This is the bass I finally settled on. I traded my old one in and I'm pretty happy with the new one. I'm so excited about it that I played till my fingers were raw. They kind of hurt now.

As you can see, the "stripes" on the back extend along the length of the bass. These stripes are actually strips of wood fused together to create one solid length of wood. Then, a piece of wood is fused to each side of the center piece, and presto, you have a bass. Using one solid piece of wood for the neck and body (called "neck-thru" construction) as opposed to a neck that is bolted onto the body results in a more solid feel and notes that sustain longer. This bass rings like a piano.

It has also has a longer-than-usual two octave neck so I can hit those high notes. Not that I'm one to be messing around that high on the neck very often, but it's good to know those notes are there if i want them.