The replacement Midtown showed up today- I have to give AMS credit, they shipped it as soon as I dropped off the defective one at UPS. However, I have mixed feelings about this one...
The good:
The neck definitely has a much better feel to it than the first one. It's slightly thinner and more T-birdish, and no where near as chunky. The maple top also has a nicer grain pattern, and is more uniform. Looks nice. Plugged in, there is a difference in sound also. This one is louder, and sounds more like a P-bass on steroids, which is not necessarily a bad thing. The first one was very soft sounding, and in a band context sometimes got swallowed up by the room when using anything other than just the bridge pickup.
The bad:
Everything you know and love about Gibson QC. Sloppy black paint on the F holes, the binding edges/borders aren't as crisp and neat like the first unit, the fingerboard and inlays look "cheap" compared to the first one, and the finish around the neck heel has a lot of orange peel. Heck maybe it was even a touch up- that was where the finish peeled off the first one. I would easily give the first Midtown an A for fit and finish (out of the box). This one, maybe a B- or a C+.
Haven't decided what to do with it. I might call and see if they will give me a discount, but considering I got it for the blow out special price, I doubt there is much meat left on the bone to haggle over.