(More pics below)
This is the 5 string single humbucker IYV bass from Amazon (to find them you have to search IVY bass) I could find hardly anything about it online or on YouTube. I found one video of someone playing along to a song and wasn't really featuring or reviewing the bass. I saw a few reviews of the double humbucker 4 string and they were positive so I decided to give it a shot.
I purchased it for $161 with free Prime shipping.
First impression when I picked up the box was that it was lighter than I thought it was going to be. I don't have a scale to weight it on, but it's not an anchor. The body feels pretty light (I think the listing says that it is poplar?), the neck is definitely where the weight is. That being said, neck dive isn't horrendous. It definitely dives, but if you have a decently thick strap it'd be fine. I just have a regular 3" strap and it's not a serious problem for me.
The pictures on the listing are pretty crappy, they are an accurate representation but it looks better in person. Brighter, cleaner. The neck is a shallow c shape, not too thick. Comfortable. I have smaller hands and it feels good. The neck pocket isn't perfect (see pictures) but for the price it is definitely good enough in my opinion. It looks like the fret edges have been filled, which is pretty impressive. There are some very minor rough bits sticking out but nothing that will cut or hurt or that a small file won't clean up.
All the hardware feels relatively solid on it. The tuners turn without grinding. Some of them are a little tight and they aren't super responsive, but it does hold tune. I received the bass on Friday, set it up, played it for a while, and when I picked it up on Saturday it was still perfectly in tune. The bridge doesn't feel like some of the cheaper hi mass bridges I've seen. Included allen key turns the set screws smoothly. The knobs are slightly recessed in to the body and they are nicely done. No major gaps or sloppy work. Knobs turn smoothly. Came strung with D'Addario XL strings which is impressive at this price.
Electronics are interesting. It says on the listing that it is vol/tone/tone/tone and I had been curious about that. That is indeed what it is. I opened up the cavity, which looks like it's been painted with shielding paint, and there's a volume pot followed by three tone knobs, each with a capacitor on them. I don't know much about electronics so I can't give too much more detail. The capacitors all seem to be the same kind, not different values, but I don't know. Turning each of the knobs does seem to effect the tone differently but not in a way that is as obvious as when you adjust bass, mid, treble on an active bass. I might do some research and maybe try swapping some of the capacitors out for different ones and see what that does to the sound. It is dead quiet. I can set the bass down with it plugged in and volume up and it's silent.
I like pretty low action as I play with a light touch and don't slap. After a few tweaks over the course of the last two days, it is set up low enough to my liking without any buzz anywhere.
I've been playing through my Markbass Little Mark 250 Black Line combo direct with no effects. For the EQ I slightly boost bass and treble (around 1 o'clock) and cut hi and low mids a bit (around 11 o'clock), which is generally how I set the EQ for my Jazz bass as well. It sounds pretty good to my ears. Not a completely "blow you away" sound, but I do think it sounds good. Nice and full. The B string rumbles. It still sounds a little "zingy" but the strings are new and it is getting better and warming up a bit. It doesn't sound like a Music Man, it's passive. But it does have that bridge pickup kind of burp to it and I like it. It'll take time to get used to how the tone pots play with each other to figure out how to dial in particular sounds quickly, but as I fiddle with them I find I stop at various places and like what I'm hearing.
Overall I'm very happy. Not crazy over the moon insanity, but it was definitely a solid purchase and it is pretty nuts that you can get a bass like this for $161 shipped. Like I said I might try messing around with capacitors and see how that changes the sound or there is the obvious route of putting in a 3 band preamp. It's nice that the control layout is set up for that already.
