Heavy Metal Bass Guitar For Sale (2024 Update)

I've had this bass for about 6 or 7 years now and it has absolutely blown me away! I didn't play it much when I first got it bc of the weird transition from 4 to 5 strings but over time I've played it more and more. I love it more every time I play on it! I've used this thing for rock, alt metal , death metal, posthardcore bands, jazz bands, jamming with friends stangers in a bluesy way, I've recorded With it and made YouTube covers with it. It's suited more for rock metal punk abd subgenres but it's versatile. This thing will take thick strings if you want (135 B string), the dadario strings that came on it were great too. This thing has great low end roar but can also sing melodically I play a lot of chords/fragments and tremello with a weird playing style and this thing sounds great! It's my favorite bass, it's the best I've played although I haven't tried many abd my others are lower quality. I play guitar too but am mainly a bassist so I like how the strings sit a little closer together than on others or 4 strings. I've had guitarists ask me what I did to make this bass sound so great and they were blown away when I said nothing just took it out the box! I've only had to intoneate it once so far. It's set up was pretty great out of the box the strings were a bit higher off the neck than I was Used to but once I got used to the action I was glad they put it where it was. Only complaint is that the low b sometimes would make the low b harware rattle and I could feel it skake/vibrate the whole bass (it didn't come through amp or anything. This stopped over time and I think higher string gauges might have helped to smooth this out. Batteries for the active pickups seem to last for quiet awhile. I use this through a boss me50b with compression on and through a nice combo amp that can compete with stacks this bass roars through it. I highly recommend this bass especially to rockers/metalheads. Schecter guitar research totally know what they're doing. Thanks 4 thisBassschecrer

First off let me say I've been playing "P" bass for quite a while. My current model is 24 yrs old. Thought I'd shop around for a replacement. No gigging for me anymore. Last one was July 4, 1973. Then along came children. So now I just sit on the edge of the bed and play along with John Paul Jones. When I found this Schecter Omen Extreme -4, I was deciding between an SG standard, and the Fender Aerodyne. Then I picked up this one, simply because it is bezutiful to look at. What a suprise. The pan knob will switch you from a "P" bass to a "J" bass. Even though the Omen has a 34" scale it plays beautifully. I am not disappointed with this purchase. The shape hints at a Jazz bass which I like, hence the Aerodyne search. Never mind that, this plays sweertly. At this time GC us offering an %18 off sale. You just couldn't go wrong. Only wanting a case, which will be delivered soon.Pops

I haven't been playing long. Bought my first bass in 2020 (Epiphone Thunderbird Goth). Started taking lessons online through BassBuzz (Josh is excellent!), after a few weeks of practicing for a minimum of 2 hours a day, I was able to start learning songs for our Praise Team at Church (we currently had no bassist). I'd take my Epiphone of course. I learned to play sitting down, now it's time to stand, my shoulder was killing me! 2nd week of playing at Church and my tone column failed! I took it to GC to get it fixed and spotted the Schecter hanging on the wall. I picked it up and couldn't believe the difference in the weight (again, I'm a novice), my salesperson explained the difference between active and passive and I knew then that I wanted an active guitar. The Epiphone took two uses of muscles for my left arm, one to hold the neck up and of course the other to go up and down the fretboard. This guitar is so balanced it will stay where you place it from the get go. GC gave me a fair trade on the Epiphone so I did the deal the next day. If you're a beginner or even an experienced player, this guitar can make a tremendous difference with ease and sound. Being a novice,were it not for this guitar I wouldn't have known what to look for without an experts help!Fred W

Love how this sounds with distortion especially with the tone all the way down. Clean don't sound bad but not my favorite. Not sure if it's just mine but the pots range is very small, an 1\8 of a turn and it's maxed out.Skins IV

This bass is amazing, it doesn't die out like a lot of other basses do. just like a-lox said i haven't had mine in a case since I've had it either and it has even taken a couple falls (other ppl not watching where they were walking) and it still works like it did the day i got it. only problem could be that since it's a V u can't really sit and play unless u put your leg between the two legs of the V but i prefer to stand anyways. i recomend this o any1.Briggsy80

