Product: Wesley BM-mb
Price Paid: 110 (Pounds)
Submitted
02/19/2004
at
01:58am
by
Shaun Whorton
Email: PPXStudent<at>aol dot com
Features
:
8
I'm not sure what year it was made in, but its defintaly new, and i'd guess at it being made in 2003. It has 24 frets, 4 strings, laminated top, 2 volume buttons to control the double, extremly chunky humbukker pickups, one tone control, maple neck and mahogany body, metallic blue finish and chrome tuners.
It did'nt come with any accessories, apart from the amp cable and 2 allen keys (??). Not many features, but hey, nothing its perfect!
Sound
:
9
The sound on this little beauty is magnificent for the style of music i play (mainly modern-day rock, nu-metal, and some blues rock). The strings are very sensative to your fingers, and the slightist touch on a string will play that particular note. This is a huge advantage, as it makes playing this particular bass very easy. I'm usiing a Kustom KBA60 (60w), and it sounds great with bass turned upto 10 with tone on around 4-5.
The bass has 2 volume contols, each designated to the very beefy dual humbukker pickups. This is very usufull to ANY bass player, as you can set up the pickups individually to play differnt styles (i.e. rythem, solos etc). It has a very clean sound to it when you are ususing a pick, but once you put your finger to it, it sounds as dark as a graveyard :P. Great all rounder!
I'd say this is great for both studio and stage acts, as it could easily do the job for both. Theres nothing about the sound of the bass that i dislike at all! I would have gave it a 10, but it just doesnt quite cut it...
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
9
First of all, I recieved the bass in perfect tune. This was great, as i didnt have to get my tuner out and start doing the whole tune-in process. Very much a pick up and play bass from the second it arrived at my house.
The blue metallic paint job looks a treat, and stands out really well. There is not scratch plate, which makes it look even better (in my opinion). The pickups are just fabulous, they really do shine; but the holes that were cut for them are a few millameters too wide, and this slightly stands out due to the scratch plate being absent. That is seriuolsy the only flaw i can pick out!
Reliability/Durability
:
9
First things first. When i recieved the bass, the strings needed changing. No, they werent snapped or poor, they just wouldnt have been able to stand a 2hr live performance. Dont get me wrong, the strings are absolutly spot on for home use, but the hardcore usage of a live act, and they will probably snap about 5 songs in. Overall, perfect for home use, but not so good for a live act.
No problem with hardware at all, this will definatly last you a good 5 years. Fantastic.
Hmmm....this finish. Not quite sure about this. The paint job is great, i love it, and it seems very thick. If you treat it right, then I can't see why this finish will come off. However, if you like to mash your guitar in, playing 2hr lives shows every couple of nights, then i suppose it will start to ware off after a year. Not that bad actually..!
Buttons, controls etc are all fine. Havent had any problems what-so-ever, and cant see me having any either. They are well in place, and cant see them coming off in a hurry.
Its a very dependable bass; much like the Labrador of the dog family :P. You have to tune it back up every 7 hrs or so to get that perfect tuning that everyone desires (at home), but for a live gig, when your kicking the gutiars ass, i have to stop and check it every now and then....
....and i wouldnt think twice about using this without a back-up. NEVER play gigs without a backup bass, as anything could go wrong!! But, with that aside.....yeah, i'd use it without my other bass on standby.
Customer Support
:
10
Great people, Wesley....Email/Telephone services are great, very friendly to talk to. Ive never tried to get it repaired, as its as solid as a rock! I got a 12 months warranty with it, for free.
Overall Rating
:
9
Ive been playing for over 3 years now, and i own 3 other basses (Encore PK-3, Stagg BC300 and an Epiphone EB0), and this is defiantly the best of the 4. If it were stolen, i'd probably not buy it again (who would buy the same guitar twice???!)
The thing i love most about this bass is the sound and finish. The sound can be modified to suite everyones needs, and the finsih looks fabulous.
You could go out and spend #300+ on a Ephiphone EB-3, and still not have the sheer quality of this bass; it really is a must have.
Overall - Best #110 i'll ever spend. Best gutiar i own (for now), and everyone should at least try one out. Great stuff!
