Brian Moore Guitars i4

Solid features, 3 piece neck (Rosewood, Padok (excuse the spelling) and rosewood) high gloss neck with ash body. Highly figured maple top that looks brillent. Pickups are solid, wilkinson bridge and machine heads I think and the pre amp is 3 band.

O.K well I bought this bass for 250USD and loved it. The sound was proably a 7 due to the really crappy pre amp. But I loved the bass so much that I replaced it with the top of the line john east filter pre amp and that has just taken this bass to new levels. The sound now can compete with ANY bass at any price range due to this pre amp and because of the top quality wood and massive bridge the tone and sustain is just unreal.

Lowered the action and made it alot better. Because these are hand made the finish and Fit vairy quite alot so make sure you try out your Brian Moore before buying so you can get a good one like me. The pre amp is really quite so I strongly recomend replacing it as the neck is just so Fast and easy to play that with a good pre amp this bass can do some crazy things.

This bass is brilliant except for the pre amp, I shotcircuited and melted the pots and well is just not that good. If it wasn't for the Pre amp this would be a 10.

This bass is over priced new, but if you can get it cheap like me and replace the pre amp then you will get a truly amazing bass that is fast, reliable and has amazing tone. I rate this a 10 with a good pre amp other wise its a 8.

Probably a 2000-2003 4 string. Have emailed the company twice but no response. I picked this up used about two months ago and figured it was time to comment on her. Active electronics (original soap bars,non bartolini) with 3 tone pots, a pickup blend pot and a midrange scoop tap switch. Beautiful quilted maple finish, sculpted body, flawless neckthru with rosewood fingerboard and gold hardware. Tuners are small but hold their own with out slipping off key.
Headstock could do with out the cheesy i4 logo imho.

Here's the story. I was checking out a Hartke bass head and didn't bring my own axe. I looked at the wall of basses and saw nothing familiar that I liked so picked out one I had never seen before with out paying attention to what it was. After 15 minutes I had completely forgot about the amp and was mesmerized by this bass. Nothing in my 25 years of on and off playing had ever been quite like this. Reminded me of a cross between a '60's vintage Hagstrom and Gibson combined with modern electronics. It blew me away for what it could provide with so little effort. Was shocked to find out it was Korean made and that was the only thing that stopped me from buying it on the spot. After a couple of return trips to revisit the bass I decided it was the one for me and I haven't regretted it at all.
Came with round wounds attached and they gave a fine tone with a hint of processed sound, just a hint. Don't know if it's the electronics or the wood. Just put a set Ernie Ball flat wounds on and now she really kicks. Playing in an extremely loud blues/hard rock ensemble right now and all the ethereal,pretty mid tones that were getting lost with the round wounds have turned to "cut through the mix punch" that retains all the tone. The tone controls and blend knob allow for a wide array of sounds, both for pick and fingers, with out being a complicated bunch of push/pull knobs. Easy to dial in just what you need in a flash.
I'm playing through a vintage Sunn head and a Bagg End cab so I've yet to play this extensively through a modern amp and a stack of 10's. I assume the round wounds would really sparkle with that kind of set up.
Slapping isn't required in my present musical setting and this bass can slap but other basses are better suited to that style. That's what I have a 4 string Stingray for.

*Note, I have small hands. Until this bass, my '69 EB3 shortscale was the best fit I ever ran across.
Amazing playability on this bass all the way to the 24th fret. It's fast, fast, fast, with clear definition way down to the first fret on the E string. Comfortable as all get out with the sculpted body and great balance.
The bridge is rock solid and easily adjustable. My only complaint is the truss rod adjustment. It's under the fretboard where the body meets the neck and it's just a bit too far recessed for a standard allen wrench. You need one with a little more length after the elbow.

Every thing works, sounds fantastic.
Three complaints.
1) The cheesy logo
2) Truss rod adjustment placement (truss rod works great)
3) Battery drain (I'm used to a MM Stingray which has almost no battery consumption what so ever. The i4 is a little thirsty which is no big deal just something I'm getting used to)

Also, the metal tabs in the battery compartment sometimes need to be unsquashed a bit to retain contact. I believe that was the problem with the previous reviewer who had his power cutting out. It's an easy fix.

Bought used so no warranty.
I've emailed 2x for manufacture date info but never heard back.
Have need no repairs. Expect to add a hipshot Xtender next.

I give it a "10" for my needs. Every time I pick it up and play I get this great feeling that no bass has ever given me. It just wants to be played and gives me the sounds I like to work with.
Honestly though, to each their own and I can rate this bass a solid 7. Those with big hands or die hard slappers will prefer other axes.

