Brownsville UB800VS

Bought this in December 2007, SamAsh just got it in. Made in China.
the sides are laminated and not the way acoustic guitars are made, but as if one made a solid-body guitar of layers, then routed out the middle to make it semi-hollow. The top and back are nicely figured stripe maple (probably also a lam).
2 passive humbuckers with 2 volumes and 1 tone (unlike the Hofners and most copies, but I like this simpler setup).
I noticed this bass on looks - it looked better than its own brother (another Brownsville at the store) and also a $400 and an $800 Hofner.
It's well-finished, considering the price, I haven't found any flaws. The tuners are nice (although they make the bass neck-heavy, but it's light overall, so not an issue).
I bought the bass because of its warm sound (also better than the other Brownsville or the 2 Hofners at the store). And I also bought it because of its short-scale - my wrist gets tired on bigger basses. This one is very easy to play. Also very good fretwork. There were no buzzes anywhere and the fret ends don't protrude outside the fretboard (which is common on cheap instruments made of underdried wood, which shrinks as it dries further and exposes the frets).
I gave it a 10 "for the price".

The main reason I bought it was because it has a nice warm sound. It's not like a real beatle bass, the sound is more "liquidy", not just an upright thump. But it's obviously not like a solid-body bass.

So far I only played it with stock roundwounds and it sounds good. I expect to put flatwounds on it for warmer, smoother tone.

No noise (pups are humbuckers).

This is not a slap/funk bass (which is fine for me) but it's plenty versatile. I like it. It was the cheapest good bass I could get.

I am typically a "mod monkey" - I like buying good inexpensive guitars/basses and upgrading pickups and components, but I am leaving this bass alone - it just sounds good. It's also probably harder to find pickups of this size/form factor, but I am totally fine with that.

The neck pickup was raised too high, but I just lowered that myself. Otherwise it had good action and ok intonation for me.

One slight gripe - pickups are fully encased, so you can't adjust individual pole pieces for height. So far not an issue, though.

Also, the bridge is designed as a free-floating, but it seems to be glued in. Someone at forums mentioned that it's perhaps just stuck to the laquer, because it was slapped on before the finish fully dried. I haven't tried dislodging it yet. Haven't needed to. But easier intonation adjustability would be a plus.

I won't comment on this - I am a hobbyist who needs a decent bass at home and for basement jams. This is it.

Brownsville is a SamAsh house brand. All they officially give is a 30-day money back guarantee. They might be nice if something comes up, but I dunno. I don't expect any problems, this isn't some fine acoustic guitar.

This was a great value and a nice bass. I almost bought a similar item from Rondo Music, but this one was at the store and I figured I might as well go for it. It seems to be made in the same factory as the Douglas WVEB from Rondo.

You can see pics and comments about mine here:

http://www.agileguitarforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=4929&page=1#pid51141

I have no idea how old this bass is, but I don't think it's more than a year. It's a 4 string I-wish-I-was-a-Hofner short-scale bass, 22 frets. No idea if the top is a laminate or solid but it's pretty solidly built. Two volume and one master tone controls the two passive humbucking pickups (no pickup switch). Decent sealed tuners. The fingerboard appears to be rosewood.

I love the tiny neck on this thing. My hands are pretty small (I'm a piano player by trade) and the radius is small enough for me! The pickups are pretty quiet even with my crappy little practice amp. A good friend of mine will most likely make the most use of this guitar and he has a nice Ampeg rig. The bass is a Hofner (or more likely an Epiphone) viola bass, so it reproduces that "woody" sound pretty well.

I bought it used (but how used is anyone's guess) it may not have been played much at all, but the set up is most likely the same as when it came out of the box. No flaws in the paint.

It's pretty solid and I'd imagine it'd take a live gig (I don't abuse my equipment). The hardware is tough and the strap buttons are REALLY well attached.

Never had to deal with customer support (remember I bought it used).

