Amazing value-for-money bass. Active electronics and through-neck construction for under 400 quid is a pretty good deal but the actual quality of the bass is amazing for any price.
I already own an Epiphone Les Paul so I knew that they have pretty high build quality, but this seems at another level altogether. Everything from the nice solid hardware through to the flawless varnish and amazingly neat electronics build give it a feel of luxury.
It's a pleasure to play, with a neck very slightly on the thin side, with nice fat low frets, giving a nice Les Paul-ish feel to the neck, and the bridge and pickups well=placed to stay out of the way, although fingerstyle players might notice the lack of an obvious place to put your thumb.
The sounds from it are brilliant too - unlike some active basses it doesn't attempt to be all things to all men, concentrating on good solid natural tones. One slight niggle with the electrics is that with everything turned all the way up it will distort quite nastily, and even with the humbuckers it will give off a bit of mains hum with the volume anywhere above the centre notch on the volume.
The only other niggles I can come up with are the balance being weird and very neck-heavy, and the front strap button being at a nasty angle which combined make you worry constantly about it taking a nosedive. Par for the course with this body shape of course, an a small compromise for the style if you ask me. 3 quid on a straplock alleviates that particular worry of course.
If you like the Explorer style (and can put up with the flaws inherent with it) then this is genuinely fantastic value.
