Best Brand Of Bass Guitar (2024 Update)

Ordered one of these (In Pearl White) because of a good experience with another one. Of course I had to do some set up to alleviate fret buzz, adjust neck, string height etc. Once it was set up to my liking and a fresh set of my gauge strings, this bass was ready for just about anything! I have used it for a couple of outdoor shows with medium and very large P.A support and the sound was very good overall. Through my stage amp, I was able to dial in a very usable sound quickly. The bass is very light weight .(Which helps those of us with back issues.) Yet is still able to get a decent tone. The bass I received was a newer model with a poplar body and a Jatoba fret board which still has the characteristics of rosewood (slightly lighter in color) with a hint of a maple type bite. Personally, I liked the overall sound with this particular fret board. Speaking of which, the fret board is very easy to play (when properly set up) with a smooth, fast neck. The electronics are decent enough although the "bass boost" knob should be used sparingly and judiciously just to add some deep flavor on occasion for certain styles. All in all, a pretty decent machine that can easily be used by beginners and seasoned pro's (ok, it won't match up with a "boutique bass" by any means but still a very usable product!) Very good value for the price!Heard the Bass

This bass is really amazing for the price of it. The neck is so smooth and a bit thinner than other regular bass, perfect for my small hands and the weight wow it is really light. the built quality is top notch. The sound is really good and you've got plenty of sound you can experiment with it. Overall it's an all rounder bass from beginners to pronelson c.

The Ibanez GSR 200 is one of the best "bang for your buck" basses on the market. They are made with excellent quality, lightweight wood, agathis, maple, rosewood. The onboard P/J pickups and electronics sound good. They play good out of the box but they play excellently if set up by a guitar tech. These were choice basses for many of the bass players supporting MWR tours. Musicians would take Ibanez GRS 200 basses on tour and raffle them off to service members on the last gig.matt4717

I bought this bass because a friend had one that worked great and played great and I loved it. When I purchased mine I had it sent to my house. 5 days later and it comes in with busted knobs and I had to take it in for a refund. They had another in stock and I took it home. Well the second is busted too. Huge disappointment considering how much I enjoy playing this bass. Absolutely unreliable and I won't be getting a third one.James

Sound: I was impressed by the sounds I could get from this little beast. I'm a pretty heavy handed finger style player (I've always had a heavy attack), but I could hear the differences every time I alternated pickups, adjusted the EQ, and flipped the "Power Tap" switch. This thing offers a lot of sound for very little money! Features: As stated, the thin fast neck of this bass is amazing. I have smaller than average sized hands, so the slimmer design is really comfortable for me. The PowerSpan dual coil pickups are really decent sounding for what they are. The "Power Tap" switch is what sold me on it. After some knob twiddling, trial and error, I found a really nice warm, but heavy sound that I enjoy. Also, the ease of access to the battery compartment is a nice feature as well – no screwdriver needed! Ease of Use: Ease of use is great! Plug it in and play 😉 Seriously though, my stepfather is a guitarist by nature, and even he's remarked at how nice it plays and how nicely the knobs freely turn to dial in the sound you are looking for. Quality: I was impressed by the overall quality of this instrument for the price. I own and play "higher end" basses (Warwick's, Ibanez SR Premium's, etc.), and the quality of this is bass is almost as nice as my SR Premium at a fraction of the cost. Of course it had a few things that needed some tweaking out of the box, but overall I am very pleased with the product. You could spend a lot more and get a lot less (I have anyways…). I guess there's a reason I keep coming back to Ibanez basses. Value: The Ibanez SR300E is considered by most to be a beginner bass. I get that. Yet, for the price, you will be hard pressed to find something with better quality and features. If you are new to bass, or need a backup for your regular player, I would highly recommend the SR300E. I see it becoming my regular player because of it's features and sound. And hey… If something were to ever happen to it at a gig in one of those "seedy" venues, I could easily replace it and not be too upset about the price. Manufacturer Support: I've never had to deal with Ibanez directly, but I have dealt with zZounds a few times and their customer service is wonderful! Friendly, knowledgeable, and courteous. Those are the things that make me a repeat offender to this site! The Wow Factor: This bass is a lot of bang for the buck! I love the look of the black hardware on the weathered black finish. When my girlfriend gave me the "Oh no. Did you buy another bass?" look – even she had to admit the weathered black finish was sexy looking. Ha! Overall: I originally bought an Ibanez SR300E Iron Pewter as a gift for a member of my family who took an interest in playing the bass. When it arrived I took it out of the box to tune it and give the action a little tweaking. Of course, being a bass player myself, I had to give it a try to see how well it played. I was in shock and awe by how well it played and sounded. The neck was extremely comfortable; very thin and fast! It felt like this thing could play itself. After playing it for a few days, (and a few times since), I was so amazed by it that I had to come back to order one for myself (Weathered black – that black hardware on black bass just looks so good).Jason

