This video is an example of why Lobster is my fave reviewer, other reviewers are calling the preamp simply "hot", not detailing how the San Dimas really sounds. Thanks!
I get what you are saying, but for me, I can say I can tell the difference between a hot pickup and a grounding issue. I adressed, that compared to many other of my basses, I had to turn the gain a bit down, or it will overdrive my DI. Or lower the Pickups a bit. But the "touching the string = cancel the noise" is something which I would have detected on my bass right away and what can I say...mine hasn't this issue, so I couldn't adress it. Time and more sold basses will tell, if my dear Lobster was very unlucky or I am very lucky to get a grounded one.
After making a few mods, I love this thing. Took out the pre-amp all together and set her up at all passive. Just Volume, Blend, Tone. Threw a Hipshot Drop-D tuner on it, all set. Bonus: I now have 2 knobs that do nothing, so I can pretend they are anything.
This bass deserves a second look! I bought the updated version and the preamp seems to be fixed, dead silent and not so pushy once the internal trim pod is dimmed.
I bought the 5 string version of this bass and it’s amazing, I’m glad I didn’t get any of the QC issues you did! The Area J pickups really impressed me, and I like the preamp, especially the mid frequency. Try to get your hands on one and see how it differs from the 4 string version.
Thanks Spencer! The pickup choice on the 5 is interesting. I LOVE the Area J's, I think they're superior to the "Model" series in regards to authenticity. I have em in both of my modded Sire Jazz basses. Definitely hope to check out the 5 at some point
Lobster, despite the preamp / noise woes, this seems like a fundamentally great bass. If they had this thing sorted out with a passive tone I'd be all over it.
Great energy today xD LOL - matching claws! It's a great review, which highlights this preamp madness. The bass would be perfectly cool with just 1x tone and two volume knobs. Interesting forthcoming mod now! Ownage!
I still can’t thank you enough for your videos. I stopped playing for a few years, was uninspired. Then you did the Sterling mod videos. Got me back into it. Ended up getting a Ray 34. I am playing every single day. Hope I can meet you some day, I’d love to take you out to dinner.
Thanks man! I know the feeling, I felt like that before I started the channel. I'm so happy that my videos helped inspire you to pick up the bass again! I'll be at NAMM if you wanna feed me ;P, seriously though thank you for the thought and the offer
Love your videos Lobster! I bought the 5 string in platinum pearl about 6 months ago and I absolutely love it!! No buzzing whatsoever thankfully. The neck is fantastic - super comfortable and the satin finish *chef's kiss*
Much appreciated review of this bass. I’ve been on the market for an active/passive “Swiss army” 5 string, when these were released I thought it’d be perfect. But I don’t want to drop $1,000 on something that I’d have to drop a few more hundred into fixing issues. Thanks for doing the leg work!
Thanks Forrest! Yeah if you're looking for something super flexible out of the box, I think "Run Forrest! Run!" is the best advice here ;P.... I'll show myself out IMO in terms of "Swiss Army" basses, check out the Sire M5. About 2/3rds the price of this, loads of flexibility and very solid build! Many basses will try and do it all, but I think the M5 comes the closest to success for basses in the $600 price point.
Got to admit, that is a beautiful bass… and love the color. Seriously considering buying one in spite of the “preamp”. Great video, and appreciate the unbiased opinion. 👍🏻
Great video Lobster. I love the "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" take at the beginning..:>). Glad you brought to light the QC issue with this bass. It's pretty common with a number of over-seas manufacturing facilities. Sometimes big companies rely too heavily on name recognition without the necessary oversite. I agree that no one should every have to be in the position to deal with the kinds of issues you outlined here. However, yes to Audere! I've used those preamps for years and love them. I look forward to the upgrade video. Cheers!
Thanks Chris! Glad you liked it :) this was a fun video to shoot, but the bass is a bummer for sure. Hopefully we can get the noise under control and do a quick revisit before the audere swap (which will also greatly benefit from the shielding I'm going to be doing- vid for that coming!)
I own this bass and fortunately it doesn’t have the grounding problem like yours does. I do agree that the the preamp/pickup combination is not a good match. It’s hard to find a good tone with the preamp engaged. If I can get this issue fixed, it will be a great bass.
Thanks Harry! That's what we do here :). I do my best to represent the consumer experience and discuss both the objective and subjective sides of the instruments I review
Played this bass at my local Guitar Center and did not have this grounding and noise issue, but its hard to tell in a GC. Will need to go back and test again. But this bass played and looked amazing.
Thanks Chris! It seems the QC is super inconsistent on these, the hum on this was worse than the first. I've seen some who have no issues but hate the preamp, and others who have returned the bass because of the noise.
Eye Carumba!! That thing breathes fire! Talk about cutting through the mix. Good way to p. o. your guitar player, he he. I'd like to hear it with a better preamp. Nice touch with the nails too Low! I'm looking forward to your fix and you're right, it should be good right out of the box. Don't know about Fender recently, know what I mean?
