Half Guitar Half Bass For Sale (2024 Update)

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

This fretless bass is a great value! This bass is about 1/3 the price of the next cheapest fretless. The sound is very good with a wide range of tonal possibilities. Exactly what I was hoping for. The flat wound strings have amazing treble, similar to round wounds. I was able to lower the action quite a bit by adjusting the bridge with the provided Allen wrench. On the downside, while the A, D, and G strings were flawless, the E string was dead. It was totally mismatched to the sound of the other strings; thumpy without any treble. I guessed that the outer wrapping around the core had unwound at the factory and was not tight. Removing the E from the tuning peg and twisting it to tighten the wrap around the core improved the sound dramatically. Endemic to this model is a design flaw (I tried 3 of these basses previous) wherein the two tone controls are wired in series rather than in parallel. Either tone control can control the tone of either the bridge or neck pick-up, so that it is impossible to control the tone of the two pickups independent of the other. Consequently, you can roll off the treble fully with one tone control and then roll it off again with the other for an insanely deep bass sound. You can easily re-wire this unforgivable defect in a few minutes, if you own a soldering iron. You can Google this slip-up and get a correct wiring diagram online. I may leave it for now, as I am getting into the tonal possibilities of the "extended bassy" sound. Finally, the fret board is unmarked. Being a visual player, I found it helpful to pencil in fret lines. The side markers provided on the neck are not so helpful, as they are in the traditional fretted positions, one half fret back from the place where you need to finger. These drawbacks are not a deal breaker in my opinion. The bass is a blast to play and the tone is completely different than my fretted basses. GET THIS BASS! I STRONGLY RECOMMEND IT!Lenny

To be honest, I bought this bass mostly because of a great discount offered by Musician's Friend. I didn't want to spend a lot on the bass since I only wanted to experiment with fretless playing. However, this bass was a pleasant surprise. It looks great, plays great and has provided me with a bass sound I always wanted but could never get with my fretted basses. I was concerned that I would play out of tune without the frets, but it was easy to get used to finding the correct notes. The pickups are excellent! I've recorded several tunes with it now and honestly love the results. I'm impressed by Rogue basses, which many of my bass-playing friends shrug off as being "cheap" and not a brand name. They don't know what they are missing! I intend to buy a fretted version ASAP. It is lighter than my Fender Jazz basses and the smaller neck is easier to play. In conclusion, I'll never be a bass 'snob' again. Rogue products are an excellent bargain and not just for "beginner" bass players.lcad1953

I am mainly a guitarist but have always had an interest in a fretless bass. It sounds surprisingly good. To get intonation right I had to replace the bridge adjustment screws with longer 3X50 mm screws. Without that fix it is unplayable. Another fix would be to move the bridge plate 1/2" towards neck.Tom

I bought this bass awhile ago. After reading several negative reviews I think the issues they have is this bass is shipped with no tension on the truss rod/neck. Out of the box it is not playable, sounds horrible and you need to adjust the truss rod to add relief to the neck. After making that adjustment this bass is a great beginners bass and sounds good. You will not be disappointed. Just watch a YouTube vid on how to add relief to a guitar neck / adjust truss rod.Gerald

I got this just to use for home recordings after YEARS away from bass playing. I've owned better in the past, but this is not bad! It has a good tone and the neck is easily playable. Sounds good playing through a Fender Rumble 25 watt amp. If there is one thing I don't like, it's the round-wound strings. I first started with flat wounds, playing funk and R & B, so the strings aren't as "warm" as I'd like. Still good for slap styles or for rock.Lee

I bought this bass back in 2003, and wanted to start playing again. I played bass in the early 1980's till 90's. I grew up with Rock to Metal days and had a Fender bass. I got caught up in marriage and working 12 hr days , so I sold my equipment. This bass plays well once you get it set up. Sounds great for a budget bass. I still have it among other upgrades bass guitars I now have. I still like playing it. And it still looks like new . Great bass for the money.Jbrocky0

