I've used the NS CR4M for over ten years. Its the one with the dual pickup system for pizz and arco. The neck doesn't really feel like a double bass neck to me, and it has dot markers on the fingerboard, which I hate. But with experimentation with different amps, I've gotten a reasonable imitation of an amplified double bass out of it. Yes, it can be slapped if you just raise the action enough. To my ears, the slap sound is quite authentic. If you're not careful, it can ending up sounding like a standard fretless bass, especially into a desk, but as said, if matched to the right amplification, it does actually sound ok.