It's well made, feels right, sounds great, looks great (better than the photos suggested) and it plays in tune too. That isn't always the case with inexpensive instruments - I check them out at the octave harmonics as well as using those handy clip-on tuners. It's not perfect above the octave, but very close. Close enough!
The finish and fit is excellent quality for the price. This is not a hand-made instrument, but it looks good and is fair value. The neck is well done and ours were straight and not twisted.
This was bought as a gift, but you can be sure that it was very thoroughly checked out before being handed over. And yes, I now own a right-hand one.
Playing a 'lefty' can be a hoot!
The B-Band pickup isn't a piezo - it's a contact cousin to those inexpensive electret microphones that have been around forever.
B-Band warn you that they take a bit of settling in, and I agree. The sound does improve after about a week of regular use, and it's pretty darn good to start with.
Like any bridge saddle contact pickup, the string-to-string balance is fixed. You can't "tilt the pickup" to even up the string response as on a bass guitar - so I'd recommend a compressor to help balance the string-to-string response - which will also vary with your tone selection. It also feels right and improves the feel in our view.
So whilst plugging it into a PA (or whatever) will sound good (even compared to my beloved Yamaha SB) it sounds/feels best if you use a compressor.
The Behringer Xenyx mixer compressor works fine, but the best one used to date was the Laney Richter RB3 bass combo amp compressor.
The built-in tone control is excellent!
A dramatic change in contour that goes from thin to PHATT with a very mellow tone in the middle. We do like it.
We liked pretty much everything, in fact.
The Aquila strings are unusual, if you're coming from a traditional bass or bass guitar, but they do work well. After a fortnight of play they feel great, a little string lube can help one get used to them. Hair oil or body lotion is a good substitute!
If you're coming from a guitar-bass or a traditional bass this one will feel very light and (almost) too easy to play - but if this is your first bass it's an excellent place to start.
And it is Left-Hand at a fair price!
Well done Thomann.
Left handed players of the world salute you.
Recommended for left-handed bassists.
