Reporting on this was long in the wait due to the wiring being all messed up when I received it. Pups dropping out, a loud radio signal, the works. The gentle Asian lady that soldered it on a Monday morning obviously had broken up with her boyfriend on Sunday evening. The proverbial things happen. Even in Asia.
Wiring mess aside (which is now repaired and works fine), the bass has fine workmanship. It is a huge beast, the 35" scale does make it look imposing. So what does it sound like? Those always active circuit (no passive mode) humbuckers that already look a little like Gibson TB Plus pups actually do make the bass sound like a TBird! I was expecting a more midscooped piano-wire sound, but in fact the bass sounds quite dark (though not messy) with rich low mids. I guess that is the "mahogany-neck-thru-with-basswood-wings"-construction at work.
Of all my Flying Vs ( Gibson, Ibanez, Kramer, Dean DOA Ltd Edition), this is the first one that actually sounds as good as a well-sounding non-Flying V bass. The longer scale, the substantial neck, a neck-thru construction, a massive bridge (not really needed for string to saddle pressure as the bass is string-thru-body) and a neck pup immediately after the 24th fret seem to have this bass compensate what people sometimes say about Flying Vs, namely that "they have all their wood in the wrong places" and therefore sound thin or hollow (and as any Flying V guitar player can attest: even the guitars don't sound fat, but that is part of their middish charm).
