It's OK for jamming for fun...it does rattle a bit...but not bad..

After having had this for a few weeks, I'm contemplating returning it. Has a rattle on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd frets of the A string. I have to be extremely careful with finger placement within the fret, and play very lightly to avoid rattling. Probably wouldn't be much of an issue playing live, but I need a clean sound for recording. I played a Kala U Bass belonging to one of my students and it did not have this issue. Too bad because otherwise I like it; has a great tone.

This is a great choice for a guitar player who wants to add a bass to his or her band but doesn't have any background or training in "standard" basses (upright or bass-guitar). The shorter scale length makes finger patterns seem familiar and friendly to a guitar player (none of those long reaches on a larger bass). And the sound! It's more like an upright bass than anything else I've ever heard. An upright bass player I know, after playing mine once, went right out and bought one for himself, just to have that upright bass sound without the hassle of hauling an acoustic double bass around.

The secret of the M-Bass is in those magical rubber strings -- big fat babies that feel soft to the touch without any of the slipperiness one associates with other "little" basses (such as the U-Bass). And, unlike the U-Bass, the slightly larger body of the M-Bass allows you to practice unamplified (although you won't get that big rich upright bass sound when you're not plugged in.

The built-in tuner is not terribly accurate, but you can just slap a Snark on there and tune it easily enough. And it holds its tuning pretty well. I'd been warned that the M-Bass eats batteries (like, overnight, if you leave the patch cord plugged in, since that turns the pre-amp on), but I've found they last quite a long time if you're careful about unplugging when you're not playing.

Gold Tone is a reliable manufacturer (I also have one of their resonator guitars) who stand behind their products, so you can buy this with confidence. At a lower price-point than the U-Bass, it's clearly the better choice. And it's easy and fun to play.

Even better than I expected! I had tried a "U Bass" at a local music store, and it was interesting, but just not great. I love bass, but have some limitations in what my hands / fingers can do...the M-Bass suits me just fine! It certainly does give an acoustic vibe, and amplified it has a full rich tone. I thought I was getting the fretted version, but mine is not fretted, but not a problem. The size. feel, tone, and playability are just right for me. Some of the little quirks, like lifting the string out of the nut whenever you tune, are easy to get used to. For me, this little guy is fun!

Great little bass for playing at the house. Not loud, but nice tone that somehow sounds like a much larger instrument.