JB-75 SB Vintage Series : Wow!

I have to say I?m astonished at what I received for ¤139. I?ve been playing bass for 45 years and have owned more than my fair share of top name brand basses. I bought this more out of curiosity than anything and expected to play it a few minutes and return it. No, that?s not what happened. First, the woods used to make this bass are excellent. Swamp Ash, Maple and Palissander are used by the best makers. The tailpiece is a good solid medium weight part with brass saddles. The pickups are very decent with plenty of lows, mids and highs. The pots are smooth and clean, no scratchy noise. The nut was cut perfectly. The finish is also very well done. The neck is a little thick for my liking but it plays smooth and fast. The bass overall is very solidly built. And yes, it is quite heavy. Not a problem for me since I sit while playing.

I did have a couple of minor issues with mine. The fret job was a bit lacking and I was getting a lot of fret buzz in a few places. The tuners are also not that good. I spent a couple hours leveling the frets, re-crowning them and buffing them, along with putting a set of Fender tuners on it that I had lying around. I have the knowhow and tools do this kind of work on guitars and it didn?t take long or much effort to fix these issues. This is now my go-to fretted bass when I?m not playing my Ric 4001v63.

Despite the minor issues with the bass, I?m still giving it 5 stars. You simply can?t buy a better instrument for the price. Oh, and did I mention this is a great looking bass? ;-)