on October 25, 2024

As a woman in my 70's, I bought this kid's bass after seeing several positive reviews where I could see an adult playing it, who said it could be good for older folks. I'm taking a jazz group and decided to replace my u-bass with this. I expect to be happy with it, but want to note several concerns. 1) The screws covering the truss rod cover spin in their holes (I've heard this stripping can happen during manufacture); 2) the strings are quite rough (for a u-bass player) so I looked into flat wo ...

As a woman in my 70's, I bought this kid's bass after seeing several positive reviews where I could see an adult playing it, who said it could be good for older folks. I'm taking a jazz group and decided to replace my u-bass with this. I expect to be happy with it, but want to note several concerns. 1) The screws covering the truss rod cover spin in their holes (I've heard this stripping can happen during manufacture); 2) the strings are quite rough (for a u-bass player) so I looked into flat wound strings and discovered 3) replacement strings are very hard to find and the ONE micro-bass set of flats I found will cost me half again the price of the instrument. Plus, if I get someone to set it up for me, I'll have put more into it than it cost. (Plus purchase of a padded gigbag) But maybe that's a good deal, who knows?

on September 16, 2024

As a girl who is more on the petite end of the spectrum I can say that this bass works pretty good from a beginners perspective its my first bass and ive been able to reach all the frets just fine. Although its definitely up to a standard far past beginner I have enjoyed its size and weight discounting the non even distribution there of.

on June 10, 2024

Fun, with surprisingly decent sound for the $ Body (while tiny) is much thicker than it could be - and considerably thicker than most full-sized instruments. Neck and fretboard are well made. Electronics and output jack are sub par.

on April 28, 2024

The good: Surprisingly well manufactured for its price point, with no fret overhang and the electronics all worked as expected. The tone was surprisingly good. Not so good: The intonation was not set, meaning that the bridge saddles were not adjusted to ensure that notes are in proper pitch as you play higher up the neck. After setting the intonation I discovered that with this scale the 4th string (E string in standard tuning) will always be slightly sharp on higher frets without reinstalling ...

The good: Surprisingly well manufactured for its price point, with no fret overhang and the electronics all worked as expected. The tone was surprisingly good. Not so good: The intonation was not set, meaning that the bridge saddles were not adjusted to ensure that notes are in proper pitch as you play higher up the neck. After setting the intonation I discovered that with this scale the 4th string (E string in standard tuning) will always be slightly sharp on higher frets without reinstalling the bridge further south on the body. This isn't a total deal breaker in a student instrument however. Overall this bass appears to be a good value but it needs to be set up by a professional to be truly playable as this is not done in its manufacturing.

on April 20, 2024

I ordered the natural wood version of this bass. I'm a semi-pro jazz musician who gigged regularly for about 10 years and I have a lot of basses. I ordered this one to turn it into a piccolo bass -- the same as a regular bass but tuned an octave higher. I use it to front a band. I was hoping the shorter scale (25.5") of this bass would make the string tension lower so it exaggerated the kind of buzzy sound you get with a piccolo bass -- a feature of its sound that distinguishes it from a gui ...

I ordered the natural wood version of this bass. I'm a semi-pro jazz musician who gigged regularly for about 10 years and I have a lot of basses. I ordered this one to turn it into a piccolo bass -- the same as a regular bass but tuned an octave higher. I use it to front a band. I was hoping the shorter scale (25.5") of this bass would make the string tension lower so it exaggerated the kind of buzzy sound you get with a piccolo bass -- a feature of its sound that distinguishes it from a guitar. It didn't make much of a difference compared to my other 30" piccolo basses. But it still sounded good. My biggest concern is the finish on the bass. It's almost as if it's the bare, unfinished wood, but not quite. While lack of finish does improve the sound of a bass (more resonance), too little finish makes the wood susceptible to dirt, grime, and stains. This natural wood finish doesn't seem to have much of a coating on it. That's my only complaint. April 29, 2024 Update: I returned the natural wood version of this bass and replaced it with the red one. The red one has a much nicer, and apparently more durable finish than the natural wood one. I compared them side by side and the red one outshone the natural wood one by a long shot. So, I think this is a very good, playable regular bass for someone starting out or who has small hands. It makes a mighty fine piccolo for a regular scale bass player took and looks and sounds just fine.

on March 15, 2024

Out of the box, it was better than expected but will still need a good setup which I can do myself. The biggest surprise is that the body was unfinished! Bare wood! It still needs sanding in some spots. I ordered the natural finish but was still expecting a glossy coat. This is actually fine with me because now I can give hit it with some Tru-oil and give it the finish I really want. Fretboard is very dry. Electronics work. For the money I can't really complain. The size is perfect for a ...

