Ibanez Jumpstart Basics Bass Package (Transparent Red) Reviews

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Customer Reviews

The Nich Miller
from Crossett, AR
September 25, 2011Music Background:
Hobbyist, amateur musician, songwriter, part-time teacher

I love it!

The bass:
This thing is a tank! I have one of the older ones with the natural finish on the headstock, so I don't know about these. I'm just going to assume that they are no different quality wise because the specs are the same.

Since 2007, I have literally taken mine through all kinds of weather from humid 3 hour trips in a trailer full of high school band instruments to late night practices in sub freezing temperatures and I have yet to be disappointed. I have beaten the heck out of it and still I get good, solid tone and playability.

She plays well overall. The truss rods are easy to adjust, all THREE times I've had to do it. The neck is solidly bolted on. It's easy to adjust the action and pickup height and all of the wiring is sound. The nut is well attached and holding up well. The machine heads are solid and have no slippage what-so-ever.

Not to mention that it has a nice blend of that "classic" look with a beautiful red finish that fits in with any band look from jazz to metal.

As for sound, it can pretty much do anything. It seems to strain a bit with the higher end, but it goes strong in the lows and mids, which is where you'll mostly be if you are just learning to play.

My only real problems are that finally, after more mistreatment than I wish to admit having dealt out, I get some fret buzz on the G string if I get above the 11th fret. It's not audible through an amp, but it's pretty harsh just to your ear. Also, not long after I had it, I had to change the screw in the strap mount on the horn. The hole was just stripped out. 35 seconds later, it was officially a "Custom Job" and I haven't had any other problems out of it since.

The amp:

I didn't have the amp long because of extenuating circumstances, but it was a little workhorse as well. Being a fairly small 15W, it obviously won't break any windows, but it's great for just practicing and learning on.

The headphones:
These lasted me about a year before they shorted out. I was kind of rough on them, so take that into account. But overall they were pretty good. I like the fact that they had a volume control on the headphone cord and that the cord was about 6 feet long; it's great for when you want to stand up and play but also need to wear headphones.

The strap:
It's a strap. I gave it to a young guitarist friend of mine when he got his first guitar. It's nothing special, but it's not bad.

The cord:
I tear through cords. This one is fairly cheap, so don't expect it to last long if you are doing a whole lot of moving around with your rig.

The DVD:
I can't sing enough praises for this DVD. It taught me bass, my friend electric guitar, and his sister acoustic guitar.

The tuner:
I haven't replaced it yet, but I need to. It's great if you are sticking to standard tunings, because it only has 5 lights on it to indicate notes (E, A, D, G, B). However, once you start wanting to tune something to C or F or something more advanced, you need to upgrade.

I can vouch for the fact that mine is roughed up so much that I've had to rework the battery springs to make it work because of rusting and the back wont stay on it anymore, but it still freaking works.

So there you have it: a package that is hard to beat for a price that can't be beat. I love this bass. I played it this morning in fact. When I bought this package, I didn't even know what a fret was. Now I have been in several bands and am teaching others how to play.