I bought this Antoniotsai 6 string a month or two ago. I snagged it for $300. Shipping was $150, so it arrived at my door for $450, with a nice gig bag, an instrument cord, and allen wrenches. I'm VERY happy about the purchase.
Basic specs:
Mahogany body
Maple (burl/birdseye?) top
Rosewood board
Mahogany neck
Abalone/mother of pearl inlays
24 fret, 34" scale
Width at nut 2 1/8"
Here are some pics:
http://s134.photobucket.com/albums/q109/andyspublicpix/
The strings sucked as expected so I put some Slinkys on and it plays great. No need for truss rod adjustment, just lowered the action some and tweaked the intonation. Frets are fine. The B string is weaker in punch and volume than expected. I'm used to trying to tame my Stinray 5's B, so this jumped out at me as very different.
Tuners and bridge are solid. A couple of the string through farells fall out when strings aren't in them creating tension. They could have drilled out a little less for a tight fit. The nut looks like a cheap piece of plastic.
Preamp sounds great. Controls are solid and cavity wiring is ok.
As for the woodworking details, with the exception of a side body crack in the lower horn, they are all minor things you can't even see from 2 or 3 feet away. The crack bugged me for about a minute until I remembered what I paid.
The minor wood issues include:
a VERY small chip, obviously from cutting, where the fretboard meets the nut; a couple very light sandpaper scratches that could be buffed out if I cared; a pin sized drop of glue on the body; some open birdseye holes (I've seen this before).
The inlays are nicely done, albeit a little over the top for me. When I play this I will definitely have my foot raised up on the stage monitor and a fan blowing my hair.
In short, with the possible exception of the body crack, all the issues are minor aesthetic details. This is a LOT of bass for $450. I'll probably buy a 5 string when one comes up with minimal inlays, or inlays I like.
Basic specs:
Mahogany body
Maple (burl/birdseye?) top
Rosewood board
Mahogany neck
Abalone/mother of pearl inlays
24 fret, 34" scale
Width at nut 2 1/8"
Here are some pics:
http://s134.photobucket.com/albums/q109/andyspublicpix/
The strings sucked as expected so I put some Slinkys on and it plays great. No need for truss rod adjustment, just lowered the action some and tweaked the intonation. Frets are fine. The B string is weaker in punch and volume than expected. I'm used to trying to tame my Stinray 5's B, so this jumped out at me as very different.
Tuners and bridge are solid. A couple of the string through farells fall out when strings aren't in them creating tension. They could have drilled out a little less for a tight fit. The nut looks like a cheap piece of plastic.
Preamp sounds great. Controls are solid and cavity wiring is ok.
As for the woodworking details, with the exception of a side body crack in the lower horn, they are all minor things you can't even see from 2 or 3 feet away. The crack bugged me for about a minute until I remembered what I paid.
The minor wood issues include:
a VERY small chip, obviously from cutting, where the fretboard meets the nut; a couple very light sandpaper scratches that could be buffed out if I cared; a pin sized drop of glue on the body; some open birdseye holes (I've seen this before).
The inlays are nicely done, albeit a little over the top for me. When I play this I will definitely have my foot raised up on the stage monitor and a fan blowing my hair.
In short, with the possible exception of the body crack, all the issues are minor aesthetic details. This is a LOT of bass for $450. I'll probably buy a 5 string when one comes up with minimal inlays, or inlays I like.
:
