And some initial thoughts:
5sg.
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The TL;DR
An eye-catchingly beautiful instrument with a great feel and with a LOT of tonal variety.
She's a looker
The distinct top makes me think of quilt maple on steroids, but without being overwhelming. The headstock is definitely unique, but I find it one of the few headstock shapes I actually like, and quite a bit. Most headstocks for me are just "well.... I don't hate it." lol. Lots of subtle details like the Pau Ferro knobs, neck joint and the grain of the wenge in the back of the neck, to not so subtle details like the scroll and body shape will make this a real conversation piece.
Tonal variety
Initial thinking after some solo play time and jamming along with a few of my favorite songs to play live is that the pickup placement will help this bass cut through a mix like a shark with a frickin' laser beam attached to it's head. The front pickup has a solid P bass tone in passive, but with a little extra special sauce in active mode. The back pickup is VERY bright and punchy, so I don't know how often I'll use it soloed, but it really lends nicely to a mix with the front pickup. And it does sound quite nice in series mode with some high end backed off.
Lots of tonal combinations with just the switches alone (single coil, series and parallel), and the Darkglass preamp seems dialed into some nice frequencies for further tone sculpting. After only a little bit of play time on it through both my usual IEM rig* and an amp setup** it seems pretty easy to get through a variety of sonic territory... finger funk, slap, more aggressive rock stuff, and some really nice warm palm muting thump. There's some great (newer) Les Claypool influence in this bass, which was one of the original ideas. Maybe some Justin Chancellor as well (another tonal goal), but the verdict is still out there because his sound is notoriously difficult to capture. A really nice surprise was that there's even some great nasty Doug Johns Chump Suey funk going on.
*bass > pedalboard with HX Stomp > PC
**bass > Shuttle 6 set flat > Bergantino CN112
It's not a pickup ramp, but it is
At least, it that's what it feels like when my right hand gravitates to the sweet spot for sound. I haven't had much experience with a ramp and it's been a good while, so it might take a little getting used to. But not bad, and might actually help me tame my sometimes aggressive right hand attack.
String things
Cliff sent it with hex core DR Nickel Low Riders, which I've never tried and need to settle into I think. (To be clear though, it's not a slight on Cliff at all, we didn't really discuss strings much more than "nickel rounds.") I've only tried one other set of hex cores, and I thought the same thing about the D'Addario NYXLs... They seem a little stiffer/less supple than round cores to my hands, but as I've never tried the DRs before, I'll give them a proper go in a mix. Cliff was also awesome and sent an extra set of strings so I can try the difference between top load and string through body.
Ergonomically speaking
It's not QUITE as light as I was crossing fingers for, but at 9.4lbs, I think it'll still be pretty manageable for longer gigs because of the excellent balance when strapped up. My lightest bass (which is chambered) is only 9lbs, so this still qualifies in the lighter category for me... My Stingray is over a pound heavier (10.6lbs)! There's a slight bit of neck dive when sitting, but not enough to be a distraction. But when on a strap and standing, the balance is perfect and the neck is nice and thin.
Crossing the finish line
As with any new bass, it takes time to get past the honeymoon phase and know the instrument more personally, but this is a pretty amazing instrument overall and I'm already digging it a lot. The modern neck is very playable, there are a crazy amount of tonal options, and the looks... I mean, it'll be a conversation starter wherever she goes.