I'm a 40+ year working bass player. Previously I had owned an Ibanez BtB and loved it, then traded it for a Warwick, which was cool, and definitely fashionable too. Ended up having several shoulder surgeries and a major spinal surgery in my neck, (I set off metal detectors now), also gathered a pile of some rather large medical bills in the process, so the Warwick had to go to pay the bills, so I decided to retire in order to heal up for awhile. Lately, sitting at home doing nothing and waiting for the pandemic to end. I decided it was time to get another bass, and decided to start playing again. Since I had worked at a local music store for years as a guitar tech I was familiar with the Ibanez SR Series, so when I found this here I knew this had to be the "one" because of the price and me being familiar with the SR Series, (we were an Ibanez dealer). I love the color, the feel of the thin neck and the active electronics. With the 3 way tap switch, volume/tone/pickup splitter knobs you can get an amazing number of sounds out of this instrument, from floor shaking lows to twinkling clear highs. The color was nice, the neck felt good and the price was definitely right. It also arrived with a decent set up, not great, but better than many others I have seen, so as a retired guitar tech I lowered the strings a bit, tweaked the truss rod, worked on the intonation and it was ready set go! If only my callouses would come back that easy everything would be golden.I would definitely recommend this as a great beginner instrument, and also as capable of being a suitable gigging instrument.Sonny

I am Loving my new Ibanez SR300E Bass. As a female Rock bassist, I needed to find a lightweight, slim bass that still packed a punch, and this baby does all that I've asked of her. Lovely deep tone, well balanced and responsive, the active electronics are on point, the lead stays put, and as for the colour… WOW! My husband, the drummer, is also really impressed at how well she locks in with the groove. Excellent delivery times from PMT, ordered on line and it arrived within 3 days. Very happy.Sammy T.

The Mikro bass plays, looks and sounds great. The extra-short scale length does not compromise the traditional bass tone it produces. I have played 6-string guitar for over 40 years, including many professional gigs and teaching. I own over a dozen topnotch guitars. But this is my first bass, and I chose Mikro on the recommendation of a trustworthy friend. I have been doing my own repair work on guitars for decades, and can say the Mikro bass is impressively well made, and arrived decently set up with new, good strings. Fret work, neck, nut, tuning machines, bridge, fingerboard, finish, electronics are all virtually flawless; and the tobacco sunburst color I chose looks really nice, with a "vintage" vibe. I replaced the stock chrome dome knobs (which are nice ones) with Gibson-style knobs so I can see numbers for volume and tone settings. I really like the tone of the Mikro, especially the "Precision" style pickup–the one closer to the neck, from which it's easy to get a classic P-bass tone in conjunction with the tone control, which also works great. Ibanez chose a great capacitor value for the tone knob. The bridge position ("Jazz" style) pickup is just OK–usable, and not bad, but nothing remarkable, and it's especially lackluster when used solo, without any of the P-style pickup dialed in. That is the only part of this bass, other than the knobs, I would consider upgrading in the near future (maybe also the potentiometers, but even those feel smooth and responsive out of the box). The satin-finish neck feels great, and is a breeze to play, even for someone like me, who is coming to the bass from years on guitar. The tuning stability of the Mikro is remarkably great. So the latest versions of the Mikro basses are a phenomenal bargain! I would not hesitate to recommend a Mikro to anyone considering moving from guitar to bass, or to someone with smaller hands. From what my bassist friends tell me, the Mikro is great for any bassist PERIOD.NYC Slide Guitarist trying bass

Overall: I've been playing for years, mostly Fenders, Tobias and a heavily modified Decca short scale from the 60s. This is my first Ibanez bass and I am blown away! I chose the brown burst finish, and took a chance on the "blemished" version. Been looking at it all day and I can't find any imperfection anywhere. Definitely wanted short scale, light weight and a fast neck, this one has all 3 and then some. Set up out of the box was close, very close, with only a slight fret buzz on the E string. A very small adjustment at the saddle took care of it. The stock pickups sound good, the tone knob has useful range, everything sounds quite good through everything I've played it through so far (Fender, Orange, antique Earth head, etc.). Overall, I couldn't be happier!Bryan

An utterly great bass overall. It's perfect for someone with a low budget, or someone who's new to learning bass. Also good for children or people with small hands since it's a short-scale. This was my first bass and I still play it a lot. Not only is it cheap, but it has a really good tone, a nice feel to it, and a beautiful orange finish (if that is the finish you chose). The only bad thing I have to say about this is that it got some fret buzz to it but in all honesty, it's not that bad. I love Ibanez basses, I own several and this one is absolutly great.Logan

