As always, Thomann is top notch!
For the bass: quality/price – TOP! Nowadays bass guitars made in China should no longer be looked down upon.
PROS:
1. The instrument was well set up right out of the box.
2. The neck allows for extremely low action without buzzing 1.5/1.75 mm on the G-string – 2.75/3.00 mm on the B-string and is very fast and comfortable to play, with smooth frets.
3. The frets are perfectly leveled, with rounded edges – simply a gem, which for now only SIRE and Warwick offer. Fender, with the exception of its most expensive models, remains well below the mark!
4. The PUPs are 9.95 kOhm each (loaded), soldered in SERIES (definitely not in parallel, as some people claim on YouTube).
5. High output level if the distance between the strings and pole pieces is: Bridge ~3.75 mm / Neck ~4.25 mm
6. Specifically with this model (with 4 potentiometers in a row) it is very easy to install 2 switches, as with the professional series for Parallel/Single/Series. Any luthier can do this at an affordable price and use the full potential of the bass.
7. The tone is tight, and the B-string sounds super clear and growling (in all 15 combinations using the switches, after the modification mentioned in previous point).
CONS:
1. There is no passive switching, and the reworking proves inconvenient. It is more reasonable to replace it with an original preamp from the Warwick website or from Glockenklang, Noll, Delano, and even the new Sadowsky model with a mid-frequency switch.
2. The pickups (being soldered in series) when used separately (although they give a very high level) deprive the tone of high frequencies. Even if the treble potentiometer is at 100%, the difference is not sufficiently enough. However, when using both pickups, things fall into place!
NEUTRAL:
1. Weight: 4,250 (without strap).
2. The preamp is quite decent, but far from very good.
3. The gig bag is softer and lighter than those that come with the German series instruments.
4. The strings that come with the bass are so-so, lacking tonal homogeneity, buy they can be replaced according to the performer's taste.
_______
After the electronics were reworked, the bass sounds great and is virtually indistinguishable from the German model I have at disposal and which I compared it to side by side (even with the same kind of strings: EB Super Slinky 2824).
Although the additional improvements increased the price by just over €100 (only for switches and without changing the preamp), the effort in the name of sound versatility was absolutely worth every penny!
Replacing the preamp… is not mandatory, but it is desirable because this bass is extremely reliable in terms of workmanship and tonal presence, and such an additional improvement would complete the picture 100%. However, this instrument was purchased for one of my students.
I highly recommend this 5-string $$ bass.
