Kona KSABNE

This bass was equipped with an active under saddle pickup of undetermined origin with 3 band E.Q. and volume, a solid spruce top, laminated mahogany back and sides, gloss finish, rosewood board and bridge, bound neck, decent sealed tuners, and a standard 34' scale.

Acoustic bass guitars are all lacking in volume, and this one is no exception. The pick up system is acceptable for the price range, although it has trouble reproducing the low E. The electronics are not noticeably noisy.

The out of the box setup is pretty well done. Decent fretwork, action set just about right. Now we get to the bad stuff. The finish is not too good- there is alot of dirt, some runs, some finish chipped of on the neck binding, and no finish on the top under the fingerboard. It looks as if the bass is assembled and then finished with the neck attached. Inside, there is much glue, some sanding marks, and a general messy appearance. With all that said, the playability and structual integrity are not affected. These things are not uncommon on imported instruments, and were nothing that I didn't expect, nor am I particularly concerned with them.

The bass seems reasonably well built, the finish is going to be there a LONG time-plenty thick. No factory neck button, I installed one. The factory case is pretty cheesy- better than a gigbag, but only a little. All in all, I'm not worried that it's going to fall apart any time soon.

One year warranty. Have not used it.

I bought this bass becuase I wanted a solid top instrument with out breaking the bank. It will serve nicely in this capacity, and I think I got what I paid for. No complaints. I have been playing over 20 years, and have an extensive collection of acoustic instruments- mostly Martin guitars. If I use this bass extensively, I might consider trading up to a Martin acoustic bass.