Thanks Griz! Don't worry, Friday we'll fix it and we'll have some preamp swap videos in the coming weeks :). She has good bones, just needs a heart to match!
Aside from the cream colored pickup covers, I love the look of these. Its a shame the pre amp kinda screws the thing in stock from. Living for the color matched nail polish btw!!!
DId you really paint your nails to match the finish of the bass? That bass sounds really nice with the preamp bypassed, they should have just kept it passive.
I wish I could take credit for the manicure, I could never pull it off with such precision. Credit goes to my girlfriend for both matching the color and painting.
Oh! That is a VERY unique preamp! Such natural noise, and that "differently expensive" tone colouring! What a smart idea to add a "fuzz feature" too! WOW! .....jokes aside... With the "bypassed" sound it's really great! Waiting for mods! As for the looks, it's very nice!
Doing some light browsing for comparison in the hunt for the elusive 12 inch radius bass necks. The Fender Player plus active is similar in price (give or take) . Expect the colours are not mad and differences in pickups/where they are etc. Reviewed your darkglass video and was impressed. I've tried one of these acoustically in store, just the neck socket was on way too tight and had cracked it all. Felt decent however 👌
Beautiful bass. As you said shame about the preamp and the poor grounding/sheilding . Be interesting with a Darkglass Tone Capsule or Aguilar OBP3 Great job again 👏 Stu
Thanks Stu! You're not the only one saying Darkglass. Now I have this Audere slated for it... but the darkglass is a quick and dirty mod hahaha. I'll see what I can do ;P
Thank you for your reviews on this bass. I eventually bought one in the full knowledge it may need to be fully shielded. I am glad to report, I have absolutely no problems with it whatsoever. QC issues at the fender plant perhaps?
It sounds like they may have rectified the issue. I had two examples that were terrible, and Bully's 5 was no better. I will revisit the bass (a new example) for 2022!
Three things, it would have been great if the 4 string would have had the jazz pickups option and also a passive version. Love the radioactive green fingernail polish too. 😁
I appreciate the review immensely. I ordered one of these basses today. Lobster’s review pointed out all of the plentiful positive features and benefits surrounding that unimpressive preamp. The explanation of the price point won me over. I can mod or play it in passive mode happily. Thank you Lobster!
That preamp is something special and is just about as noisy as that Sadowsky you did a demoed a while back. Great point about their being a missed opportunity here with this bass.
Ever since I discovered your channel I make sure to check if you have reviewed a bass I’m curious about. Love your review videos and this one is no different. Wondering if there will be a video on how to mod this one as a true passive setup like you mentioned like a vol/tone for pith pickups?
I'm starting to realise that a good rule of thumb is that active preamps with eq controls are great with low to medium output pickups but useless with high output ones unless they're EMGs
That's the Stingray formula my dude! A G&L L1000 -ish control setup with this bass would be most excellent. I don't think any sort of boost is needed with those excellent sounding but hot pickups
Your studio is a real stress test for shielding! I tried the five but it paled next to a cort A5 in the same shop. I did finally get an Ibanez ehb in sea foam which is a bit your fault.
Thanks James! It really is, I have another video coming where we play Fender QC guy and fix the damn thing. I have no doubts that the Cort was waaaaaay better. EHB Powah!
I agree about the preamp; the tone was nice but the bass sounded semi distorted in almost every setting. I don't believe that the shielding or lack thereof would cause that much noise; sounds more like a grounding issue. Interested in seeing what you find when you investigate but I believe that a preamp swap to a more appropriately voiced pre and grounding repair will make this a pretty killer bass.
Thanks Keith! I agree, going to perform the repair and see if I can get the stock setup noise under control before swapping. Shooting that vid today, hopefully I'm successful! :)
That's a total bummer. I remember when I first saw this announced and thinking that's a great set of features on offer even at that fairly popular price point. The design, neck, body, etc look great. With good shielding, grounding, and maybe an Aguilar or even a Sadowsky pre this could be an amazing mod bass. But at this price point, so many other options are competing with good/solid QC that this is a tough recommend now
It's such a shame, this is my second one as well and the noise on this is more severe than the first. The recipe was nearly perfect in concept, but an inconsistent chef yields inconsistent results as is the case here. I'm going to be making a video installing copper shielding tape, grounding the poles, and hopefully getting this thing quiet with the stock preamp before swapping.
I was considering the blue one, looked up a demo and heard just a few seconds of it and I was like oh man, how's that sound so bad? Too bad, looked really nice.
@@LowEndLobster yea... quite a bit of life in those dark glass. And I'd probably install it either way whatever I bought. Just sounds like such a bad starting point.
@LowEndLobster hey I know you've probably gotten a lot of messages like this but I've got a project bass I'm working on and was wondering if you would like to get your hands on it and maybe add your own touches to it. The bass in question is a squire mini p bass with a fretless fingerboard conversion, bartolini pickups ant tapewound strings. The mods I'm currently doing are adding a höfner pickup close to the bridge, stacked tone/volume knob for each pickup, and a custom pickguard. Of course I'm not asking you to finish it but rather just seeing what you would think of the finished product.
