Vantage 945BA Passive Electronics

This is a 5-string, neck through design with EMG Select pickups, two volume controls and two tone controls. One pickup is a P-bass style and one is a J-bass style. Strings feed from the back of the bridge. It's not a string-though-body design. Fretboard appears to be rosewood. Hardware is gold. Bone nut. When you turn either volume control completely off, the instrument has no output, even though one volume control is still up.

I like the sustain of this instrument. I don't do any slapping. My technique is almost exclusively fingers and I play rock/pop mainly. The tone is not very good without EQ. It has a lot of mids and highs. Add lots of lows and low mids and it starts sounding really nice. The high strings are still a little on the thin side tone wise even when lower frequencies are boosted on the amp.

I bought this instrument used and dressed the frets myself. It plays great. The action is low. The quality and workmanship are very good and the neck feels really comfortable.

This is a well constructed instrument. The finish still looks great and the hardware has not tarnished or flaked. Adjustments are rarely needed.

No contact with Vantage. I bought the instrument used.

I've been playing bass for 35 years (my second instrument, guitar being my first) but used the same instrument ( a Gibson G3) for most of those years. It recorded well without any EQ and I used it on countless recording sessions. My first 5-string was a Fender Mexican Jazz Bass. The neck was huge. The tone was fair. The instrument had no sustain. When I found the Vantage 945BA at a local used instrument dealer, I was immediately impressed with the sustain, even on the low B. Even though the tone needs a lot of help from the amp, I liked the feel and quality of the Vantage so much, that I bought another one with active EQ off of Ebay.