OK,
So I finally had a chance to try out the SUB 5 at GC.
First impressions: MAN THIS BABY IS LIGHT! I mean it might only weigh like 8 pounds at most!
I kind of dig the slight stained tint on the neck. One thing I noticed RIGHT away was that this neck is even MORE narrow than my other EBMM SR5's. I actually had to make sure it was really a 5 string when I was playing it. NO KIDDING. I kind of LIKE that.
Now the fit and finish seems very good, and I couldn't find a thing wrong with it.
I plugged into an Ampeg mini CL and 210 cab, and the first thing I noticed was:
...this is where things go downhill...The pre-amp was SOOOOOO hot that I had to barely turn the volume pot up at all. I mean it was almost off, but it sounded like it was cranked. I checked my amp settings and it was set right, so I guess it would need the modification described in an earlier post.
Can one of you guys who owns one of these try plugging a pair of headphones directly into the jack? I would love to know if this would give enough sound for light playing at home.
OK bottom line:
This bass is worth every bit of $299, and would make an amazing starter or backup bass. I would highly recommend that this bass gets the mod so to tame the preamp.
Also, this would make a great project bass to do some mods. I would change out the preamp, and possibly the PUP too.
I would buy it for the fact that it's REALLY light, and sounds sort of like an SR5. It's definitely in the ballpark, but not the real deal. The neck is thin and SUPER fast too.
There, I hope I didn't scare anyone away.