LR
A must have P bass!
I have it for 3 months now.
Little background: Bass player for the past 10 years, have currently 6 basses, mainly mid to high range instruments.
So anyway, I was looking for a 5 string P bass and bumped into this that I was totally unaware of. Not only is it a P, it is a PJ with a pretty fat neck. I was not looking at the price first as I did not set the price roaster, I totally went for looks and ohh boy when I saw the price... I thought ok, I need this and I will mod the hell out of it.
TLTR: No modding is needed, everything in stock is great!
Longer review:
Let's go from top to bottom.
Tuners 5/5: I sincerely mean that this bass has the best tuners that I ever had. They are SLIGHTLY bigger than the usual classic open tuners and that makes a very smooth turn both up and down and it stays in tune like a charm.
Nut 5/5: properly cut, I measured and it is 1mm at the middle of the first fret, even though it is plastic, no complaints.
Neck 5/5: First thing first - It is gorgeous! Matte aged look, elegant dark black stripe in the middle, and BODY COLORED headstock. I am a sucker for aged necks and a matching headstock, this is a stunner! Even though this is highly personal preference. For a D shape, this is a fairly fat neck which I love (also personal preference, sits in your hand like a charm). Neck can be set very straight, zero fret buzz with proper action (at the 15th fret, 2mm bass side and 1,5mm treble side). I tried and you can go 0,75mm lower on both sides without a problem, but I am a heavy hitter and I prefer higher action a bit. No sharp edges on either side from top to bottom! Also proper fretwork, very well made! The fingerboard was dry out of the box (Personally I do not see it as a negative, this is how it is with all the instruments - even my USA Fender needed a small lemon oil). I oiled it and it was like a sponge I tell you. After two rounds of lemon oil, it became alive and beautiful! This way the fretboard looks a lot lighter colored than in the pictures.
Neck joint 5/5: the neck is sitting super tight on the body, no space in the neck pocket on either side, the neck pocket is unpainted - wood on wood - the best solution!
Pickups adjustment 2,5/5: The adjustments that I had problems with. They are a pain in the ass to set up. Just to see my measurements: fretting the last fret, I prefer my P pickup bass side 5 mm, treble side 4 mm. I prefer my J pickup 2 mm on the bass side and treble side also.For the P pickup it was not all that bad, I spent some 30 mins adjusting around, but eventually It was ok. The pickup gets easily "stuck" in the body and if you want to increase its height, you literally have to grab on it and get it higher somehow. The J pickup however I just gave up. I had to forget the 2 mm at the J. You simply cannot set it closer than 4,5 mm. After that the housing of the pickup came off and the magnets simply "fell" into the pickup cover. So 4,5mm is the max you can get.
Pickups sound 4/5: A shining point! They just sound killer! P is very growly, sounds very similar to my American Fender to my suprise! Give it a compressor and you are good to go! J pickup is somewhat weaker (I believe due to the spacing problem, hence the -1 point) but I can hear the cling in there. I will somehow solve the 2 mm spacing because I can hear it will be very on point. Blended together they are killers! I will do no pickup swap in them, stock will stay forever, I just need to sort out the J pickup height issue. Bear in mind this may be only a problem for me on my instrument!
Knobs 4/5: Tone knob is surprisingly sensitive from 0 to 50%, from 50 to 100% a bit less, but that is fine, a million tones there, this is only the reason for -1 point. The two volume knobs work great, not too hard, not too soft, just in the sweet spot. Turns up and down the volume very linearly, no fast cut in the sound.
Bridge 5/5: Very solid, very sturdy. Much sturdier than on higher level Squiers! An extra plus point for me is that the saddles instelves are brass (or brass colored), and look very unique! They are very precisely adjustable.
Body 5/5: Solid body, very sturdy and also one of the heaviest basses I have. I love heavy instruments, especially basses, in my belief it adds to the sustain and the sound a lot. A lightweight extra chambered bass will never sound like a "heavy tank" no matter the EQ. It is in perfect balance, it is by no means neck heavy due to the body mass. Sits perfectly on your lap sitting down, or on a strap.
Factory strings 5/5: These are D'addario strings! Legit, fresh strings! I changed them, but only because I am a sucker for lighter Rotosounds, but I packed the factory strings, sealed it and took it on my shelf because they are brand new and sound killer. Now I mind you this is a 27€ string set... on a 209€ bass by default... which should already cost twice as much. I notice Thomann just barely mentions it, these strings are Nickel plated round wound steel strings, ranging 45 - 65 - 80 - 100 - 130.
