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Vola Basses?

Scufflegrit

Scufflegrit

Oct 30, 2022
49
139
Georgia
#1
I've been considering an active HH 5 string, and I came across the Vola Vasti 5 STM J1 - which is a signature model from some guy named Steve Treguier. I'd never heard of Vola (or Steve Treguier for that matter), and I was wondering if anyone had any ever gotten their hands on a Vola bass and could share their impressions.
upload_2023-8-12_20-43-33.png

There's not a lot of reviews online for the Vola basses, but the build quality is generally praised in the guitar reviews I've seen. My Google investigation points to these being built in Japan by Dyna Gakki who also builds the CIJ Fenders.

I would prefer a US made bass, but my wife would give me grief if I came home one day with a $3k bass. I like the features of this bass, and the cost is more in line with a bass made in Indonesia - which shouldn't get much more than an eye roll and a muttered, "whatever."
 
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#2
Scufflegrit said:
I've been considering an active HH 5 string, and I came across the Vola Vasti 5 STM J1 - which is a signature model from some guy named Steve Treguier. I'd never heard of Vola (or Steve Treguier for that matter), and I was wondering if anyone had any ever gotten their hands on a Vola bass and could share their impressions.
View attachment 5155919
There's not a lot of reviews online for the Vola basses, but the build quality is generally praised in the guitar reviews I've seen. My Google investigation points to these being built in Japan by Dyna Gakki who also builds the CIJ Fenders.

I would prefer a US made bass, but my wife would give me grief if I came home one day with a $3k bass. I like the features of this bass, and the cost is more in line with a bass made in Indonesia - which shouldn't get much more than an eye roll and a muttered, "whatever."
Click to expand...
You'll only have to go through the grief once. ;) :D

Why is there a huge $ at the 12th fret?
 
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#10
That return policy is bogus. You're losing your shirt and I doubt anyone else is going to want to buy the bass used if you don't like it (too niche).

Price seems OK for the features, but you're paying more for the unique aesthetics than you are the feature set.

It's going to neck dive at 35" scale with such a short upper horn. One brief video of the guy playing it on their website and he's seated the whole time and playing through lots of distortion (a sound that I like, but doesn't let anyone who doesn't play in that style hear the bass' natural tone). Unless you're very tall with long arms or wear your bass really low, it's not gonna be a comfy reach to the low frets.

The 12th fret inlay is poorly implemented as nobody bothered to check that the E string wouldn't obscure the cross bar in the lower case t so it looks like a tacky dollar sign (remember those Schecters with mudflap girl inlays?)

"Vola" brand pickups and preamp at this price point suggests to me that they're just cheap import parts, nothing custom designed about them.

I'd get a tried-and-true brand. As cool as the Vola looks, I think it's bound to be a flop considering the high possibility of it being incredibly uncomfortable on a strap.
 
#11
Yeah. I was disappointed by their video. I get they were wanting to demo their unique kill switch feature/gimmick, but you couldn't tell anything about how the bass sounded. I hadn't noticed the inlay looked like a $ until Jeff Scott mentioned it. Now I can't unsee it.

I think it's a good looking bass, but there's a lot of unknowns about it. I don't think Vola has sold guitars into the US for more than a couple years, and I'm guessing they haven't sold very many.
 
#13
Scufflegrit said:
I've been considering an active HH 5 string, and I came across the Vola Vasti 5 STM J1 - which is a signature model from some guy named Steve Treguier. I'd never heard of Vola (or Steve Treguier for that matter), and I was wondering if anyone had any ever gotten their hands on a Vola bass and could share their impressions.
View attachment 5155919
There's not a lot of reviews online for the Vola basses, but the build quality is generally praised in the guitar reviews I've seen. My Google investigation points to these being built in Japan by Dyna Gakki who also builds the CIJ Fenders.

I would prefer a US made bass, but my wife would give me grief if I came home one day with a $3k bass. I like the features of this bass, and the cost is more in line with a bass made in Indonesia - which shouldn't get much more than an eye roll and a muttered, "whatever."
Click to expand...
VOLA_BASS__0006_Vola-ZV5-Bass-MF-Ash-Candy-apple-red.png


I don't know man, at about a grand, it looks like a pretty killer bass. Especially this red one. I'm really digging the headstock, and the "one off" alembic body shape. I would say go for it. For 150 bucks more, you can have a shop level the frets. Although, it's probably good out the factory
 
#17
I bit the bullet and bought one. Seems fairly light but swamp ash can vary, the neck profile is around the same as my Sterling ray 35, pickups seem pretty quality tonal similar to my Spector eurobolt 5 with no noticeable output drop switching for active/passive. Gig bag is really high quality. Honestly my only complaint is the finish has a really cheap feel but It could be the sand blasted feel and I'm just not use to it. Kill switch is interesting on a spec sheet but obviously an afterthought.
 
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