I've bought this bass attracted by - 1) price; 2) Aesthetics; 3) The extras like the caramelised neck, bridge with brass inserts, and dAddario strings. It came in a bundle still with HB 25 years discount, so it was a true bargain.
Also, I considered a Gotoh short scale, but ended up picking this one as it was half of the price.
It arrived pretty fast (about a week) in Latvia, well-packed. It required minimal setup - the neck was good, and the intonation was spot-on, to my surprise. I had to adjust a bit the strings and pickup heights, but it is possible I've messed up a bit as I went a long time without playing and had to get my fingers used again - not to mention I have small hands.
The good:
1) The caramelised neck - it is gorgeous and comfortable, with a satin finish and a professional feel.
2) The finish - almost perfect, both the body painting, the 3-colours sunburst, the junctions of neck and body.
3) The pickups- pretty vintage and nice tone, got some punch; the neck is better and more silent than the bridge.
The not-so-good:
1) The pickups are quite noisy. Even after shielding everything, the high-frequency noise diminished, but a low hum I hadn't noticed before was there with the bridge pickup. I'll replace them, and they will actually cost more than the whole bundle.
2) The frets were a bit sharp. 10 minutes to fix that.
3) The tuners are not so good. Sometimes, they hold for a good time; others, they lose intonation quickly. In the beginning, they're worse.
The neutral - the d'Addario strings. They sound and fell pretty decent and roundwound-like. Not the best ones in the market, but definitely better than many stock strings. I don't think it is fair the criticism regards the strings some people had - for the bass price, they're a very nice touch.
All things considered, it is a very nice bass. It sounded really good in gigs and live, I've enjoyed playing it, and it inspired me live.
Only keep in mind if you want to record with computers around, the hum is considerable and you'll need to get other pickups, or pick a P-bass.