I very much appreciate you thinking of me, but I must decline as I simply do not have enough time to take on additional projects. Thank you for the offer though!
Lobster...old friend....its brooksie...trust me you will love the tony franklin! Waiting for your review impatiently! Remember a shout out to me when u review it! Please!
Honestly,....this just goes to show that the old saying "Sometimes, less is more" is true. This bass sounded fantastic WITHOUT the pre-amp. The tones from this bass when not using it were just so spot on. And when slapping this thing, I think the J pickup TYPICALLY has a sound more geared for slapping,....but I actually liked the tone while slapping with the P pickup even more. But they both sounded excellent for slapping. I had seen one of these on ebay used that sold pretty cheap right after they came out, and I'm kind of kicking myself for not even trying to put a bid on it.😖 But im only really getting back into just hunting for an affordable bass after not even having picked one up for YEARS. But still,....
Well said Dominic! I feel like this bass was built to check boxes. It has these things, so it must be good. However, as this bass illustrates, you can have all the features in the world, but they're worthless if poorly executed.
Great question! A passive tone can be added here with the existing preamp, however I don't think the Audere has one. I was honestly planning on installing the John East Uni preamp that made its way into my Sire P10 (and glad I put it there too!)
Got home with mine and discovered, I got a bad dose of the BUZZ!!! Must have had my hands on the knobs and strings the whole time in the shop. Was horrible. Straight back the next day for a swap for a MIJ Hybrid ii Fender Jazz (which is EPIC). Shoddy QC in these Charvels. If the Japanesee pursuit of excellence was put into these? They would be one of the all time greats.
Yep! I hope Charvel has improved things in regards to the QC and electronics. The pickups are absolutely killer and this bass is so close to being awesome... but it missed the mark in an extraordinary fashion
I've just ordered one, was thinking of getting a bass pre pedal, like the Sans Amp, MXR etc and just play it passive, tone shape with the pedal ;-) (If the issue is present, and they didn't just put a better pre in there)
I wonder if this preamp is the same as the preamp in their Deluxe MIM series. Those sound better but they also come with pickups that are nowhere near as spicy as the Model PJ DiMarzios...
It's possible, these are MIM as well. It's just a little box with a trim pot. I have a vid dropping on Friday where we fix the noise on this bass while keeping the stock controls.
They're already popping up on the used market for around $750, I have no doubt the less handy or less motivated would seek to flip theirs quickly if they got one with similar QC issues to mine. We shall see!
@@LowEndLobster at less than 650 it is probably a must buy, because you can then upgrade for less than the cost of new if you are judicious with your choices.
Thanks for this review! I was really GASsing over that metallic red 5 string, but at well over $1000 CAD +tax I would expect something better than a mod platform... Also, whether you're a crustacean or a mollusk or whatever be excellent to each other my dudes! 🤙
This is so funny to me. I added a DiMarzio Model P/J setup to my bass, fully passive, and it was so hot it would frequently overdrive my amp with ease. The idea that you would use that pickup combo with an active preamp that boosts the signal further is beyond me.
I guess if it was mine I get a new preamp OR rewire w 2 vol , 2 tones ,balance . I kind of had great hopes for that bass. I've got a similar bass the Fender Boxer .I got the Fender because I could get it first.
Yes I like the boxer my first MIJ fender a very different feel to a Mexican or American. Its clear sounding , lightweight real rosewood fret board for a change.
It was the early batches. You often see those sold at a steep discount. It has been fixed from what I understand, though i haven't tried an updated one
@@LowEndLobsterYah the one I played last night was definitely one of the batch from 2024 because it was sonic blue which was a new color for this year. Was playing through my own boss katana at the store which is a notoriously noisy amp lol and I had no noise issues would love to see you review one of the updated versions
That does not sound like a grounding issue, but merely a loud preamp, which seems not to your taste. Fans of a larger dynamic range might really enjoy this!
That's a tough question! I think I've come to appreciate the differences of all the basses I've played, but honestly the one I gravitate too and use most for noodling recently has been my heavily modded Sire P10.
Yeah, I second that one! The Ultimate Custom Shop Lobster Trap: how would it be like? Body, neck, wood, fretboard, pickups, pre or no Amp etc. This would be a cool mod-project.
Yeah, this makes me wonder what's going on in those companies, they designed a bass on paper and never played it? I don't get how this design got out of the prototype phase?
Thanks for sharing the bummer stuff about the bass. I had similar beef with the active Flea bass Fender makes. The preamp (an Aguilar) makes the pickup explode into a distorted mess. I’m going to be in the market for a P type bass and I may avoid this one. Thanks again.
Huge charvel bass fan..dig the color,maple neck.. I'm not a fan of chrome hardware.If this bass had black hardware,black colored pickups,rear plate and just a passive neck volume bridge volume and master tone..I would already own one!
