About the reflex? Its a great guitar, ask a guy on this forum named Dean Wells, hes the reflex MASTER! Lol, hes endorsed by Music Man and the reflex is his weapon of choice, he'l probably tell you everything you need.
I have both. I actually have a 25th and a regular reflex, and the plain reflex is one of my main "go to," guitars. It takes a little while to get used to the wider neck, but I find I play it more than any other EBMM model. It sounds very sophisticated and refined.
So true! I absolutely dislike black pickguards without exception (until this model came out!) - even on 52 Teles and SGs, but on this particular guitar - it's perfect!