I just recently sold a 35" scale 5 string neck thru that I had custom built by him. Here are some comments....
He is extremely easy to deal with,super friendly, and is absolutely top notch when it comes to customer service. Always replies in less than a day to e-mail. I had to have repairs done to the pre-amp (not Jack's fault at all...he even warned me about this problem arising when he was installing it) and he paid for the shipping whenever he sent it back. I can't say enough good things about his customer service and his overall professionalism.
I consider his instruments extremely high quality although the neck profile was somewhat awkward towards the lower frets (he just used his standard neck size for a 5 string ,which I don't have measurements for). Also, the bass did not balance very well as the body was super heavy. This may be different with other body styles because this was the first 5 string bass he had built with the body style you have pictured. The body wood was korina (approximately the same density as mahogany) with a maple/purpleheart thru neck. The body was quite thick and the large pieces of maple and purpleheart running through the body really added some weight.
He has long waiting periods. It took about 8 months to get my bass. He did send me pictures once he got started and even sent me a photo of the block of buckeye and asked me what part I wanted for the top.
His basses have no resale value. I paid almost $3000 for mine and could not find a buyer to even pay half that.
I'm sad to say this becuase Jack was so cool to me, but I don't think the bass was worth waiting 8 months for. There were several aspects, as far as craftsmanship goes, that were as good as anything I've seen (and I've seen almost everything). Other things such as the balance and weird neck profile in the lower register could be improved. The bass does sound phenomenal though.
I was in absolute awe whenever I first got the bass because of how well it was built but I decided that it wasn't for me after close to a year of owning it. The new owner says he is extremely happy with everything except for the neck profile. I wouldn't mind working with Jack again but I would find a bass with a really great neck and have him take the measurements of it (which he told me he would do). All the other Read owners I have spoken with totally love them. He must be satisfying alot of people because he does this for a living and keeps himself back ordered 8 months plus you almost never see used Read basses (I've seen 2 others besides mine in 4 years of selling/trading over the net). Also, this will probably be the only review of a Read bass with negative comments in it that you will see as I have never seen a bad review of a Read bass anywhere on the net.
Hope this helps.
I bet they sound good though.