The Squier Bronco Bass delivers exactly what I expected. It's a 30" scale bass with a body shaped like the Fender Mustang bass; it has a single pickup (I believe it's a strat pickup), is fairly light weight (mine weighs in a 7 pounds 10 ounces), and it's a fun little axe. It's also the lowest-priced bass by an actual musical instrument company. How do they keep the price down? One way is that this is the only bass I've owned that has no fingerboard. It doesn't affect anything, but the front of the neck IS the fingerboard. The hardware is okay quality. But here's the thing – it sounds decent, feels great, plays well. There's going to be a little luck of the draw in a lower priced instrument, but my tuners stay in tune, intonation was on, everything is good. There was a little too much neck relief, but that was easy to adjust. If you're realistic about your expectations, the Squier Bronco Bass is an awesome value, looks good, and it gets you playing. It's not going to sound like a Stingray or a Geddy Lee Jazz Bass, but it doesn't sound bad, either – I would do a show with one without worrying about it. I have other basses, but wanted to add an inexpensive short scale to my stable, and this bass was exactly what I wanted. I may upgrade the pickup later – I may not. For now, it falls between my 34" scale and 28.6" scale basses, and it's fun to play. I'm very happy with it.Pcake

I ended up using this bass for songs where long scale can be a bit difficult. My main bass is an imported '54 P Bass copy, Alder body and maple neck/fingerboard. It had to go into a local shop for some major nut repair, and I needed something to play around with. Off the rack, it was a pretty great bass for the price. The neck is very well crafted, no sharp fret edges like some imported instruments. It's an agathis body, so the tone can be kind of bland, but compared to older Squier Broncos, it seems that all of the bridge and neck contact one piece of wood on the multi-piece construction, so sustain isn't too bad. The bad: The tuners are pretty sorry and are an oddball size, which makes replacement with good tuners very difficult. My E and A tuners rattle some, but all four do hold tune pretty well for cheap tuners. Also, the stock pickup is a six-pole ceramic Strat pickup, so it can sound…odd when bending strings. The other bad is the bridge: although it intonates pretty well, two saddles can make proper intonation difficult to achieve along with proper radius. Also, the bridge mounting pattern is almost impossible to replace with another bridge–four hole lock-down and quick-release style bridges DO work, but the bridge is mounted a little too far forward, and intonation is almost always sharp on the upper end of the fingerboard. Gotoh 201's are also very difficult to adapt to fit. But for its price point, some of these cons are easily fixed. I have a Mojotone Alnico V lipstick Strat pickup in mine with CTS 500K pots. It sounds excellent–it fools some of my buddies about how cheap it is. This bass could probably also benefit from a bar retainer near the nut. It went from an around the house beater to a mainstay for certain songs.Isher

my dad, a professional and extremely experienced bass guitarist, bought me this for christmas last year, and i love it. this is the first bass i've ever picked up and it's easy to play, is well built, has a nice feel to it, etc. i highly recommend it for beginners. i play it in my school band class and it fits in very well with the rest of the instruments. however it can fall out of tune easily and the pickup isn't the best, but ultimately it's the most perfect beginner bassout there, especially for the low price, it's high qualityace

After the initial COVID lockdown I landed a gig where I had to have a 5 string bass. So like a red blooded American I took my cash down to the local GC store to buy a fender 5 string American jazz. There wasn't any. I looked for an Ibenez. There wasn't any. I looked for anything and we'll there wasn't any. As the date grew near for our first show, I happened in and they had this one. I was disappointed that this was all there was, but out of desperation, I bought it thinking I would trade it once something I wanted became available. It took me about two months and 10 gigs later when I realized I love this thing. 9 months in and I don't know how many dates later, I wouldn't want to live without it. It plays awesome after a quick and minor setup on the action. The tone is big on the bottom and the mids and highs are as shapable as you want. It is a dream to play and guess what, when I finally got to put my hands on the fender I wanted, I didn't want it anymore. This bass is very much like the high end Ibenez basses. Probably too much for Ibenez's liking actually. I run through a 800w mark bass head with a 2×10 cab and a 1×15 cab. It sounds incredible. The big thing for me is when I run through my amp using the direct out in bypass, it sounds amazing. It is like having a sans amp in the bass. The electrics are that good. I have gotten tons of compliments on the tone and questions about how I got it. I literally just plugged it in. Also I can play it all night and even though it is a five, I am less fatigued then when I play the four fender American jazz I already own. The string spacing and scale I believe is responsible for that. If you are serious about playing a 5 string, at any level, then this bass is one you should look at. I am not super crazy about the esthetics but I get a surprising amount of complements on it. So if that is your thing then rock on I guess. I am getting over the fact that I was a fender snob. Also I believe Jackso is made by fender sooo….Chris

