Product: Raven RMB-520
Price Paid: US $379
Submitted
02/03/2003
at
04:12pm
by
Roger Hagley
Email: roger dot hagley<at>kctcs dot edu
Features
:
10
2002 model five string. Korean Jazz clone.
Solid Body Swamp Ash , hard maple bolt on neck, rosewood fret board, 34?? scale, 2 JB ( Alnico 9.5 )passive pickups, 2vol. 2 tone, Bridge SB-5 hardware black, vine inlay. Natural stain.
Sound
:
10
At the time of this writing I am an adult player. Had lots of guitars and basses. My band "The Neverly Brothers" plays everything from Johnny Cash to Concrete Blonde. This bass is the most astounding thing with strings I have ever played. Cann go from a sweet whisper to an angry growl.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
10
Absolutly beautiful. I've seen basses at ten times the price that didn't look as good. No brand name on the hardware but it works well and seems substantial.Put together and finished to perfection. didn't even need to be set up! A tuner was broken in shipping, but I don't believe this was a fault of the manufacturing.
Reliability/Durability
:
10
I think this Bass would withstand Armmagedon! When you pick it up you know its a solid chunck of wood, but still it isn't too heavy. The finish will probably last longer than I do! No paint here, its a natural hand rubbed stain that you can feel the grain through.
Customer Support
:
2
Heres where I have a gripe. When I was shopping they were great. Sent additional pictures of the model I was interested in,returned my phone calls....they were sooooo lovey dovey. After I owned their bass it was a different story. Remember the tuner that was broke in shipping? When I called they gave me an email address to write too. Never got a response. I was even willing to buy the replacement but they couldnt be bothered. This could be the downfall of an otherwise steller company.........WISE UP GUYS!
Overall Rating
:
10
As stated before Im no pup. Ive had this bass three months now, and will probably use it exclussivly from now on. Up to this point my favorite bass I've owned was a Fender Katana. This blows it away. This is also my first five string. If you are reading this wondering how hard it would be to switch,dont sweat it. You can start with those same ol four strings and slowly incorporate that "B" string as you feel comfortable. If something were to happen to this bass I would get another, maybe the version with the active electronics though. Raven cannot be beat for the price. Period.