Out of the box, it was better than expected but will still need a good setup which I can do myself. The biggest surprise is that the body was unfinished! Bare wood! It still needs sanding in some spots. I ordered the natural finish but was still expecting a glossy coat. This is actually fine with me because now I can give hit it with some Tru-oil and give it the finish I really want. Fretboard is very dry. Electronics work. For the money I can't really complain. The size is perfect for a child but I actually got this for me because of the size. I have several other full size basses but wanted this just to have fun with. Update December 2023: I really do like this bass. I thought I'd make some upgrades to make it better. Tried changing the pickups but these are slightly smaller than standard Jazz Bass pickups and since I don't want route the body I stuck with the stock pickups but changed the wiring and pots. These stock pickups are actually heftier and better built that the replacements I bought. I changed the tuners with a set that would allow me to use better strings. The strings that came with it were not that good but were tapered properly to his scale. On any other string set the E string is to fat to fit the stock tuner. I found a set that let me install a set of LaBella low tension flats. Even the strings were short scale, the fat part of the string still had to go into the tuners. Worked okay on the low E but surprisingly the A string snapped. Got lucky and had enough to try again. So now I've got this Baby Bass with flat wounds on it and I love it! Update August 2024 - FYI Gold Tone Micro Bass strings are the perfect size for this bass. String wrap at the end is the perfect length. I put on a set of their flatwound strings and they are awesome. The Baby Bass sounds even better now.

on March 12, 2024

I will start this review by saying I am not a bass player. I am a guitarist of 33 years, and a drummer for even longer. I have a small studio and have owned several bass guitars through the years. I play good enough to confidently play my own bass tracks in the studio. With that said, I am in the process of recovering an album and needed some bass. I had chosen a nice 5 string that was significantly more expensive than this one. However, I ran across this guy about a year agoI play Fender strat ...

I will start this review by saying I am not a bass player. I am a guitarist of 33 years, and a drummer for even longer. I have a small studio and have owned several bass guitars through the years. I play good enough to confidently play my own bass tracks in the studio. With that said, I am in the process of recovering an album and needed some bass. I had chosen a nice 5 string that was significantly more expensive than this one. However, I ran across this guy about a year agoI play Fender strat style guitars so the 25.5 inch scale length sounded great to me, but when I opened the box there were no words! It is so small! Upon initial inspection, it looks good. There are no sharp frets. The back of the neck is kinda rough, but a lite sanding took care of that. The jack plate doesn't quite fit the curve of the body. I removed it and bent slightly to fit the body better. The red finish is flawless. It is a matte finish with no pore fill so you can feel the grain. It was not in tune so I tuned it up. The tuners feel a little loose. I may replace them. The action is somewhat high. The intonation isn't even close, and the neck has a little too much relief. I then let it acclimate overnight. The neck straightened out close to perfect. A little tweak on the truss rod and it is good. I adjusted the saddles and set the intonation. All of this took roughly 15 minutes. I have to say, it is one of the best playing bass guitars I've had the pleasure of playing. The strings are super heavy so the bass tunes to standard tuning. No string flop whatsoever! The pickups sound like bass single coils. 2 volume and 1 tone. It has a lot of versatility. I threw a strap on it and it is perfectly balanced. No neck dive. I don't own a bass amp. I record direct with amp simulators. I plugged it into my guitar amp just for the fun of it. A Vox AC20 clone. Kicked the fuzz and the phaser pedals on and just cracked up laughing at how awesome this little bass is!

on November 12, 2023

Arrived near playable with some fretwork. Very playable neck. Sealed the open pore finish with 2 coats of past wax and buffed, came out very nice. Perfect travel bass. Round wound strings and the dual picups great tonal range bright to mellow. Tightened tuner posts to help hold tuner drifting. Intonation not very close across all strings/bridge easily adjustable/typical Fender style good weight. Control cavity not sheilded but quiet/scaled pots. Overall first impression very playable/well made. ...

