This bass is great value. It plays greatI've played bass for almost 30 years and during all this time I've played on some of the best and some of the worst. For the money, this is great. I wanted something cheap that I wouldn't have to worry about, and this bass works just fine. It's fun to play, it sounds like a bass, and it's nice to hold.Here's the thing: this is an instrument in the beginner's range, and most beginners don't know much about instruments. That's sort of implied in being a beginner. That also means that if something is wrong it can be hard to pinpoint what it is, and what to do about it. Wood moves. It changes with the weather, with the seasons, and it can settle during transport. That means that you might have to set the instrument up, and this is a process that must be repeated every now and then. This goes for most instruments - I used to have a Gibson Thunderbird where I had to adjust the trussrod each season, because everything moved with the change in humidity. It's just the way it is, and it doesn't make an instrument good or bad. (This paragraph is of course meant as an answer to all the negative reviews complaining about fret buzz and similar. Those things are rarely manufacturing errors or due to a problem with the instrument - it is almost always a matter of setup.)I adjusted the trussrod on mine just a little, and it plays fine. If you're serious about playing bass or guitar, learn about the instruments and learn to set them up to your liking. If you're not interested in that at all, find an expert to help you. (Not everyone who works in a music store is an expert at setting up instruments - it takes practice, and it's worth putting in some time and effort to find someone who is actually good at it.) A piece of advice: if you've never adjusted an instrument before and decide to try, take it just a little at the time. You rarely need to do large adjustments.I saw some reviews say, "Why not spend more money and get active electronics." If you think that will make you a better bass player you need to think again. If you think a passive bass won't give... I don't know... enough output level I guess, you need to look over the rest of your equipment. Sure, there are big differences between pickups on expensive and cheap basses, but come on, those who have the pleasure to play an arena are likely to bring something completely different, and the sound quality in the end will depend on the PA and the sound technician. If you start with something good you have a better chance to get a good end result, but it's no guarantee. (Active basses are cool and can have a really crisp and nice sound, but trust me - being on stage when the battery in the bass runs out is moderately amusing. If that happens, you're happy to have brought a backup, lol.)My advice: whether you're just starting out or you've played for a while, this is a fun instrument. If you're looking at basses in this price range you're probably just starting out. Practice a lot. Find people to play with who are better than you are - it forces you to become better too. Find a great drummer - few things are so much fun as playing bass together with a good drummer. Also learn about the whole chain of gadgets and how each influence your sound; you might want to invest in a good compressor pedal. And have fun!I got this for my 13 year old son. First off I'm overjoyed he asked for a bass guitar for Christmas and not video games like every other teenage male in the free world!The bass showed up a week,at most,after ordering it. I took it out to tune it and put a better grade of strings on it.Strings that came with it were ok but I always put a new set on.I then tried it out and I have to be honest,for$139 or whatever it came to,you cannot nor will not find a better beginning bass.Please DON'T go with those $99 bundles with amp. It's way cheaper but so is quality. I won't go into all the ins&out of this base cause my message is relatively simple,if your buying this for you or your child this is an excellent beginning bass.Plus i f loud noise is an issue(apartment living,etc),pick up the Vox mini amp for $50!It's amazing and smaller than a pack of smokes.With a good pair of headphones it sounds(to you)like your playing a big amp plus you can walk around with it.Perfect for kids who don't wanna get in trouble for making too much noise.Plus you can plug your ipod into it and play your favorite songs.HAPPY GUITARING EVERYONE!!!I don't ever like to give a bad review but here it goes. This instrument did not look like it was made out of wood at all. I ordered the "sand" colored one and it was sort of ugly. There was no visual wood grain at all - nothing like the picture they show. Additionally, there was damage to the body of the guitar on a corner during shipment (the fiberglass was chipped off and looked like it was hit pretty hard) yet not to the box so not sure if I was sent a defective one or if someone messed with it while in transit. Now, I could have lived with the ugly color of it and the damage by placing stickers all over it but...the biggest let down was that the E string kept hitting the fret even after raising it so I am in the process of shipping it back (waiting for pickup) and I ordered a different brand bass altogether. The other three strings were perfect, sounded great but that first string, which is pretty darn important just didn't make the grade at all. Sorry Dean. Now I commend them for the very good price for a bass but I think I just had an anomoly, unfortunately, and I tried to call the company before deciding to return it but there was no answer, they were closed at the time of my telephone call, so I just made the decision to reverse the purchase all together.I recently purchased the The first thing I noticed how good the neck felt. No fret sprout. No dead frets and no buzz. Action was a little high for my liking. Easy adjustment. Tone is great. No dents or chips. Looks even better in person. I like soap bar pickups. Great range. Not a heavy bass. No neck dive either. Was ready to play right out of th he box. Great value for the money.as described perfect for the money. I know all wood grain is different but it is so light in color you don't see any wood grain or I might give five stars a lot of buzzing halfway up the neck needs to set up properly if you cant do it yourself will cost 40-60 bucksBought my husbands bday and he loves it. Had a small ding, but seller was great and quickly addressed the issue. Great customer service and very happy with the sound quality. Would easily recommend.Awesome for the price. Really fun to play with it. Perfect for any beginner.Very good for the price