I purchased this bass about two months ago, shipped from Fat Bass Tone via DHL since I live in Panama City, Panama. The bass arrived in very good condition. The only sign of been an open box is a very small rash on the back of the upper horn and I am not sure If I did it myself or came with the bass.
The thing that really impressed me at first was the bass setup. It was so good that I received the bass one day and took it to a gig the next day without any adjustment at all, just tunning. The neck was straight and there was no buzzing at all, with a nice low action.
In the last two months I have played this bass in five gigs, including outdoor and indoor situations. Its an excellent working man bass. It has what is needed for the job. Lovely neck, excellent sound, no buzz, no hum.
The sound of the pickups is appropiate for what I do, latin, jazz and some classical rock. My favorite set is bass to 20%, treble at minimum and pickup balance slight toward the p bass pickup. If I want more slap tone I put the balance at the center.
I also purchased the VTC upgrade kit but, honestly, I am OK with the sound as is right now.
I dont know about the QC of the Metroexpress basses but this one is a real good bass. Fat bass Tone did an excellent job with this one. The only down side is that I had tu pay a serious amount of money in the shippment. No problem, it was my own birthday present