Great Beginners Package!
I am a first-time-ever bass player, this instrument was highly recommended by a brother who played bass professionally for over 15 years. The bass is bee-utiful, wood grain on the body is book-matched and looks far better than the Squier VM I had been considering. The instrument was well set-up out of the box, all I needed to do was tune it to pitch and start playing. Neck is easy to get my fingers around, the frets are even with no fret buzz anywhere on the neck. Tuners are rock-solid. The round-wound strings are fine for learning at my level. At some point I may change them for flat-wounds for a different sound, but no need to do this until I have more experience under my fingers.
The only thing that needed fixing was a loose bridge pickup volume control. It was just a loose nut, and easily fixed, not a show-stopper. The electronics under the cover plate (passive pots and tone caps) were top quality, joints well soldered and clean, and wires dressed neatly.
The hard case is well built, protects the instrument well - MUCH better than the usual gig-envelope.
Tuner is a clip-on, it is not terribly sensitive which is good. You may need to plonk the E string especially hard to get it to read, but it works fine.
Strap is functional. If you play long hours standing up, you will want to invest in a wider strap, but again this is a beginner package and the strap does the job for practice sessions. It fits REAL tight over the strap pegs on the bass, but this is good. The leather will stretch in time, but should not loosen to the point where the strap will slip off and crash your beauty to the floor.
The DVD is OK, there are some good basic blues licks you can learn and it includes an instruction booklet that is handy. There are lots of great bass instructional videos on YouTube, I highly recommend watching some of them or logging on to one of the instructional websites for more thorough lessons on playing bass.
Haven't used the string winder yet. Should not need it for bass strings, watch some YouTube vids on stringing or setting up a Bass to see why. But I know a sweet guitar player who can probably use it!
The cable is well built and flexible. Jacks are steel and the wire connections inside are shrink-wrapped for good strain relief. The cable might not stand up to a world tour gig, but it will certainly work fine in the home for practicing.
Saving the best accessory for last - the stand. I was overwhelmed at the quality of the guitar stand - it is solid, not the flimsy thing I was half-expecting. And the little keeper strap is handy for when my Size 12s bump the leg of the stand.
The best thing about the stand is that you can leave your bass on it so you will be more inclined to pick it up and practice it! I keep the case for travel, but at home the bass is on the stand ready to go whenever I get a few minutes to pick it up.
The stand is probably the most important accessory in the kit, IMO. If the bass is out, you will use it. If it is stored under the bed in the case, it will end up at a garage sale. Cover the bass with an old dry cleaner bag if you want to keep it pristine (and you will!) but leave it out on the stand so it can stare at you and make you pick it up and use it!
The only thing you will need in addition to this package is a bass amp. Good bass practice amps can be had for little money, any solid-state amp with a 12" (or bigger) speaker will do fine. Be sure to get a BASS amp, though, because a regular guitar amp will not push that big bass rumble the guitar is capable of producing.
Overall, this bass guitar package is a fantastic bargain. Yamaha makes fine instruments, and the low price of this guitar does not mean low quality in any way. It is a great instrument and will give you many hours of fun learning the bass.
I'd give them SIX stars if I could!Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