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 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

Beautiful bass, with a slim and fast neck, and the fit and finish is exceptional. Great time, and good variety with the onboard electronics.mikewoz46n2

I primarily play fretless basses, but this one is the exception! It is smooth, crisp, and bold. The tone is unmatchable and I can switch from genre to genre with this! Highly recommend!Lonnie Bon

After 2 hours of trying many different basses in the store around the same price point (and higher), finally choosing this one, and having it in my hands for 2 weeks, I definitely made the best choice. This bass sounds great, plays great, and looks great. It needs minor setup adjustments, but other than there, zero regrets. For the price, this is an unbeatable instrument.ALEX

Schecter, ( I read) takes great pride in their craftmanship. I was not happy with getting my fingers ripped up by the rough, sharp fret ends. I talked to a tech at Schecter I described why I was not satisfied. He told me to return it ASAP. I then went out looking for a bass at my local guitar shop, saw the exact same one but the frets were nice and smooth. Makes me wonder if I was sold and received a knock off. Best to try out what you are interested in. P.S. Don't expect a quick refund.Bobby

This is a good bass that I picked up as a beater and will probably use more than just for that. For active electronics and the cost, I figured it would be worth any set up that other reviews complained about. Mine didn't require any setup at all. However, there was a really noticeable chip off the paint on the headstock, and I bought new, not scratch and dent. It took two weeks to ship and I didn't want to go through a return process and get a less playable return, so I called Musician's Friend and asked for a rebate. They only gave ten, but I got it on sale and took the deal. As for the play-ability of this bass, it rocks right up there with a lot of basses three times the cost. It's a really easy to play setup, easy to navigate neck and gives nice indie rock bass tones out of the box, at least for me.Rev. Sal

I bought this for my son for his birth day a year and a half ago. I myself have played bass for over 30 years. I have had this thing professionally set up twice. Fretts needed dressed, action was way too high right out of the box. Electronics are fairly decent and playability is good after a set up. He is happy but already seeking a better bass.Scott

i bought it used, so that may affect my review but the bass was fairly easy to play, but the tuning was an issue. it would stay in tune but the pegs were kinda loose. i should note that this bass has ACTIVE PICKUPS. Meaning it takes a 9v battery to power. Not a big deal but you can't really play the bass without a battery. And if you forget to turn the volume knob all the way down, the battery will drain overnight and be complete dead before you pick the bass back up again. Would i recommend this to someone? yes but if they are beginning to learn how to play the instrument.zach m

I went from a new yamaha with active pickups to this jackson with passive pickups. I don't play much bass, so Literally I was looking for a cheap guitar to record with. It has a solid low end grunt but still maintains the mid bang "slap" as you might call it. No its not spotless, the wood is not colored along some of the seems and its not the prettiest style wise, but for someone who just wants an easy playing, solid sounding bass track, this is a great weapon.Jeremy

I give this bass 5 stars, not because it's comparable to a high end instrument, but because of the quality at this unbelievable price point. I was looking for a passive P-style bass that wouldn't break the bank; my expectations were that I would have to do some work to it (fret level, polish, sharp ends, etc.) However, I was very pleasantly surprised to find that none of those issues existed when it arrived, and it was even actually in tune! I lowered the action to my preference, as should be done with every instrument. The neck is extremely comfortable and fast. The plastic nut is cut quite well, bridge is more than adequate, tuners are sufficient and hold tune even with heavy handed attack. The real surprise though, was the strong sustained growling punch of the pickup! This bass actually sounds quite good! I wouldn't hesitate to gig with it: and it's an excellent backup or first bass, that you won't soon outgrow. For reference – I have been playing guitar for 32 years, bass for 25 years and have a MIM Fender Jazz V, and several Ibanez basses (mid grade – professional grade, 4, 5, & 6 string variations). This Jackson isn't in the same class as my others, but that doesn't really mean anything, because it still delivers exceptional quality and value. It is very fun to play, and the tonality is quite useable and shapeable. Bottom line is – this bass is a huge bang for buck!Shasal