My one only bass for the past 20 years has been a Ibanez SR405 (2001 year model). I feel like I've purchased a big upgrade with this Jackson X Series Spectra. In comparison to the Ibanez, the Jackson's neck is fatter, lower fret sizes are slightly wider and the string spacing is slightly wider. The playability is a lot smoother for my larger fingers/hands. The pickups and active EQ systems are powerful. Need to have some amp/di box control to contain the powerful output when in smaller venues. I use the passive pickup control when in smaller venues and small churches. I feel that what sets this apart from other basses I've tried is how great it sounds to play the d and g strings as well as going above the 12th fret. The stock strings (D'Addario) sound really pretty when playing the higher octaves. The Elixir strings I'm currently using give the B string a BIG SMOOTH THUMP. For those worried about setup out of the box, I live in high altitude. Setup post manufacturer is usually a must because of that. I have been able to get fairly low action without fret buzz after casually messing with adjustments.Zach

After the initial COVID lockdown I landed a gig where I had to have a 5 string bass. So like a red blooded American I took my cash down to the local GC store to buy a fender 5 string American jazz. There wasn't any. I looked for an Ibenez. There wasn't any. I looked for anything and we'll there wasn't any. As the date grew near for our first show, I happened in and they had this one. I was disappointed that this was all there was, but out of desperation, I bought it thinking I would trade it once something I wanted became available. It took me about two months and 10 gigs later when I realized I love this thing. 9 months in and I don't know how many dates later, I wouldn't want to live without it. It plays awesome after a quick and minor setup on the action. The tone is big on the bottom and the mids and highs are as shapable as you want. It is a dream to play and guess what, when I finally got to put my hands on the fender I wanted, I didn't want it anymore. This bass is very much like the high end Ibenez basses. Probably too much for Ibenez's liking actually. I run through a 800w mark bass head with a 2×10 cab and a 1×15 cab. It sounds incredible. The big thing for me is when I run through my amp using the direct out in bypass, it sounds amazing. It is like having a sans amp in the bass. The electrics are that good. I have gotten tons of compliments on the tone and questions about how I got it. I literally just plugged it in. Also I can play it all night and even though it is a five, I am less fatigued then when I play the four fender American jazz I already own. The string spacing and scale I believe is responsible for that. If you are serious about playing a 5 string, at any level, then this bass is one you should look at. I am not super crazy about the esthetics but I get a surprising amount of complements on it. So if that is your thing then rock on I guess. I am getting over the fact that I was a fender snob. Also I believe Jackso is made by fender sooo….Chris

My one only bass for the past 20 years has been a Ibanez SR405 (2001 year model). I feel like I've purchased a big upgrade with this Jackson X Series Spectra. In comparison to the Ibanez, the Jackson's neck is fatter, lower fret sizes are slightly wider and the string spacing is slightly wider. The playability is a lot smoother for my larger fingers/hands. The pickups and active EQ systems are powerful. Need to have some amp/di box control to contain the powerful output when in smaller venues. I use the passive pickup control when in smaller venues and small churches. I feel that what sets this apart from other basses I've tried is how great it sounds to play the d and g strings as well as going above the 12th fret. The stock strings (D'Addario) sound really pretty when playing the higher octaves. The Elixir strings I'm currently using give the B string a BIG SMOOTH THUMP. For those worried about setup out of the box, I live in high altitude. Setup post manufacturer is usually a must because of that. I have been able to get fairly low action without fret buzz after casually messing with adjustments.Zach

I'd been looking for an affordable but quality 4 string for a long time. I originally bought a Hofner but it was not up to par so my advisor suggested this Ibanez AFB200. I love the size and weight. The hollow body is great because you can jam unplugged if you want and it still projects. Plugged in sounds great too. Not for Metal or Heavy Rock but perfect for acoustic, funk, blues, country and just jamming. Pretty enough to have it sitting in the living room. Perfect purchase for me.TI Singer Dude

Amazing bass for the $$. Smooth neck and balanced lightweight body. I have the graphite black with little sparklies. Just beautiful. The pickups are super responsive and the tonal range across the board is fabulous! Love this much more than my “89” Fender Precision Plus. This is a great bass to add to your lineup!Louis218

First I should warn you that there is a quality-control issue with recent batches of the Embassy Pro – the bridge is positioned too far forward so it can't be intonated properly (the E-string 12th-fret harmonic was about a semitone flat compared to the fretted note even with the saddle as far back as it could go). This isn't Rimmers' fault as it was shipped straight from Gibson's DC and they were great about organising the return. Tuning problems notwithstanding, the bass plays smoothly and has a really rich, aggressive tone – depending on the strings you use, it can go from a hard-rock Rickenbacker clang to deep, subby reggae sounds. I found it hard to sound subtle or laid-back though, so I wouldn't recommend it for groove-oriented styles. But if you're in an avant-garde punk band, the dodgy tuning might even be an asset…Martin

