BlueMoon

Every example I've owned or played has been consistently good.

The worst example I saw (and paid money to see, I might add) was at a concert of the band Widowmaker back in the mid 70's. Lead guitarist (Ariel Bender a.k.a. Luther Grosvenor) and Bob Daisley were having a right ding dong, which ended in one spitting in the face of the other. High on drugs, part of the act, who knows? It was awful. I remember that, but not very much of Bob Daisley's bass playing.

In true "Blue Peter" fashion - here's one prepared earlier.

There are a few coloured ones on ebay.........mostly from the far east. So no idea of quality, but assume poor. I have several DIY examples that I have spray painted (base + clear coat) using a Fender tug bar as the basis. I have to admit that they are more for asthetics than function, since I don't play with my thumb.

Avalon U5

And good luck with that!!!

Pretty normal practice in Fender at the time, according to folk-lore

I've found lead-free ok, if it is all new work that I'm dealing with. It's where you try to make repairs to old boards with lead-based solder on them using lead-free solder l that I've had problems. The two formulations don't play nice together.

This ^^^^^^^^^^^ And watch for spurious "administration cost" which courriers sometimes add if they act as go between.

Sounds like a good idea until they check at customs or you have a claim against the courier if lost or damaged. It quickly ends in an expensive potential short-cut. Customs are switched on to most prices and will over-estimate in cases of doubt and levy a fine for trying to declare value below their estimate. For 2nd hand gear, it's about 25% on top of the price paid locally to import.

...........and when you've been there it's 100% satisfaction.

Transposing on the fly is fun though? 😟

In order to realise a profit, don't you have to sell the bass? That's my problem 😃.

I'm with you there!!! Not a GAS killer, but reduced my enthusiasm somewhat.

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Jóhann Ásmundsson - Mezzoforte (Funk/fusion band from Iceland) Abe Laboriel - Koinonia

I have gear sourced from all over the place. I don't start out with a "it must come from this country or that" outlook. Quality-first is more my aspiration. Second-hand quality gear can often be a wise buy, when you can find it.

This ^^^^ In my experience, there is often a lot of behind the scenes stuff going on that you might not be aware of. Suck it up as a song learning experience and look out for other outfits where the "fit" feels more obvious. Good luck!

Same for me too!