Stu Hamm Bass Guitar For Sale (2024 Update)

I bought mine new and it's everything positive others say about it. Don't know what bobz429 is talking about. Obviously he has a modified model. Hardware is first rate with a Hagstrom designed P90 single coil at the neck and classic '58C humbucker at the bridge (Hagstrom winds their own pickups). It's a joy to play, very clean factory pups, beautiful finish, very well crafted and flawless. Rivals guitars up to 3 times the cost in my opinion. The Hagstrom composite Resinator fret board is fast and has good sustain. This guitar can be used for jazz with very clean articulation and voicing, moan the blues, fit right into classic or grunge rock and growl with the best of 'em throughout it's entire range. The ringing clarity is stunning! It's a lot of bang for your buck, and lighter than you'd think for a guitar with a 28" scale. A "tad" neck-heavy balance wise, but once you play it and realize it's potential from mild to wild, this is easily overlooked and by "no means" a deal breaker. It has 5 star ratings across the board for a reason. It's simply that good! This is a players guitar and one I'll keep the rest of my life. It will surprise and please you once you plug it in. This is an amazing baritone. Plug it in, crank it up, and jam 'til the cows come home! If your in the marketfor a baritone guitar, the Hagstrom Viking Deluxe is very hard to beat! I personally don't think any others in it's price rang hold a candle to it. Highly recommended. Enjoy! Edit: Was surprised to see I wasn't listed as a verified purchaser (don't know how that works). Oh well, I assure you I own this guitar purchased from SoundsCheapMusic on eBay out of Pleasant Hill, MO on April 22, 2015… in the Cosmic Black Burst finish. All the same, you won't be disappointed. 😉honorable1-us

With more than 15yrs. of experience with various Hagstrom guitars and over 40yrs. of playing and performing, this instrument and review was an unexpected and a very pleasant surprise. I will acknowledge that I was prompted to pull the trigger on the purchase in no small part because of a couple of reviews here on MFI, one by a fellow who is an American musician living in Sweden. From what I was able to glean from a collection of YouTube videos from past NAMM shows, it looks like the Viking DLX 12 made it's debut about 2016, and has had at least one major update since, with the most notable being larger, but traditional-shaped F-holes on the top, fully creme bound, of course. I very much agree with the opinion previously expressed about there being a major advantage for Hagstrom because of their sourcing all woods(primarily Canada)and all hardware and electronics, leaving their factory contractors in China to concentrate on building the best looking/sounding instrument possible. I would place current Hagstrom product on a par with anything from the Park factories in Korea, and nearly on par with some of the older product that came from Matsumoko in Japan. IMHO, and as pointed out by a previous reviewer, the only real contenders in this narrow category of instrument are the hollowbody Ric 300 Series, and the current Gretsch Electromatic 5422-12, both of which are 2-3X the cost of a new Viking DLX 12. Pickups are clear voiced but fairly hot, and the Resonator fretboard feels great and works with the overall timbre of a maple bodied guitar. The bookmatched flame maple body sides, top, and back are a sight to behold; laminated but beautiful. The most playable and comfortable neck I have EVER put in my hand for a 12-string; a profile similar to an early 60's Gibson or modern ESP being "thin", but with a 15" radius and a 45mm black Tusq nut. Perfect for chording and rhythm, but enough room between string pairs for either finger or flatpicking with precision. Get ItArch69er

It caught my eye hanging in my local Guitar Center in Goodlettsville, TN, which has a terrific staff btw. I asked to try it and was quite impressed with the overall build quality and set-up. Simply perfect; action, intonation, fret dressing, etc. It didn't need a thing! Thought about it overnight and returned the next day to buy it.Alan

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

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

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

I got the hotrod yellow. How often do you see a yellow guitar? I also have a $1600 bass and this sounds just as good! I had to do a complete setup which is unusual, adjust the truss rod,saddles,pickup height. It plays and sounds amazing now. Downsides are, you have to buy an adaptor(if you can find one) to use regular strings of your choice. The strap extender which made the bass sit right and more playable cannot be found and is no longer made. Lastly you need to buy a special stand which is also hard to find cause it wont fit on a standard one. I managed to buy the adaptor and the stand from Reverb. As always American musical delivers excellent service and has made many purchases become a reality with the payment system! I no longer shop at music stores all my buisness is done here! The crafstmanship is better then you would expect for the price point. The fit and finnish seems great no sharp edges. The gigbag has a larger pocket and seems a little better quality then the one I got with my GT-Pro years ago. I would recommend a hardshell if you play out a lot with this.Scott G.