Not sure if there are many minuses to this bass; its an old school 20 fret P bass kind of neck beast. The tone control works well and I like the passive pan, rather than a toggle or two volumes. Heavy duty humbucker tones but not muddy like an SG, still retins some P bass sound. (cant comment on bridge pu i dont use it) Back of neck is slick, I dont mind, some may apply sandpaper to make it matte. Overall QC seems good. Weight is decent at 8.3lbs, balance not bad if slung low, doesnt seem neck heavy. Bridge isnt great but a lot better than the fatal Gibson 3 point bridge. Lots to like at a sweet Epiphone price!Go Brady

A must have for the true hardcore Iron Maiden fan. Plays and sounds fantastic! But I must say, the blue one that came out a few years back is a bit better overall.TODD

I love this bass!! My only problem was it did not come with the Steve Harris Rotosound Flatwounds, but no biggie. I like roundwound rotosounds, stainless steel strings anyway. This bass is meaty and heavy. If you like a burpy, growling sound-this is for you! Love it!Scabby

If you are tired of searching for a professional sound buy this bass. I hated the mim fender deluxe model, but fender did something special with this bass. It has a clear piano like quality to it. My two sire basses sound like toys up against it. I have wasted so much money on lesser basses. I'm just trying to help my fellow bass players out there. Everyone says that I sound good playing my other basses, but there are certain ugly overtones that I don't want to hear in my bass. This bass doesn't have those unwanted frequencies, it is voiced beautifully. I know that most of tone is in the fingers, but at the end of the day you know what you want to hear. If you are an audiophile this is the bass for you. I have spent weeks demoing this bass and no matter what amp you run it through it sounds good. I played it at a church last week and all I can say is it was nasty. My wife ordered mine yesterday for my birthday and it's suppose to arrive today, fingers crossed.Eric

I've owned and played bass guitars for 30 years now and I've owned several fender basses and the myriad clones out there of the J and P basses. That history and background left me with a bias against fender and an eye for other "better" production guitars like the Stingray which is my other go-to bass. That being said, I am blown away by this bass. It is a SOLID instrument with no flaws or blemishes that I can detect. It came from the factory with an almost perfect setup. I had to make a minor intonation adjustment on the low B and E strings but the string height, pickup height, and neck position were perfect. Fender's Ultra Noiseless pickups (a stacked humbucker really) sound great in passive mode emphasizing a fat bottom end and the tone nob adds a good bit of mids. The highs are kinda meh for me but the active switch takes care of that and I can get as bright as I want. The 18v active preamp provides a lot of room to boost or cut low, mid, and high frequencies to get just about any sounds I want (I still prefer my Sting Ray if I want to get real funky). This is about the best sounding 5-string I've had. Most 5-strings sounds great as 4-strings and SUPER muddy when you work the low-b string but this bass brings it out without too much mud.T. DeWees

I bought this base back in April 2022. It sounds great and plays great. However, the front pickup recently quit all together. After a tech looked at it, it was discovered that it was a bad front pickup. It was beyond the store warranty, so I took it up with fender. After 2 weeks of going back and forth between them and the store that I bought it at, it was determined that fender would send the pickup to the technician if my choice and they would fix it. But it would take 30 days because they send it directly from the manufacturer. Which still boggles my mind, because the slowest mail would be less than a week? So my opinion of fender customer service has dropped considerably. A working musician doesn't have 30 days to do without their instrument. This is unacceptable. I decided to purchase the pickup myself. I can get it in the mail in 2 days, and put it in myself. However this is a great base if you happen to get one with good parts in itJerry

Very lightweight, no strain on my back. Has that perfect Ibanez action I've come to prefer over other makes. Pickups work in tandem, not separately, so that took some getting used to. Color is hot and sexy.John

The Ibanez GSR 200 is one of the best "bang for your buck" basses on the market. They are made with excellent quality, lightweight wood, agathis, maple, rosewood. The onboard P/J pickups and electronics sound good. They play good out of the box but they play excellently if set up by a guitar tech. These were choice basses for many of the bass players supporting MWR tours. Musicians would take Ibanez GRS 200 basses on tour and raffle them off to service members on the last gig.matt4717

I bought the jewel blue one and named it "Jewel". No, not like the singer. I thought it was totally beyond all expectations. I played it for a couple of years before I lost it when my marriage fizzled. Now I want another one. I'm no novice. I've been playing guitar for over 35 years, and Jewel was my third bass. I liked her better than a Fender Jazz. I want another one. To nitpick, I didn't like the square corners on the top of the neck (past all the frets), so I took the neck off and rounded them. Problem solved. I also didn't like that the threads stripped out on the E string bridge piece when I tried to back it up far enough to get the intonation right. But I think the real problem is solved with an Earvana nut. Anyway, if you can't afford to buy the bass everyone is telling you to buy – or even if you can – buy this one. If you don't sound good on it, you don't need a Fender or a Rick, you need lessons.Gravity Zen

