I’ve played violin since I was in the 4th grade, and I always thought these “violin” basses were cool. This is my third and final purchase of Bargain Musician “blem” kits from an eBay seller. The wood on this kit was just terrible to try to get a good finish. But in the end, it did turn out pretty well. This is all maple, with a flamed maple top and a set neck. I used a little bit of brown Keda Wood Dye and then Tru Oil Gunstock Finish for the top, then a little brown Keda Wood Dye and Minwax Wipe-On Poly for the back and sides. The neck has Tru Oil Gunstock Finish.
I learned a few things with this kit. Because of the trapeze bridge, it requires medium scale strings even though it is a short 30-inch scale fingerboard. The bridge is held down by string pressure. And the function of the electronics, including pickup selection, is exactly the same as a Hofner bass – which is weird. You’ll have to look that up.
This was my final “blem” purchase from the eBay seller because the wood in each of them had gotten progressively worse. This had a lot of glue spots on the flamed maple, and the rest of the formed maple hollow body was very difficult to get to take any color at all. The fingerboard also had some issues to work through. What was listed as the “blem” was a defect in the neck pocket, easily fixed and not at all visible after assembly.
Even though it looks cool, this is one of the most uncomfortable basses I have ever tried to hold and play.