I have had an SB5000 alder body and maple neck for about a year now. This bass is perfect for playing gospel music. It can have a very sharp bite to it's sound, or a very mellow jazz tone. The best thing is the 18v output is really hot. There is always good clear signal to the amp so you don't have to push your amp that hard. I don't even bring a backup b/c if the batteries fail I can just switch to passive and keep rolling. It is on the heavy side but a good wide strap takes care of that. This is the only bass I play at church, because I can cut through the mix with a loud drummer with no problem. No joke the SB5000 w has been the best investment I have made in bass guitar equipment. I have read reviews that the 5001 does not have as good of a tone as the 5000, but I have never tried the 5001. Be sure to get the V/V/T knobs. They are far superior to the blend setup. I will be ordering a fretless SB5000 fully decked out in the near future.
