Gotcha. But even still, the Fender P-Bass that I just bought is amazingly good. Better than the three pre-CBS P-Basses at my local shop (that are price betwen $7-10K each). I've seen guys complain about Rickenbacker variability, and not every Fender is as good as the one I picked up, but imho they are making far better instruments than they did in the 70s-90s.
I can't speak for Gibson - never been a Gibson guy. This is a sweet bass though:
