i'm guessing you'll have to switch the electronics.
i think it's alder, at least the newer ones are specced as that, and the one I tried felt (EDIT: sounded!) like alder.
worth it? not in my opinion. they felt, to me, like a £300 guitar loaded with name brand pickups so they could charge £450. i'd rather have an ibanez rg1570 (though some people don't like basswood or the super-slim necks) or rga121 (ditto the neck thing) and switch the pickups myself.
or else suck it up and save for an sl3, it was pretty nice.
bear in mind, these are my opinions, lol.