I bought this guitar because my back and shoulder have been hurting a lot recently, even with reasonably light guitars. I also tried the Strandberg Boden, but although it was lighter than this I could not justify the huge amount of money and didn't feel it was worth it. So I went with this, the original headless! (or version of) For the money, you can't fault it – I am very happy and play it all the time. So in many ways it deserves 5 stars. There are some bits I don't love though: The volume knob is so close to the strings I knock it a lot. If you are a very precise player this won't be an issue, but if you're going at it Cobain style you will. For the size, it could be lighter. It is still considerably lighter than a "normal" guitar though. The pickups are not great. However, I knew this going in, and with the guitar being so affordable and pickups being the easiest component to replace, this is what I plan on doing. The middle pickup is too close to the strings – I hit it a lot. Again, fixable. The neck profile gets weirdly thinner the closer you get to fret 1. I use this guitar for metal, so I don't mind, but I can't play chords on it, for that I need some girth! I want to end on a high, so here are the things I really like! General playability – it plays really well! A joy. Fretwork – top notch. Tremolo system – Why do more guitars not have the knob at the back to adjust the spring tension? It is fantastic. As is the quick way to lock it off. I've not had a floating trem in years because of the hassle, this is much better. Flip out leg rest – just what you need for seated playing. The look – Marmite for sure, but I love it. Retro yet futuristic.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

Overall: I love the sound and playability of this wonderful instrument. My only complaint is with FedEx, they delivered a day late and at 10pm. they did not walk it up tp the door they left it in the middle of a driveway I share with a neighbor and left with no notification. I just happened to hear their door slam. I opened the front door as they left. I walked out to the driveway and stepped on the package because it was so dark. Fortunately the instrument was not damaged.Micheal

The pickup blend work better than others, and I like that the active pre-amp's output volume matches the output volume of the bass in passive mode. The P pickup is strong and sounds like a P. The J pickup can sound a bit reedy as-is but is easily beefed up with a light bit of EQ in active mode. The bass is comfortable, and came from the manufacturer nearly perfectly intonated. I only had to adjust the B string, and not by much.Fat Nermil

A quick update after an issue. In my original review I noted a couple of quality related issues. That has come home. With a prominent gig pending I had the neck-P pup fail in rehearsal. Panning to it yielded zero while panning away was nothing but J. Both active and passive. So it goes for a warranty repair. But I stilled gigged it for one song that needed low D and I didn't want to drop the E on my other basses. The EQ suite was/is robust enough to compensate and got me close to the tone I wanted with the bridge-J pup alone. That's the good news. But the episode cost the model a 'star'. On a side issue, the Yamaha hardshell case is not worth acquiring. It will not securely hold the instrument, but looks great not doing it. Either stay with the gig-bag (which holds it better) or go for a better after-market case. On a good note, the relaxed bridge angle still has yet to break my standard flat La Bellas. That's a win!Tuna27

Took this out of the box last week and immediately started practicing for a gig the same week. I have a Hofner , but wanted a solid body for some of the heavier tunes but still a small scale neck. Action and set-up were fine out of the box with no fret buzz. I may put flat-wounds on, but not sure yet. Tone and pick up were good. Mine was a blemish-so I got a discount. Anyway, I used it at the gig with no problems and never switched to the Hofner. Nice bass for the price. Whether it becomes my go to remains to be seen.Mike V

After playing this bass guitar I don't want to play my 30" scale Beatle bass anymore much less a 34" scale bass! Lol. It is so easy to play that it makes me wonder why Fender introduced their first bass guitar with a 34" scale. This bass runs circles around any long scale bass guitar. Add to that the super fast neck, low action, P/J pickups, great tone and Ibanez quality construction is just amazing. This is now my main bass guitar after 40 years of longnecks. Ibanez hit it out of the ball park on this one. No doubt other brands will follow. This bass has no flaws of any kind. I tried to find one but couldn't. Great job, great bass!CodSackJackson

