I bought this bass from used from one of the large bass only stores. They had it marked as a sale item because the neck had a "twist" in it that as I was told, made the instrument close to being toast. I called (and emailed) Dave Bunker, spoke to him and his assistant, Bret De Wees, and they were both confident that they could fix this instrument. For those that do are not familier with Dave Bunker\'s intsruments, all Bunker, PBC, and a few mid-90\'s USA made Ibanez instruments (that were actually made by PBC) have a unique truss rod system in what they call a \"tension free neck.\" (For more info on this, check out Bunker Guitars on the www.) With the \"tension free neck\" the headstock (if the instrument has any) is totally seperate from the rest of the neck. My bass, being headless, uses double ball strings, and the holder for the strings at the top of the neck attaches to the truss rod, not to the neck itself. The theory seems to be that with a system like this, there is absolutely no pressure on the wood, and therefore it should remain perfectly straight (or to the angle to which it is adjusted.)

I happen to own one of the PBC made Ibanez ATK basses, and it plays like a dream, so I became real curious about this PBC bass when I saw it at a great price. With being assured by both Dave and Bret that the worse that could happen is that it needed a new neck (and even with a new neck, I would be getting it at a fair price) I decided to purchase the instrument and have it sent right to Bunker Guitars in Washington to have it worked on before it even reached my hands.

I spoke to Bret about a week after it arrived in Washington, and he commented to me that the twist in the neck was pretty severe, but he thought they could fix it, being that there neck system was so different from other manufacturers. I must admit I began to be skeptical untill a call came a couple of weeks later from Bret, stating the instrument was as good as new. When I asked him about it he explained that there is a tiny set screw in the side of the neck (by the 17th fret) that holds the truss rod in place. This set screw had been partially undone while a truss rod adjustment was made, in effect, adjusting on side of the neck, but not the other. Go Figure... Anyway, he reported the bass would be on its way back to me as soon as the shop time was covered (and at a very reasonable cost, I should add.)

When this bass came, and I opened the case, it was much better looking then the pic that had been posted on the web. It has a wonderfull quilted maple top with a transparent blue finish over it. It is just stunning. With the Tele style body, I knew that balance could be a problem, but being headless, it balances perfectly. The strings were set up just a bit higher then I like, but adjusting that, and then re-intonating it wasn\'t a problem at all. Then the sound...

The bass sounds incredable. Other then the stock EMG DC\'s (without a custom preamp), there isn\'t anything fancy here, but the instrument sings. A point of interest in Dave Bunker\'s \"Through Body Bridge,\" which while pre-dating the 2-Tek concept by many years, utilizes the same basic concept. How much this contributes to thes sound, I don\'t know. I know the total of the woods, the \"tension free neck\", the pickups, and the \"through body bridge\" together produce one of the best sounding basses I own...and I own a lot of basses.

If you ever have the chance to check out a Bunker or PBC instrument, do so!

Construction	100%
(great instrument from a small shop)
Appearance	100%
(wow....this thing looks cool)
Playability	98%
(I have instruments that the strings actuall sit lower without string buzzes,
but these are pretty low)
Sound	100%
(EMG's often sound cold to me, but they sound great on this instrument)
Customer Service	98%
(Dave and Bret are curtious and wonderfull to talk too...without their assuran
ce that this bass was repairable, I wound never have purchased it, and it woul
d have been a big lose to me)
Value	98%
(OK...even used an instrument made by hand in a small shop cost more then an i
mport or USA made factory instrument, but this bass is well worth it)
Overall	100%
(a gret instrument)