Harmony P-Bass copy w/ Brass Nut Reviews 3

$40 at Guitar Center. With the low price tag, I just had to plug it in. It actually sounded real good. It needed the neck tilt shimmed, but nothing else was wrong, and it showed very little signs of use. Plus I liked the bess nut.

It's real cheap and sounds good. Also it has a brass nut. Maybe someone hotrodded it? [but there's no fancy name on the PU, and it still has the stamped bridge]. Tuners work smoothly and it's not overly heavy for a P-type. There's almost 2" of space from the nut to the E-string peg so you can avoid wrapping the main windings onto the peg. It's a good cheap "house bass" for hosting a jam where total strangers borrow your ax, and it "looks right".

There's really nothing other than what is common to all P-type basses: You have to remove all the screws in the pickguard just to spray the pots or if the jack needs tightening; and P-types are never light or compact.

Opaque universal-used-bass-glossy-black finish over mystery wood, exposed pole P-pickup with no name on it, open gear tuners are marked "Licenced by Schaller", two knobs and 1/4" jack mounted on "tail" of pickguard. Pickguard appears to be non-laminated, but isn't warped or wavy. Maple neck and rosewood fretboard with 22 frets. Nut is brass [have to wonder if that's original]. It's not especially loud, maybe average for a passive single-PU bass. Tone knob has discernable effect but nothing major.

Good cheap basses don't come any gooder or cheaper, and did I mention the brass nut? It's very "un-deluxe" but with no warts, so I guess that rates a "3", but "3" isn't any sort of complaint.

golem rated this unit 3 on 2004-09-21.

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