Geezer Butler Bass Guitar For Sale (2024 Update)

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

As the headline says…it's very enjoyable to play. I've even made several recordings using it instead of my Fender USA Pro 2 Precision. It does a decent job on the P pickup; the J has lower output. To my surprise I'm really digging the "raw" feel of the neck; it's bare, tho sanded well. Another surprise: neck profile width and taper is like a J bass, yet the depth/shape feels more like a P! Huh!? Hey, works for me! With its black body and pickguard and the maple fingerboard it looks like it means BUSINESS! Point removed for the too-stiff tuner action. And then…I've managed to get the action very low, just where I like it. (FWIW, even on my USA Pro 2 I had to shim the neck to be able to get the level of low action that I prefer.) Yes, ladies n gentleman, I really appreciate this Affinity PJ. I am considering using it for punk and classic rock parts of the band's gigs; not out of the question at all!Leo

This bass looks, feels, and sounds great! Did they nail the bodywork and neck lines? No, not completely. But that's about as much as I've got for negatives. This is one of the best 5 string necks I've felt. Less pizza shaped than the EHB but almost that good. Could have been nice to see a heavier finish on the fretboard but the edges are rolled with no sharp frets at all – unlike my cv 70s P. Sound on this Destroys the EHB and my sr505. Can't say how road worthy the pots and tuners are but I don't want to change anything and mess with this mojo. Unless you need silent pickups and can live with the tradeoffs. I don't know what you would need other than maybe a beefier jack. Setup was mind blowing. Literally took it out of the box in store. Got home, string height was dialed, haven't checked intonation yet but sounds fine. Was hardly even out of tune. Strings feel quality, I will probably even hold off changing those. This bass is making a lot of basses look and sound like questionable decisions. If you are worried about durability, honesty, get a good hard case. This thing feels plenty solid. Make sure the tuners and string trees are greased up and jam away.Arturo

I got mine in Black body, black pickguard, maple neck with maple fingerboard, It came with good setup right out of the box, I like the headstock's face with large "Precision Bass" 70's style logo, with gloss tint on it. The maple neck is one piece neck. I have other Affinities basses but this one sounds terrific, a lot of growl sound on P pickups , I like the P sound but also the J pickup is welcome. I always like this combination: black on black with maple fingerboard. I recommend this bass, Squier is getting better and better with the years. The only complain with this is that the Jazz Pickup is less sounding than the P bass pickup, I needed to rise the Jazz pickup to get better output but not the same output than the Precision pickup.Garedot

Purchased the Walnut version. This is the first guitar which I had to do nothing to it out of the box except an initial tuning. All screws were tight, the nut height was correct, the relief was good, the action was good with NO fret buzz, the finish was flawless, the fret ends were perfect and the intonation was spot on! I've never seen this, especially for the price point. I love the short scale of this instrument and it can be played as fast as you can do. Wow! I'm happy and impressed. I like it even more than my Ibanez Gio Mikro. Gretsch has done something with the pickups as ther is NO hum from the pickups even though they are claimed not to be humbuckers after all.John

Bought earlier today and have been playing it since getting it home. I prefer flatwound strings so put some on as soon as I could. Lowered the action to just under 2 mm at the 12th fret on the bass side. Intonation is just about spot on. Didn’t need to tweak the truss rod at all but will check it in a day or two. I’m over 70 and bought my first bass around 1965. This little bass is quite amazing for its price. There does seem to be some quality control issues reading online reviews but mine is very good. Gloss finish immaculate with no pooling or dull patches. Tone and volume are very smooth and work as they should. It’s very easy to replace with CTS or similar but at present there’s no need. Jack socket holds the jack securely. Frets beautifully finished. The flattish neck is great to play on and it’s gloss finish feels really smooth. Not sticky. Walnut fingerboard looked in nice condition but I put a little lemon oil on it when changing the strings. There has been some uproar that Gretsch were advertising these as having mini humbuckers when in fact they are single coils. I have no problem with single coils being a Fender fan. These single coils do not exhibit any background hiss through my amplifier. Some have complained that they do but mine is silent. The only gripe which has cost the review one star is concerning the machineheads. They have a little play in them which I hate. The only thing I will change will be these in due course when I find some with the correct 14 mm hole diameter. Plenty of space on the headstock so might go down the vintage style rout. Not sure. The main thing is to get good quality and ensure the existing holes are covered. All in all I’m very happy with this bass. It weighs in at 8.2lbs. Not too heavy. The bass sounds really nice with lots of tonal variance available using the pickup selector and tone control.Brian