Great review (as usual :) DiMarzio 's pickups sound amazing. What this bass needs is a fully passive variant, 100€ cheaper. As it is, it's worth less than 1€ to me. It's probably the noisiest you've ever tested, to the point of being unusable. Shame on Fender sending out clearly defective units.
Thanks Jason and 100% agreed. Now this one was purchased from a different shop as well and literally just came in, where as my first model was nearly two months ago. Both definitely had some noise which I mentioned. Truly a shame!
A friend of mine went on a 350+ mile round trip yesterday to a major dealer in the U.K. to try and hopefully buy one of these. They didn’t happen to have one in stock. Excellent idea about going the extra mile with the nail varnish!!
This video is an example of why Lobster is my fave reviewer, other reviewers are calling the preamp simply "hot", not detailing how the San Dimas really sounds. Thanks!
Thank you :)
I get what you are saying, but for me, I can say I can tell the difference between a hot pickup and a grounding issue.
I adressed, that compared to many other of my basses, I had to turn the gain a bit down, or it will overdrive my DI. Or lower the Pickups a bit. But the "touching the string = cancel the noise" is something which I would have detected on my bass right away and what can I say...mine hasn't this issue, so I couldn't adress it. Time and more sold basses will tell, if my dear Lobster was very unlucky or I am very lucky to get a grounded one.
He got a bad one. Simple as that.
Got two of em with the same issue! Bully's was similar.
I am so glad I watched this, I was about to order this online blind based on other reviews online. Thanks Mr 🦞 hand.
After making a few mods, I love this thing. Took out the pre-amp all together and set her up at all passive. Just Volume, Blend, Tone. Threw a Hipshot Drop-D tuner on it, all set. Bonus: I now have 2 knobs that do nothing, so I can pretend they are anything.
I would love to do this with mine but don't have the skills to do it. Any suggestions?
Lee Sklar would be proud. 😂
This bass deserves a second look! I bought the updated version and the preamp seems to be fixed, dead silent and not so pushy once the internal trim pod is dimmed.
Before I even finish watching this review lol Shout out to that Bill & Ted intro 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 “San Dimas High School Football Rules!!!”
Thank you Twig!
Bill and Lobster’s excellent adventure! Let’s goooooo
Thanks dude!
Maybe he can go back in time and get a better bass.
I bought the 5 string version of this bass and it’s amazing, I’m glad I didn’t get any of the QC issues you did! The Area J pickups really impressed me, and I like the preamp, especially the mid frequency. Try to get your hands on one and see how it differs from the 4 string version.
Thanks Spencer! The pickup choice on the 5 is interesting. I LOVE the Area J's, I think they're superior to the "Model" series in regards to authenticity. I have em in both of my modded Sire Jazz basses. Definitely hope to check out the 5 at some point
Lobster, despite the preamp / noise woes, this seems like a fundamentally great bass. If they had this thing sorted out with a passive tone I'd be all over it.
Agreed! The foundation of this instrument is super solid, just ruined by the atrocious wiring and the preamp
Exactly.
It’s a great bass. Mine sounds amazing and zero noise with the preamp engaged.
That's great! They updated this model to address the wiring stuff i believe
Great energy today xD
LOL - matching claws!
It's a great review, which highlights this preamp madness.
The bass would be perfectly cool with just 1x tone and two volume knobs.
Interesting forthcoming mod now!
Ownage!
Thank you! :) Glad you liked the claws
MOD IT! MOD IT!
I still can’t thank you enough for your videos. I stopped playing for a few years, was uninspired. Then you did the Sterling mod videos. Got me back into it. Ended up getting a Ray 34. I am playing every single day. Hope I can meet you some day, I’d love to take you out to dinner.
Thanks man! I know the feeling, I felt like that before I started the channel. I'm so happy that my videos helped inspire you to pick up the bass again! I'll be at NAMM if you wanna feed me ;P, seriously though thank you for the thought and the offer
Love your videos Lobster! I bought the 5 string in platinum pearl about 6 months ago and I absolutely love it!! No buzzing whatsoever thankfully. The neck is fantastic - super comfortable and the satin finish *chef's kiss*
Glad to hear it! I saw new finishes were released (looking GREAT), and it sounds like they got the electronics sorted
@@LowEndLobster Yeah it seems like they got it under control! Thanks for the reply mate, keep up the great work!!
Much appreciated review of this bass. I’ve been on the market for an active/passive “Swiss army” 5 string, when these were released I thought it’d be perfect. But I don’t want to drop $1,000 on something that I’d have to drop a few more hundred into fixing issues. Thanks for doing the leg work!
Thanks Forrest! Yeah if you're looking for something super flexible out of the box, I think "Run Forrest! Run!" is the best advice here ;P.... I'll show myself out
IMO in terms of "Swiss Army" basses, check out the Sire M5. About 2/3rds the price of this, loads of flexibility and very solid build! Many basses will try and do it all, but I think the M5 comes the closest to success for basses in the $600 price point.
Got to admit, that is a beautiful bass… and love the color. Seriously considering buying one in spite of the “preamp”. Great video, and appreciate the unbiased opinion. 👍🏻
have you purchased it yet?
