ptid, i get what u sayin and 1200 dollars worth of mods for a 300 bass is a bit insane. But do you think that it wasnt just about cost, it was about the whole joy of doin what u want puttin in what you feel? the experience.
the whole big selling point about the MTD, more than the tone, as you guys mentioned (and read the previous posts) is about how mike hears what you want, mike decides whats best for your tone, mike goes out and picks the wood, mike chops down his own trees (added for humorous effect, (no offence mike LOL) ). but all that goes for YOU. so why would someone wants someone else's used? he didnt do all that for them, he hand crafted that for the person thats selling it. now for some people thats good enough and they'll swoop in on that deal in a minute. for others its like buying a custom shop car that was customized for "that other guy over there". it has no special thing about it. and i know several musicians - some treat everything they buy as the next piece of equipment, others treat everything they acquire as a part of them. those guys dont want someone elses part.
for me, my budget is going to be determined by my skill level. and that only makes sense. just like im starting practicing keyboard to enhance my bass playing. I didnt go get the $4000 yamaha. i got me a $150 keyboard. and i know the $4K joint is better, but does that really matter when all ur playing is the major and minor scales and major and minor triads? nope. all the synth effects and precision sounds in the world, if u cant play a c-major chord, you cant play a c-major chord. period. if i cant lay down the bass proficiently as i should or create musical ideas as i would like to, a more expensive bass isnt going to help that.
so for the "gotta have that great tone" guys, then this whole discussion is really for ya'll, but i think ya'll pullin some people into the hype who are not even at that level. for the rest of us, (well maybe i should speak for myself) i hear of all of these names (some of them look horrible in my opinion anyway) but none of them are even on my radar. And if anyone disagrees, the first time your kids say "i wanna learn bass", put Mike on speaker and let them tell him what tone they want. LOL
that was a fun post. LOL