Little background: Bass player for the past 10 years, have currently 6 basses, mainly mid to high range instruments.
So anyway, I was looking for a 5 string P bass and bumped into this that I was totally unaware of. Not only is it a P, it is a PJ with a pretty fat neck. I was not looking at the price first as I did not set the price roaster, I totally went for looks and ohh boy when I saw the price... I thought ok, I need this and I will mod the hell out of it.
TLTR: No modding is needed, everything in stock is great!
Longer review:
Let's go from top to bottom.
Tuners 5/5: I sincerely mean that this bass has the best tuners that I ever had. They are SLIGHTLY bigger than the usual classic open tuners and that makes a very smooth turn both up and down and it stays in tune like a charm.
Nut 5/5: properly cut, I measured and it is 1mm at the middle of the first fret, even though it is plastic, no complaints.
Neck 5/5: First thing first - It is gorgeous! Matte aged look, elegant dark black stripe in the middle, and BODY COLORED headstock. I am a sucker for aged necks and a matching headstock, this is a stunner! Even though this is highly personal preference. For a D shape, this is a fairly fat neck which I love (also personal preference, sits in your hand like a charm). Neck can be set very straight, zero fret buzz with proper action (at the 15th fret, 2mm bass side and 1,5mm treble side). I tried and you can go 0,75mm lower on both sides without a problem, but I am a heavy hitter and I prefer higher action a bit. No sharp edges on either side from top to bottom! Also proper fretwork, very well made! The fingerboard was dry out of the box (Personally I do not see it as a negative, this is how it is with all the instruments - even my USA Fender needed a small lemon oil). I oiled it and it was like a sponge I tell you. After two rounds of lemon oil, it became alive and beautiful! This way the fretboard looks a lot lighter colored than in the pictures.
Neck joint 5/5: the neck is sitting super tight on the body, no space in the neck pocket on either side, the neck pocket is unpainted - wood on wood - the best solution!
Pickups adjustment 2,5/5: The adjustments that I had problems with. They are a pain in the ass to set up. Just to see my measurements: fretting the last fret, I prefer my P pickup bass side 5 mm, treble side 4 mm. I prefer my J pickup 2 mm on the bass side and treble side also.For the P pickup it was not all that bad, I spent some 30 mins adjusting around, but eventually It was ok. The pickup gets easily "stuck" in the body and if you want to increase its height, you literally have to grab on it and get it higher somehow. The J pickup however I just gave up. I had to forget the 2 mm at the J. You simply cannot set it closer than 4,5 mm. After that the housing of the pickup came off and the magnets simply "fell" into the pickup cover. So 4,5mm is the max you can get.
Pickups sound 4/5: A shining point! They just sound killer! P is very growly, sounds very similar to my American Fender to my suprise! Give it a compressor and you are good to go! J pickup is somewhat weaker (I believe due to the spacing problem, hence the -1 point) but I can hear the cling in there. I will somehow solve the 2 mm spacing because I can hear it will be very on point. Blended together they are killers! I will do no pickup swap in them, stock will stay forever, I just need to sort out the J pickup height issue. Bear in mind this may be only a problem for me on my instrument!
Knobs 4/5: Tone knob is surprisingly sensitive from 0 to 50%, from 50 to 100% a bit less, but that is fine, a million tones there, this is only the reason for -1 point. The two volume knobs work great, not too hard, not too soft, just in the sweet spot. Turns up and down the volume very linearly, no fast cut in the sound.
Bridge 5/5: Very solid, very sturdy. Much sturdier than on higher level Squiers! An extra plus point for me is that the saddles instelves are brass (or brass colored), and look very unique! They are very precisely adjustable.
Body 5/5: Solid body, very sturdy and also one of the heaviest basses I have. I love heavy instruments, especially basses, in my belief it adds to the sustain and the sound a lot. A lightweight extra chambered bass will never sound like a "heavy tank" no matter the EQ. It is in perfect balance, it is by no means neck heavy due to the body mass. Sits perfectly on your lap sitting down, or on a strap.
Factory strings 5/5: These are D'addario strings! Legit, fresh strings! I changed them, but only because I am a sucker for lighter Rotosounds, but I packed the factory strings, sealed it and took it on my shelf because they are brand new and sound killer. Now I mind you this is a 27€ string set... on a 209€ bass by default... which should already cost twice as much. I notice Thomann just barely mentions it, these strings are Nickel plated round wound steel strings, ranging 45 - 65 - 80 - 100 - 130.
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