👀
Not yet. I’m restoring a vintage Ampeg B25B bass amp and made plans to buy when it’s finished.
Great video Lobster. I love the "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" take at the beginning..:>). Glad you brought to light the QC issue with this bass. It's pretty common with a number of over-seas manufacturing facilities. Sometimes big companies rely too heavily on name recognition without the necessary oversite. I agree that no one should every have to be in the position to deal with the kinds of issues you outlined here. However, yes to Audere! I've used those preamps for years and love them. I look forward to the upgrade video. Cheers!
Thanks Chris! Glad you liked it :) this was a fun video to shoot, but the bass is a bummer for sure. Hopefully we can get the noise under control and do a quick revisit before the audere swap (which will also greatly benefit from the shielding I'm going to be doing- vid for that coming!)
These would fly off the shelf it they were passive only and $50 cheaper for it.
100% Agreed, better controls would make this a much better bass
I've been looking for exactly this minus the preamp/20 active control knobs. Nobody got time to mess with all that.
I own this bass and fortunately it doesn’t have the grounding problem like yours does. I do agree that the the preamp/pickup combination is not a good match. It’s hard to find a good tone with the preamp engaged. If I can get this issue fixed, it will be a great bass.
Once again, a great review from you Lobster😁👍🏾 and I love the green nail polish💅🏾💚, looks fierce.😉👌🏾💚🎸🦞
Thank you! :)
@@LowEndLobster Your welcome.😉😁
Nice nails rsrs... This is the best review on the RUclips! Salutations from Brazil!!
Thank you Marcio! :)
Yooo Duuuude! Bodacious nail job. Matches the bass :D Hum enhancing pickups, it's the new thing!
XD Thanks Breakit
11:47 Wrong knob. Who never? ;) Love the review. Lucid and detailed as ever, even to the nail polish color. Great channel.
Thank you LM!
Wow... an actual honest review. Thanks!
Thanks Harry! That's what we do here :). I do my best to represent the consumer experience and discuss both the objective and subjective sides of the instruments I review
What a awesome review!! Love this channel! So funny too
Thank you Tony!
Played this bass at my local Guitar Center and did not have this grounding and noise issue, but its hard to tell in a GC. Will need to go back and test again. But this bass played and looked amazing.
Thanks Chris! It seems the QC is super inconsistent on these, the hum on this was worse than the first. I've seen some who have no issues but hate the preamp, and others who have returned the bass because of the noise.
Eye Carumba!! That thing breathes fire! Talk about cutting through the mix. Good way to p. o. your guitar player, he he. I'd like to hear it with a better preamp. Nice touch with the nails too Low! I'm looking forward to your fix and you're right, it should be good right out of the box. Don't know about Fender recently, know what I mean?
Thanks Jeff! I know exactly what you mean
Wow, that sounded pretty rough! Great review though. I’m kinda bummed. This was a bass I was really keen to try.
Thanks Griz! Don't worry, Friday we'll fix it and we'll have some preamp swap videos in the coming weeks :). She has good bones, just needs a heart to match!
Great review. I love this bass. I'm thinking of getting it and replacing the preamp with a Darkglass Tone capsule
Wonderful video as always, Lobster! I would love to see a video where you take a tribute series G&L L-2000/2500 and do the K-mod on it!
That's a great idea. I've had my eye on the CLF L-2000 as well ;)
Love the honest reviews.
Thanks Jon!
I was choosing between this one and the G&L Tribute L2000. Now I am happy to go with G&L.
I think you made a good choice, the G&L Tributes are excellent
Aside from the cream colored pickup covers, I love the look of these. Its a shame the pre amp kinda screws the thing in stock from. Living for the color matched nail polish btw!!!
Thank you Basturd!
Man that thing looks awesome!!! 💚💚💚
Thanks Fernando!
Easily one of the best reviews on this bass . Ntm many others .
Thank you Dane!
DId you really paint your nails to match the finish of the bass? That bass sounds really nice with the preamp bypassed, they should have just kept it passive.
I wish I could take credit for the manicure, I could never pull it off with such precision. Credit goes to my girlfriend for both matching the color and painting.
Oh! That is a VERY unique preamp! Such natural noise, and that "differently expensive" tone colouring! What a smart idea to add a "fuzz feature" too! WOW!
.....jokes aside... With the "bypassed" sound it's really great! Waiting for mods!
As for the looks, it's very nice!
Thank you B@ssiCS! Great comment :)
Doing some light browsing for comparison in the hunt for the elusive 12 inch radius bass necks. The Fender Player plus active is similar in price (give or take) . Expect the colours are not mad and differences in pickups/where they are etc.
Reviewed your darkglass video and was impressed. I've tried one of these acoustically in store, just the neck socket was on way too tight and had cracked it all. Felt decent however 👌
Beautiful bass. As you said shame about the preamp and the poor grounding/sheilding .