Bought one of these basses after searching high and low for used Attitudes and always wanted to play one. Finally found a III online at GC used. It was basically brand new out of the box. Once I received it I was totally blown away. I have Fender P and J basses and am very familiar witht the P neck, my first bass and have it for over 25 years. The ABIII neck is so comfortable and the action is amazing. The playability blows all of my Fenders away and I hate to admit that because I still love playing them but this bass just raises the bar. Construction is top notch. The neck through construction is solid and the body is solid but very light. Hardware is excellent and the recessed bridge just adds to the low action and sustain. Harmonics are bright and clear, there's no fret buzz and the bass plays very fast. Comes with a set of BS strings which I really like. I'm not sure if it's the strings themselves or the neck profile but bending is quite easy to do everywhere on the fretboard and not just where the neck is scalloped. Which brings me to that section…. just a great feature that adds to new inspiring riffs and soloing ideas. I would never try or do that on my other basses as it was just such an effort to bend and not buzz or be difficult to do but the scalloped frets make it a breeze. Fiinally, the tone. The EBO-esque neck pickup really keeps a nice low end thump and they are very complimentary to the P pups. I would recommend this bass to anyone that was thinking about a high end "players" bass. This thing is meant to played and played hard.Joeglow

Bought one of these because I always loved the look and sound of Billy's bass but more importantly the P bass sound with the extra grind he has. I started to do research on the new one and didn't find too much on it but decided to jump in. So glad I did! The action is unreal and the tightest of all of my boutique basses with no fret buzz anywhere. The neck is chunky but very comfortable. Smooth palm rest and very fast playing. All of my guitar buddies are flawed by how low the action is and how great it feels. The quality is bar none. The bass is super responsive and sounds great with no effects used. Great P bass tone on the single plug in. When I ran 2 amps to try the 2 pickups in separate channels it just really added an immediate boost to the tone. There's so much dynamic range that the possibilities are endless. The scalloped neck was something I never had before and it is such a great feature to have if you like to bend notes. Very easy and super clean tone. The finish and construction quality of the bass is flawless. Very light overall bass, lighter than my Fender American Standard Jazz bass. Very comfortable right hand placement on the pickups or behind, I play in several positions but those are my most often used. Slap sound is very good as well. The neck has a little scoop taken off the end of the fretboard to accommodate your plucking finger. Great Bass, Great sound, super quality. I'd recommend this bass to anyone looking for a high end instrument. It's no wonder you can't find any of the older Attitudes for sale used. People just don't get rid of them!Joesph Loscacco

Bought this because I love the look and feel of a P bass but of course because of Billy. The feel and playability is unmatched by any of my boutique basses. Super low action with no fret buzz. The action is what a guitar player would die for and no wonder Billy can fly around on this thing. It's a shredder bass with the authentic P bass tone. Chunky yet very comfortable neck. scalloped frets were something new to me and I am totally in love with them. Clean work on the fret dressing, no burs or sharp ends. Total attention to the details on the neck. The body is super light and very well made. The D tuner is something I used on all of my basses and this comes standard. The P pickups have a great punch to them as expected from a split system and as authentic sounding as any Fender I own. I think they have a bit more meat to them which is great, I think just an overall upgrade to the classic design. The neck pickup has this EBO like tone that captures that nice sub kind of thump but it's not over the top and clear. It totally compliments the P pickups. A great pairing to my ears. I played the bass totally clean and flat EQ at first and was totally impressed then added some grit distortion to the mix and there's Billy's sound! I split the stereo outputs to a clean and distorted amp to mix the 2 channels and you get the best of both this way. You can also get both pickups through on amp as well but I wanted to try it the way he does to get the full experience. Hardware, tuners and bridge are all excellent quality, no complaints there. The recessed bridge is a great addition as it aids to keeping the strings as low as possible without over compensating them or having to adjust the neck angle or saddles. Intonates perfectly. I'd stack this up against of my Fenders or any of my other high end basses any day. It's no wonder you can't find the other Attitude versions for sale used on the net. They hold value and people just don't get rid of them. Now I know why.Joesph Loscacco

Overall: Extremely well made, great quality control and a great attention to detail. Hipshot tuners and bridge, the fit and finish was top notch and it balances like a dream. It’s very versatile sonically too. I am able to get a great variety of sounds out of it even without a preamp. Pickups sound really good and even though it’s a passive bass, the output is still really good. Out of the box setup was pretty good, I made a few tweaks to the action but the intonation was spot on and the truss Rod was adjusted properly. I highly recommend this bass, I am very pleased with it and it has become my number 1 for playing out and for practicing.Kris

