For the first day, I was disappointed. The Carvin roundwounds were punchy as all hell, and the fretless growl I had hoped for just wasn't there. It just didn't sound like a fretless. Then it hit me. I was the problem. The fact that my left hand couldn't just go plop down anymore became apparent, and as I learned what to do, and the strings died down a little, I became much, much happier.

Soundwise, the humbuckers are a bit tame, but are pretty versatile for a passive J. No hum when soloed, though I do get some grounding buzz at louder volumes. The Jaco-thing is there, as is warmth, with a great growl. Chords really ring out (they sound even better in tune, so I hear). The body is like a very down-sized Fender Jazz, a bit small for my taste at first, but it grew on me. I need to change the strings; don't care much for the Carvins, the E is pretty wimpy. All in all, it rings out, growls, and has a lot of clarity. Good deal.

The construction is great. Well shielded, beautiful setup (though I had to raise the action a tad). The Hipshot bridge is great; good sustain and punch. The neck seems to vary a lot with conditions, though; I tend to have to tweak it once a week or so. No problems at all there.

The neck is FAST. The tung oil finish feels good, and the slim, wider, oval shaped neck lets me just fly. It's great. The high pickups provide a nice stop for my right hand fingers, which took some getting used to.

As far as where it fits in, I like to use it in latin, and jazz for less traditional stuff. It works for quieter groups where a lot of attack and cutting power aren't really needed. After three months, I'm still not very comfortable with it, though. I need to be paying special attention to intonation, even more so than with the upright. As I get more comfortable and in tune, I'm sure I'll be using it a lot more.

Overall, I would recommend it, and buy it again. I might change the strings, maybe even the pickups, and still come out spending less than a comparable equivalent. A very well built, solid bass.

Construction	90%
Playability	95%
Appearance	80%
Sound	75%
Value	90%
Overall	85%