What became obvious to me:
After a lifetime of going and looking around in music stores, after I had my Alembics, I'd be walking around and see this or that bass, get a little interest in it, and when I picked it up, the same thing always happened: I'd look it over, then invariably, I'd say 'But . . . . . ', that is, but what about this, but why doesn't this, but . . . .
After a while I just quit going. Everything I saw was suddenly just second-class citizens, always lacking in one way or another.