Conrad P-Bass / J-Bass Hybrid Reviews 3

I bought this solid-body bass used from a kid who'd gotten a newer bass and didn't need it; I payed about $100. It is made in Japan.

An incredibly warm, fuzzy sound made possible mostly by the pickup/body wood combination. Relatively lightweight and ergonomically coke-bottle contoured body.

A tendency for string buzz at some frets with hard play. A cheap & tinny-sounding but typical tone control. A scratchy set of string-height screws with the tailpiece cover removed (solved with heat shrink caps). You get what you pay for.

Solid mahogany construction (aside from a rosewood fingerboard) and hand-wound single chromed pickup with independent pole adjustments. I have replaced the tuners & nut with basics sourced from Carvin, and re-finished the neck in a simple tung oil & wax satin which replaced a tacky urethane that degraded the handling. The clear-coated body has a veneered woodgrain and a sunburst finish that's held up well over the years, with the opposite of babying. A rosewood finger-rest is a nice touch for thumb-pickers.

A sturdy and well-made if somewhat primative bass.

fuzztone rated this unit 3 on 2002-02-19.

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