PB-Shorty BK Standard Series : Good fun at a little over half the price of it's closest competitor

It arrived needing a little set up and the strings are kind of pants but that's all an easy fix even for a beginner. I put some flatwounds on and it feels great to play.

Neck feels good, no fret sprouting and nice and straight out of the box.

The pickups aren't great to be honest, they're not the worst i've heard but they're going to be the first thing i upgrade, plenty of thump to get started though. There is a buzzing sound when you aren't touching the strings but i suspect that some copper tape or something lining the cavity would help greatly, again a nice easy job for a beginner.

Even though i wouldn't rate the performance of the bass very highly i'm giving this a 5 star because the price is just so damn accessible, such a low cost of entry to start playing bass or, if you're like me, to experiment with shortscale.

UPDATE: I have lined the cavity and the underside of the scratchplate with copper tape and the hum has totally gone, it might be all in my head but the pickups sound better too. Fun little bass!