Thomas, I continue to be impressed with the various tones I can get from this Series bass. It is taking some time getting used to it as the single coils sound much brighter, with a little less growl and slightly more transparent than my Dragon Wing Signature (at least to my ears), especially after I put new Alembic strings on the SII. It is true that these Series basses show all the warts of one's technique. I've just had the power supply available as of this morning and, although I may be imagining it, the sound seems to be more powerful and robust versus just the batteries.
As to the age of the wood and ebony lams, yes I have noticed some very minor shrinkage differences between the neck ebony lams and the maple, but not as much as you describe. I don't really notice it. Basically, I can feel it only when deliberately trying to feel it, not during play. I was tweaking the neck every few days getting the action low, but that seems to have settled in over this last week. Part of the issue was I originally put on some lightly used TI Jazz flats until the new strings came and the tension difference between those and the Alembics meant I had to continue to adjust the neck (not to mention the humidity differences between San Diego and central heat in a hard Midwest winter. All is well now as it seems to have stabilized.
The body wood combination is about the same as my DW was, which is why this particular instrument caught my attention. Sustain is impressive. Hit a note, put the bass down and go grab a glass of wine and a snack, come back and it's still ringing. Seriously, the sustain lasts all day long.
I do have the same gold finish issues on the bridge and tailpiece that you described on the twin 5-string, so if you find a solution, I'd love to hear about it. Not a big issue, but it is the only thing that is not perfect.
All in all, I'm very happy with it. I'm still eager to get my new DW because the sound is so different between the two types of pickups / electronics and I like the body shape (built-in right arm rest), but this will definitely tide me over until Mica, et.al. have a chance to get it into production. I'll post some pictures when we get a nice day here so I can use natural light.
-Jon