I started on bass about 16 years ago (though it's not my stock in trade, that's piano) and my other bass is a 1976 Univox Stereo Bass (Ricky 4001 wannabe). If this were lost or stolen I'd be pretty upset because money doesn't grow on trees and sometimes 150 for a guitar gets shoved to the back of the list of priorities (if it weren't I'd have that Hofner 500/1 I always wanted).
It's a well built piece and it sounds pretty decent. Nice finish and easy on the hands (she's a keeper!).

This is a 2006 hofner-style body with the following attributes:

- Mahogany Hollow Body
- Hard Maple Neck
- Rosewood Fingerboard
- 22 Frets, 4 strings
- Passive Covered Humbuckers
- "Adjustable" Rosewood Bridge
- Chrome Hardware
- Sealed Tuners
- 34.75" Scale
- Flamed Vintage Sunburst

Similar to a Hofner, this is basically a one-trick pony. However, it suits my playing style just fine. I like the woody, low-end rumble of this bass with just a hint of high-end. I am running this bass into a Boss TU-2, then into a Hartke Bass Attack pedal, and into a Fender 115 Rumble bass amp. There are three knobs on the bass - a volume for the neck pickup, a volume for the bridge pickup, and a master tone. The neck pickup volume is set at 10 with the bridge pickup volume at zero, and the master tone at 10. The Hartke pedal is set to the Fender Bassman setting. This bass is very quiet. I do not do any recording and play in a contemporary small-church setting. I mostly use a pick and the bass has a nice attack.

The action and neck were fine right out of the box. However, the intonation needed to be corrected. Setting the intonation on this bass is difficult because it is a one-piece bridge. The saddles can be adjusted must the string must be removed first. I took a shot at setting the intontation myself, with no instructions, and fair very well. To set the intonation, first tune one string to pitch. Then, check the intonation. If it is off, loosen all of the strings to move the bridge back or forth under the string being checked, retune that string, check the intonation and repeat if necessary. The trick is to adjust the bridge without changing the intonation of the other strings. This is a very time-consuming process and I might not even be doing it right as there were no instructions with this bass. I EMAIL a few companies in hopes that they would be able to provide some intonation instructions for this style of bridge. The finish was beautiful and the pickup height was fine. I never expect any guitar, bass or otherwise, to be set-up perfectly right out of the box.

This type of bass guitar is not meant for popping and slapping. I prefer a pick with this bass. The hardware, finish, electronics, and construction seem to be sound. I do not abuse my equipment so I anticipate it to last a very long time. I have an 18v active Peavey bass as well just in case.

This bass is sold by Sam Ash. I had a problem with the first bass (excessive rattling) and exchanged it for another. For that, the Sam Ash store I dealt with receives a 10!!! However, Sam Ash as a company receives a 1 on this fact alone - THERE IS NO CASE DESIGNED FOR THIS BASS!!!. Regardless of the price of any guitar, it seems that companies skimp on this. Unless your are willing to spend a small fortune on a guitar (i.e. Fender, Gibson, Hofner, etc), one sometimes must settle on a generic case and then stuff foam, towels, etc to pad it. With this bass, due to its shape, there are virtually no companies that make a generic case. Therefore, I tried obtaining case from Hofner but they were backordered until late April. I was finally able to find a form-fitting case from Music Land Central. Also, many sites who sell Hofner bass guitars indicate that Hofner spinoffs will not fit in a genuine Hofner case. The Music Land Central case worked beautifully (THANKS A MILLION!!!!). DO NOT BUY A PADDED GIG-BAG FOR THIS. Protect any guitar purchase with a hardshell case.

I have been playing guitar since I was 12 and bass for over six years. As I said before, Sam Ash should make a hardshell, form-fitting case for this unique shape. With its low price, I would buy it again if it were stolen or lost. A genuine Hofner is just too expensive for me even if I had the money. This bass is a one-trick wonder and does it very, very well. For those who like that deepy, woody tone, this is a great bass. If you want to do popping or slapping, skip this bass. This bass is not designed for this type of playing. As stated above, I also own a Peavey 18v active bass guitar (Axcelerator) which is an incredible bass with a large tonal palette. However, for boomy bass sounds and creating that '60s sound, this bass does the trick.