Ok. I wanted a Fender like 6 string Jazz bass. Looking around, I settled on the KSD 70s. The features, Specs and look.
I really wanted the Ash/ maple combo so, went for the 70s. This came in last night and I have had only about an hour or so with it. The truss needed tightening. I gave it a 30deg tweak and am letting it sit and adjust and acclimate. So, set up and intonation information is still up in the air a bit here.
The good:
It is a pretty convincing Jazz.
Body: Ash, finish is very well done: glossy, clear no checks, cracks or swirls. Grain is nice.
Knobs are cheap, functional, nice looking and "good enough". Smooth with no noise. Jack is tight.
Pick ups, standard Jazz style.
Passive: Sound is decent on passive but rather weak. Sound is usable and just OK, nice in case of a dead battery at a gig, it would at least get you by.
Active: Sound is far better active, the preamp brings the pickups to life. Clean crisp and clear. Mids and highs: good. bottom seems to tend towards boomy. Not mud, but not really defined either.
Neck:
One piece maple. Very plain, straight grain lacking character. Again, functional, good enough.
fretboard, maple. Tiny bit of a flame in the right light angle.
Inlays, apparently Mother of toilet seat. Amazingly well installed. No evidence of filler. Presume lazer cut. difficult to see while playing, not a lot of difference between the white wood and white MOP. as they are so well installed, they disappear into the fretboard.
Frets.. they do not look or feel like Fender Jumbos. They feel small, more like medium small guitar frets. Rather odd. they are installed well on the neck (face). However, the edges are not well finished. They are rough and scrape your hands. this needs to be fixed.
Nut. Plastic. It's OK, again, good enough.
headstock: Maple, looks like an ash, possibly maple headstock vaneer with a bit of uninspiring grain.
Tuners. generic. good enough. not wonderful. Smooth enough. Seem to hold tune. But with brand new strings it is difficult to be definitive yet.
The not so great.
Strings are awful. They are new. But, not alive.
There is a decent dip on the bass side of the neck. Truss rod was pretty loose, assume a 30degree turn will straighten, waiting for neck to settle and adjust over night.
Set up: not great. But once truss is tight and neck flattened will tell more.
Intonation, off needs adjustment. Again, once neck flattens will do complete set up and re-assess.
Overall. Not bad at all. For a Sub $900 6 string Jazz bass. I think it will do the job. It needs tweaking. But, not a complete redo.
In a lot of ways this really is like a brand new 70s fender. For those of you that remember such things. It is nice and clean and new and utterly lacking any soul, funk or mojo. I am not a fan of relic-ing basses. But, this bass would be a good candidate. Looking at this, I now understand why music stores would beat up brand new instruments and sell them as slightly used. It is just too clean, too perfect, too sterile.
I think with some miles and some wear, i will really come to like it.
I really wanted the Ash/ maple combo so, went for the 70s. This came in last night and I have had only about an hour or so with it. The truss needed tightening. I gave it a 30deg tweak and am letting it sit and adjust and acclimate. So, set up and intonation information is still up in the air a bit here.
The good:
It is a pretty convincing Jazz.
Body: Ash, finish is very well done: glossy, clear no checks, cracks or swirls. Grain is nice.
Knobs are cheap, functional, nice looking and "good enough". Smooth with no noise. Jack is tight.
Pick ups, standard Jazz style.
Passive: Sound is decent on passive but rather weak. Sound is usable and just OK, nice in case of a dead battery at a gig, it would at least get you by.
Active: Sound is far better active, the preamp brings the pickups to life. Clean crisp and clear. Mids and highs: good. bottom seems to tend towards boomy. Not mud, but not really defined either.
Neck:
One piece maple. Very plain, straight grain lacking character. Again, functional, good enough.
fretboard, maple. Tiny bit of a flame in the right light angle.
Inlays, apparently Mother of toilet seat. Amazingly well installed. No evidence of filler. Presume lazer cut. difficult to see while playing, not a lot of difference between the white wood and white MOP. as they are so well installed, they disappear into the fretboard.
Frets.. they do not look or feel like Fender Jumbos. They feel small, more like medium small guitar frets. Rather odd. they are installed well on the neck (face). However, the edges are not well finished. They are rough and scrape your hands. this needs to be fixed.
Nut. Plastic. It's OK, again, good enough.
headstock: Maple, looks like an ash, possibly maple headstock vaneer with a bit of uninspiring grain.
Tuners. generic. good enough. not wonderful. Smooth enough. Seem to hold tune. But with brand new strings it is difficult to be definitive yet.
The not so great.
Strings are awful. They are new. But, not alive.
There is a decent dip on the bass side of the neck. Truss rod was pretty loose, assume a 30degree turn will straighten, waiting for neck to settle and adjust over night.
Set up: not great. But once truss is tight and neck flattened will tell more.
Intonation, off needs adjustment. Again, once neck flattens will do complete set up and re-assess.
Overall. Not bad at all. For a Sub $900 6 string Jazz bass. I think it will do the job. It needs tweaking. But, not a complete redo.
In a lot of ways this really is like a brand new 70s fender. For those of you that remember such things. It is nice and clean and new and utterly lacking any soul, funk or mojo. I am not a fan of relic-ing basses. But, this bass would be a good candidate. Looking at this, I now understand why music stores would beat up brand new instruments and sell them as slightly used. It is just too clean, too perfect, too sterile.
I think with some miles and some wear, i will really come to like it.