I was excited to get the geezer split pbass pickup. After some manipulation it's great. I had to reverse the pots to allow the ground to reach the bridge. I'm concerned why a 4 inch ground was supplied while ample cable was supplied to the rest of the process. Maybe I bought one that was made after lunch. It does sound great. But to EMg qc Make the ground cable longer. My USA pbass from 94 did not have a compatible channel to the bridge. Had to Go hd to buy spec bit to make it happen. Rock onConor Daily

Overall: I bought these like 6 or 8 months ago for a Squier Affinity PJ Bass. The J pickup wasn't a throw in like the P pickup. I had to expand a little bit the pickup opening to make it fit. The installation was a hassle. I originally bought these for the "convenience" of solder less installation but could't get it to work.Had extra low volume and lots of ground and hiss. I uninstalled and reinstalled several times with no success. I gave up. Last week, I decided to try again. I ignored the instructions and started experimenting by inverting some of the connections. After a few trials and errors, I inverted one of the tone connections and problem solved! Now they're sounding good, punchy and with no hiss or ground noise whatsoever.In conclusion, installation can be way harder that one would think of solder less connections, but the end result is very satisfactory to the ears.Cesar

I got these to replace a faulty fender pickup that packed up in a almost new instrument. Turned out that it was so overwound that the copper was rubbing on the inside edges of the pickup cover.This plus all sorts of debris & dust under the pickguard resulted in cutting through the winding. Anyway I couldnt be bothered going through the hassle returning the instrument & thought Id try these toneriders ,they are easy to fit & of a much higher quality construction over the vintage fender ones. They sound much better also, they are full bodied & punchy with slight break up distortion only at the very top end of the volume knob which sounds good, i think thats why they describe them as hot vintage. I was initially concerned to replace the stock ones but these are great fun & much better so it worked out nicely in the end. Oh the tonerider has vintage wire & the fender ones did not even though they were supposed to be vintage models. These I honestly recommend.johnthecarpfather

This bass is really comfortable after you get used to it because it is very different than any other bass on the market.But the fact is, the quality of these instruments does NOT match their price. They are built by hand, but so are fenders, and my pro jazz is FLAWLESS and absolutely solid. My Ric came directly from the factory with finish issues.The chrome neck pickup cover was heavily scratched, but the factory did replace it after making me jump through some hoops. When I took the pickguard off to get to the pickup, I noticed that it left a very deep impression in the clear coat (my other basses do not have this issue) which tells me two things: it was put on before the clear cured, and it was put on way too tight & the paint around the pickguard mounting hole screws is already bubbling and chipping away, as is the paint around the pickup routing, which is absolutely 100% going to lead to bigger issues. The overall finish of the final buff is ok. not great, just ok. (I am actually in the custom paint industry). These issues were brought to the attention of their "customer service dept" (for lack of better term) and I was basically told to pound sand. In the video of the factory tour, their CEO says he will put the finish of their instruments up against any one in the industry. BAD IDEA bro. You will get spanked. So to "nutshell" it: great looking bass, fun to play, great sound, BUT low quality build and ZERO customer support. They do NOT care about you, unless you are Lemmy (RIP) and are not shy about letting you know it. That was my experience, but maybe yours will be different. But based on what I have read so far, highly unlikely. Do yourself a favor…buy a used one. Then you wont have to deal w the factory. There really is no upside to buying new because their warranty is short, and doesn't really cover much, because ultimately, THEY decide what they will cover in spite of what the warranty saysnOne