I was expecting poor quality, but this is really nice. I have the Hofner version(Ignition) and this is as good or better. Maybe I got a good one, I don't know but I would recommend it to anybody who plays guitar or bass. It has a rich, full, smooth tone. And that's with the stock roundwound strings. Low action and no buzzing. Incredible! I've played for 50+ years so "I know a little….."Michael

Arrived in excellent condition with way high action and flat fretboard (A string in particular was buzzing on frets). Turned truss rod about 1/4 turn (loosen) and lowered action at the bridge; easy to do. Intonation was absolutely on as it arrived. Bass plays very nice and sounds great! Ordered some flat wound strings as the stock strings are rough as a corncob and cannot slide at all in higher registers. The price is right and the bass is top notch quality! I do need to look into raising the bridge pickup as it is about 1/2" below the strings and is very weak.John

At this current price point, I could not resist. It satisfies my need to own a violin bass, as I have been a Beatles fan since I was four (I'm 63 now). It may not be a Hofner, but I am willing to overlook that. I did make some easy modifications: I removed the screwed-on pickguard, turned over and blackened in the truss cover on the peghead. Please note: if price is a factor, be ready to add more money for flat-wound strings, so just order them when you order your bass. There is some fret buzz, but a little bridge adjustment helped that for the most part. The second string 7th fret will need to be filed down–I'll get to that sometime later. In spite of it not having the Hofner name on it, I'm giving mine five stars.Dave

This is a really good starter bass, IMO. It came well set up and ready to play right after I tuned it up. Intonation was good. Neck was straight and the fretwork did not need any repairs. Pickups seem to be decent. Fun to play. Short scale was the right choice for me. The extra 4" for a full scale would have really been an uncomfortable stretch for me.Clay

Right out of the box, was amazed at the quality of the finishes. Great balance. The neck was a terrific surprise as it came with no sharp frets and so comfortable. The electronics are not the highest of quality but they do work. The set up was amazing and initially had fret buzz on low E at 7th fret. Tuned it and has lessoned, I may need to tweak a bit. But for price who could go wrong! I should have ordered another one and will continue to check to see if they go back on sale again. Even at regular price if the deliver what I received then it is great value for the money. I happened to get mine when they were 1/2 off regular price so am super pleased.carol2m

Completely unusable out of the box. Neck was bowed like a half pipe. Various high frets had to be filed down, and it was impossible to intonate. E string nut was cut so deep it is almost even with the fretboard. Theres no wood on the tuner side to replace the nut like a Fender where there would be a wooden slot to fit a nut into. I'm trying to build it back up w/ some epoxy and filings off a bone my dog was chewing on & will refile. Otherwise, I'll use it for firewood. I had some higher end parts and the experience to make this a decent little bass but if you dont, save your money or go w/ an Ibanez or Jackson in a budget short scale. Or spend more on a Fender.Matty G

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

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

I've had this bass for almost two weeks now, maybe a bit more. I didn't give my feedback befor today, since I would've given it less than a one. However, I waited for a reason. The sound is great, and I don't mind the sound of the stock pickups. It looks great, but that's trivial to me compared to the sound. Now here's a problem that few have mentioned. While some said, it's playable right out of the box, IT ISN'T. I got the bass in a pretty bad condition. Meaning, the action was too high, and the pickups were too close to the strings. It was virtually unplayable, even though I convinced myself that I could play it; which I did. But the pain in my fingers was indescribable, I almost got depressed. I changed my strings a week later to SH77 flat wounds .50 (heavy and thick strings), which didn't help initially. So I tried adjusting the action myself, but still wasn't enough. A day later, I sent it to a professional for setup. Now that made all the difference. I'm in love now. The strings sound amazing, the bass plays amazing, the feel is amazing, …. in brief it's amazing. Bottom line, have it setup by a professional ( unless you are a professional technician), otherwise you'll struggle with this bass. Unfortunately, the agent at MF mentioned that it's playable right out of the box, and I was naive to believe it. Anyway, live and learn. Set it up, and you'll already to go. Hope this helps anyone skeptical about this bass.Rafi