I really wanted this bass for a long time it just looked so cool in the sea foam green roasted maple neck. I just couldn't get out of my bubble on a p bass. I finally said screw it and give it a try and I'm glad I did. First off i opened this it came perfectly setup and ready to go no fret buzz or anything this is my first multi scale bass and it wasn't hard to get used to once in awhile I'll mess up but I've gotten used to this bass now and it's easy. The sound. While as the pickups are very dark the pre amp cleans it up nicely I choose not to use it tho because I'm more of a passive player it's nice to add for a boost in a song tho so it's cool to have. With a lot of eq and the right cab this comes together really nice I would recommend using stainless steel strings to help give more brightness to this. The body is really nice I can play for hours standing up without problems in the shoulders. I recently bought a new fender p bass for a lot more than this bass and from putting them off together I would say this bass is different and has more benefits than a classic p bass you get a lot more sounds stainless steel frets and the roasted maple neck which I wish was a thing years ago. Which bass would I prefer we'll it be the Ibanez at this point because of all the great features it's priced well plays and sounds great for the money my number one thing about any music I've done for the last twenty years is something that cuts through the mix easily the p bass has always been my go to it's easy and you get to work right away this bass is on that level just add more mids and high end and your set I've been recording music for clients with this bass for about a month now and they are very happy with there recordings I will continue to use this bass for now on no more tuning to e eb d c since I got this I've relearn to play everything in one tuning and it's awesome it saves so much time I couldn't be happier with this bass and would recommend it to anyone out there.Anthony

I had been looking at the EHBs for some time now and finally pulled the trigger. Needless to say, I have not been disappointed. Having severely injured my left shoulder in highschool, the weight of basses caused problems over the years and was only getting worse as time went on; especially 5 and 6-string basses. Problem solved. The weight of the EHB is perfect and I no longer suffer those issues. It's ergonomic design is supremely comfortable both standing and sitting. The variety of tones from the electronics is superb. The instrument arrived in a timely fashion and the setup was spot on. The only "issue" is a slightly cosmetic one involving the top layer of the body not being perfectly aligned with the controls (less than a centimeter gap). It doesn't affect the sound nor playability so it wasn't worth a change in the rating.G. Brown

Overall: This is the nicest bass guitar I have ever owned. It is super light weight, has so many different tones that you can't possible not find what you're looking for. The back of the neck is so soft to the touch is makes for fast playing and very easy slides. The tone this guitar puts out is unbelievable. It is so clean and crisp and clear I don't think any other bass out there sounds this good. The guitar stays in TUNE!!! I use a strobe tuner and on occasion I might have to turn these monster tuners maybe 1/20th of a turn. The intonation was perfect right out of the box. The bridge is so beefy. I think this is Ibanez's best bridge they have ever made. The strap locks are sturdy and beautiful as all of the hardware is. This neck is awesome and beautiful craftsmanship. The wood used for the body is gorgeous and the dragon's eye finish is spectacular. My wife is very jealous of this instrument or should I say work of art. BUY IT!! You will not regret it.Robert

what a great bass! It's beautiful, light, and sonically versatile. the different pickup modes have 3 radically different tones which makes this bass right for lots of situations. I've seen some reviews that mentioned so issues with some fret roughness but mine showed up in perfect condition. I couldn't be happier with the bass. I also want to mention the customer service. I used the chat feature to confirm whether this bass came with a bag or case. the agent let me know that it does not but pointed me to the bundle that includes the bag and they set me up with a price I could not pass up. once I completed the purchase the item was shipped within 90 minutes. Other music stores I've done business with are not nearly as responsive. CME killed itShaun M.

This is a great short scale bass. It is a quality instrument. The finish is excellent. Playability straight out of the box was very good. Nicely set up.I love the pick-ups and the ability to blend the two with their individual volume controls. Great range of tones available. It looks good too ! Highly recommended. The only gripe is that at this price it should come in a hard case and not a bag !Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

Really good guitar for nirvana type music. Only issue is that you need to set it up for it to be playable but once it's set up it's a great instrument. Pickups are pretty articulate but not to bright either just perfectly balanced. If you get one I recommend to lock the bridge down to improve its tuning stability and sustain. Note it DOES NOT sound like a kc style mustang, it has its own sort of sound to it. Fretboard is pretty nice same with the low radius which I prefer. Overall it's one of my favorite guitars I've ever bought and I cannot recommend it enough if you play grunge and nirvana music.Preston

