Rather than start a new thread, I figured I'd do the nice thing and resurrect this one.
I just bought an SWB-1 Lite, and wanted to weigh in on it. I think we're going to see a lot more of these pretty soon. Music 123 just started carrying them (got mine on ebay, though), and they occupy a nice price point in between, on one end, the NS WAV and Ergos, and, on the other, pricier NS's, Clevingers, etc.
Thumbs:
I agree with jjq above about most everything. It's built pretty well--components are generally quite solid (though the pots feel a bit cheap). I too wonder if the neck isn't actually molded out of something instead of maple. It has a very uniform black finish, and doesn't feel woody at all. I have moderate concerns about the long term durability of the fingerboard, but I guess I'll just have to see. The retractable endpin could definitely kill somebody, which may or may not be useful. I've orderred a Wolf ball to go on it. It's a nice looking instrument too, except, man, there's a lot of junk going on at the back--two huge cover plates and all kinds of holes and screws (and two strap buttons. What th'?). You can see this in the pictures. I do dig the quick-access battery hatch.
I'm very impressed with how easy this instrument is to play. When I first tried it, I actually had to go measure the scale length because it felt too easy. But no, it's regular 3/4 length. I wonder if it's too easy still--maybe I'll raise the action. The bridge has a good radius to it, but the nut is almost flat across, which is a bit weird--I'm guessing a cost-cutting move. The fingerboard flattens out towards the nut too. I don't mind all that at this point, but if I try it arco it might make a difference. The side frame works really well. It feels a lot more natural to me than playing an instrument on a tripod (the other EUB's I've played were all tripod action).
I very much doubt that there's a fingerboard mag pickup--I think Aria puts those in other models like the SWB4. The bridge piezo is very cool, though. I haven't played it much yet, but I did notice in just a bit of screwing around that it hardly picks up body noise at all, which can really be a problem with piezos. Very well insulated from the body. Strings come through loud and clear. The output is tremendous. Like jjq, I've gotten the best initial results by cutting the highs and boosting the lows. Still need to mess with my preamp more to get uprightish tone, but I think it's possible.
I'll post again as I get to know this instrument, but at this point it's safe to say that I'm really digging it.