I purchased a Sterling sub series stingray5 a week earlier and really wasn't happy so I went to return it. While I was there I was trying out some of the usual fenders that are in stock and just wasn't feeling it. Then, I noticed this one. I played it for 5 minutes and couldn't stop. It had the most comfortable neck I've ever played. After comparing it to a couple more expensive p bass options, this one was still the clear winner. The design may not be typical fender, and it's almost reminiscent of an Ibanez or a Washburn, but the ergonomic are like no other. Trust me this guitar is worth a shot. The tone is warm and growly. If you could imagine mixing the bass tone of the red hot chili peppers and the pixies, this would be what it sounds like.Chris

I got this bass recently and have to say its my go to bass for everything. I have a few others like a Dean which is nice, but feels odd due to its weight balance. But the Aerodyne sits well and feels comfortable. I think the tone of it sounds really good. Bought this in store so I got to test it out, action isnt bad. I did some innotating which only the E string needed it. I'm sorta new to bass, but I been producing music for 10 years. But being a new bassist, it feels great. I do highly recommend this bass. Great price.Liam C

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

Just took delivery of a used Hofner shorty bass in black. Lovely instrument. Fit and finish was fine. I had to do a little bit of intonation setting which took no time. The neck is better than expected. Frets are finished properly and the neck has a nice satin finish. Its not to wide, not too thick and feels great. The pickup delivers and even sound across the strings. There are no dead spots. Volume and tone controls work great and the knurled knobs feel very good. I was able to dial in some of my preferred sounds using the VPF control on my Markbass Blackline 250 going through a Markbass NY604 cabinet. I was also liking the sounds going through an Eden World Tour preamp. Im looking forward to rehearsal tomorrow using the Eden directly into an EV ZLX 12 powered cabinet. The bass came professionally packed and really appeared to be new. Love the padded Hofner gig bad with the logo on it. All in all a great small, inexpensive (but not cheap) bass for practice, performance and especially travel.Miguel404

First of all, this bass is just what I wanted for practicing when traveling. Compact, 24 frets, decent electronics and comes with a gig bag. Intonation was pretty good too. I did adjust the intonation, but that's really only because I'm kind of fussy about intonation. One thing I will say is I had never experienced "neck dive" until I owned this bass like. in the resting position, the bass headstock will point right down to 5 o'clock. Since this is a practice instrument, I made some modifications. I put weight in the body cavity, but the body cavity is not huge, so with extra weight, I could get the neck to hang in the resting position at about 3 o'clock. I next removed the front strap pin and drilled a 3/8" in diameter hole 2" into the body at the same angle as the strap pin screw. I purchased 3/8" aluminum round stock and cut it to 7.5". 2" would insert into the body and 5.5" would remain outside to mount the strap button while extending out to nearly the 12th fret. I painted the round stock black (primer and paint). I mounted (drilled and epoxied) the strap button on the end of the round stock. I think epoxied the extender into the body. It looks pretty darned good and now the bass balances perfectly.Kevin1014

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

Just bought one. Very nice looking, plays well. Bought mine via Walmart for a lower price.Nice gig bag, great Fishman electronics. I have owned Aliens, Ovations and now this one. This one is a keeper. Same feedback issues at higher volumes that almost all acoustic basses seem to have. Just have to rely on a good EQ to get rid of most of it.616jacqdaniels

One of the nicest acoustic basses I have owned. Great finish, great tone, very nice Fishman electronics and a excellent gig bag. I've had Warwick Aliens, Ovations and now this one. Can't be beat for the cost.JacqD

