I have bought 8 HB basses for myself and one guitar as well. I also purchased a few more guitars, basses and ukes as gifts as well. This one by far exceeded my expectations as far as sound and build quality. The alder body really resonates and it is a very lively, punchy bass for sure. Pickups are great. No need to go shopping for replacements. Tuners. Check. Finish. Flawless.
One issue. The only issue. The frets above the 12th were not finished or leveled well. Tons of dead notes and buzzing. I do set up work on all of my basses and never ran into one this bad before. It took a lot of work to get them to where they needed to be, but in the end it was well worth the effort instead of sending it back.
This one is definitely a keeper.
I may go for the Jazz version next!