HI I saw the post below on Bass chat uk. I can't comment on this bass myself but perhaps you could look into it.
The Plywood Stentor basses are available in the UK and are good starter basses. While they are playable as they are be prepared to spend about £300 on a decent set up. I'd urge you to do a lot of research before you rush into a mistake. Perhaps you could contact Gareth Hughes about this bass and see how it is performing for him now. Too good to be true is usually the case but I know Gareth plays bass for a living so he might be worth checking out.
QUOTE (Gareth Hughes @ Dec 23 2010, 12:44 PM)
...I would recommend you look into some of the basses available from Thomann. After playing a friends that was set-up professionally and played brilliantly, I replaced my €5000 bass from Ken Smith with one of these:
THOMANN DOUBLE BASS EUROPE 22 3/4 - Thomann UK Cyberstore
The Ken Smith was fully carved, while the Thomann is a hybrid (carved top, laminated sides/back) and to be honest there isn't a lot in the difference. My main reason for downgrading was to get an instrument that would amplify better than the Smith would. The carved body was a crazy feedback machine. So I knew I would be sacrificing some acoustic qualities in getting a hybrid. I can honestly say that after playing the Smith for over a year, and getting to know it pretty well, that I would rather have the Thomann. The Thomann bass is made by the Hora company in Romania.
Also, I was able to specify what set-up I wanted, so the bass arrived with the bridge set-up to my playing style. It also arrived with the soundpost still in place, so I was able to string it up as soon as I unpacked it and was playing in minutes. This saved the time and expense of going to my repair guy to get it setup. I've been playing this bass for almost a year now and have no problems with it at all.
With the free shipping from Thomann and the trial period where you can return it if you don't like it, this might be a better option for you. Maybe check with them about the procedure to return it if you don't like it.