Be interesting with a Darkglass Tone Capsule or Aguilar OBP3
Great job again 👏 Stu
Thanks Stu! You're not the only one saying Darkglass. Now I have this Audere slated for it... but the darkglass is a quick and dirty mod hahaha. I'll see what I can do ;P
Thank you for your reviews on this bass. I eventually bought one in the full knowledge it may need to be fully shielded. I am glad to report, I have absolutely no problems with it whatsoever. QC issues at the fender plant perhaps?
It sounds like they may have rectified the issue. I had two examples that were terrible, and Bully's 5 was no better. I will revisit the bass (a new example) for 2022!
@@LowEndLobster looking forward to it.
Just got one brand new and earthing issues.
Pre amp is utter shit and can't stand it. Going back sadly Monday
Thank you for sharing! Bummer to hear that duds are still going around. I plan on revisiting this later in the year
Sweet nail polish!
I was totally gonna buy this bass until I saw this vid. Thanks lobster! Dodged a bullet 😊
Looks like a good candidate for a preamp replacement but it sure isn't priced like one.
Yep! It's definitely one thing if a preamp doesn't really add much value, but this one subtracts value and valuable control real estate.
@@LowEndLobster throw a john east 5 knob in it and call it good
What a piece of writing. I'm amazed.
Three things, it would have been great if the 4 string would have had the jazz pickups option and also a passive version. Love the radioactive green fingernail polish too. 😁
Thanks Pat!
I appreciate the review immensely. I ordered one of these basses today. Lobster’s review pointed out all of the plentiful positive features and benefits surrounding that unimpressive preamp. The explanation of the price point won me over. I can mod or play it in passive mode happily. Thank you Lobster!
Mod video is dropping in a couple weeks :)
That preamp is something special and is just about as noisy as that Sadowsky you did a demoed a while back. Great point about their being a missed opportunity here with this bass.
Thanks Kevin!
Ever since I discovered your channel I make sure to check if you have reviewed a bass I’m curious about. Love your review videos and this one is no different. Wondering if there will be a video on how to mod this one as a true passive setup like you mentioned like a vol/tone for pith pickups?
I hope you do mod on Yamaha TRBX 305 or 505 and Jackson Spectra Series in the future
I definitely plan on it Caney
@@LowEndLobster great.. thanks
I'm starting to realise that a good rule of thumb is that active preamps with eq controls are great with low to medium output pickups but useless with high output ones unless they're EMGs
That's the Stingray formula my dude! A G&L L1000 -ish control setup with this bass would be most excellent. I don't think any sort of boost is needed with those excellent sounding but hot pickups
Your studio is a real stress test for shielding! I tried the five but it paled next to a cort A5 in the same shop.
I did finally get an Ibanez ehb in sea foam which is a bit your fault.
Thanks James! It really is, I have another video coming where we play Fender QC guy and fix the damn thing. I have no doubts that the Cort was waaaaaay better. EHB Powah!
Great review, as always. Sir what do you think of the Jackson/Charvel 2B bass?
I agree about the preamp; the tone was nice but the bass sounded semi distorted in almost every setting. I don't believe that the shielding or lack thereof would cause that much noise; sounds more like a grounding issue. Interested in seeing what you find when you investigate but I believe that a preamp swap to a more appropriately voiced pre and grounding repair will make this a pretty killer bass.
Thanks Keith! I agree, going to perform the repair and see if I can get the stock setup noise under control before swapping. Shooting that vid today, hopefully I'm successful! :)
oh your so picky!! thats bass looks and sounds fabulous
That's a total bummer. I remember when I first saw this announced and thinking that's a great set of features on offer even at that fairly popular price point. The design, neck, body, etc look great. With good shielding, grounding, and maybe an Aguilar or even a Sadowsky pre this could be an amazing mod bass. But at this price point, so many other options are competing with good/solid QC that this is a tough recommend now
Thanks Justin! Great comment, well said
Nice colour coordinated nail job
Thank you!
You keep it honest, I'm sticking with passive myself. Question, if someone buys one do you get matching 💅 nail color. Nice touch!
Thanks John! If my girlfriend has matches for more of my basses, you may be seeing more matching manis ;P
Any chance I could bother you for the link to that wonderful shirt you're wearing? Great review btw.
Thank you! Here you go- www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RBFK7K4/
@@LowEndLobster thanks buddy
I feel a bass like that doesn’t need a pre amp. That is a bummer it looks so killer. Totally not worth 900 dollars.
Thanks Anthony!
I disagree, I just went from a fender PJ to one of these and it’s a far superior bass. It’s great with it without the active electronics.
Love the look, hate the sound issues. Guess it was too good to be true at $899. They cheaped out on the only part of the bass you can’t see lol
Well said Landon, indeed that seems to be the case. Thank you!
Oh that is so devastating. I am at the lucky end it seems with no grounding issues, as shown in my Review :(
It's such a shame, this is my second one as well and the noise on this is more severe than the first. The recipe was nearly perfect in concept, but an inconsistent chef yields inconsistent results as is the case here. I'm going to be making a video installing copper shielding tape, grounding the poles, and hopefully getting this thing quiet with the stock preamp before swapping.
