I bought this bass as a low cost option in my journey into 6 strings so was not expecting it to be great, I was wrong! The neck is more than worth the buy price on it's own. Carbon reinforced, level frets and no sharp edges. Gloss headstock with satin finish on the back of the neck for faster playing Plays at a nice low action and feels great. The overall finish on the bass is good, OK strings, good output from the pickups with the classic jazz tones. Only area that is a bit weak is the tuners, they seem to stay in tune however tuning is not positive so takes a few goes to get the string in concert. This will not be a gigging instrument as it is a bit heavy so I will not be changing the machine heads however I would if this was my main instrument. If you are thinking about studying 6 string or recording I think this is a great instrument, I can't see anything in the price range that gets anywhere near it for finish , quality or playability. I only wish Squier would consider carbon reinforcement on the 5 string models, that woudl really give Sire a wake up call