Budget Burl 5-Banger just Showed Up...New Kraken Content

Quadzilla

Quadzilla

Supporting Member
Feb 11, 2002
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Maryland Burbs (horse-country)
www.thenewromance.com
#1
USPS just pulled up and delivered this.

5 - 10 min with it...
Pros:
Sub-$500 delivered. Ultra-tight neck pocket. 5 piece neck that looks straight. Frets appear level. Surprisingly strong-good sounding electronics.

Cons:
Weight (prob 10ish lbs or so). Could be a photo-burl top (at least that's what it looks like to me), but maybe it's real, not sure. Balance pot wired in reverse (easy fix).

More details later ...

UPDATE: See post #10 for more details and a deeper review

Specs:
KRAKEN 5STRING BASS B-105 2016 Satin/BR

BODY: Alder + Burl veneer top

NECK: Maple + walnut ( 5pcs )

FINGERBOARD: Rosewood (AAA)

PICKUPS:Kraken Bass 5

HAEDWARE: BK

NUT : 45mm

STRING interval : 17mm

SCALE: 34" (864mm)

BRIDGE: KRAKEN Custom Bass Fixed type 5

Machine Head: BASS MACHINE HEADS JB-350

FINISH: Satin /BR

Pre-amplifier : Volume + balance + TREBLE + MIDDLE + BASS
+ MINI(active/passive)


Hand craft in South Korea
20170209_181049-1_zpsrpg2eey0.jpg


20170209_181135-1_zpsvy5z18og.jpg
 
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#7
Quadzilla said:
The cut is perpendicular to the rest of the neck, not parallel so it's not really a 2 piece.

Not saying it's not a nice bass. It sure looks like one. But the necks are very, very different in terms of construction.
Click to expand...

???? Scarf joints are at an angle, they are made parallel to the face of the headstock and cut diagonally through the main body of the neck.

Of course the 2 necks are different in construction, and yes, a multi-ply neck is stronger than a 2 piece neck, they are also stronger than one piece necks. I said in my post that the neck in my bass was different from the Kraken, yet you make it seem like I overlooked that point. And I never said my Freak bass was better, I know that it's not. I merely pointed out that the 2 basses look similar.

But at $350, it IS a good deal! Brice Freak Bass 535 String Burl Brown - RondoMusic.com

Anyway, congrats and enjoy your bass.
 
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#8
dabbler said:
???? Scarf joints are at an angle, they are made parallel to the face of the headstock and cut diagonally through the main body of the neck.

Of course the 2 necks are different in construction, and yes, a multi-ply neck is stronger than a 2 piece neck, they are also stronger than one piece necks. I said in my post that the neck in my bass was different from the Kraken, yet you make it seem like I overlooked that point. And I never said my Freak bass was better, I know that it's not. I merely pointed out that the 2 basses look similar.

But at $350, it IS a good deal! Brice Freak Bass 535 String Burl Brown - RondoMusic.com

Anyway, congrats and enjoy your bass.
Click to expand...
All good man. Was just pointing out the necks were significantly different. Hope your Brice is awesome.
 
#10
So I spent some more time with her last night. Some addl info:

Even though the neck is straight and the frets level, the neck pocket needed 1 thin shim to set the angle correctly. I also had to do some minor filling on the nut to get the string height correct.

I tossed the stock strings (which were very low-tension). Once I slapped on some DRs and got her fully setup, she plays great. The B string (.125) is not too floppy at all. Pretty tight for a 34" scale bass. One side-note, the hole for the B string on the bridge is just barely large enough for a .125 string. I'm probably going to ream it out a bit.

The neck has a satin finish on the back and is not too thick front to back (which I prefer). It's a semi-shallow D profile. The string spacing is a bit tighter than I prefer (@ 17 mm spacing and 1.77" nut), but I'm adjusting.

The electronics are surprisingly good (damn near great). The pickups remind me of EMG 35TWX in terms of tone. The 3-band preamp is good and voiced well in terms of frequencies that are boosted and cut, but there doesn't seem to be a lot on how much decibels are being boosted and cut. Prob +/- 8 db give or take. Electronics are dead-silent. She has an active/passive switch too.

All-in-all a great value @ under $500 delivered. It rivals many that cost double or more that I've owned and played.
 
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