Thanks for looking at the thread and asking some questions!
As far as the shape goes....to be honest, I'm fairly old fashioned on the shape thing. I had actually asked (originally) for a bit wider body; however, my experience with my Dean Fretless (both concerning weight and shape) prompted me to go with a fairly streamlined body shape (both for playing ease as well as trying to keep the weight at a comfortable level). Another reason was the fact that after I ordered the bass, I joined Talkbass and started reading all the many (and varied) reviews of Dave's basses. I preferred to go with one of his standard designs in the hope that it would help with some of the finish and wood-working issues that seemed to be a common thread on this forum. Hope that all makes sense. I do love the way the shape came out on this guitar.
As far as reflection goes...I'm not sure. I originally ordered a fretted bass...switched it to fretless when I found myself defaulting to the Dean over any of my other basses. I really enjoy playing a fretless, so I decided that as this will most likely be my only "custom" guitar, I'd prefer to make it fretless. In many ways, the delay in finishing the bass actually helped me. I hope my original review didn't sound too negative in this regard. I didn't mind the wait...I would have hoped some of the small fit and finish things would have been more "perfect", but the bottom line is that a "hand-crafted" wood instrument is going to have some anomalies - if you look hard enough, you will find them. I might have foregone the extensive preamp option. I love the Bartolini pickups - and the selectable mid-frequency option is nice. On the other hand, a fairly flexible, well-voiced preamp such as the Sadowsky standard is probably an "easier-to-use" option. It's a small point - I do like the flexibility of this preamp at the end of the day. I debated long and hard about changing the type of bridge on the bass. I really wanted to select a Hipshot bridge (for ease of stringing, etc.) Now that all's said and done, I'm really glad I went with his "generic" bridge. It's a great bridge and the bass balances so well, I'm glad I didn't mess with the specs.
Would I have him build me another one? Hmmm...I don't know if my answer would be pertinent as I really am out of the market for basses. Once the Zachary medium-scale bass gets here, I will have 6 instruments - 2 fretless basses (one 4 and one 5 string); 2 G&L basses (L2K and JB-2 jazz bass); my first bass (18 year old Fender Power Jazz Special), and the medium scale Zachary. To answer your question, however, I probably would be fine with it...he seems to be improving (if the latest reviews here are accurate), and at the very least, most of the reviewers (other than Jeff Rader's ill-fated bass) at least concur on the fact that Dave's basses have a great sound.
I think that's the most important thing when all things are considered. That being said, I hope Dave continues to improve on his finishing skills and attention to small details. These things will enable him to expand his market and regain the reputation he seems to have once had.
Jay