This was the first bass I bought myself and im very glad I did. I bought this bass around last December and have been in love ever since. I bought this bass mainly cause of the price tag but also because I was wanting a bass with humbuckers. The epiphone thunderbird had my eye but wasn't exactly in my budget at the time but then I came across this bass. Great price tag and a familiar (body) P bass shape. Fast forward to today and this bass still rocks. The body was put together nicely along with it's finish but you can tell where quality was sacrificed which was the neck. Not terrible or unplayable but you can tell it's a fairly cheap neck. Otherwise the tone, playability, and feel is amazing.Brandon F

I have been waiting on this style to come back for quite awhile. This was the one bass I have been missing in my collection, now I can't say that any longer. Good sturdy design, good quality parts used, not too heavy and a price that is pretty amazing. Thank you to all involved on me finally getting one!jedibassgary

I went to Guitar center and tried several bass. All of them are good. This one is my final pick. I like the sound and EQ control. The sound felt whole( I don't know how to describe it). The EQ helps that you want to hide or show off. I just play once for a while. I like this bass.Matt

I play bass in Country band 2 to 3 nights a week, 3 one hour sets. I have been using my Fender Jazz Bass for years. My shoulder is usually sore as heck by the middle of the night. I bought this bass because it is much lighter and now I can play all night without shoulder pain. The ibanez sounds awesome, has great controls with the 3 band eq and is really cool looking especially with the gold hardware, and the thin neck with 1 2" radius fretboard is very nice to play.I am very happy with this bass and the price was great.Mark

Let me first say this Bass is stunning in appearance!!! I just play at home for fun so I don't need a high end Bass like back in the day but I am pleasantly surprised with this Bass. It's all I expected and more! Very comfy to play and a decent variety of tones.Scott

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

I bought this in Cosmic Blue and it did not disappoint… it is absolutely stunning and the playability is off the charts… Tons of tone, slim neck and great low end… this guitar booms !!!Chad

This bass is absolutely fantastic for rock and metal, the single pickup design is nice and simple and sounds fantastic, bass is very durable and feels great and the luminlay side dots are a definite plus for playing live, the tone of this bass paired with some good overdrive sits great in a mix, only con would be that it doesn't sound very great when used in different genres but is still useableGash S

Overall: This is serious kick ass bass that is made for metal. Great sound and vibe, even when not plugged in. The combination of tone woods is unbeatable. Top that off with EMG pups and you got a well rounded low end metal machine. If you like EMG then this is a sure hit for you.Sotero

I am really impressed with this Banshee Bass. I was surprised on how light it was and the quality of woods is nice also..Alder body with Maple/Rosewood neck and a graphtech nut. I would recommend this bass to anyone looking to get a short scale Bass. Good job Schecter!Curt

I've been searching for a precision-style bass that is smaller and lighter and more comfortable to play than the traditional Fender models. I've tried a lot of short-scale basses and this is the first one that really works. When strung with flat-wound strings, it has a warm tone that is very similar to a P bass. Other short-scale basses either look like toys or suffer from poor tone. Usually the E string is at fault because it will be floppy and will sound different and ugly compared with the other strings. On the Banshee, the E string is taught and sounds good. I think the large tuners and high-mass bridge make the difference. The Banshee is well-built and has high-quality components. The neck is C shaped at the low end and flattens to a D shape at the high end, making it easy to reach the high notes. I know it's a good neck when I find myself noodling for hours when I practice. I can't wait to pick it up and I hate to put it down. My only complaint is the tuners. They don't hold tune for long and they are fiddley. The slightest nudge will send a string over or under tune and it can be difficult to find the sweet spot. Also, there is a loud 60 cycle hum that will probably require some additional shielding to fix. I'd recommend the Banshee to anyone who plays classic rock or soul music and wants a bass that's comfortable and easy to play. Check it out!David, K

