Not only that, but buy a used original, the way things are now it'll probably be worth more if you move it on in a few years, whereas a SBMM will get you back half your investment maybe.
I've seen plenty whilst looking at the Musicman used market around the £1400 mark in the last 12 months, the difficulty is more getting one in the finish you want.
I'd expect they'll probably sell well, at least initially, I just wish we didn't get such a bad end of the deal price wise. $699 would be fantastic, even with VAT on top. It wasn't that long ago we used to moan about $=£ and the exchange rate, now that would be a dream!