I've played other BTB basses but this one is the best. It's very smooth and fast playing, lighweight, and sounds GREAT. The bridge is really great because each string is completely individual so you don't have to worry about knocking everything out of tune or anything like that. The materials and build are exceptional, mahogany body and 5 piece through neck makes this bass a total beast. The ONLY drawback is the finished neck, it does hinder the playability a tad bit but even I would buy several of these basses and I absolutely despise finished necks. Anyway, the long scale is great, the strings just play better when they're not flopping all over the place. The pickups ARE ACTIVE no matter what the websites say (there is a 9V battery in the back) and they sound amazing. There's plenty of low end and tons of mid range and the highest frets on the G string sound great as well so you have everything that you need when it comes to a solid bass. I play fingerstyle, some slapping, and tapping and this can handle it all. I play in a metal band but I don't use distortion or anything so I play almost a jazz style or something like that. This is an incredible bass and no matter what you play, it will sound incredible.