Rogue AB-304 Acoustic Bass Review

[5string5fingers]

I bought this bass about a year and half ago or so and a few people on here have asked about this bass so I thought I'd do a little bit of a review.

I got this bass from musiciansfriend for 189 bucks plus shipping,mainly for practicing anywhere and song writing. The neck,back,and sides are made of mahogany,or so says musiciansfriend. The top is "select spruce" a.k.a. laminate. It has gold tuners,plastic nut and bridge saddle. The bridge is made of what looks to be rosewood,as well as the fretboard. Abalone dots,rosette and trim inside the binding. Suprisingly it's real inlays and not like a sticker,as I've seen on some cheaper acoustics. It also has a bound top and neck,along with a 4 band EQ,and a piezo pickup.

Now on to the important stuff.

Sound: It has a nice warm,but articulate tone. It's not super loud,but loud enough to play with a quieter acoustic guitarist an not be completely drowned out. Perfect for quiet playing at home late at night,and song writing. The electronics are pretty crappy. You can see in the picture of the Pre-amp face how I have it set up right now,and thats pretty much the best way to get a decent tone without insane finger noise,clanking,and just over all thin sound. I plan on replacing the piezo to see if that helps out.

Feel: The bass feels pretty good. The finish is smooth and clean. The neck is fairly slim for an acoustic. About like a p bass neck but a little flatter. As with most acoustic access part the 15th fret gets difficult. There are no sharp edges on the frets, I think the binding helps with that.

Out of the box I had to replace the strings because the E string broke on me while tuning,and the action was high so that needed to be adjusted. But after over a year of playing this bass I have to say its a pretty good AEB for anybody looking for one,but is on a budget. I wouldn't plan on using it for recording,unless you swap out the electronics. Over all I give it an 8/10.

Here's some pictures. Sorry for the crappy lighting.

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I'll have some short soundclips up later.

 

[5string5fingers]

Sound clip
http://www.zshare.net/audio/6706822318189479/

 

[axxtion]

I know, super old thread, but hey, it's info.
It would seem that about the time this thread started, I bought the Rogue AB-305, which is the 5 string version. It's been kept in my bedroom now for about 12 years. My wife leaves for work before me and I have probably played this thing for 10 to 20 minutes everyday for all these years. I have never plugged it in, but it has decent action, decent build quality, even the same phosphor bronze strings (I live in SoCal, low humidity). Over the years I have bought and kept my Warwick Thumb 5, Musicman 5, several G&L L-2500s, and the AB-305 at home has always done what it was intended to do. For what I use it for, I would recommend it.

 

[Andre777]

I also have a ab 305.That model is a good one.I bought mine From musicians friend on sale,I forgot what I paid for it.I recently replaced that plastic nut with a bone nut and had the truss rod adjusted.And it plays great.I have tape wounds on it.I think some company bought them out,there no longer made.I play it more than my guild b30!