Raven RB-100

2001 Korea. 24 frets. 2 volume knobs, 2 tone knobs. Simple, yet useful. It's got a P/J passive pickup scheme, while not original, still neat. I lowered the pickups because I have a heavy hand, and dont like touching the pickups. I made them level with the body which makes it look kinda streamlined, in my humble opinion.

The finish is a metallic flake, which, to this day still looks fabulous.

I like the full sound it gives, but I think when you turn the treble up too much, it begins to bleed my ears. However, I think I can deal with that. By far, this is a live bass. Studio does not do this thing justice.

The action was FAR to high from the factory. I like having mine very low to the board...just my feel I suppose. The pickups were also WAY to high for my taste. There was a little problem with the rods, but that was easily fixed.

This thing is a live machine! I've had this bass since 2001, and after thousands of playing hours, many live hours, transport between states, 3 different homes, and children, this bass is still a champ. Extraordinarily reliable. Once everything was set, the settings never have moved...very beneficial if you're touring.

Strap buttons suck...plain and simple. I put in some locks.

Never messed with 'em...never had to.

If this bass were stolen, I would literally cry. This bass is my instrument....period. I love this thing. I have a great deal of sentimental value attached to this, and if it were gone, I would definitely get another one.

As far as a comparison, is it better than an Ernie Ball? no. A Rikenbacher, heh....no. However, for $350 I seriously doubt you'll find a more reliable, rock solid, EXTREMELY LIGHT bass with great sound and fast fretboard.

This is an update review of the one I posted in 2001. It's now 2006, and this bass is better than ever. Much better. My ratings will reflect its current state, not the original out-of-the-box condition.
I've replaced the tuning machines (I mistakenly thought one broke, but it turns out it just needed to be screwed back together). I've had it professionally and thoroughly set up (see below for details). I've also installed Schaller strap locks. The saddle is simple to adjust for intonation.
It's a simple passive bass. Doesn't need too much in the way of features.

Excellent. It now has black Rotosound flatwound/tapewound strings, and I love the tone. Still can get a little hissy when the bridge pickup is at full treble setting, but backing off a little takes care of that.
It still has the original pickups, but if I'm playing it in public, I run it through a SansAmp Bass Driver DI, to get some boost.
I sometimes wonder if it would be worth replacing the stock pickups with some premium passive pickups. I'm thinking of Bartolini. But it's no biggy.

I seem to be pickier than most (or all?) of my associates, when it comes to buzzes, action, etc. My much-more-experienced musician friends thought it was fine, but I wasn't quite satisfied with it. Mainly because of occassional buzzing. So I consulted a professional.
My guitar tech determined that it needed a full fret-leveling job. There was a slight hump at the base of the neck, where the bolts are. He told me this is a very common phenomenon among bolt-on necks. Afterward, there was still some sitar-like buzzing at the highest frets. A slight neck angle readjustment solved that. It plays like a dream now. He also raised the pickups, to get more volume (especially on the treble strings). I've probably payed as much (or more) to get the bass optimized as I originally payed for it, but it's been my experience that almost all instruments I've purchased eventually need professional setup to reach their potential. The slender neck and modest body are always comfortable to play.

The finish has held up perfectly over five years. It took a fall once (from a guitar stand), and the side of the maple headstock picked up a couple of tiny nicks. It's as solid as can be.

The original company is out of business, but I never counted on them. My local tech is awesome. If it needs attention, I'll have it taken care of locally.

I've since added two active 5-string basses to my collection (Peavey Cirrus and Peavey USA Millennium). Those are terrific basses. However, at home I reach for the Raven as much, even probably more, than the others. There's something comfortable and reassuring about its simplicity and reliability. I enjoy the smaller size and weight, and the simplicity of the passive pickups (I don't have to remember to always unplug it to keep from draing batteries). I'm more confident playing it than the 35"-scale 5-strings... I suppose I haven't completely grown into them yet.
I would not buy it again, at this point, but it was a great first bass, and still a very good basic instrument. And I have significant personal and $$$ equity in it. I'll probably pass it to my daughter when she decides it's time to learn to play bass. If I were to lose it, I'd probably get another 4-string (passive or active/passive) to fill the niche, but I'd be looking at more premium brands. Warwick, G&L, Lakland, etc.

2001 Korea. Four-string P/J-style Passive bass.
Basswood body, Bolt on hard maple neck with (34") scale, Rosewood Fingerboard, Chrome Hardware, PB-40 Bridge, 24 frets. Passive pickups: 1 JB Pick-up, 1 PB Pick-up. The P/J pickups appear standard, so they should be upgradeable if desired. Four knobs (one volume and one tone for each pickup). Metallic-flake color outer shell (available in Blue or Silver). Slim neck. Slender body, rounded edges. Resembles Ibanez SR-series. Comfortable and light. No accessories or case.

I didn't have a bass amp when I got it, so I initially used it with my Behringer Blue Devil guitar amp (12" speaker) at home. I then found that it sounded noticeably better when I played it through my small (100W) P/A system. Then I got a used Fender Bassman 25 amp. Wow! It sounds terrific now. It gives warm dark tones when tone knobs are rotated counter-clockwise, and give bright spankable tones when knobs are rotated fully clockwise. It's extremely quiet (no hiss) at the dark tone settings, but has a little noise at the bright settings. Not noticeable when playing, though. I think there's a minor grounding issue that's causing the slight hiss. I don't know if it's from the bass or the amp, since I haven't had them checked out yet.

The stock pickups sound very good, and are give a wide range of tones. I don't see any need to upgrade them.

I play mostly 70s pop-rock, progressive rock, and jazz-rock.

Excellent set-up. I lowered the string heights at the bridge, trying to get lower action; but I experienced some fret buzz, so raised them to the point where the buzz stopped. Fretwires are well finished. No finish flaws at all. Chrome hardware is new and shiny. Everything fits as it should.

Instrument is only one month old, so some opinions are subjective. It's given me no reason to think that it won't last and endure live playing. Finish is strong. I've bumped it a few times without picking up any marks at all. Strap buttons were very solid, but I replaced them with strap locks, because I like strap locks.

Seller (Raymar) was extremely helpful and responsive. Has not needed repair, so it's impossible to know yet if long-term support will exist. Have no idea if the manufacturer (Raven) is responsive. Warranty is only one year. I think they should have more confidence in their product than that.

No documentation was included. I couldn't figure out precisely what the functions of the four knobs were until I listened through the bass amp with headphones. Then it was obvious (one volume + one tone for the neck pickup and one volume + one tone for the bridge pickup).

I'm a new bass player, and it's exactly what I wanted: a quality instrument at a low cost. Obviously, it's considered a starter bass, since it's priced near the low end of the bass market. I don't know if a more expensive instrument would be genuinely superior, but I'm sure you could spend a lot more without getting a better instrument. I don't think it will hold me back while I'm learning. Even if I get a more expensive bass some day (which I plan to), the RB100 should be a great backup instrument (or to hand down to my daughter). For now, there's no embarassment in taking this instrument anywhere. It's all I hoped it would be. My only gripe is that there aren't more colors to choose from (such as dark gray, dark metallic blue, or dark red).

Would I buy another if lost or stolen? Probably not. But only because this is my first (starter) bass, and I'm already thinking ahead to my *second* bass. While I'm pleased with RB100, and would not hesitate to recommend it, I'll probably spend more next time, for more features (perhaps a swamp ash body, natural wood finish, active pickups, etc.).

Excellent value.