Overall: When I say I own it, I mean I own THIS bass guitar, the one in the picture. I can't put this instrument down, it is always the closest thing at my side. Out of the box I could not find a thing wrong with it. The fit and finish were really great. I had to adjust the truss rod after a bit as there was a bit of noisiness, but that allowed me to lower the action even more. This instrument is really silky smooth to play, with a thin neck, super light due to the semi hollow body. The tone is excellent, and the piezo output can be adjusted on each string. So I feel this was just the perfect bass for me, just feels right, and I love the music and sound that I can make with it.Adam

Overall: Ibanez really nailed it with this bass. Easy to use, two knob bass that has a great fretless tone. Bass is very sensitive to hand position so there are a variety of tones to be found. Bass intonation was set perfectly (like Gary Willis style). Out of the box I could have taken this to a gig and played comfortably. Body and neck are both comfortable. Black fret lines on the board are useless to me but don't get in the way. Compared to the Portamento this may seem like a very simple bass. Having owned the Portamento it is. The Portamento is a fine bass but there are almost too many tonal options. With the SRH500F I find great sounds tones with ease. Records very well and sounds great in a mix too.Aproud

This bass is INCREDIBLE!!! Range of tone for days!!! Whether you like it smooth and pretty or if you like to thump and be funky you can do it all!!! I play it out of my Ampeg rig and whewwwww I’m glad I have great neighbors who don’t mind ?? Get this bass today!!! You won’t be disappointedMontrelia Burns

Slap, tap, finger style, whatever. This bass makes them matter. While it takes some time to adjust to multi scale, it takes zero time to appreciate the human ergonomic factors that went into this design. This is the next level bass.Mauteman

There are things that I love about this bass: the weight, the balance, the uniqueness. Despite being really expensive, it's probably my go to travel instrument just for the weight and size. Having said that, for the price the quality and fit and finish is really disappointing. The thin veneer is beautiful, but really thin and easy to damage. Beyond that mine was clearly not put together well. I alternate between playing with fingers and a pick and couldn't figure out why I kept hearing an odd noise when playing with the pick. Well, one of the four neck bolts was installed incorrectly and the washer is just rattling around, but the bolt is unable to be loosened or tightened, so obviously it was cross threaded on installation. My biggest complaint is the frets were not installed on the neck correctly, they actually hang off one side a bit and cut my left hand to shreds while playing fast. For the price it should have been comfortably playable out of the box, not needing as much work as a used guitar. I'd be really hesitant to buy another Ibanez after this experience.Andy

I was looking around for an acoustic bass so I could practice at home without the need of an amplifier. I have a Fender Electric (Passive) Bass and a Dean Electric (Active) bass and anytime I want to practice I have to go to my home studio. With this one I can practice anywhere in the house. Despite of that, none of the acoustic basses I tried at different stores match the sound or the body shape. This Goldin has the perfect size body and extreme quality sound whether you play it acoustically or plugged into an amplifier! No regrets and I think I'll have it for the rest of my life.Gigio

The Hofner Violin Bass is truly one of the best basses I have ever laid my hands on. I recieved mine the other month, and I'm satisfied to say that it fufilled my expectations. First, the finish was stunning. Second, it came perfectly tuned out of the box with a lovely set of flatwounds. Third, my bass came with an aluminum-bullet hardshell case which looks formidable and does a great job of protecting the bass. The bass itself is quite light, and the pickguard can start to buzz in its bridge socket, but you can always remove it easily. The Hofner has a lovely tone that cannot be accurately compared to other electrics or upright basses; you really have to hear it to know it. One minor flaw is that the higher frets are somewhat muddied, and a slight ring can be noticed when playing notes on the A and D string simultaneously. Overall, I am quite satisfied with my 500/1. It's really no surprise why it has managed to be Paul McCartney's go-to bass for all these years. I'm sure that if you want a good bass, you can't go wrong with a Hofner!The Jazz Cat

