I finally had a chance to play through my amp yesterday & it sounds great! It has much more bottom end & punch than my SCSD, which is what I was hoping for. Susan was right about the woods she selected, the Walnut core does give it great attack, & the quilting on the Maple is amazing!The action is incredible & the neck is perfect! The neck dimensions are exactly what I ordered & it feels great in my hands. I can see why Mica had trouble capturing the exact color of the bass because it changes depending on the light & angle you are looking at it. When you tilt it side to side the ripples in the quilting are 3D & look like waves on water. I love the Ruthenium plating & the Cosmo Black tuners are a very close match. The blue LED's are awesome! I can't wait to play it live to really see them in stage lighting. It feels solid in my hands like my SCSD, much better than my Schecter 5 string which feels like plastic after playing my Alembic. I have a lot to learn about tweeking the controls to get the sound I want, but I know the possibilities are endless with the Series II electronics. I was worried about aligning the 5 pin cable with the side mounted jack, but it is actually very easy to plug the cable in without looking at the socket. I still have a lot to discover on this bass, but after spending a couple of hours on it, it appears to be just what the doctor ordered, & I think it's only going to get better as I get more used to it & learn the controls better. I also love the Jan-Al case! Even though it is larger than the Calzone case I have for my SCSD, the Jan-Al is 10-15 pounds lighter! It also has wheels on one end which makes moving the bass super easy. They gave me a large storage compartment too that is big enough for my 4 strap & two 5 pin cables. I'm at work now but will post more pictures when I get home. I'm still pinching myself to make sure this isn't a dream & that this amazing bass is actually mine! It was definitely worth the wait!