Purpleheart always looks great to me, and that is one beautiful bass. It's nice to see something a little different, and I appreciate the workmanship it takes to make a piece of art like that. Thanks for posting the pics.
What can you tell us about how it plays?
First off, I will try to post some sound clips next week. I am awaiting a replacement piece of recording hardware that will allow me to do that.
In terms of how it plays and sounds, I have it set up with VERY low action and the neck is beatifully thin and fast playing (as I asked for it). I play almost exclusively finger style and have a very soft touch. This bass allows a level of nuance and detail to be obtained that no other bass I have played comes close to. Of course it will also show every flaw in you technique, so I would very much steer away if your playing gets sloppy...
In terms of sound, there is an amazing amount of flexibility. Keeping in mind that I just got it and have only begun to explore, I have been playing it flat (as far as tone controls go) with the dual-coil humbucking mode engaged. Playing the bass this way gives it an incredibly open, clear, clean sound. I would say that the highlight for me is the tight, percussive sounding low end. Playing low on the E-string is like playing a set of tuned drums. There is no muddiness whatsoever. I think this has a lot to do with the ebony board as I have no other basses with an ebony board and this Yin Yang just has the clearest, most percussive low-end I have ever heard.
Once you get up to the mid-range and treble end of things, the bass just signs. The highs are almost bell-like and have a beautiful clarity to them. Additionally, there is an unreal amount of sustain all throughout the sonic spectrum and fretboard.
In terms of build quality, it's just insanely high-end with everything exactly as it should be for a bass that costs more than $5,000 (quite a bit more). However, even at this price level, if you can afford it (and I fully realize that I am very fortunate that I can), do not hesitate. You will NOT be disappointed.
BTW, I am running it through an Epifani UL-502 and UL-410 rig...
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