Well as always with Fender, you have to be lucky to get a flawless instrument no matter how much you pay. This one I got came with a dead spot ruining the sustain around the 5th fret I did not notice as I am mostly playing short notes licks but once I started to play more relaxed stuff I immediately noticed that dead spot. I really do not consider Fender as reliable, they deliver some nice sound or some other strong features but at the same time they mess with some other quality issues. Not eager to get more Fenders in my life, I prefer to give it a try to newer brands or simply save ore to get one of those flawless Music Man basses. I learnt the hard way there are better options in the same price range (Sadowsky) or even cheaper but better built basses such as Sandberg or Marcus Miller.