Antoniotsai 7 string bass

bought about 2 years ago off ebay....for 200$ plus 145$ shipping....i just loved the look and coulndt belive he accepted that low offer. got the bass withing 4 days , nice case, and i was very impressed with just the overal size and wieght of it. my other basses are war wicks and the i have an ibanez soung gear 6 string, this bass was far more impressive visually. it has string thru body bridge and 3 band eq the action was very low and the pickups looked like rip off bartoloni.

no shorts, no buzzes, good grounding, some of the lower frets buzzed. and the frets hung over the edge of the fret board a little more than a comercial made guitar. but it sounded really good and i was amazed.

like i said there were some fret issues (none major). the action was amazingly low, perfect for tapping. a little top heavy but i like a heavy bass. the finish did not have a clear coat on it and looked like unfinished funiture. the woods used were amazing and you can see the planing marks in the body. you can tell it was hand made and not computer robot pumped out like 99% of the other guitars on the market. it looks unfinished and raw, but i like that it has character.

ive read alot about these guitars cracking and having problems.....mine has never given me any problems.

besides when my hands are dirty it will mark up the back of the neck because there no gloss, it just doesnt wipe off.

so WASH YOUR HANDS!

ive orderd 3 guitars from them. there emails are quick but there english is bad, getting better, but still bad. i wouldnt even try to warantee somthing from across the world. i take it as a risk you take to own somthing not very many people have. you can just go ruin down tot he local shop and buy one. and that makes it speacial

ive been playing sine i was 13 and im now 28...i wanted to expand my colection with some custom pieces that where more to show off than for actual function. and that where this bass comes in. if im goin to play a show or record im using my warwick. but if i want to shock and awe, im busting out the custom 7 string that just looks rediculous!.......i love this bass. its not and everyday driver. but it gets looks!

Neck through body-detailed mother of pearl and albalone inlay 35" scale length- Made in taiwan- active pick-ups, ash wood body with maple lamenent neck. Rose wood fingerboard. Bridge string through body or surface. 3 band EQ

Nice warm clean sound. EQ works great. Tones of tones available. Great for all styles of playing.

The bass came in great condition with a nice quality gig bag. It had a few marks on one of the horns but nothing that is really noticable. The action needed some set-up. Frets were all un even. Some notes wouldn't play with my action. After a food fret dress the neck is perfect and plays better then any bass I have ever owned. Inlays work is amazing. It is beatiful.

Bass has a nice weight. It is a little neck heavy but that is ok. Seems to be stirdy. Truss rods seem to hold tension with no problem. I have only tweaked it a few times as it settled. It seems to be holding fine.

I haven't had to deal with the company only with shipping. The bass came quite quickly. It has a 30 day warranty. I dont think I will need it. I have a good local Luthier which can do any work I need.

I have been playing bass for 18 years. 10 years pro. I have owned many basses from ibanez, cort, conklin, hammer, yamaha, fender, godin. This bass is just as good if not better then some. The neck is nice and thing and fast and easy to play. The bass uses standard 4 string spacing which is great. easy for slap style. I have it now tuned EADGCF and it is great for two handed tapping. There is very little fret noise. All notes seem realy clean and piano like. For the money I think it is a great value. Bought on Ebay for $145 us. shipping was $135 us. Fret dress was $100. All in all a great value.

2006 made in Vietnam and sold on Ebay.
24 fret neck through body with 7 laminates on neck (maple/walnut)
walnut body wings
2 single coil pickups with active electronics (vol/pan/3 band EQ)
Satin finish on wood
Rosewood fingerboard with extensive abalone and mother of pearl inlays
Individual string bridges with strings through body
35" scale
Gotoh-style tuners (probably Chinese)

Sounds really nice-full lows and mids and the highs are not to strident. Some single coil hum if one or the other pickup is soloed (like a Jazz Bass in that respect).
I'm using it with either Eden or Nemesis amplifiers or a Behringer V-amp Pro and 10" speakers.
Overall the bass seems to fit well in about any style.

Eeek! When I got the bass it had an extremely poor fret job and set up. $80 worth of fret levelling, truss rod adjusting (there are two on the bass) and general set up later in the hands of my very competent bass repairman and it plays like it looks.

Looks to be OK-I'm planning on replacing the bridge and tuners and may try Bartolini pickups as well, so this may not be an issue anyway.

The factory is in Taiwan and any work would basically cost me 2/3 of what I paid for the bass in shipping alone. If you're a stateside customer I'd not even go there...

Well, let's be honest here-it's a neck through active 7 string for less than 1/4 the price of it's nearest competitor, the Korean-built Conklin Groove Tools Bill Dickens 7. They are great basses for sure, and I also own one of them. I bought the Tsai as a backup for touring with my own band in which I play 7 strings often. I think anyone buying a $330 bass with all of these bells and whistles would have to anticipate some issues just like someone who buys a "fixer upper" for %60 of what houses are going for in some neighborhoods. Anyone who thinks they're going to get an Alembic 7 string at this price is, frankly, dreaming. That said, with an initial investment of $330 on an Ebay auction and another $150 shipping and insurance and $80 of work by my repairman, I've got a credible active 7 string neck-through (to be honest neck heavy!)for less than $600 investment.
Just be aware that if you buy one of these you're likely looking at some setup costs and possibly recrowning and reseating some frets to make it play it's best. If you have access to a good repairman who can do that it's worth a shot.
I have been playing for 36 years and have Alembics, Carvins, Modulus Graphite, Conklin/Groove Tools and Hotwire 4, 6 and 7 strings.