Hi everybody ! Just got this new bass from Thomann 2 days ago, and I wanted to report about it.
First, the finish is flawless, nice shiny paint, the vintage amber tint of the neck is nice, no fingerprints when I unboxed it, etc....
The weight : 3.957 kg, and well balanced, no neck dive.
The tuners are on the cheap side, one is not as smooth as the others, and the bridge got replaced with the one on the pic, for I like brass saddles better, visually. the original one is the classic and functionnal one, nothing special to say ...
The electronic cavity is tidy, the solders are clean, and there you can find alpha pots (250k). It is shieldied with conductive paint.
The pick-ups have vintage cloth wiring, and I moved a little the A and D magnets to improve the string to string balance.
The neck : While unboxing, I noticed it was bowed, with a relief like 2mm. Nothing that the trussrod couldn t adjust. Then I realized it was buzzing....badly, from fret 5 to 8 (with a 0.5 mm relief), and at the upper frets (slight ski jump...).
The tone and feel (resonant, with a bouncy feel while playing) was however great for me, so I decided to keep it, instead of sending it back. Two hours later after spending a quality time with my straightedge, my tools to file and recrown and a lot of patience, it is now really playable with a low action (YMMV) 2.5 mm at the 12th fret for the E string, then 2.2, 2 and 1.8 mm. The kind of action that allows me to play cleanly if needed, and to add some nice fret buzz while digging a bit more.
You can listen to a short sample with the following settings : Both pickups, tone full, half, and cut, 70/30 for neck pickup, same tonality decrease, 70/30 for the bridge pickup, etc....
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First, the finish is flawless, nice shiny paint, the vintage amber tint of the neck is nice, no fingerprints when I unboxed it, etc....
The weight : 3.957 kg, and well balanced, no neck dive.
The tuners are on the cheap side, one is not as smooth as the others, and the bridge got replaced with the one on the pic, for I like brass saddles better, visually. the original one is the classic and functionnal one, nothing special to say ...
The electronic cavity is tidy, the solders are clean, and there you can find alpha pots (250k). It is shieldied with conductive paint.
The pick-ups have vintage cloth wiring, and I moved a little the A and D magnets to improve the string to string balance.
The neck : While unboxing, I noticed it was bowed, with a relief like 2mm. Nothing that the trussrod couldn t adjust. Then I realized it was buzzing....badly, from fret 5 to 8 (with a 0.5 mm relief), and at the upper frets (slight ski jump...).
The tone and feel (resonant, with a bouncy feel while playing) was however great for me, so I decided to keep it, instead of sending it back. Two hours later after spending a quality time with my straightedge, my tools to file and recrown and a lot of patience, it is now really playable with a low action (YMMV) 2.5 mm at the 12th fret for the E string, then 2.2, 2 and 1.8 mm. The kind of action that allows me to play cleanly if needed, and to add some nice fret buzz while digging a bit more.
You can listen to a short sample with the following settings : Both pickups, tone full, half, and cut, 70/30 for neck pickup, same tonality decrease, 70/30 for the bridge pickup, etc....
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