Brian Moore i4 Bass

Natural quilted maple finish on a arched body that fits nicely to the average built person. The neck is the best feature on this bass. It is small and very jazz like. I have read reviews where some folks do not like the weight or sound and even the neck of the i4 but one bass cannot fit all players. Test drive it with an open mind and you will find a winner even if the i4 is an imported model.

The sound is great. I wish I could have gotten barts but the stock soapbar pick ups are fine. With all pots in the mid/flat settings the bass sounds great. Every sound you can dream of can come from this bass if you know how to get it. No problem with any part of the electronics of this bass. "I must have a different bass than some of the other guys that reviewed the Brian Moore basses".

Finish is beautiful. It comes very close to the finish of my Pedulla. The neck and action is awesome right out of the case. Very low action with no buzz. The neck feels like an old jazz or early Warwick Streamer except with a glossy finish. About 1 1/2 inch width at the nut and very thin. It cannot get any sweeter for small hands or skinny guys or girls. However I wish the bass was a little lighter. It weighs about 9.5 to 10 pounds. I have a Surine that weighs 6.5 pounds and rocks without shoulder cramps after a few hours on a gig. I would rate this higher if it was about 2 pounds lighter. Hardware is gold and nicely plated. It all feels good and solid. Again I must have gotten a different Brian Moore bass than the the last guy that reviewed the i4.

Weird place for the input jack. Very useless because I have a wireless set up and do not need the hidden jack. This is a very solid bass for the money and will give many years of service.

I do not know the Company or have had to deal with them. I am rather sure they would offer service if I needed or requested it. I cannot see where anything can or will go wrong with this bass under normal conditions to even warrent needing to call them.

I have played for 25 years and own an extensive assortment of basses and would not have a problem buying another Brian Moore bass or guitar. Great quality and sound for the money. If I could tell the Company anything I would request different colors and even an oil finish. Lighten up the bass a little to around 8 pounds and do not touch the neck.
All it will take is to play the bass and feel the small neck profile and you will be hooked. I have basses that cost 3 times as much as this bass and the features of this bass make me wonder why I bought some of the pricer guitars.

In summary this bass is not for everyone as you can see by some of the other reviews. I am sure that lemons exist in every batch. Try it an see if the i4 is the bass for you. It found a place in my collection.

2 volume knobs, 3 tone knobs, a slap switch. Active pickups. The Input is in a bizarre place, but once you get used to it, it is awesome. It makes pulling your chord out by accident close to impossible.

I play a variety of styles, and you can get them all out of this bass. Everyone who complained about it before just didn't take the time to tweak the tone knobs. This bass is great for any style. You can get any sound you want, but it's not going to happen by just plugging in and playing..you have to mess with it a bit.

Mine has a pro set up. The action is great...almost too good. the bass really plays like a guitar, which some might see as a down side. The finish is great. Flame maple top, and neck through. It is a really unique and beautiful looking bass.

Can't see any flaws. Everyhing seems well put together.

Never had any problems so, no idea here. From what I hear though, Brian moore guitars are pretty easy to deal with.

i4.13 model, with 13-pin RMC piezo built-in for use with Roland's V-bass unit. Bartolini pickups. According to BM's site and the included documentation, this model is supposed to have a slap switch, but they neglected to tell me that it's not included on the models with the 13-pin option. I also had the Buzz Feiten Tuning System installed (supposedly - more about this below). Case is included, something you don't find out until your purchase arrives.

I didn't like the sound of this bass, and the Bartolini pickups made no difference in sound. It was thin, trebly and uninspiring; guitar-like. The strings buzzed even when played softly. But the real reason I bought it was to use with the V-bass modeling unit. Only a few presets on that unit were decent; the rest were unusable. And the buzzing came through even with the V-bass, which combined with the noisy tracking rendered the whole setup useless for recording.

Much smaller and lighter bass than I expected. Finish was very nice. Elixir strings were a good choice, but the action was too high (even though the strings still buzzed.) There was no way to get rid of that buzzing even with various string heights. Also the cable input jack was in an odd place - something BM touts as a "feature". And there's one pot which supposedly allows you to mix in the sound of the real bass with the V-bass sounds. It worked, but not as it was supposed to. You can mix in the bass, but only at full volume or not at all - and it has to be physically plugged into the V-bass with a guitar cable as well. And with the pots continually falling off with the slightest touch, it made things even more difficult.

Straight out of the case (new), the volume & tone pots had fallen off. There is a tool included for tightening them, but it didn't fit perfectly & I was unable to get the pots to stay on. Poor manufacturing, cheap switches. Outdated & worthless documentation (a one-sheet copy with incorrect definitions of the pots, and showing the missing slap switch.)