I have exclusively played a Fender Precision for many years and it's still my Go To Bass. I recently purchased a Gibson ThunderBird and was happy overall especially playing technical songs but it still didn't beat the Precision's Tone and Punch. As soon as I plugged the Ric up and hit the first few notes I knew this was something special. Awesome look with the Jet Glo Black, Great Tone and Play-ability, easier to hit the notes, and a lot of fun in general. Spend the extra few hundred and don't get the 4003S. I now own the Trilogy of Great Basses. I say the same good things as others who went from a Fender Precision to the Rickenbacker 4003. You won't go wrong with this Bass.Poveglia99

I have been a bass player for over 50 years. During that time, I have owned a variety of basses including different Fenders, Gibsons and a Pedulla. My primary "go to" bass has been a Leo Fender (pre Ernie Ball) Music Man "Sting Ray" bass. I also own an American Fender Precision Deluxe and added the Ric two years ago. All three basses are great. What I like about the Ric is that it is a bit lighter and thinner than the other two basses (especially when compared to the Fender P bass). It has a different yet comfortable playing neck and is capable of getting that classic Ric sound and sustain. I've also always loved the look of this bass which is very distinctive. I enjoy playing this instrument quite a bit and find myself using it more and more. I purchased mine in the Mapleglo. It was a hard decision for me between the Fireglo and the Mapleglo, so it's possible that I might see myself getting a second one down the road. I haven't noticed any shortcomings in workmanship which seems to be one of the negative things I see surfacing in some of the review. These basses have always been a little pricey, and there are other very nice basses out there for less money. However, these basses have always had an intangible "kewl-ness" factor. I've been very happy with mine and love the sound and feel of the instrument. If I have any complaints, I would say the pick-ups can be noisy and the toggle switch sometimes can produce a static noise switching back and forth between pick ups.Artie

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

This bass is really comfortable after you get used to it because it is very different than any other bass on the market.But the fact is, the quality of these instruments does NOT match their price. They are built by hand, but so are fenders, and my pro jazz is FLAWLESS and absolutely solid. My Ric came directly from the factory with finish issues.The chrome neck pickup cover was heavily scratched, but the factory did replace it after making me jump through some hoops. When I took the pickguard off to get to the pickup, I noticed that it left a very deep impression in the clear coat (my other basses do not have this issue) which tells me two things: it was put on before the clear cured, and it was put on way too tight & the paint around the pickguard mounting hole screws is already bubbling and chipping away, as is the paint around the pickup routing, which is absolutely 100% going to lead to bigger issues. The overall finish of the final buff is ok. not great, just ok. (I am actually in the custom paint industry). These issues were brought to the attention of their "customer service dept" (for lack of better term) and I was basically told to pound sand. In the video of the factory tour, their CEO says he will put the finish of their instruments up against any one in the industry. BAD IDEA bro. You will get spanked. So to "nutshell" it: great looking bass, fun to play, great sound, BUT low quality build and ZERO customer support. They do NOT care about you, unless you are Lemmy (RIP) and are not shy about letting you know it. That was my experience, but maybe yours will be different. But based on what I have read so far, highly unlikely. Do yourself a favor…buy a used one. Then you wont have to deal w the factory. There really is no upside to buying new because their warranty is short, and doesn't really cover much, because ultimately, THEY decide what they will cover in spite of what the warranty saysnOne

I have exclusively played a Fender Precision for many years and it's still my Go To Bass. I recently purchased a Gibson ThunderBird and was happy overall especially playing technical songs but it still didn't beat the Precision's Tone and Punch. As soon as I plugged the Ric up and hit the first few notes I knew this was something special. Awesome look with the Jet Glo Black, Great Tone and Play-ability, easier to hit the notes, and a lot of fun in general. Spend the extra few hundred and don't get the 4003S. I now own the Trilogy of Great Basses. I say the same good things as others who went from a Fender Precision to the Rickenbacker 4003. You won't go wrong with this Bass.Poveglia99

