Johnson Viola Bass

Walked into a bass shop in Seattle, and walked out with a shiny new toy....Yeah, the passive pickups bug me sometimes, when playing clean, through my board, I have to jack the gain.

Being able to seperate the pickups allows for a certian ability to sculpt the sound. Even with a relatively soft sound, you can still play tight off the bridge and make it pretty funky. Thumps alright, and doesn't hide mistakes well.....

Beautiful, retro-feeling guitar. Action is great, no bad frets, the dealer went through a lot of trouble to configure it properly. The curved indentation in the body is quite pronounced, and allows for a different wrist-angle, and more comfort than I was used to. The neck is pretty small, and very maneuverable. Also, this guitar is *very* light, I am used to a solid mecican Fender P breaking my back.

It seems pretty solid, however I wouldn't want to drop it, I think it would shatter, terminater 2-style. The gig bag is inadequate, it always needs re-tuning out of the bag. Otherwise usually the tune holds well for a while. A hard case would be nice, but it is easy to tow around on your back because it is is small and light.

They gave me some warranty paper, but I haven't looked that closely. They stressed their service at point of sale, but I don't forsee any problems thus far.

This is a solid unit, light and flexible, physically, and in the electronics. Quite portable, keeps it's tune and plays well up the neck. Mostly the price is really good for what you get.

Bought a new model on eBay in summer 2007. Came with gig bag (I think it was dealer-provided). Standard features - you can read about it on Johnson's website.

The bass has a nice deep thump to it. The signal level is pretty low - had another student playing a Ernie Ball SUB bass on the same amp, and the Viola was totally drowned out.

Using it on a SWR Redhead in church, nice full sound that really fills out the bottom end for our set.

Honestly, it sounded nicer than I expected for the price, but not as good as I expected, given the rave reviews other Johnson instruments had received.

Action seemed a tad high, but when I tried to lower it, immediately started getting fret buzz. So I guess it was set properly after all.

Haven't paid too much attention to the finish, but the bass seems to be decently put together. The input jack started coming loose after a week of light playing, though.

Tuners - I'm not sure if the kids are abusing this bass when they pack it in the gig bag or what, but the thing is always horribly out of tune when we take it out of the bag. Then again, it's a flimsy bag, so... It does manage to stay in tune through the set.

The bass feels a little fragile, but for playing live in church.. I think it'll survive. It's not like we're jumping all over the stage or anything.

The strap buttons seemed solid, but I wouldn't know, because I put strap locks on all our instruments the minute we buy them.

We've had it about a month, so no clue yet on reliability.

I've played bass off and on for 14 years now, and have owned a Japanese Fender Jazz (that was converted to fretless), a Musicman Sterling, and an American Jazz. I sold all my basses six years ago when I got married, but recently decided to get back into playing. Bought another Sterling (that one was my favorite), and picked up the Viola for the church band.

The Viola definitely feels less sturdy than the Sterling, but then again, for less than $300, I guess I can't expect too much. I thought it'd be fun to get something out of the norm for the kids in the band to use.

In the grand scheme of all the basses I've used, I would've given it a rating of 6, but considering how inexpensive it is, I think it deserves an 8 for the price.

Made 2006 in China. short scall 22 frets. Laminated top. 2 volume controls 1 tone. 2 humbuckers -passive. Maple neck. Glossy finish.
Violin type beatle bass- semi hollow body. Rose wood floating bridge.Gotoh tuners. Rosewood finger board.

Bass has a nice fat sound like a double bass. Very Jazzy. I use it to play gospel. I am playing it through a Fender 100 direct to a JBL PA. It is vey quiet. I am currently running all knobs on the guitar max and EQ at the amp.This gives me a defined yet warm tone. No Mud.
I took it out of the box, put flat wounds on it, got a setting and started playing it in church. I plan to record with it but have not yet. I love it.

Action was excellent from the factory. My dealer made minor adjustments. Pickups worked fine. I saw no flaws and was surprised at the fit and finish for an inexpensive bass.

I have had it for 1 week. Played it for an hour every day. Seems well put together. Everything is substantial.Strap buttons are solid but buy some strap locks or youwill drpop it. i don't see the need for a backup.

None needed yet

I have been playing bass about a year. Mostly I play rythem guitar.I have a Taylor T-5 and a Martin D-28. If it were lost I would order another. I love the action, size and tone. It is great for a guy with small hands that usually plays guitar. My favorite feature is the neck. I compared it to Hofner's and J Tursers. It compared favorably. i wish it had a hardcase. You can't go wrong with this bass . This bass is a real toy you can have alot of fun with. Our music minister is very picky about sound and he lets me play this bass instead of our Ibanez.