Overall: Wow, I love this bass……From the moment I received this bass, it has been my go to axe. The pickups are excellent and very aggressive, yet keep that P bass type tone. Both pickups have proven to be very articulated in the mids and not to boomy in the lows. Just perfect for my taste. The highs are very clear but not too disjointed from the mids and lows. I use Rotosound 77 flatwounds. I did change the crappy bridge to a Hipshot Kickass bridge.Now, lets talk about the neck. I do agree that the neck is a little heavy but if you are sitting down, that should not be a problem. If you are standing up then you should be using a 3" wide strap. That rule goes for most Fender style basses. The neck is wide because it projects a P style tone that can only be accomplished by this thick neck type. If you pick up a 50's type P bass you will notice very quickly how thick the neck is, yet some bass players won't play anything else.Tone, sustain and playability. That is what you get with this bass. It's definitely not a bass for everyone but this bass is a kickass bass if you are comfortable with it.The frets were perfectly dressed and the fretboard had a nice finish. If you look at the shape of this Jaguar bass you will notice a lot of real estate in the slab of the body. This, along with this neck makes a perfect combination for sustain and presence which you can feel through your chess as you play it. The designers at Fender really know what they are doing.There is a reason why the Fender MIM basses are so popular.Sotero

Overall: Wonderful instrument, the best I've owned. Setting the intonation was the hardest for me of the guitars I've owned, but once it is setup it is wonderful. The quality is amazing. I have never owned a Fender before and it is the best I have had. The vibrato arm sends it out of tune if you try dive bombing lulz Not really a complaint, just a fact. I am not too impressed with the pickups (they produce what seems to be a lot of telecaster sound) but that is not a problem either because I always swap the stock pickups out anyways. I love the 24 inch scale, I feel like the 22nd fret in not necessary though on this short scale, the additional fret pushes the frets closer together and would makes some chords harder to pull off that need lots of fingers on the same fret. Luckily for me i have small hands and fingers so not an issue. I still love this guitar and plan to keep it forever.Justin

If it wasn't so beautiful looking and if it didn't sound so good I wouldn't have played it so much. Now I can't return it without significant restock fees and shipping. My opinion is that the guitar I received has a major problem. I haven't completely sorted it out but here it is: significant static pops come through the amp when I touch or rub a a place on the pickguard near the selector switch. My guess is there is either a bad solder joint or two wires pinched together. So I have to pack the thing off to a Fender repair shop for warranty work. I've owned many guitars both new and old and this is a first. Yes it is the lowest cost offset one can buy with the name Fender on the headstock. But I've several less expensive Squiers that were perfect. The quality of the components and the fit and finish of this guitar seem great. Now to get the static fixed. I had heard that MExican Fenders were very well made, not the electronics on this one.vinny71

This is a nice bass. I'm an Ibanez fan, and have had a top-of-the-line SoungGear bass for many years, but wanted a nice simple bass – no active electronics/batteries. I also own Fender and Yamaha basses, and this one holds its own nicely. Nice neck (not quite as thin as some of the SoungGears, but not bad), nice feel, and nice tone from the single pickup. Great for small gigs, jamming etc. Play it through a decent amp & speakers and you'll get decent and varied sounds simply be adjusting the tone control. Nice!Hawkeye Fan

I found myself away from home due to a family emergency with no idea how long it would be before returning. Since I had left in a hurry I didn't take any instrument and three weeks later I wished I had. So began my search for an inexpensive full size bass to practice on when I found free time. I ultimately chose the Ibanez GSR100EX for several reasons. This bass is a no frills offering having a single passive pickup and nothing more than a volume knob and a tone knob. The pickup is surprisingly beefy. It has that "fast" Ibanez neck and true to their advertising, it came setup with the same quality that you would see on more expensive models. Every screw was tight. Neck was perfectly straight. No dead spots and the frets were well dressed and crowned. The finish (I got the black model) was perfect. No cracks or hazing. Even the action and pickup height was just the way I like it. It's quite lightweight too. Maybe I just got lucky but other than some minor intonation adjustments it was ready to go right out of the box. I would play this bass anywhere and not be lacking. It's not just a beginner's bass by any means although a beginner couldn't find a better value IMHO. It may not have the tonal palette or lack the features of basses that cost many hundreds more, but it does deliver the basics and does it well. When I get back home I intend to convert it to a BEAD bass. DON'T let the price cause you concern. It really is a great deal.IamBuzzy

In highschool I played bass a lot and on the side I learned to play the guitar. BUt once I got into college I started to play guitar way more, to the point my Carvin 6 six string custom bass sat in its case for about 6 months because I had no chance to play it. Three years later, I started playing bass again but unfortunately I don't have any gear. BUt I have a couple of friends that have basses they let me borrow when ever I need to (one is this bass the other is the cheapest rogue they make). Now Its been a while since I played my old gear, which was a carvin 6 string and a nicer hartke amp with the alum 4x10s, but I still remember great tone, good tone, and blah tone. Anyways back to this bass, the tone is pretty flat fingerstyle. There just isn't alot of life in this bass, nor the rogue for that matter but the rogue is a hundred dollars less. The neck wasn't too bad pretty thin, action okay. This one didn't buzz much but the rogue had its places. ALl in all the basses sounded identicaland minus the fret buzzing on the rogue played the same. So my advice if you are starting out go to a music store find a rogue that has a decent neck with no buzz and save the extra hundred and put it towards your next bass. This bass is't worth the extra money even though it is cheap. This bass has no growl or spark in its tone just like a cheap rogue doesn't have any of that.Roger-bdKv7

I brought this for a signature book for our wedding, we wanted a playable momento, but didn't want to spend a lot of money. It's a great $88 guitar, we have guitars upwards of $500 so of course it would not be as good. Well built, tunes easily, buy needs frequent tuning. I think if we replace with high quality strings we would definitely take this guitar up a notch. Good for beginners and will definitely teach them tuning skills.Tasha S.

