Bought this bass as a replacement for my ailing 70s Fender Jazz. It is strung with D'Addario XL medium roundwounds at the moment. Has a great modern sound and can growl with the best of them. The EMG pickups have that warm midrange coloration that EMG pickups seem to have. The tone controls give a lot of variation, however, traditional P-bass tones are not there. I would have liked a midrange control also, but these are pretty good. Dead quiet electronics, even with 2 wire outlets in my old house.

The joinery in the body and neck is nice, and the inlays are well done. The body sides where they join the neck could be smoother however. The tuners work smoothly. String spacing is a bit on the narrow side for people used to Fenders et. al. but still enough room for slap/pop. Low B has a nice tension and good sound. Great sustain, as good as any I have heard.

The bridge seemed to have some stiffness or interference in the saddles (perhaps the plating?), as I had to push the saddles down when adjusting string height. It has needed two truss rod adjustments since I got it (and needed one in the store), and I haven't been able to get the action down quite to where I want it, but it is still perfectly satisfactory (as good as the J-bass on it's (the J) best days). The truss rod adjusts with a 2.5 mm hex wrench. I have been told the neck may need to settle in some and this may become less of a problem in the future. The brass nut, while good for tone, tends to grab the strings a bit and it is necessary to pull the strings while tuning to make sure they are settled.

This is a nice mid-range bass and one that I like to play and gig with. Compared to my neck through Carvin (LB76P), it can make some sounds the Carvin can't, and vice versa. The low B is better than the Carvin. Overall workmanship and hardware is not as good as the Carvin. The Carvin has far better action and a nicer neck. The electronics of the Improv are perhaps somewhat better. I like it better than the new Fenders, especially the sound and appearance. Lots of boom for the buck.

Construction	85%
(bridge saddles are a bit of a pain)
Appearance	95%
(smoother neck joint might be good, but GREAT WOOD!!)
Playability	85%
(If the neck stays put, pretty good)
Sound	90%
(warm and modern, could be a bit more versatile though)
Value	95%
(Good price and value)
Overall	90%