Simply put, this is a fun instrument to play. It's light weight so you can play for 2 hours and not feel back or shoulder fatigue. Excellent craftsmanship from the fretwork to the binding. It's beautiful. The electronics are unique and the switching system takes a little bit to get used to. However, I can get a decent mix of tones from this bass. Keep in mind, this is a hollow body bass, and a small bodied bass. It's not going to growl or punch like a Fender or Rickenbacker. It's not supposed to. In my opinion, this bass is best at playing jazz, country, bluegrass, rockabilly, and early rock & roll. What I did not like was the manufacturer's suggested way of attaching the strap. I kept the button strap knobs as they were. I didn't want the optional strap metal connections scraping against the body and finish. This was my only negative takeaway. Bottom line: in my opinion, this bass gives you that warm woody sound that no other electric bass can and it is so fun to play.Hofner Player

Immediately after receiving my Höfner 500/1, I plugged it into my Fender BXR 100 amp and let loose. The thing is a force to be reckoned with. Blowing through Beatles hits, blues, and even some of the more subdued Red Hot Chili Peppers stuff with this bass was easy. I opted to buy a Höfner strap for the bass for the vintage look and feel; plus, I wasn't too keen on putting strap locks in place of the preexisting buttons. I'd say my only complaint with this bass is the hollow body is much lighter than the neck and headstock which means the thing tends to want to fall off of you when you don't have a hand on it. But I guess that's a small price to pay for the several pounds lighter it is compared to other basses. Previous reviewers have said to not slap or pop this bass, but I like to believe anything is possible. I alternate between round wounds and flatwound strings depending on the sound I want. I'll be honest, though, I use flat wounds more often because the sound from them seems more appropriate with the Höfner's image. By and large, it's a lovely bass. If you can't afford this model, I would still recommend you get your hands on one of the cheaper models because to miss out on owning one of these fab instruments would be a crying shame.Jered

Absolutely belting and beautiful acoustic bass, lovely to play, great sound and lovely to look at. Acoustic basses are great if you’re time and space limited and just need something to pick up and play without the faff of plugging in and finding headphones etc (which i find a bit anti social for my partner and kids). I’ve tried a few acoustic basses and this is the best and it has a surprisingly good slap sound, which I hadn’t expected from an acoustic bass! All in all if you want something to play at home this is the best. I can’t comment on the electric sound (this has a preamp) as I haven’t used it yet and it’s not what I bought it for.D R. M.

This is a great bass! I've owned and played a handful of acoustic basses from different companies in my time and i like this one the best. Let me state first, I'm not a fender guy but…I've always loved the sound of an acoustic bass and I always wanted one, so i shopped around for a while and went through a few different models to arrive at this one. I've had it for a year now and i grow to love it more all the time! The pictures on GC dont do it justice…The high gloss black finish on the body and headstock is sleek and sexy and the bold block inlays coupled with the jazz bass neck and headstock give this beauty a different attitude compared to other acoustic basses and it plays smooth and sounds great! The biggest thing I noticed with this model compared to the other acoustic basses I've had is that this one really projects well and has great tone plugged or unplugged! I travel a lot and this bass has gone a lot of places with me and it's always sure to turn heads. I live in a place where i wouldn't want to crank my amps to play electric so this has become the main bass i use to practice with and i have a lot of fun with it. It looks and sounds great, it's built and finished well, it's fun and smooth to play, it holds its tuning and the electronics don't drain batteries…what more could you ask for? I would definitely recommend this bass, especially for the price point.Ray

Mine came with a warped neck, body is super soft and easily dings,and finish as you would expect is consistent with most low cost cost Asian basses. Electronics also. Required a lengthy setup but still could not optimize with bad neck. There are better options in a beginner bass. The Rondo SX and the lower end Ibanez lefty basses are just two examples.kraigster414

I bought this for my son for Christmas. He is a self taught instrument player. He was overjoyed with this package. He loved the look of the guitar and all of the extras that it came with. He said it was a definite upgrade from his old guitar that he learned on.Deoanna