Alright I win idiot of the day. Received the HB II and finally got to run it through the paces. I too noticed it being very bright. I also noticed as I toggled through the pickups there was no noticeable different in tone. Didn't seem like the piezo worked too well either. Decided to do the split pickup and realized I had plugged the cable into piezo only. Fixed that and still had an issue of the piezo not working. Being the genius I am I realized I was a . using the wrong volume control and the piezo switch the wrong way. All was fixed and now this may be my go to guitar. Love everything about it. Thanks for letting me stay on the board. Pics to follow soon