I was considering the blue one, looked up a demo and heard just a few seconds of it and I was like oh man, how's that sound so bad? Too bad, looked really nice.
It really was a huge let down.... HUUUUGE. The mods brought this back to life, but out of the box this was a big disappointment.
@@LowEndLobster yea... quite a bit of life in those dark glass. And I'd probably install it either way whatever I bought. Just sounds like such a bad starting point.
Passive sounds pretty balanced when u slapped that thang 👌
Thanks Kelsey!
@@LowEndLobster told u your not a stranger we friends now 😂🎸
@@iamLexxKelsey XD
@LowEndLobster hey I know you've probably gotten a lot of messages like this but I've got a project bass I'm working on and was wondering if you would like to get your hands on it and maybe add your own touches to it. The bass in question is a squire mini p bass with a fretless fingerboard conversion, bartolini pickups ant tapewound strings. The mods I'm currently doing are adding a höfner pickup close to the bridge, stacked tone/volume knob for each pickup, and a custom pickguard. Of course I'm not asking you to finish it but rather just seeing what you would think of the finished product.
I very much appreciate you thinking of me, but I must decline as I simply do not have enough time to take on additional projects. Thank you for the offer though!
Lobster...old friend....its brooksie...trust me you will love the tony franklin! Waiting for your review impatiently! Remember a shout out to me when u review it! Please!
I got you!
These are made in Fender's mexico factory, so I imagine that they are largely compatible with other fender parts.
Indeed, I'd totally rock this neck on my DIY P bass or any other fender style parts bass
I wonder if the 5 string San Dimas bass is any better, that uses Dimarzio's Area J pickups.
I wonder as well, hopefully will check the 5'er out after this 4 :).
Was the original unboxing a black back plate? Compared to the cream one!
Yup! They were different
Honestly,....this just goes to show that the old saying "Sometimes, less is more" is true.
This bass sounded fantastic WITHOUT the pre-amp. The tones from this bass when not using it were just so spot on.
And when slapping this thing, I think the J pickup TYPICALLY has a sound more geared for slapping,....but I actually liked the tone while slapping with the P pickup even more. But they both sounded excellent for slapping.
I had seen one of these on ebay used that sold pretty cheap right after they came out, and I'm kind of kicking myself for not even trying to put a bid on it.😖 But im only really getting back into just hunting for an affordable bass after not even having picked one up for YEARS. But still,....
Well said Dominic! I feel like this bass was built to check boxes. It has these things, so it must be good. However, as this bass illustrates, you can have all the features in the world, but they're worthless if poorly executed.
@@LowEndLobster Or also if not even needed.
Hey lobster I bought this bass too. You do more mods than I ever have. Do you think there’s a way to add passive tone with the new preamp?
Great question! A passive tone can be added here with the existing preamp, however I don't think the Audere has one. I was honestly planning on installing the John East Uni preamp that made its way into my Sire P10 (and glad I put it there too!)
I use an audere in my Jazz Bass, I personally think it's a pretty fun and powerful little preamp
I'm excited to try it :)
So... in short... the preamp in this bass makes it go to 11?
Yep, there's even a gain trim pot in the cavity that just makes things worse
Got home with mine and discovered, I got a bad dose of the BUZZ!!! Must have had my hands on the knobs and strings the whole time in the shop. Was horrible. Straight back the next day for a swap for a MIJ Hybrid ii Fender Jazz (which is EPIC). Shoddy QC in these Charvels. If the Japanesee pursuit of excellence was put into these? They would be one of the all time greats.
I love the color options... but why buy a bass that will require mods right out of the box?
Yep! I hope Charvel has improved things in regards to the QC and electronics. The pickups are absolutely killer and this bass is so close to being awesome... but it missed the mark in an extraordinary fashion
I also had to return a candy apple red San Dimas ProMod V. Some inlays were busted and the truss rod was completely stuck. No way to adjust it.
Man, that's a huge bummer! They need to step up their QC here.
I've just ordered one, was thinking of getting a bass pre pedal, like the Sans Amp, MXR etc and just play it passive, tone shape with the pedal ;-) (If the issue is present, and they didn't just put a better pre in there)
Given that it’s a year down the line, has Fender addressed any of the QC issues with this bass? I’m super keen on picking one up
Mr Lobster, I really enjoy your videos can you do a review of the new fender player plus jazz bass v?
I wonder if this preamp is the same as the preamp in their Deluxe MIM series. Those sound better but they also come with pickups that are nowhere near as spicy as the Model PJ DiMarzios...
It's possible, these are MIM as well. It's just a little box with a trim pot. I have a vid dropping on Friday where we fix the noise on this bass while keeping the stock controls.
Depending on the price I might buy one as a project bass, esp if I can find one used
They're already popping up on the used market for around $750, I have no doubt the less handy or less motivated would seek to flip theirs quickly if they got one with similar QC issues to mine. We shall see!
@@LowEndLobster at less than 650 it is probably a must buy, because you can then upgrade for less than the cost of new if you are judicious with your choices.
