics, the finish & so on.
Fair enough, I can't add a string onto my bass to make it a 5 (unless I want guitar spacing), but she's said "if you like the way "X" sounds, then why not use the same electronics, pickups & so on that X uses & pop em in Y? Eg, sticking Sadowsky components in a Squire.