I was in Wunjo's a couple of weeks ago and finally got my hands on a special.
F**k me I was impressed! It was an all black, roasted maple board bass with fingerprints all over it.
My No.1 bass is a 62 relic Custom shop P but if they had offered me a straight swap I would have. It was so light and easy to play... and that neck!
Plugged in it was so versatile and punchy - the new pickup (single H version) and pre were amazing. So much so that I didn't want to try any other bass in there. Every slight of turn of the eq was valid plus finger placement really made such a difference.
As a purely p bass guy these days I was sold! I used to play an 86 Stingray for many years but these specials are in a different league.
The only negative - for want of a better word - was that acoustically the ray was not as vibrant or 'alive' sounding as my custom shop, but the new eq is the bomb and more than compensates.
Imho the specials have lost nothing of the Stingray sound but gained so much more.
Smitten!