Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

First off, let me note that this is a $70 AE bass (the lowest price I've ever seen for an acoustic-electric), so I'm not going to compare it to the $500 Michael Kelly Club Custom sitting next to me or the $600+ Kelly Dragonfly basses I've played recently. Instead, I'm going to compare it to my realistic expectations. You don't buy a $2,000 used econobox at the car lot and then expect to drive off of the lot in a new $70,000 Mercedes. You just hope that it will reliably get you from Point A to Point B. Shipping/Packaging: I ordered it on a Thursday; it arrived Tuesday morning. The packaging was well-done with no damage. Color and Finish: The color (which some have complained about) is exactly as it appears in the picture, and I love it! Much to my surprise, the finish is flawless, even in bright, outdoor sunlight. Not a single chip, ding, or scratch. The details and the bridge are pretty cheap-looking, but what do you expect at this price? For the bridge (which was pretty rough in spots), I lightly sanded it and applied some walnut stain - after protecting the body with blue painter's tape. It was a minor detail perhaps, but the bridge went from looking cheap to looking pretty sharp. I also polished the fretboard with lemon oil (it seemed a bit dry), and that added a gorgeous luster. Size and Shape: Be aware that this is a short scale (30") bass - most likely just mass-produced and also used as a guitar body. That's probably why it has an annoying pickguard, something not typically found on an acoustic bass. However, it blends in with the color well, and I don't dare to try removing it. The bass is very, very light in weight compared to most AE basses, almost feeling like it's made from balsa wood. In fact, this "bass" is actually much more like a guitar than a true acoustic bass. Setup and Strings: You don't absolutely have to, but it's a good idea to replace the strings if you want a better sound. I put a $20 set of D'Addario Phosphor Bronze strings (long-scale) on it, and they make a world of difference. When I changed the strings, I also went through a pretty standard setup/checkout on it, and it did need some work, some of which I described above, but it's just a bit of detailing and fine-tuning anyone can do with a little bit of study. [See the comment section of this review for some additional advice.] There was no fret buzz, however, I did make a minor adjustment to the truss rod. adding 1/4 turn clockwise to lower the strings slightly, improving the "playability", but this is simply a matter of preference, not necessity. You may not have to deal with this, but one problem I did have is that the intonation was noticeably off - sharp at the 12th fret. After pulling the strings off, I noticed that the saddle sits in its notch with a little bit of slop. As the strings are tightened, it angles just a bit forward (toward the top). What I did to fix this problem was to fill the front with a thin strip of metal (I used an extra 0.55mm feeler gauge that was perfect when cut down), and between pushing the saddle backwards and more vertical, I gained about 1.0mm at the top of the saddle which was enough to correct the minor intonation problem. I could have just as easily used a strip from a soup can lid. To check the intonation, you can use an inexpensive tuner like the Snark SN-8, or if you have a good "ear", you can simply tune the 12th fret pressed down to the same pitch as the 12th fret harmonic. Another option which would probably improve the tone somewhat is to replace the plastic saddle with a bone saddle. It's not very expensive or difficult to do that, but it seemed a bit like overkill for this bass, so I didn't bother. Hardware and Electronics: The frets were good (no roughness), the tuning machines/pegs and electronics/EQ work fine (although they are cheap - the E string is underamped, and you tend to get feedback easily). All of the various screws/bolts/nuts were tight. Some people pull them and then reinstall them with Loctite, but I didn't see the need for that at this time. I've seen a few complaints here that this bass goes out of tune, but that's probably just due to the strings stretching, something that is normal for any bass and new strings, regardless of price. For a strap nut at the headstock, I just added an inexpensive separate wrap-around headstock strap with a strap button. To sum up, it exceeded my expectations (which were admittedly low), and I added these five items to complete the package: - D'Addario EPBB170 Phosphor Bronze Acoustic Bass Strings, Long Scale, 45-100 - Ernie Ball 4037 Black Polypro Strap - Acoustic Guitar Strap Button (Black) - World Tour BG20D Deluxe 20mm Bass Guitar Gig Bag - Snark SN-8 Super Tight All Instrument Tuner I certainly wouldn't recommend it as a professional/gigging axe or for serious study, but for a beginner, a child, or a bass to take camping, it's a great bargain. Also, it looks nice hanging on the wall next to my other basses, and I'll admit that one of the reasons I went through the "detailing" that I did was so that I could say to my musical friends, "You are not going to *believe* what I paid for this!". For what it purports to be, I'm more than satisfied, and I absolutely give it five stars. -TJ