I got a lemon Omega 48, shedding wise. But I didn't have the heart to throw away such a nice brush. Price tag is not all that matters. After 2 years of using it I managed to stop the shedding and now it does perfectly well.
Omega Pro 48 Saved
I used to make fishing rods and played around with a lot of different epoxies. If I got a bad shredder I'll just mix up some guide epoxy and inject it into the base.
Worst knot was my recently purchased Maggard’s SHD 22mm (super high density) that I had set in my new Wolf Whiskers handle. Absolutely no backbone and way too soft. Having it replaced now by Rudy Vey.
Sorry to hear that Headley, I read Gray Dog's post about the SHD knot. And he said its was the best $50 he ever spent so it's a real YMMV thing.
It might need to be set deeper to have some backbone. As I prefer brushes with a medium/strong backbone and soft tips, a floppy knot won't be something I'll like.