I have been a bass player for over 50 years. During that time, I have owned a variety of basses including different Fenders, Gibsons and a Pedulla. My primary "go to" bass has been a Leo Fender (pre Ernie Ball) Music Man "Sting Ray" bass. I also own an American Fender Precision Deluxe and added the Ric two years ago. All three basses are great. What I like about the Ric is that it is a bit lighter and thinner than the other two basses (especially when compared to the Fender P bass). It has a different yet comfortable playing neck and is capable of getting that classic Ric sound and sustain. I've also always loved the look of this bass which is very distinctive. I enjoy playing this instrument quite a bit and find myself using it more and more. I purchased mine in the Mapleglo. It was a hard decision for me between the Fireglo and the Mapleglo, so it's possible that I might see myself getting a second one down the road. I haven't noticed any shortcomings in workmanship which seems to be one of the negative things I see surfacing in some of the review. These basses have always been a little pricey, and there are other very nice basses out there for less money. However, these basses have always had an intangible "kewl-ness" factor. I've been very happy with mine and love the sound and feel of the instrument. If I have any complaints, I would say the pick-ups can be noisy and the toggle switch sometimes can produce a static noise switching back and forth between pick ups.Artie

This bass is really comfortable after you get used to it because it is very different than any other bass on the market.But the fact is, the quality of these instruments does NOT match their price. They are built by hand, but so are fenders, and my pro jazz is FLAWLESS and absolutely solid. My Ric came directly from the factory with finish issues.The chrome neck pickup cover was heavily scratched, but the factory did replace it after making me jump through some hoops. When I took the pickguard off to get to the pickup, I noticed that it left a very deep impression in the clear coat (my other basses do not have this issue) which tells me two things: it was put on before the clear cured, and it was put on way too tight & the paint around the pickguard mounting hole screws is already bubbling and chipping away, as is the paint around the pickup routing, which is absolutely 100% going to lead to bigger issues. The overall finish of the final buff is ok. not great, just ok. (I am actually in the custom paint industry). These issues were brought to the attention of their "customer service dept" (for lack of better term) and I was basically told to pound sand. In the video of the factory tour, their CEO says he will put the finish of their instruments up against any one in the industry. BAD IDEA bro. You will get spanked. So to "nutshell" it: great looking bass, fun to play, great sound, BUT low quality build and ZERO customer support. They do NOT care about you, unless you are Lemmy (RIP) and are not shy about letting you know it. That was my experience, but maybe yours will be different. But based on what I have read so far, highly unlikely. Do yourself a favor…buy a used one. Then you wont have to deal w the factory. There really is no upside to buying new because their warranty is short, and doesn't really cover much, because ultimately, THEY decide what they will cover in spite of what the warranty saysnOne

I have exclusively played a Fender Precision for many years and it's still my Go To Bass. I recently purchased a Gibson ThunderBird and was happy overall especially playing technical songs but it still didn't beat the Precision's Tone and Punch. As soon as I plugged the Ric up and hit the first few notes I knew this was something special. Awesome look with the Jet Glo Black, Great Tone and Play-ability, easier to hit the notes, and a lot of fun in general. Spend the extra few hundred and don't get the 4003S. I now own the Trilogy of Great Basses. I say the same good things as others who went from a Fender Precision to the Rickenbacker 4003. You won't go wrong with this Bass.Poveglia99

I have been a bass player for over 50 years. During that time, I have owned a variety of basses including different Fenders, Gibsons and a Pedulla. My primary "go to" bass has been a Leo Fender (pre Ernie Ball) Music Man "Sting Ray" bass. I also own an American Fender Precision Deluxe and added the Ric two years ago. All three basses are great. What I like about the Ric is that it is a bit lighter and thinner than the other two basses (especially when compared to the Fender P bass). It has a different yet comfortable playing neck and is capable of getting that classic Ric sound and sustain. I've also always loved the look of this bass which is very distinctive. I enjoy playing this instrument quite a bit and find myself using it more and more. I purchased mine in the Mapleglo. It was a hard decision for me between the Fireglo and the Mapleglo, so it's possible that I might see myself getting a second one down the road. I haven't noticed any shortcomings in workmanship which seems to be one of the negative things I see surfacing in some of the review. These basses have always been a little pricey, and there are other very nice basses out there for less money. However, these basses have always had an intangible "kewl-ness" factor. I've been very happy with mine and love the sound and feel of the instrument. If I have any complaints, I would say the pick-ups can be noisy and the toggle switch sometimes can produce a static noise switching back and forth between pick ups.Artie

