PB-20 SBK Standard Series : Great Mod Platform, Not So Good Stock

The good:

- Looks great

- Does everything you'd expect a P bass to do

- Cheap enough to mod and not worry too much

The bad:

- Poor action from factory. The action is way too high beyond the 12th fret even with the saddles slammed as low as they can go. Had to shim the neck to get it playable.

- Poor bridge placement from factory. In order to intonate properly with the stock bridge as fitted, I have to tighten the screws all the way. The bridge could do with being moved 10mm or so lower down on the body to give more play in the adjustment.

- The strings aren't great. This one's luckily a simple fix.

- The stock pick ups are a bit thin. Again, another relatively simple fix.

Bottom line:

Although I had more negatives than positives, this is not a bad bass. A great looker that, with a little work, will be a great bass. This is okay for a non-beginner like myself, however a total beginner may be disappointed with it and not be able to articulate why or fix it themselves.