Okay, so let's start with the reminder that this is a €133 bass, or £110 to me, or around $180. It's cheap. I ordered back in January in excitement at the supposed great value, and have been doubting ever since. The 30-day guarantee was my comfort that if it turns out to be cheap junk, back it goes for a full refund.
First impression on unboxing: this is no lightweight bass. It's a solid, substantial piece of wood. I haven't weighed it but if you demand the lightest woods known to man, step away. The description says American Ash (I'm guessing to be clear on the variety, not that it's necessarily from the USA). From the weight and grain pattern, I have no reason to doubt it. The fretboard is rosewood with fret lines of some unknown material, set flush so there's no sensation of bumps or dips as you run your finger over it. The neck is (supposedly Canadian) maple - a nice enough piece of wood. Standard passive J bass electronics with Wilkinson pickups. The website showed brass saddles but they're the standard Fender style. The tuners are solid and stable, the classic open-geared Fender style.
Playability: well, it's a Jazz-width neck, which I find very comfortable. The fingerboard as stated is as smooth as you'd want. For a factory setup this is as good as I've seen. The nut is cut lower as a fretless requires, there's a small amount of relief, the action is low without being ridiculous. The E and A are completely clean, the D and particularly the G are set just low enough to get the familiar fretless buzz (or mwaaaahhhhh, to use the correct terminology!). I may raise the action a little but I'm going to give it a few days to settle, and for me to decide how much buzz I want.
Sound: I tested it through my Zoom B3 with headphones, through a range of the patches I use with my fretted bass. Stock strings are D'Addario XLs, I think 45-105, and they're a good choice. Open strings are very bright right now but the 'fretted' notes are rich and woody. It sounds like a Jazz bass should - slightly scooped with both pups full, deep and growly when backing one of the pickups back slightly. The tone pot does what it should, but I usually prefer wide open. It's noisier than my other bass, but then I'm comparing it to a well-shielded custom PJ from a top quality luthier. When touching the strings it's pretty quiet and the noise reduction on the pedal takes care of the rest. So far, better shielding is the only change it may need - but that's true of many Js that I've played.
Disclaimers: this is still very new so I may find issues and imperfections over time. I'm also an inexperienced fretless player. But so far I'd say it's a fantastic bass and would be great value at two or three times the price.
Feel free to ask any questions and I'll do my best to answer!