I recently switched to exclusively short scale basses, and recently let go of my American Pro Fender P bass, which was difficult to part with. Since then, I've not been able to find the signature P bass sound – until now. The Banshee is a grown up, solid bass that plays a lot like an American Mustang meets the P bass. The string-through body might be the reason for the powerful sustain, as well as the beefy alder body and the high-mass bridge. I threw DR Black Beauties on it, and it's just fantastic. Solid craftsmanship and the pickup is strong and versatile, even with just a volume and tone knob. I've owned about a half-dozen basses, three short scales, and this is way above the rest, including the Mustang. Just for comparison's sake, I recently purchased a Fallout Tribute bass from G&L, and it just felt tinny and cheap compared to the Banshee. Other features are the neck – slim and fast, and so easy to play. Fretwork was above average for the price, no sharp fret ends. Tuners are light, no neck dive at all. I checked the setup when I got it back home, and the truss rod needed a slight adjustment but the intonation was perfect. The TUSQ nut was set too high for the string action on the first fret, and required a tiny bit of filing. Only two issues were that the rosewood looked warped out of the box, and the pickup anchor screws stripped immediately with just a slight turn, and appear to be stuck in the body and unable to be adjusted. Overall, this is one of the best short scale basses out there for the price.Scott

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

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

This bass is everything anyone could want. You can dial in consistent tones for Jazz, Rock, Blues; anything you can imagine. You're only limited by your amp and skill. Good for novices or pros, and priced for both of them. I play progressive rock/metal, jazz, classical, fusion, etc and the bass lends itself well to all these things. The hardware is solid: the tuners tight, the bridge stable, and the nut functions as prescribed. Some people have problems with the TEK bridge but I personally find it convenient. No cross-talk, easy stringing, reliable setup that DOESN'T BUDGE. The pickup/preamp complements the bass and its resonance qualities. Passive EMG HZ pickups with the mahogany body work together constructively. The bass and treble controls work well with amps, not adding much to the gain of the signal but still affecting the tone strikingly. The body and neck are well constructed and add a lot to the tone. Mahogany+maple+rosewood are the essential dream-team. Access up to the 24th fret is relatively easy. The satin finish allows more vibrations to transfer through the hardware and body. The quality craftsmanship is fairly decent. The fret ends are smooth and all the edges are clean. The factory setup is alright but I like my action low for easy playability. Overall, the bass is clean, simple, and contributes to any playing style well.ProgJazzMetalBassist

Overall: When I purchased this bass guitar, I did it on a whim based purely off how much I like the sound of Schecter 6 string guitars. I was prepared to be a little disappointed and make a trade in if necessary, but no, I pulled this baby out of the box and fell straight in love from the first ultra twangy acoustic note. A few hours tweaking my Fender Rumble amp (also courtesy of zZounds) and suddenly I had THE sound I had been chasing. The layout of the pot functions were confusing at best but Schecter released an online wiring diagram so a little research got me exactly what I needed; excellent customer support in that regard, but with the quality of this bass, I feel as if I'll never even need to contact customer support in order to give them a review on it! Everything from chunky 90's post-punk to soft jazz to slap bass in tha face to dad rock to death metal to orchestral, just turn a few knobs and this baby knocks it out of the park. The EMG pickups really scream for passives, too.Taran

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

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

As a long time guitarist, I thought I'd dip my toe into the world of bass. This is an incredible product for the money and in no way feels or looks like an entry level product. Really usable features which lend towards a huge range of tones from a single instrument. The guys at GG set up instruments to be played straight off and this one was no different – great action on a highly playable neck.Superb!Reviewed by guitarguitar custome

I have had this beautiful five string fretless bass guitar for almost four months now. This guitar was set up just right out of the box. The only two things that I had to do differently was of course to put flatwound bass strings on this bass, and I chose to raise the strings action up a little higher. Other than that this bass is exactly what I wanted in a fretless bass guitar. I wanted a bass that could nail those "Jaco Pastorius" bright tight punchier "Jazz" bass tones. This bass also does the new age music fretless bass sounds so well. It is very well built, and has a beautiful finish. I could not ask for any more from a bass especially for the wide range of sounds to be had from a bass like this Ibanez SR375EF! Thank You American Musical Supply. Sincerely Steve N. Jr.Steven N.