PJ-74 VW Vintage Series : Genuinely good

I've had many good guitars and basses over the years and many bad ones too. I am genuinely impressed with this bass. I had a plan to upgrade the hardware, pickups and electronics, however there is no need at all. Negatives - the tactile part of the tuning pegs feel thin, but I am used to that now (initially it made me feel they were no good). The positives - the tuners are accurate and keep tune. The P pickup brings the thunder and has bass and growl with high zings thrown in too, lots of fun and cuts through a mix. The J brings a thinner J rasp as it should, although I don't feel it is actually needed as it is overshadowed by the P. Tone control works just fine. Neck is great, wide and not too deep and the body is a really nice colour in person. The back of the neck is also aesthetically pleasing. The bass is not heavy. Everything is put together solidly with no gaps or rattles, the action and Intonation where fine out of the box. When I started playing, you just could not get anything as good as this at such a low price, I'm blown away. I use this for recording and it replaces an outgoing Chowny SWB1, the Chowny's sound is anemic in comparison (and also feels cheaper than the HB in hindsight), the HB has completely changed the mixes and brought some real movement and life to songs. Much impressed and highly recommended.