Thanks for the advice all
Well my bass arrived today and I love it. To be honest if I hadn't read about the neck length thing yesterday, I probably wouldnt have even thought about it feeling long when I finally tried it out. I'm only 5ft 9, so not that tall and to be honest it doesnt feel like that big a stretch to me.
The only problem I have is that I got an Epiphone leather strap with it and its way too short. I like my bass to hang pretty low and the Epiphone just wont do.
The suede back on it was great though. Not a bit of neck dive with it on. Changed it for a normal materia lPlanet waves strap and do notice a wee bit of dive, but not much. Need to keep my eyes open for a good wide and long long strap now...and a hard case