I was excited to get the geezer split pbass pickup. After some manipulation it's great. I had to reverse the pots to allow the ground to reach the bridge. I'm concerned why a 4 inch ground was supplied while ample cable was supplied to the rest of the process. Maybe I bought one that was made after lunch. It does sound great. But to EMg qc Make the ground cable longer. My USA pbass from 94 did not have a compatible channel to the bridge. Had to Go hd to buy spec bit to make it happen. Rock onConor Daily

Overall: I bought these like 6 or 8 months ago for a Squier Affinity PJ Bass. The J pickup wasn't a throw in like the P pickup. I had to expand a little bit the pickup opening to make it fit. The installation was a hassle. I originally bought these for the "convenience" of solder less installation but could't get it to work.Had extra low volume and lots of ground and hiss. I uninstalled and reinstalled several times with no success. I gave up. Last week, I decided to try again. I ignored the instructions and started experimenting by inverting some of the connections. After a few trials and errors, I inverted one of the tone connections and problem solved! Now they're sounding good, punchy and with no hiss or ground noise whatsoever.In conclusion, installation can be way harder that one would think of solder less connections, but the end result is very satisfactory to the ears.Cesar

I got these to replace a faulty fender pickup that packed up in a almost new instrument. Turned out that it was so overwound that the copper was rubbing on the inside edges of the pickup cover.This plus all sorts of debris & dust under the pickguard resulted in cutting through the winding. Anyway I couldnt be bothered going through the hassle returning the instrument & thought Id try these toneriders ,they are easy to fit & of a much higher quality construction over the vintage fender ones. They sound much better also, they are full bodied & punchy with slight break up distortion only at the very top end of the volume knob which sounds good, i think thats why they describe them as hot vintage. I was initially concerned to replace the stock ones but these are great fun & much better so it worked out nicely in the end. Oh the tonerider has vintage wire & the fender ones did not even though they were supposed to be vintage models. These I honestly recommend.johnthecarpfather

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

Folks, let me start out by saying that I am a former professional drummer and have limited experience on the bass. However, I spent years locking tight with bass players to creat a solid foundation for the band and I know what sounds right. This bass guitar is a beauty. I was originally going to buy a standard jazz bass MIM. But I saw this and had to check it out. One of things that sold me on this bass was that it came with Geddy's high mass bridge. For all intent and purposes it is a Leo Qwan bridge which Geddy has on his #1. It really makes a difference in the sustain, it just keeps going and going. Also, the bridge just looks good… big and meaty. The neck plays like butter and the black binding and blocks on the fretboard just sets this bass apart appearance wise. The pups are solid, I might change those out one day…but honestly they sound great. This is a really well built bass and I completely reccomend you buy this bass. Also, thanks to Alan at GC Tampa for his patience with me while I was looking and trying out different basses. Great customer service.Charles I

I'd been wanting a Fender Jazz bass since I was a kid. Started off playing on a Squier P-Bass Special and I always liked the Jazz neck. Better than I expected. The tone is bright and cuts nicely. The neck is fast and the body is comfortable and not too heavy. Set up was also pretty good coming out of the box. Definitely going to be buying another Fender through AMS next year or so. Definitely met and exceeded my expectations. I haven't put it down since getting it. Cant wait to leave work and jam on it. Awesome.Sapo

As a touring and studio studio musician I am thrilled to have a bass at this caliber. The sunburst design is breathtaking. The action feels and sounds great right out of the box. This is the first time I have ever had a bridge that looks and feels the way this one does. It really ties the aesthetic together! When you have all of the tone knobs up you get a really hot and bright bass sound that cuts through records. This can easily be adjusted on the knobs or in post cutting off everything above 4K. The neck is slimmer than most bassses I have played, which makes it super easy to glide up and down this bass. The soft case it comes with isn't too special and I will be upgrading to a hard case since I take it to the studio with me (will eventually gig on it). I've had it for a few months now and it can be heard on countless records coming out of the SF Bay Area. It meets and over exceeds all expectations I had set for it. It also sounds great using the old sponge trick to get the motown down you traditionally hear on a P Bass. Anyone looking to get a Fender Jazz, I would highly recommend the Getty Lee model.Ryan