I'm glad I ordered this PRS bass from Pro Audio Star. I stumbled onto it while browsing eBay and asked for more pictures. This was supposed to be an "Open Box" purchase that I was very hesitant about. After receiving the bass I immediately took it to my music room and plugged it up. I surely didn't expect the volume I was getting from the passive pickup system or the gig bag I wasn't expecting to receive. The thru body neck and thru body string system provides plenty of sustain and phenomenal clarity and resolution. The clarity of each note was more than I could have asked for. I rank this bass right up there with some of my custom builds like Mike Lull and Status. Im not kidding. You really have to try this bass. The two massive Humbuckers deliver killer tones and plenty of volume for giging. I run all my basses through a Boss ME 50B pedalboard and then into a SansAmp for extra flexibility. The combination has been my goto setup for live performances and allows me to dial in whatever tone I want while on the fly. I would highly recommend this bass for any level of proficiency. The price was definitely a factor in the purchase.BradC

There is something about this bass that just works for me, its exceptionally playable with great feel and balance. Normally it takes me a long time to find a tone I like on a bass, but this PRS Kestrel just settled into a beautiful responsive sound within a few minutes, backed if the volume a touch and found the sweet spot between the pick ups and honestly havent changed it since finally found the bass for me!!!!bobbluemac

I ordered this bass because I was looking to emulate a particular sound (I'm in a tribute band). It's a beautiful instrument and sounds great. It stays in tune pretty well. My only minor complaint it is that it is a little unbalanced (probably because it's hollowbody), so the neck will dive if you're not supporting it with your fret hand. Other than that, I love it. On a side note, we were messing around and I got a lot of crazy feedback from it by putting it up to my amp with delay and overdrive on.D-Hook

It caught my eye hanging in my local Guitar Center in Goodlettsville, TN, which has a terrific staff btw. I asked to try it and was quite impressed with the overall build quality and set-up. Simply perfect; action, intonation, fret dressing, etc. It didn't need a thing! Thought about it overnight and returned the next day to buy it.Alan

I have been a bass player for 30 years. I was happy that my 13 year old daughter wanted to take up the instrument. She learned Ukelele well enough that I was willing to listen but no way was she using my basses because I see how she takes care of her room. Her arms were too small anyway so I researched this Ibanez mikrobass. What a delight! The walnut finish is fantastic and the tone when unplugged is tremendous. Plugged in, it was a little clackety-clack and the tone knob is almost literally nothing so I put daddario XL Flatwounds 50-100 (a recent discovery from which I will never return) and took care of that problem. The tuners seem a little slack when Im tuning it up. If I were to make a change, it would be the tuners. But theyre fine enough. It is exactly the size of my six string guitars so I was able to devote a quality gig bag that I dont use much for the cause. My daughter is encouraged by it although she hasnt quite dug in yet. However if she decides not to play after all, this will remain in my collection. Its just SO FUNboredofthisalready

I play in my home studio and record my bass along with mp3's of my favoritie songs, I make videos for self critique and to share with other bass players in my FaceBook bassists group. I recently sold my Ibanez SR755 5 string because I was not thrilled with the B string sound. Now I find the B sounds better to my ear with this bass that costs one third of the SR755…Amazing. I prefer passive electronics and the GSR205SM with it's Phat EQ give me the best of both worlds or active or passive. With the EQ turned counter clockwise the bass sounds like a passive and as you turn up the EQ the bass responds well and gives me an edge on the sound. Best of all there is no Floppy B string farty tone. the B sounds more musical. I want to address the weight of this bass. It is light as a feather especially after playing my Warwick. I can play for extended periods of time without having back pain issues. As to the statement of other reviewers about this being a great beginner's bass, let me add that in the hands of a seasoned player it sounds and feels as good as you'd want it to sound as well. This bass sounds totally different than my Fenders and Warwick and I find that to be advantageous.Preston

Overall: I bought this without playing it, but was very pleased right out of the box. My fingers were black after a few minutes of playing due to the dirty strings, but that didn't dampen my opinion by any means (but good idea to purchase a new set of strings along with the bass). Bought the Walnut Finish (looks more expensive) for use with my SC-300 Boss Looper (also purchased from zZounds). It sounds great! I'm not onstage playing head banger metal, so don't need that rumbling low end anyway. But the pickup configuration def gives you a lot of low end. Even though I've been playing guitar and bass for over 30 years, I would use this bass onstage, AND more importantly, if you are introducing anyone to playing bass – this will be a much easier learning bass due to the size. It still feels like a 'bass' and it's not tiny or anything, but it doesn't feel clunky like a bigger bass does. I'm looking forward to using this for a long while, and assuming it holds up over the next few months I'll likely grab another one just to have a backup. Don't hesitate if you need for a recording bass, or onstage. And def great for a beginner to keep them from losing interest due to most basses being too large for them.Jason