Bass Gear Review

Reviewer	Shawn Charniga
Manufacturer	Paul Reed Smith
Model	Basic 5
Price	$480 (used)

Neck Type	maple, bolt-on
Fingerboard	Rosewood (Brazilian?, 22 frets
Body Type	3-piece mahogany, 2-piece flamed maple top
Finish	lacquer(?),cherry sunburst
Pickup(s)	3 active single coils
Controls	vol, bass boost, treble boost, 5-position rotary selector

Well, despite looking a little bit like it was mauled by a rabid beaver (finish nicks abound), this puppy is well on its way to being my favorite. I've never been a fan of basses with selector switches instead of pan pots, but this one's pretty good. At first glance, the selector switch seems to be a Strat type of wiring, but tapping on the (intentionally?) microphonic pickups clues you in to a strange system of wiring. There are weird combination of front, middle and rear pickups, and the middle position is some kind of filter that makes the bass sound a little like a Music Man. The light strings on it may be making the "B" flubby, tho. I'm gonna try heavier strings an' see what happens. The playability is amazing...leaves my Alembic in the dust. The guy I bought it from warned me that I had to consciouly try not to overplay...no kidding. It's not a dog in the looks department either. The tigerstripes in the maple are worth the purchase price alone. If you can find one, I highly recommend buying it.

Construction	100%
Playability	100%
Appearance	75%
(it was prettier once upon a time...sob)
Sound	85%
Value	100%
Overall	99%