Jackson JPB-9

I believe the wood to be what the other guy reviewing this bass said--maple and padauk? (never heard of padauk myself). Anyway, it's a very attractive looking bass, the body being thin, and not very heavy at all. Almost feels like the neck is heavier than the body. The pickups are cool, active, and provide for a wide variety of tonal range. Fun to mess around with. 4 knobs, pretty simple, front two "set" halfway, letting you know you are going on overdrive if you turn them more....did that make sense??

I play guitar, and bought this cuz 1. i got a good deal 2. i wanted to mess around with a bass. I am playing it through my Roland JC 120 (Don't Laugh) and it gets loud. I realize this is not a bass amp, but that is what i got. Played it through my friend's Fender BXR? and it sounded a little better. Use an octave pedal and that makes for some fun. As far as the sound goes, the pickups are very cool, and you can get a lot of tones from the bass. I have never played on stage, but it drives my roomate nuts! I really like the variety of sounds i can get from the pickups.

Dunno how it was out of the factory, but when i got it, it had some major string buzz going on. I had it set up at a local shop and restrung and it sounds 80% better, but not how i would like. I dont know if this is due to the neck or what. The other guy reviewing this bass seemed to have this problem too. It is still somewhat hard to play after being set up and i dont like the action much at all. I like a gutar/bass to be silky smooth and easy to play, this one is not. It is helping me to create some nice finger dexterity though.
the bass fits nice when holding and standing with it. The finish is awesome, as it is very nice looking and attractive. (natural wood finish)

dont play live, like i said. Hardware is fine, cool bridge. Solid all over, nice tuners, only problem seems to be the neck. Not gonna answer the other questions.

Huh?

I have been playing guitar for a some years now, and like to fool around on bass. If you're looking at this, you probly play bass, so im not gonna list what guitar equipment i have. If it were lost, id shoot myself for losing it cuz that would be dumbassed of me, if it were stolen, i would look for another bass. This bass looks great, has great pickups and hardware, but i seem to have problems with the action and setting it up right. too much string buzz, probly from the neck. A friend of mine who kicks ass on bass made it sound like wonderful, but he did complain about the action as well. In a sentence, it's a sweet looking bass, with nice stuff on it, but not the easiest playing instrument. Does seem to be somewhat hard to find.

An interestingly constructed bass - maple core with laminated padauk front and back. That's probably the most unique feature of this pretty straight-forward 4 string. The only other unusual feature is the shape - a bizarre hybrid of Ken Smith and Rickenbacker. The neck is standard 34" scale, of solid maple, and quite thin. This has led to some problems ( see below). Both neck and body have a simple satin finish. The electronics are very good. Essentially, they are active EMG copies, with a good, if brittle, tone. Finally, the bridge is excellent - massive, almost like a poor man's BadAss.

The sound is very bright, even brittle at times. The difference between neck and bridge pickups is extremely marked, with the bridge being very bright and airy, while the neck is much louder and bassier. The tone variation is awesome, allowing me to play in almost any style. However, the pickups pickup way too much string noise for the bass to be really useful in the studio. The instrument is also very good sounding when used with effects, and my Dunlop Bass Crybaby and Boss Bass Overdrive really help to beef up the sound.

The pickups and electronics came very well set-up. However, the body lamination needed re-gluing in several places, and that thin neck gave me headaches until I sent the instrument back to the factory to have a new neck fitted. The original was strongly up-bowed, and was so thin that normal straightening techniques wouldn't take hold.

All I can say is that following the initial repairs, nothing has gone wrong, and the bass is now so solid overall that I would not be afraid to gig without a backup.

The company was extremely kind and helpful when I had the neck replaced. The service department was superb, and did a great, prompt job. I'm not sure about the warranty, but it is comprehensive and must be for at least 3 years.

I really have to say that I chose the wrong amp for this bass. If your looking at one of these basses, make sure you also are looking at Ampegs. I bought a Hartke, and am kicking myself, because the amps brash tone does nothing for such a bright sounding instrument.