This is now my main player. Out of the box, it's a great bass. better setup than most basses i've had. There are some issues but they can be fixed in few minutes. Again, nothing that your stock big name brands don't have.
EDIT: i've swaped the bridge pickup with 10$ MM pickup from aliexpress, now it sounds like MM should sound. 10/10 ,amazing bass! insane value !
First PROS:
-The best 5 string neck i've tried. Perfect radius, perfect neck profile, stability, fretwork
-A dream to play
-Looks stunning, perfect finish, and that matching headstock is a head turner
-features you don't see even in 3x it's price range; zero fret, aftermarket nut, high quality tuners and bridge, bridge or trough body string loading, steel frets, figured ebony board, binding and inlays
-it's not too heavy, imho it's somewhere around 4,3-4,5kg, so great for such a big 5er
-neck pickup is the bomb! P bass on steroids! more omph and width with more high end detail
-preamp is good, actually i'm suprised with the quality and bass and treble cruves. they are just set right!
now, the cons. these are general cons, not "for the money", such issues are fixable.
-Neck needs shimming to get really low action (the bridge is too high) 5min fix with a piece of paper. perfect action after that
-bridge pickup sounds weak and thin. i rewired it somehow and got a better sound but now whole bass has hum. Not a major issue since bass sounds great with neck pickup only. even with upgradin the pickups (planing on putting delano AL set) i'll still get amazing bass thats sounds crazy good for a bargain! Again, some people like how bridge pickup sounds. I don't so it could be a personal preference. It's still my main player even if i play it with neck pickup only. when i want more focused sound i just lower the lows a tad and add highs. for phat sound i just leave preamp flat or add a notch of bass. Don't be discouraged, for 120euros you can upgrade the neck pickup with crazy aftermarket stuff like delano.
conclusion:
It seems like this bass is a thomann's try at interpreting Sandberg and Maruszczyk. They've done an amazing job at that. for just a fraction of a price you get a bass that after some setup can stand next to both. With pickup upgrade, you can get that "EURO MM+P" sound, and still you'll get a bass that cost a fraction of what Sandberg and Maruszczyk cost, but it sounds like them, and plays really close to both.
mind-blowing!
