Kona basses?

[cdawzrd]

Opinions? Not a lot out there... are they comparable to Brice/Douglas in terms of bang for (tight) budget?

Example:

... a $300 neck-thru 34" 5 stringer, with active soaps, decent-looking hardware, and sweet-looking wood...

 

[cdawzrd]

bump

 

[Showdown]

I've never heard of them before, but it definitely looks good.

 

[cdawzrd]

from what I can find on the forums, they used to have really cheap P and J bass clones that were of mediocre quality, maybe a good beginner bass but nothing more.

This one, on the other hand, looks like a sexy Warwick clone or something.... how bad could it be, minus the electronics?

Oh, indecision. This or the Brice... I mean, I know the Brice is bound to be slightly better quality, is 35" with through-body or through-bridge stringing compared to that bass which is 34" and bridge only... Then again, the Kona is neck-through, and has a rounded body shape to the Brice's roughly flat sides...

Kona has sexier woods, already 5 pots so I don't have to go with stacked ones if I upgrade the Brice's electronics... but the pickups in the Kona are Wilkinson actives... with passive tone control I think (vol/vol/tone/tone/blend??? is what it says on the website, now that doesnt make sense, does it?) so the electronics in that might be terrible and need immediate upgrading, which is not good

 

[bgartist]

I was wondering about these too. Saw them on Ebay for $289. How much can you lose for $289? I was wondering what the body and neck woods were.

 

[MobileHolmes]

That's handsome, but I worry about what you are getting at that price.

 

[flipper_gv]

bubinga over walnut?

 

[smaughazard]

I can't speak for their electrics, but I have one of their Signature AEBs that I'm quite happy with. Decent build quality; tuners hold well; frets nicely finished.

http://www.konaguitars.com/

 

[cdawzrd]

That's handsome, but I worry about what you are getting at that price.

I mean, if the wood is legit, replacing the electronics etc wouldnt be that bad, and the bridge looks relatively legit...

 

[cdawzrd]

bubinga over walnut?

yep, with maple stripes through the neck and a rosewood (?) fingerboard.

 

[Planets Collide]

im feeling that first bass, not so much the second one. 300 bucks? if i had the money id go for it.

 

[cdawzrd]

im feeling that first bass, not so much the second one. 300 bucks? if i had the money id go for it.

thats the conflict. They both cost 300, the second (Brice) is more trustworthy as I've never heard a horror story about a Rondo bass. This one is more a mystery. The second has a 35" scale and is bolt-on, but also has string-through and bridge-through option, and probably a much better (relatively) preamp. Is the nicer-looking wood and neck-through design worth probably having to replace the pickups and preamp soon in the Kona?

 

[Planet Boulder]

That's a nice looking bass, but I worry about the lamination quality at that price, to be honest.

Sure, it's only $289.00, but if it suffers from separation at some point, you've got a $289.00 paper weight.

With Brice, you've got a product for which MANY on this board can attest and you've got a guy in Kurt who absolutely stands behind the products he sells, period.

 

[cdawzrd]

That's a nice looking bass, but I worry about the lamination quality at that price, to be honest.

Sure, it's only $289.00, but if it suffers from separation at some point, you've got a $289.00 paper weight.

With Brice, you've got a product for which MANY on this board can attest and you've got a guy in Kurt who absolutely stands behind the products he sells, period.

True that. I'm convinced to go with the Brice.

That other bass looks like a Warwick copy, though... does anyone know of any other more reputable companies that make basses in that style (figured, dark-stained natural with rounded body shape, for less $$ than a 'wick?)

 

[RAM]

The woods and woodwork look nice in the pictures, but many questions arise:

1. How is the wood cured? Is it really dry? This has longterm implications...

2. How is the neck? Are the frets level? For the price of the bass, you could have a good fretjob of course...

3. The electronics can be replaced if needed, and for that price, I certainly wonder what's in it...

4. How about the hardware? What's the quality?

Some things can be changed and/or fixed, but quality of wood used and workmanship cannot...if the bass built well, playable, and sounds pretty good, then maybe you're onto something. Short of those, it might be a waste of money...play before you pay.

One thing to think about: just because it's inexpensive, is it really cheap? Maybe they're just looking for an entry into a market that's pretty solid...what's their angle?