Overall: This is a long term review of this bass. I didn't get mine from zZounds but have bought from them before. I want to mainly go over how this bass holds up and how it works in a band long term. When it was new it was good quality out of the box. Just needed a set up. I've used this bass on countless gigs over the years. If you play rock then it will definitely get the job done. Finish quality is good and durable. It doesn't like to chip but will if it takes a hard hit. Scratches are only really cosmetic, the poly is pretty thick. Keep it clean and don't abuse it and the bass will look good years down the road. The neck is pretty stable, I rarely need to adjust the truss rod. The three point bridge is fairly solid too, Paint on it is durable as well. The posts for the bridge can pull out the bushings but mine has not. The tuning keys are starting to get worn out. I'd replace them if possible. They still hold tune but not as well as new. Pickups and electronics are good too. No scratchy pots. Output Jack is still solid. Frets are pretty worn as well. Still got a lot of life but will wear faster than a more expensive bass. Overall a very durable bass considering what it's been through.Dominic

I read many glowing reviews of this bass on the sites of MF and GC, so I decided to buy one. Huge disappointment. Maybe I got a stinker or maybe the writers of the reviews don't venture beyond the 7th fret…who knows. Mine looks and sounds GREAT. However, the fret finishing beyond the 12th fret is essentially non-existent. Frets 15 and 16 are completely dead unless you keep the action at factory height, which is just not practical. The old-school three-point bridge looks great, but it's time to retire this dinosaur, even at this price point. It would be functional if Gibson/Epiphone would replace saddles 4 and 5 with additional 1 and 2 saddles for the E and A strings respectively (three-point bridge users will understand that lingo…). Even an inexpensive Gotoh bridge would improve the function immensely; a Hipshot would send it through the roof. I've played both professionally and casually here in Nashville since 1999, and have played bass for 30 years. I've owned some Gibson USA basses in my time (vintage G3 and Victory), and currently have two USA guitars (SG and LP). Gibson simply doesn't design basses for bassists who do anything more than play the root. I considered having the frets dressed by a service center, but have elected to simply return it to GC. Again, if you subscribe to the Dusty Hill Doctrine ("I promise to play the root, the whole root, and nothing but the root."), then this bass is fine. If you like to do ANYTHING more, then look elsewhere. I really wish Gibson would re-evaluate their approach to bass design, because I love to support local business. They're missing a huge market share by choosing to offer poorly designed and poorly executed instruments. Even a Babicz bridge can't correct a flawed blueprint…M

While this is my second Epiphone bass, this one is a bit disappointing. It is very eye catching but the style comes with a price: it does not hang well standing no matter what strap type or size I try. Not just neck drop but also the guitar casts away from your body like it is attempting to crash face first into the floor. Was supposed to be inspected and setup when purchased but was not. One tuner was mis-aligned, the bridge was improperly set, and the neck was back-bowed. The inspected by Epiphone sticker is a real joke! After a real setup, it plays well and sounds fine but then so do a half dozen other bass guitars I own. Just had to try one and did not want a thru-neck design so the cheaper Epiphone seemed like the choice. Guess I was wrong. I have to wonder if a Gibson would be any better – especially these days with Gibson almost on the rocks as a company…. Buy it to look pretty but do not expect much more than a barely passable bass guitar after you fix the issues it comes with. I would not recommend this for any bass player, even a beginner.cibulajb4

I found this guitar to be very very high-quality the neck feels great the controls are very stable in the highs and lows in fadeouts of the volume and tone pots are fantastic. The tiny switch is fantastic because I can switch in and out of phase between the pick ups which equals more tone options. The frets are a little sharp and will need filing down in the base will need to be set up out of the box other than that the strings are perfect and do not sound hollow or old. If youre looking for a fantastic Jazz style base for under $200 this is definitely the base for you.marksergeicoffman

I really like the bass I found, I played a bunch of these and they were all different. I got this one brand new in the box after playing a floor model. But after opening and inspecting, the setup was not really that good, so I did the setup, polished a few minor flaws and it plays excellent. I noticed the sound and the tone variation when blending the volumes and the tone pot really makes a difference, I can say that this was not the case of all of them I played. Mine has a three piece body, I've seen 1 and 2 piece bodies as well in this same model. I could not find another three piece, that's why I fixed the problems and kept it, because it sounds so good, there is something definitely different about this one. The tone, volume and dynamics between the strings is very balanced and it speaks bass if you know what I mean. I would be hard pressed to find another bass like this one. I've played this bass with a couple of bands and everyone likes the tone and I can say this bass has character and it is very musical and fun to play. So try it out and see and hear how you like it, I recommend this bass for beginners and professionals.Warren, F

Always easy to order from ProAudioStar. Their pricing and service are outstanding. This particular purchase was especially pleasant due to the impeccable quality of the Squier Paranormal Jazz Bass '54 I received from them. The bass was perfectly set-up. The frets were level and dressed, no sprout or sharp edges. The finish was beyond reproach. The neck pocket is tight, the tuners function as they should and the bass sounds like a Fender Jazz Bass should. I was initially reluctant to order it because it was a Squier and it was of Chinese manufacture. I got over my bout of casual brand snobbery and I am so pleased I did. If your looking for a funky Jazz bass that sounds and looks beyond its price point, buy this bass.VastBadger-51837

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

Almost 40 years of playing experience and this bass is by far the best value that I've experienced. I've had my share of Precisions, Jazz basses, etc. over the years up to the $1500 range. When the pandemic kicked in I had sold most of my equipment but decided I had to have one bass. The neck is solid and similar to a P-bass thickness which I prefer and I don't need a 24-fret, 2 octave one anymore based on playing blues, jam, reggae, and rock. The tonal landscape is phenomenal rolling off the treble or bass dependent upon what I'm playing. Bright highs and deep lows are easily accomplished. I've never written a review before, but this was worthy of the time. Enjoy!Steve

Sound: when you own a sterling bass you do know, what your getting in quality . this bass is heavier then my sterling sub music man. same bass just diff color .the pick up of course is still amazing ,from my sub to this bass today. Ease of Use: i pulled out the box, was not in tune from shipping of course. used my d,addario head stock tuner on it, was only off a little from shipping. easy to retune and play out of the box. Quality: i love these bass., i have small hands. witha full scale to the get the best of the tone possible, long scale is the only way for me. small hand will use the neck as a whole. Value: would buy this for any one starting. would also buy another my self lol i have two lol Manufacturer Support: never had an issue Overall: awesome for the money, get great workmenship right out of the box, a small tune . after shipping of course. love the balance and small necks for my small hands. does not take away sustain. bass talks if you listen. so this is the second one i owned and would own another.Mickey

I'm a long time guitarist with some really fine instruments who decided to pick up a "value" bass just to learn for fun. Knowing what to look for in guitars, I translated that over to basses and went to GC to try some out, see what appealed to me, and how far I could stretch the dollars I was willing to spend on an instrument to start out and, maybe, stick with. I found this Sterling by Music Man Ray4 in mint green that filled the bill on all fronts. As usual, the guys at GC let me try several instruments and test to my hearts content. I do all my own guitar set-ups and would never buy a guitar sight unseen, being worried about how much adjustment might be needed. The Ray4 wasn't too bad out of the box (quite literally because I didn't like the display instrument and they had another in stock for me to try). Once home, I did adjust neck relief, string height, intonation, and pickup to a point that I liked best. The pickup required the most adjustment actually because it had gotten stuck in an odd and very high position, perhaps from being jostled in shipping. There is some fret sprout on the higher frets, but nothing that would bother my hand. Bottom line: Everything could easily be adjusted to where I really like it and has been stable now over several days. It's comfortable to play and is, in my opinion, a real "looker." The satin finished neck is great and, although I usually don't go for maple fret boards, I do like this one. I'm very pleased with my purchase decision and would buy it again. Now onto attack that fret sprout . . .AARP Rocker