Definitely not a high quality bass, definitely not worth the price. Forget the 13-pin option and get yourself a high quality instrument - don't spend your money on a mediocre bass with an expensive, useless gimmick.

Some problems here. I purchased from Sandy @ East Coast Music Mall, and I had BM ship the bass to them so they could install the Feiten tuning. When I got the bass, there was no BF sticker, or Feiten nut or any indication whatsoever that Feiten had been installed (every Feiten installation is supposed to have their sticker on it - which is important for proof & resale value.) I e-mailed the Feiten people, who told me they would get in touch with East Coast & have them send me a sticker. After badgering Sandy for a month, he finally mailed me my sticker - generic with no serial #. Also I tried to get in touch with BM concerning the defective pots and some problems I was having getting this bass to sound good with the Roland V-bass; their support dept never answered the phone after a week of calling. Someone finally called me back and offered no help. They had made their sale and they didn't care after that. The guy who called me was condescending and disinterested. And as for as East Coast, for all my trouble, Sandy eventually sent me a $15 "Roadie Wrench" tool, as a final insult.

I chose this bass because I wanted the built-in 13-pin jack, and I thought I'd get a high quality bass too. Turns out, the bass looks great but is cheaply made, and the 13-pin connection wasn't any better at tracking than the stick-on pickup that comes with the V-bass unit (either way, the tracking is poor and is worthless for studio recording, which is more the fault of the V-bass.) And the Feiten upgrade was utterly uselesss, assuming it was really installed, which is dubious. I regretted this purchase after a week. I should've gotten a $300 bass and used the V-bass modeling sounds exclusively. Also, I do not recommend doing business with East Coast Music Mall. They overcharged me, were slow, might not have done the work I paid them for (Feiten), and tried like hell to avoid me when I had problems with the bass. At one point (after I purchased the bass), I talked to Sandy about BM basses, without his knowing who I was. He told me he used to work for BM, and "anyone that buys their stuff is a fool". He said the 13-pin option is a waste of money because the V-bass will be discontinued sooner or later. As it turns out, he was right; I wasted my money. But prior to my buying the bass, he was telling me what a fantastic product it is. So, don't make the mistake I did - avoid Brian Moore and East Coast.

For an off shore bass, the bass has on paper every thing you would expect control wise. The neck is tiny, Its Vox sized but shallower. Great bass for kids or folks of smaller stature to get acclemated on. Usual stuff, usual knobs, usual spots. The jack comes out the back however and I found it annoying.

This is the achiliese heal of this bass. This bass has what has to be the worst pre amp known to man kind. The bass is thin and screachy. I bought hte bass for my daughter who is having a tough time getting around on my 'Ray. As a player its perfect, dont plug it in and you'll be fine. Just about every bass in this price point has better tone.

The fit and finish was really good. As always you have to change the strings and battery. The fret work was nice, the finish was great. The factory set up needed some love. Hi action, bad intonation, took about 30 mins and was ready to go... Played nicely

The tuners are cheepo narrow shafts,bridge was eh.. Again, Ive seen better in the price point on 99% of the stuff. Finish thin and delicate

Im a 30 year pro, Im in the biz, I got the bass wholesale from a competitor. If I didnt get the bass from a buddy, It woulda went back. Very disapointing. At this price point the bass played great, hardware was so-so BUT this thing sounded HORRIFIC! My daughter loves the thing because it looks cool and has the small neck. I swapped out the stock pups and preamp and replaced em w/Bartolinis. I could rattle off 10 other basses in this price range that in a blind test would just SMOKE this bass.

This bass is phenomenal........flat out rocks......I suppose it must be fairly uncommon as I have not found any reviews for it on harmony central. 24 frets with a beautiful figured maple top. Dual soapbar pickups with active electronics.....a cool feature is the "slap switch" which really has a dramatic effect on the eq curve of the bass. 34" scale and gorgeous gold hardware.

Now I play a lot of praise and worship type stuff, a lot of bluesy type stuff and a lot of rock out metally type stuff. This bass is very punchy and really cuts through the mix. You can get a good variety of tones from it, as it is very responsive to your playing style. Again, the slapswitch allows for a quick change in tone mid-song.

Well, I bought this bass used so I really have no basis for rating the factory set-up, nonetheless I love the action it came to me with, fairly low but absolutely no buzzing out. The strap button is in an unusual location, as is the output jack, this is characteristic of the brian moore instruments. An overall great feel though. The finish is a wonderful cherry sunburst.....sits nicely on the bound maple top.

It feels solid as a rock......haven't had it for too long though, so we shall see.

No experience

I've been playing bass for about 5 years now, guitar for 3 before that....not saying that I am a pro or anything. I have great expectations regarding my future with this instrument.....Brian Moore rocks my socks off