Re: $100 bucks vs $10000 bucks for a bass?
I find bass tone comes more from the bass than the amp. My $3000 rrp G&L 5 string kills my $300 Hohner. It's incredibly versatile that negates the need to buy another bass. I'm sure if you upgrade the pickups and electronics on a less expensive bass you can get 80% of the way there but expensive basses feel great, have reliable hardware (very necessary for those higher string tensions) are comfortable and the versatility of a high end, dual hum, switchable wiring, switchable coil split, passive/active/active+treble boost bass can't be overstated. I can nail jazz, precision and even Spector/MM/Warwick type sounds.
The downside is the G&L is big, thick swamp ash and weighs a TON. Kills my back at shows. The Hohner with upgrades pickups and active electronics is passable and much, much lighter basswood with a smaller profile.