Thanks Waz, most appreciated. The added octave strings give the chords a much fuller sound, and that is why I tracked one of these down. Every other 12 string I played had a real jangly sound to it, and I wasn't after that, but was actually after something different for an acoustic sound.
I don't really notice any issues with playing it, or swapping over to my Maton straight away either. The neck is fractionally wider, but it's barely noticeable.
As mentioned, the body shape is identical to the 8-string I have, and the sustain is insane. Standard Emajor chord rings forever.
Unplugged it is not the best from the players point of view, but sitting in front of someone else playing it, it sounds very full.
Plugged in is where this guitar really shines. The Fishman Sonicore pickup is awesome.
BTW, just as confirmation, the back and sides are Laminated, the top is solid.