Thanks for the advice Brian. I have to admit, it played like butter?.very low action and the neck seemed very fast. I had no experience with the controls and couldn't remember the switching, so I had to use a logical sequence to determine the controls and it was very easy to figure out. The Vox headphone amp does a decent job (and helps my neighbors sleep). I love the bass, but I just don't know if I $2799 love it, especially with that electronic interference I heard. I never heard that with other basses when I used it. It's possible that there was an electrical source inducing the wires of the headphones because they are long and I may have compounded the situation by looping some portion of wire to stick it in my pocket and keep it from dragging on the floor. As I think about more, I'm not sure if the wires were close to my phone, which could have been another problem. But I don't want to make excuses for myself to feel comfortable buying it without checking it out again or going with the luthier conditional approval pathway, as you suggested. So I guess I'll think about it until bidding gets close to ending and make a decision at that time. I have been looking at Spoilers, Distillates, and Essence when they come up because they have the low pass filter, which I thought was the key to getting the true Alembic tone, and are closer to my reservation price. But I've been waiting for a 5 or 6-string in nice condition, and they don't come up often.! Thanks again and Happy New Year!
