I bought this bass for my 16 yo son, his main influence is Les Claypool.
The Bass seems to be built well. It was very easy to set up the bridge and it has a deep Robust sound.
Judging from other reviews (I read all of them before buying this) the manufacturer has made improvements based on the feedback.
One of the complaints other people had is having to have a luthier set up the bass and the bridge, there is no reason for this, if you can tune an instrument you can do this yourself. They have an improved bridge with beveled feet that rotate to fit the couture of the body. Simply loosen the strings enough to place the bridge over the post inside body, slide forward or back to change height of strings over the neck, when you get it close just tighten the strings a little, then readjust and tune. Booom shaka laka you're done! Sounds great. Buy a clip on bass and cello tuner, or just search for online upright bass tuner and do it by ear.
It is true that the stock strings are good enough for now, but not that great, but you can buy better ones later. We ordered some "Spirocore" strings.
The rosin that comes with it is good also, comes in a plastic tub, not the stuff people complained about, definitely an improvement.
Shipping was fantastic. They called to make arrangements for delivery so I could be home, this is good because who wants to risk leaving $800 dollars on the porch. The box was huge, on it's own pallet, and has big blocks of ridged foam to protect it. Looks like it would be near impossible to damage in transit, they packed it extremely well.
One thing to consider prepping ahead of time: Where will you put this huge instrument?

"¦this is a nice deal. The fact it's painted black may be a good sign as the problems with it that made it this cheap may have been mostly cosmetic. Shipping this behemoth is much of the cost, recall. And they will call to make sure you can receive it when it arrives.

Things I had to do (all diy in my case):

- New tailpiece. The tailpiece is a thin piece of metal that provides this artifical atonal sustain that's just metallic and miserable. Found a nice ebony tailpiece overseas for under $40. Also be careful that the string ball ends don't scratch the top when the bridge is out. Fortunately, a glass black Testors paint pen will more or less cover any dings on this bass OK.

- New bridge. These adjustable bridges are a nice idea but this one has the holes for the ferrules drilled all the way through, and the hundreds of pounds of pressure pushes those ferrules right through toward the top. Fitting a new bridge well enough to sound great and not eventually crack the top is hard. But the wood can be had for $25 or so. Fortunately the sound post was up and in a good spot when mine arrived, otherwise more hassle awaits.

- New strings. These are pretty bad. I suppose Helicore Orchestral is the popular choice, found a set for under $100 open box but never used.

- New bow. German style bows are much more comfortable and agile than the French style included. Found a nice one overseas for $50. Included one became my backup/alt bow.

- New rosin. Pops is the popular choice, it should be soft and sticky. If not, you can soften it by sealing it exposed in a Tupperware with a few tbsp of isopropanol for an hour. Which in a pinch you could also do with the sad little cake included. Bow hair should be evenly shiny with sticky rosin for a fast and loud grab.

- Sand back of neck smooth and apply lemon oil to it. Start 300 grit and double until 2400 or so. Feels much better and slides faster.

A lot of work and some additional expense, but even so this is less than half what I could pay for a new contrabass otherwise. Old ones have even more problems typically. While this isn't a lovely spruce top or anything, it sounds like the real thing even if not especially loud. It doesn't have much depth or character. But it's cheap and can be made to work fine. The bag is decent enough.

If you can't hack all of that, just buy a better bass as a good luthier will charge even more in the end just for this list.

Although it took longer than suspected for me to receive my order, due to a mix up between the seller and Amazon, everyone was extremely courteous and the issue was resolved easily. You will have to contact the seller once you purchase through Amazon to ensure that you verify your information so they may contact the freight shipper. You can track your order through the freight shipper and Amazon. The shipper will contact you to schedule an appointment to deliver so that you can be home to inspect the item. All in all, even though there were some hiccups, everything was fine.

The bass has a nice sound and I have not noticed any issues with the assembly now that it has been nearly a month of playing. I am picking back up on playing after playing for more than 15 years. It has been a long while since I played, so I wanted to buy something affordable to see if I'll get back into a rhythm. The bass I chose was the 1/2 for my 5 foot 4 inch self, and it has been a pleasure to play this instrument. I think this would be a great instrument for a parent to buy for a child, someone looking to play every now and then until, as well as someone looking to learn how to play and still get something of quality for the price. Great option to choose without breaking the bank.

I am very pleased with this bass.. it is even more beautiful in person! All I had to do was put the bridge on and adjust the strings, which wasn't too difficult. The sound is amazing! I'm a beginner, and had been learning on a 1/2 size. Upgrading to this 3/4 has made all the difference. I definitely recommend it!

This bass is not the greatest on earth. I really bought it to create an art piece with. Attempting to set the bridge was super difficult. It would take at least $500 to get this bass to a luthier and planed to be playable.