Oddly enough, San Dimas is actually my home town
Woah!
Thanks for this review! I was really GASsing over that metallic red 5 string, but at well over $1000 CAD +tax I would expect something better than a mod platform...
Also, whether you're a crustacean or a mollusk or whatever be excellent to each other my dudes! 🤙
Thank you Oggo! :)
what about stripping the preamp make it vvtt + varitone ? that would make it very flexible and all passive
This is so funny to me. I added a DiMarzio Model P/J setup to my bass, fully passive, and it was so hot it would frequently overdrive my amp with ease. The idea that you would use that pickup combo with an active preamp that boosts the signal further is beyond me.
I guess if it was mine I get a new preamp OR rewire w 2 vol , 2 tones ,balance .
I kind of had great hopes for that bass.
I've got a similar bass the Fender Boxer .I got the Fender because I could get it first.
Thanks Michael! Indeed, I had hopes as well. How do you like the Boxer?
Yes I like the boxer my first MIJ fender a very different feel to a Mexican or American. Its clear sounding , lightweight real rosewood fret board for a change.
@@michaelblaney4461 Nice! Yeah, the MIJ stuff is IMO peak quality and consistency.
I have one in blue... love it.
I can totally see myself getting a used one and modding it.
Lots to like here but yea, that preamps would have to go.
Thanks Kevin! Indeed, a heavy discount would make this more palatable as a mod platform for sure.
I wonder if this is a "bass by bass" issue, I tried one ad LMC yesterday and experienced no noise at all with the pre amp engaged....
It was the early batches. You often see those sold at a steep discount. It has been fixed from what I understand, though i haven't tried an updated one
@@LowEndLobsterYah the one I played last night was definitely one of the batch from 2024 because it was sonic blue which was a new color for this year. Was playing through my own boss katana at the store which is a notoriously noisy amp lol and I had no noise issues would love to see you review one of the updated versions
Seems like the way to go is to buy just the Charvel neck and put it on either an actual fender or a Squier
I like the colors. Similar to my Dave Ellefson Jackson. Body style
Thanks T H! This bass definitely has aesthetic appeal
Hello, I want to ask you, do you see as big problem that there are not stanless steel frets?Thanks for answer.
That does not sound like a grounding issue, but merely a loud preamp, which seems not to your taste. Fans of a larger dynamic range might really enjoy this!
See the follow up where we mostly fix the noise on the stock pre with some shielding and ground continuity :)
What’s your all time fav bass? If you had to pick ONE
That's a tough question! I think I've come to appreciate the differences of all the basses I've played, but honestly the one I gravitate too and use most for noodling recently has been my heavily modded Sire P10.
@@LowEndLobster thanks for taking the time to reply!
Yeah, I second that one!
The Ultimate Custom Shop Lobster Trap: how would it be like?
Body, neck, wood, fretboard, pickups, pre or no Amp etc.
This would be a cool mod-project.
I just like that basses! ;)
The 5 string version have the same issue?
No idea, haven't tested one yet. Hopefully will at some point!
Yeah, this makes me wonder what's going on in those companies, they designed a bass on paper and never played it? I don't get how this design got out of the prototype phase?
They probably had accountants on the design team lol
Le fay review would be awsome
Thanks David! Sir Charles of RUclips fame lives like 30-40 min away hahaha, he wouldn't notice a missing LeFay would he? ;P
The Guy that Just started to play bass? LOL
Excellent
U should throw an audere in there and let it shine a little bit.... Oh snap I spoke to soon... Noiiiiccceeeeee!!!!!
:)
Thanks for sharing the bummer stuff about the bass. I had similar beef with the active Flea bass Fender makes. The preamp (an Aguilar) makes the pickup explode into a distorted mess. I’m going to be in the market for a P type bass and I may avoid this one. Thanks again.
Thanks Charlie! That's a shame, Fender needs to step up their onboard preamp game
Bet that Squire CV 70s P bass is sounding pretty good lol
plz review the 5 string
I'll do my best :)
Huge charvel bass fan..dig the color,maple neck.. I'm not a fan of chrome hardware.If this bass had black hardware,black colored pickups,rear plate and just a passive neck volume bridge volume and master tone..I would already own one!
Great review (as usual :)
DiMarzio 's pickups sound amazing. What this bass needs is a fully passive variant, 100€ cheaper.
As it is, it's worth less than 1€ to me. It's probably the noisiest you've ever tested, to the point of being unusable. Shame on Fender sending out clearly defective units.
Thanks Jason and 100% agreed. Now this one was purchased from a different shop as well and literally just came in, where as my first model was nearly two months ago. Both definitely had some noise which I mentioned. Truly a shame!
A friend of mine went on a 350+ mile round trip yesterday to a major dealer in the U.K. to try and hopefully buy one of these. They didn’t happen to have one in stock.
Excellent idea about going the extra mile with the nail varnish!!
Thanks Rev! Damn, that's quite a journey for a bass not in stock. Bummer!