Arrived near playable with some fretwork. Very playable neck. Sealed the open pore finish with 2 coats of past wax and buffed, came out very nice. Perfect travel bass. Round wound strings and the dual picups great tonal range bright to mellow. Tightened tuner posts to help hold tuner drifting. Intonation not very close across all strings/bridge easily adjustable/typical Fender style good weight. Control cavity not sheilded but quiet/scaled pots. Overall first impression very playable/well made. Tight neck to body joint cavity with Picup cavities tight too. Nutcut hieght very good to string gauge. Pleasantly surprised/very gig-able with fine setup! Could be converted easily to a piccillo bass future. Cost/quality/playability/fun factors bassically B+. Bag & accesories very cheap/minimal, buy a strap! Will use RV'g/camping with a battery Joyo Bamp. Fantastic durable versatile playable portable bass. Overall rating 1-10, easy solid "8" (one I received). Future "fretless/5'r/8 string'r priced accordingly?? Need string suppliers for variations beside Mako5. Thx Glarry, Keep'm coming, Cheers!

on October 19, 2023

Fantastic lil' bass! Arrived near playable with some fretwork. Very playable neck. Sealed the open pore finish with 2 coats of past wax and buffed, came out very nice. Perfect travel bass. Round wound strings and the dual picups great tonal range bright to mellow. Tightened tuner posts to help hold tuner drifting. Intonation not very close across all strings/bridge easily adjustable/typical Fender style good weight. Control cavity not sheilded but quiet/scaled pots. Overall first impression very ...

Fantastic lil' bass! Arrived near playable with some fretwork. Very playable neck. Sealed the open pore finish with 2 coats of past wax and buffed, came out very nice. Perfect travel bass. Round wound strings and the dual picups great tonal range bright to mellow. Tightened tuner posts to help hold tuner drifting. Intonation not very close across all strings/bridge easily adjustable/typical Fender style good weight. Control cavity not sheilded but quiet/scaled pots. Overall first impression very playable/well made. Tight neck to body joint cavity with Picup cavities tight too. Nutcut hieght very good to string gauge. Pleasantly surprised/very gig-able with fine setup! Could be converted easily to a piccillo bass future. Cost/quality/playability/fun factors bassically B+. Bag & accesories very cheap/minimal, buy a strap! Will use RV'g/camping with a battery Joyo Bamp. Fantastic durable versatile playable portable bass. Overall rating 1-10, easy solid "8" (one I received). Future "fretless/5'r/8 string'r priced accordingly?? Need string suppliers for variations beside Mako5. Thx Glarry, Keep'm coming, Cheers??

on October 23, 2022

The bass itself is great. The included strap broke within 5 minutes, the faux leather is very weak. Included strings weren't that great but he's 4 so I don't wanna buy him top of the line strings anyway. The tuning knobs were slightly loose but that was an easy fix. Everything else was fine, we got it in plain wood so we could decorate it and it's now painted and covered with dinosaur stickers:)

on September 19, 2022

Pretty little mini (Kids) bass right here that fits exactly what I need for it to do!!! I was pretty surprised at the weight of this small sized bass and even more amazed at the sound it put out!!!! Good recommendation for a child who wants to learn to play bass.....and even BETTER tool for an adult to have for a traveling musician to practice or improvise new bass lines while on the move!!!!! Loving this one, and was just notified that my 2nd GW101 arrived as I'm typing this!!!!!! Well! Gotta g ...

Pretty little mini (Kids) bass right here that fits exactly what I need for it to do!!! I was pretty surprised at the weight of this small sized bass and even more amazed at the sound it put out!!!! Good recommendation for a child who wants to learn to play bass.....and even BETTER tool for an adult to have for a traveling musician to practice or improvise new bass lines while on the move!!!!! Loving this one, and was just notified that my 2nd GW101 arrived as I'm typing this!!!!!! Well! Gotta go break that one in too!!!!!!! GLARRY, YALL DID THAT!!!!!

on August 31, 2022

Quite a good value for the price. I copper tape insulated the control cavity and pickup wells to tame the buzzing. Worked very well. I tightened the truss rod, shimmed the neck and it intonated just fine. I played this with a fairly loud drummer through a Rumble 40 for an amped acoustic trio. Pickups are hot enough, amp volume was at around 12-1 O'Clock. It's a beautiful bass too. When I pulled the input jack out to copper insulate the ground wire fell off, no big deal, just soldered it back. I ...

Quite a good value for the price. I copper tape insulated the control cavity and pickup wells to tame the buzzing. Worked very well. I tightened the truss rod, shimmed the neck and it intonated just fine. I played this with a fairly loud drummer through a Rumble 40 for an amped acoustic trio. Pickups are hot enough, amp volume was at around 12-1 O'Clock. It's a beautiful bass too. When I pulled the input jack out to copper insulate the ground wire fell off, no big deal, just soldered it back. I love experimenting with small electric basses and I am impressed. I hope to also covert this to a headless bass.

on January 25, 2022

Really like the look, feel and playability of this instrument. Really good size for my 10 year old. It does have a pretty significant ground buzz in the electronics though, trying to figure out how to remedy that.