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: when you own a sterling bass you do know, what your getting in quality . this bass is heavier then my sterling sub music man. same bass just diff color .the pick up of course is still amazing ,from my sub to this bass today. Ease of Use: i pulled out the box, was not in tune from shipping of course. used my d,addario head stock tuner on it, was only off a little from shipping. easy to retune and play out of the box. Quality: i love these bass., i have small hands. witha full scale to the get the best of the tone possible, long scale is the only way for me. small hand will use the neck as a whole. Value: would buy this for any one starting. would also buy another my self lol i have two lol Manufacturer Support: never had an issue Overall: awesome for the money, get great workmenship right out of the box, a small tune . after shipping of course. love the balance and small necks for my small hands. does not take away sustain. bass talks if you listen. so this is the second one i owned and would own another.Mickey

Love this thing! I had a problem with the sound on the first one but Musicians Friend got me all straightened out. The midrange sound was really quiet while the highs and lows were loud. They sent me a new one and took the return on the bad one. The replacement sounds great! I had a setup and new strings done by my local music shop and she sounds amazing. Intonation is now spot on. I love the look and feel of this one with all the rounded edges. Love the sound. She has a snarl in the low end that I haven't heard with any other company. I also own a squire 60s classic vibe p bass but i think i like the sound of this one better. My only complaint is that she's a little heavier than my Squire otherwise im super happy with this purchase. Thank you Musicians Friend for the smooth return and your amazing customer service. If you're looking for a quality beginner bass this one is a great choice.Matt

Love the sound of this heavy, neck diving beast. There's lots of tone to play with using the 5-way pickup selector. If played light enough you can avoid the fret buzz, of which is hard to get rid of with truss and saddle adjustments, but that can be said of a heavy hand on most guitars in general. The neck dive is severe like all the weight is really just the neck, but I don't notice it much when playing. It's just something to keep in mind if you play standing and lift both hands off the guitar to quickly adjust a mic or amp knob settings. The finish is kind of satin, as if it were printed on with an ink jet printer. It leaves the soft wood body pretty vulnerable to slow moving collisions against sharp corners. The Pre-Black Friday sale price on this guitar is a STEAL though! Definitely worth it for a Music Man bass sound for recording, or gigging if your willing to put up with the minor issues of weight and neck dive.Zach

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

As a learner who has been playing a cheap 4 string the move to this 5 string was an excellent experience due to the slender neck. The paint job is out of this world and the hardware oozes quality. I've always wanted an Ibanez and it has not disappointed. A thing of beauty and tones to match any players style.COLIN S.

I spent a few weeks trying out basses at my local music stores before settling on this bass. What set this bass apart from the others was the tone and the various tones I could get out of it, as well as it's playability. The active EQ is far better than the passive EQ's that I find on other basses. For example, the EQ on Jackson basses are all but useless. There was very little tone difference when varying the EQ controls on Jackson basses. But on this Ibanez, you really hear the difference in the tone settings. The Ibanez has a bass, mid, and treble tone control. So you can really dial in the tone you're looking for. Also, the individual string height adjustment on the Ibanez lets me tailor the action to exactly how I like it. The guitar is well balanced weight wise and so hangs naturally when I play it. I have a BC Rich mockingbird bass which is terribly weighted ad the headstock drops to the floor if I don't have my fret hand supporting the neck. The string spacing on the Ibanez 5 string is good, and I can still play slap bass on it. All the knobs on the bass (except the volume knob) have a mid point that you can feel as your adjusting the tone controls, so you know exactly where "flat" is. I really like that feature.beaglebuddy

Unexpectedly nice looking bass. 2 piece fllamed maple body with a darker burst than the website photos suggested. Not bookmatched, but a nicely figured body. Super versatile preamp and nice sounding, powerful and noise free pickups. Fast, slim neck and good quality hardware. I've tweaked the set up over a couple of weeks and it's playing really well. A far nicer bass than I expected for the price, after some playing in I think it will be better than my mid 90s SR. Very easy bass to set up, and the action can be brought down ridiculously low.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.