This was my first bass upgrade. I was insanely excited to get this bass. I was really happy with it right away. The active electronics made a night and day difference compared to the passive JBass. It's a bit on the heavy side, but nothing you can't handle. The neck is a bit beefy but still felt comfortable. Once setup (the factory setup wasn't horrible) it really played and sounded great. This bass never made it to a live performance, but did get featured in a few of my YouTube videos.