Vantage 960BA

This is a Vantage 960BA bass guitar manufactured in Korea most likely by Samick; look at Samick's Artist Series 6, it's exactly the same except for the finish. Features include 6-strings (low B to C), 24-fret, 7-ply laminated neck-thru, dark wood fretboard with position markers, 2-soapbar pick-ups, 9V active pre-amp with controls of vol-blend-bass-treble, gold bridge/Gotoh-style tuners/knobs. I measured the scale length as 34.25" on my C, and 34.75" on my B, so I'm not sure what you'd call it. Nut width is 2 1/8" & width at 24th fret is 3 1/4". Jazz body style, slightly thinner, balances well/comfortably. Actually feels lighter than my StingRay5. No case. Year built unknown, but probably mid to late '90's. As I bought this secondhand, I'm not sure of the woods used, although there's no graphite that I can see. Seems to be constructed with precision with no rough edges, no misalignments, no knotty woods in the wrong areas, no crooked pick-up/control knob mounting, no color imbalances/fading. Body wings are kind of turquoise in color, satin finish. Modern production standards have changed overseas construction quality immensely (see LG, Samsung, Hyundai), and Korea is one of those at the forefront. Surprisingly well-made to this spoiled individual.

My style is Rocco Prestia meets Larry Graham/Louis Johnson, so I'm old skool (so whaddaya expect, I grew up in the '60's-'70's). But the quality of sounds I prefer coming from my basses are definitely 21st century-- the full spectrum of tones, from the ringing low frequencies that'll move a table with the Victor Wooten mids for clarity when performing fingerstyle solos to the bright trebles for the pop at the top. My stage rig is a small Crown/JBL bi-amped rack setup with custom built cabs: a 15" sub & a 2x10 cab with a 6" mid and a horn tweeter. I also have a SWR Super RedHead for practice & small gigs.

I string all my basses with roundwounds (except the P-bass, it's stuck in a time warp). When you pick a string on an unplugged bass, especially one with roundwounds, you should be able to hear & judge the sound somewhat. Although I received the Vantage 960BA with roundwounds on it, when I first plucked this bass it sounded lifeless. So instead of getting angry at myself for what seemed to be a dumb purchase, I immediately changed strings, and voila! Risen from the dead! Loud, ringing sounds with high sustain! After 35 years you'd think I knew strings make the biggest difference in sound...

Plugged into my rig, the Vantage 960BA can give me the modern tones I like with no additional hiss/rumble. The preamp circuit seems to work well, I couldn't hear any unusual or unwanted noises. I haven't tried an overdrive setting for some distortion; that's not my style anyway. The bass circuit seems centered at the right frequencies, when you want it you can get the good low, dub-style bass. The treble circuit could use a tweak IMHO, it did seem like it could add/cut a bit more. But maybe that's engineered to keep us knob-twirlers from adding all that hiss in the signal path. Or could it be that it's set at a frequency these old ears can't hear anymore? Hmm...

Samick makes basses & guitars for many companies (Vantage, JP, and of course Samick) as well as many other types of musical instruments; their pianos are very well received and have had fine reviews. This bass would probably fit in as Vantage's top-of-the-line, upscale model. As I purchased used, maybe the previous owner had it worked on, so I'm not sure what to say here. The action is fine, fretwork feels great, intonation is precise, neck is adjusted for proper relief & is straight/true. The tuning posts, when unloaded, are a little wobbly, so I'll knock off a point. But it does hold its tuning, so maybe I'm nitpicking.

I've used this bass on gigs and it has performed as well as anything I've played. The strap posts screws look on the skinny side, but my strap's not falling off or ripping.

Never dealt with the company.

I've been playing on & off for 35+ yrs & have always had an attitude of "USA, USA" as far as my bass instruments goes. My collection includes a '63 P-bass, '77 Jazz, Alembic Series I, Alembic Distillate, Alembic Epic 5, and a StingRay5. Well the old dog is learning some new tricks (I've even tried some 2-hand tapping LOL) when it comes to Korean goods because this bass is no joke. Although obviously not in the league of Alembic, I can honestly say I'm satisfied with the tonality this bass produces and the instrument's quality is a pleasant surprise. I have not been embarassed at all using this on stage, and have not had a noise problem.

The one gripe I do have with this is the string spacing, so you slap, pop, & pluckers out there with those meaty, brick-layer-sized fingers might want to try it first before doing a mail order, sight-unseen type of purchase. I've got long, slender fingers so, although not the ideal spacing, I can still pop 'em. If you use a pick or straight-up fingerstyle, this bass is definitely worth checking out. Fast neck + close string spacing = SHREDDING TIME.

I've seen bridges with adjustable string spacing, which might be something upcoming in this bass' future. I'll post an update if I go forward with this mod.

It was mad in the eighties in Korea. 6 string, 24 frets. Controls: volume, balance, bass and high. Active Vantage humbucker pick ups.
Ash body, maple+mahagony neckthrough, rosewood fingerboard.

Good sound. For any style. I play jazz, funk, rock. Its good for slap, tap, chords, and natural finger style. before i ha Peavey Cirrus BXP5, Yamaha 300BB. Vantage is better them all.
The pick ups are not the best. It has not enough mids. But the preamp is very good at the low frequency. And its noisy in the highes.
I used it with several amps and cab (Ampeg, Warwick, Hartke, Yorkville, Marshall, Laney)

Its a 20 years old bass, with the original parts, and all function well.

Defunct company.

Tight string spacing:15-16mm. This is very good for me. This perfect is perfect for my slap techniqe and for tapping. This is a very comfortable guitar.

I have playing bass for 8-9 years.

If it were stolen i would by it again. But this is a very infrequent guitar. I dont think ?? can find another one. For this price this is the best.