• Great Bass

  
  As reviewed by Chance B. on 12/14/2010

  I just got this bass a few days age and let me tell you I am very impressed. Solid construction, great sound, and electronics work very well. This bass also looks great and sounds amazing. I replaced the strings that came on the bass, and it sounds even better. 5 STARS!!!

  5 of 5 people found this review helpful.
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• Its amazing!

  
  As reviewed by Denise on 6/9/2010

  I am just a beginner but when I play on this bass I sound like a pro :) I love it!

  4 of 25 people found this review helpful.
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• Excellent quality at a Pleasing Price

  
  As reviewed by Dave on 2/9/2011

  I bought my Ebony Takamine EGB2S four months ago. I had not previously owned a bass guitar--I play an acoustic-electric Epiphone Masterbilt AJ-500RE Jumbo, a Kremona Sofia classical, a Dean acoustic-electric classical and an Epiphone Sheraton II semi-hollow body electric. I have a growing home studio and had been adding bass lines with an Alesis Micron synth; however I'm primarily an acoustic musician and wanted the warmth and nuance of an acoustic bass. The guitar I received was perfectly finished--before playing any new guitar I generally remove the strings, mask off the fretboard and use fine emery cloth and #0000 steel wool to mirror-polish the frets and eliminate any sharp edges...I then apply boiled linseed oil to the fretboard before re-stringing the guitar. This wasn't necessary with the Takamine--the frets and rosewood fingerboard were already very professionally finished. I re-strung it, let it settle for a couple of hours and was ready to go. The neck was already set up perfectly--the strings were low (as I like 'em) but there wasn't a single buzzing fret. Using the onboard tuner each string registered perfect tuning at the fifth fret and nearly perfect at the tenth fret--tuning is usually a compromise as you work your way up the neck and I was quite impressed. My second happy surprise came when I plugged it into my Roland AC90 acoustic amp, with an outboard subwoofer added to capture the low bass. I'm not a fan of piezo pickups in acoustic guitars--as a rule they simply aren't accurate and sound thin--but the TP4T pickup and preamp are an exception. With minimal EQ it sounds like an acoustic bass. When I bought it I figured that I'd either mic it, use a mic in conjunction with the piezo pickup or even add a Fishman internal mic. Happily, piezo pickups apparently work better in the bass register than with higher notes, something I wasn't aware of. With the jumbo body and solid spruce top it's resonant and and loud unplugged. It's bigger than a standard jumbo, with a longer neck, and the onboard preamp adds some weight so it's a bit heavy. It's the only guitar I own that really requires a neck strap for a proper hold but this is true of any bass: I use finger-plucking style and this requires positioning the guitar low on your body. For sharper attack using a pick offers a different sort of sound. I found the guitar at a substantial discount--I paid $300--but at $549 I still don't think you can do much better for less than $1000. For me the EGB2S fits the bill as an entry-level professional bass; if you spend less money you'll sacrifice quality, and in spending more you'll get a diminishing return on your dollar (this is true with any instrument, there's a particular price point where you get the most bang for your buck). This is my first Takamine product and the overall quality, construction, finish and detail are better than any other Chinese-made guitar I've owned or played (including my $800 Epi--I wouldn't trade it for anything but it required some tweaking and detailing after it left the factory). The Takamine is solid wood, the neck and action are excellent, it's tough and stable (three days after restringing it stays in tune for a month), it has decent electronics, top-notch enclosed tuning machines and an accurate onboard electronic tuner. It's beautiful in an understated way--all my other guitars (including my electric) have natural finishes but when I bought the Takamine it was only available in Ebony. I've come to admire the flawless glossy black finish, subtle abalone sound hole inlay, pearl fretboard dots, cream-white purfing, enclosed chrome tuning machines, rosewood mustache bridge, cream bridge pins w/ black dot and plain peg head with white inlayed Takamine logo. It's subtle, classy and cool-looking while many guitars seem to look pimped-out these days. To wrap this up, it combines the best qualities of electric bass and stand-up acoustic bass, and for my style it's more versatile and offers a larger range of tonal qualities than a solid-body electric bass. It's a great addition to my home studio and I've played two small gigs backing acoustic guitar and mandolin without embarrassing myself. If you're considering your first acoustic bass this is the one to buy. If you decide to upgrade later you just might use this as a platform and add an internal mic pickup, bone nut and saddle etc. You can't go wrong with this puppy...if you're an acoustic guitarist just looking to expand your horizons you'll find the transition to acoustic bass comes easily and quickly.

  6 of 8 people found this review helpful.
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