I picked this up as my first venture into the world of extended-range basses and it's been a wonderful experience so far. The bass is very large, solid and well put together and my unit has no imperfections at all. The neck is practically flat on the back which gives quite a natural playing position with the thumb resting in the middle of the neck. Navigating the fretboard is a familiar, yet somehow slightly alien endeavour, but I'm able to play the normal 5 strings I'm accustomed to with ease. I've had no issues with keeping it in tune, in fact it was almost perfectly in tune when it arrived all wrapped up in the box! If you're considering picking one up, go for it, you won't be disappointed.