I purchase this bass being motivated by its price and rave reviews. Let me just say that when I received my bass today I was blown over at the fit and finish on this bass. It looks like a $500.00+ guitar! I've been playing it for hours and the deep bass is so sweet. The action is a tad high but I kind of like it that way. The great sound projection from this bass made me chuckle while I was playing because the bass made a silver cup I have on a wall mounted shelf rattle! Now that's impressive sound projection! I can't wait to plug in this bass to my friend's Ampeg that's a 1X15 ported bass amp. It should be wild! For the money this Best Choice acoustic had got to be the deal of a lifetime if you're in the market for an acoustic bass guitar.Jason

This is a great acoustic-electric bass. I originally purchased it to use as an alternative to plugging in my electric bass. I instantly fell in love with it. It stays in tune. The nut is of appropriate measurements and the frets are greatly positioned. I changed the factory installed strings with some acoustic bass strings and it sounded so nice! For the price, I didn't expect to get a good value, but I was surprised once I immediately opened the box. Good job Best Choice products!consumer

Purchased the Fender Player Jazz bass. Overall great looks and sound, but some quality issues from the Fender Mexico factory (not Andertons' fault): – First bass had very clear weird uneven blemish under the varnish on the sunburst body. Not awful, but if I was in-store I would never have chosen that particular item. Returned and swapped by Andertons, no quibbles. Second bass arrived. Overall happy, sounds great, but still a few issues with quality control and design. – Control plate was missing 2 screws and was moving around – how does that get through Fender quality control? Replacement screws sent free of charge by Andertons. – Nut has not been slotted correctly – high G must have been passed through a machine and slipped, string is clearly a couple of mm too close to fretboard edge and you can see the failed first pass. Doesn't really affect playability, but is annoying and I will get it corrected at some point. Again, points to poor quality control. – Fretboard (Pau Ferro) is really thin – on the Player series, at least. Neck fret dot markers in white are half over the mid-dark fretboard, half over the light maple neck. Very hard to see in low light levels. OK, so they're just an indicator for position, but the design isn't great. So overall, the bass sounds great and Andertons service was very good. Fender quality control loses the one star from the review.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

…and falls in love. Let me start by saying I actually have owned one other P-Bass. I had a 50s reissue Precision, but honestly the neck was just too thick for my liking after years of playing Jazz basses. Honestly, it felt thicker than the neck on my Yamaha 5-string. So, I picked this bass up after always dancing around getting what would be considered a more standard P-Bass. I have a 70s Jazz with a ton of modifications, I've had quite a few other brands of basses, but I wanted to see what the fuss was about. I ordered this a few weeks ago, and have been very pleasantly surprised. The action was pretty good out of the box. I adjusted it a bit, made a few tiny tweaks to the intonation, and now it's super smooth. And, on the pickups, let me say it's a great sounding bass. Pickups are clear, bass sounds great. I play through a little Ampeg Micro cabinet. Earlier this week, I bought some Flats to throw on it (because that's what you do with a P-bass, right?) and now it's quickly becoming one of my favorite instruments to jam with. It really cuts through the mix when playing in a group. I see why folks really love the sound of a precision. My Jazz still has it's place, but man, I really like the sound of this bass. The Player P is a great value for what you get. I've never owned an older MIM, but I research the heck out of pretty much any purchase I make, and it looks like Fender really stepped it up with this rendition of their MIM Precision basses. Good tone out of the box, no discernible pickup noise, good action, a beautiful neck, and a Tidepool Blue finish that just shines and shines.Dennis F

Fantastic bass guitar, great for scales and solos. Very thin neck for a 6-string and beautiful colours. Feels great to play, surprisingly better feel with the fan frets. Awesome !!! 😃Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

Overall: I'm a guitar player that switched to bass 20 years ago. I've missed the ability to play full chords and solo in a range that can be easily heard. I tune this bass an octave lover than guitar with the same string relationships. Low E, not B. This bass allows me to do that with no set up issues. If youre coming from a 4 string this will be a wide neck, but 5 string users will adust. It's well balanced and finely finished. LONG REACH TO 1ST FRET ON LOWEST STRING, which is F for me, but I can get it. The fan fret design probably helps to keep string tension equal. I have a Novax (Ralph Novak invented the fret system) so I'm okay with it.Jeff