Product: Onyx P-Bass Copy
Price Paid: 47 (AUD) used
Submitted
05/11/2006
at
05:50am
by
Ken
Features
:
5
Not sure what year, or where. Could be somewhere in Asia, either Japan or Korea I reckon.
It is a Fender P Bass copy, if you know what they're like, then this is what this looks like, BUT with notable exceptions:
- Wrong headstock, well... der
- A squared off heal, a.l.a 51/Tele/String/Mike Dirnt P Bass
This was bought from eBay, the seller had no idea what a Bass guitar is, so I couldn't find out beforehand whether the body is solid or ply. The bad news is that it is Ply...
Finish was Sunburst, in OK condition, with scratches and nicks here and there.
Tuners were absolute junk, only three were still attached. I swiftly removed them and loaded them off down the river to some guy on eBay. The bridge is also a non Fender size, the plate is wider than the Fenders, and the saddles are a totally different size, quite freakish and ugly really.
Neck is thin as, much thinner than even my CIC Squier Jazz.
I got this bass in pretty bad condition, and the hardware is absolute trash. Hence low rating
Sound
:
No Opinion
When I got it, the wiring was incorrect, there was no wire connecting the ground of the pickups anywhere! Plugged it in and all you hear is BUZZZZ!!!!! Can't say much for sound, haven't heard it yet.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
5
The fit was OK, the pickguard and the neck sit nicely around each other. The pots were not very smooth though, they will be replaced I reckon. The jack was loose, and shows some rust too.
The Rosewood fretboard also had little sections which had lifted off the maple neck. Glued it back, but their edges aren't flush. Did the fretboard shrink or something?
I must say, the previous owner didn't take very good care of this bass.
Reliability/Durability
:
5
The body is surprisingly heavy for a plywood body. Not too sure about the neck, it seems a little too thin to be a bass neck. The fretboard is not glued back as best I can, hopefully it should last a while...
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Has anyone even heard of Onyx? There is no website or company anywhere.
Overall Rating
:
7
Been playing guitar for 10+ years, bass for 1.5 years.
Have a CIC Squier Jazz Bass, which is installed with an epoxied maple neck *drools*
Behringer BX300 Bass Amp
Despite all its flaws, I bought it as a BIG project. Because the neck has a squared off heel, I'm going to try to mod this into a Mike Dirnt style P Bass with the modern P pickup.
But hey, what do you expect. The winning bid was AUD$22, AUD$25 for shipping, and I have a cool project to work on now.
It arrived in pretty bad condition, but when finished it should be a great bass to play on, and a good one for a bit of a hack job because it's so cheap, I'm not scared to screw something up when modding it.
