I bought this bass in order to achieve a sound different from my fender jazz bass. And it gives a very different sound, warmer, more mids, even woodier. It sounds great and due to it's smaller size it also plays great. I love it! On the other hand, it would be a horrible bass for a beginner since it came with bad strings (and wrong strings for the sound it is supposed to give... roundwound instead of flatwound) and very bad setup. If you know what to do and how to set it up it is great.