well, soon after i posted this i was able to pick one up for a pretty nice price in an out-of-ebay deal.
i straightaway found i'd got a really nice one. standing up and sitting down the guitar has really nice balance and a friendly neck.
i worked out some modifications with Jonathan at Feline Guitars and I used it on my recent tour:


there is a new pickguard with rearranged controls and DiMarzio pickups - an Area 67 in the neck, and a Paul Gilbert Injector in the bridge. no regrets about the dimarzios - its true they aren't like real single coils, but they've done a really nice job on them anyway. i think tim should definitely look into doing some.