I played a Rascal today! Not sure what to make of it, to be honest. It honestly doesn't meet my original requirements as 1) it felt about as big as my P bass, 2) it felt about as heavy as my P bass 3) The neck felt only a smidge thinner at the nut and 4) It didn't balance that well on a strap so my left hand would be doing more work, if anything.
Now that I've taken a dump on the thing, maybe I should be a little bit more even-handed. The bass looks really nice, and I spotted it in among a rack of otherwise conventional Fenders. It was actually pretty comfortable to play sitting down, albeit with the balance bias towards the neck. The setup was okay, but the generic roundwounds were a bit mushy. Still, the lower tension is something I would explore, though probably with flats. The range of tones was very impressive, with some surprisingly modern sounds in there. I thought the neck pickup alone sounded, if anything, a little Rickenbacker-ish due to its location probably. The bridge and middle pickups together had a slight Danelectro twang as well.
The 5-way switch lacked a strident click and felt a little worn out. The push-pull is a nice discrete way of hiding additional functionality and maintaining a clean look.
The bridge was identical to my Dearmond Jet Star II's bridge (RIP to that bass). I could wiggle the E string saddle, which made me wonder if, combined with low tension strings, it could be pulled over with aggressive finger-style technique.
The neck had a nice glossy finish, though the raw rosewood on the fretboard top looked a bit pale and dry. The nut would probably also benefit from a bit of attention.
It felt nice, but it didn't feel like a £750 instrument. Back to the Mustang?