Ahhhh, the brown truck showed up this evening - finally! I hate ground shipping. So far, it's shaping up to be a rather nice bass. I went with the Saber SL5 fretless mostly because I have to somewhat justify the purchase as something that will add a different tone to the arsenal. It doesn't make too much sense, to me, to add more of the same thing (fretted five stringers). I did not like getting the lined fingerboard, but I think it will do fine in the end. I suppose it'll make me play more on the frets on a fretted bass like our lessons tell us to, eh?
Cons:
1. Very light weight - gives an immediate impression of wondering how cheap it is.
2. Bridges are some kind of plastic or composite - maybe not a con?
3. Finish has some places where the grain is not well filled and the paint depresses in those lines.
4. No hard case, but I knew this going in.
Pros:
1. TIGHT TIGHT TIGHT tone. Very tight and flexible. Has the ability to pump way too much bottom, so that's good in regards of headroom if the need arises.
2. Very light weight - if the construction turns out to be solid over time, this will be a bonus.
3. Neck feels solid.
4. Customer service with Lightwave is fantastic. They answered many questions prior to the sale, usually in less than an hour after I asked via e-mail.
Over all, this appears to be a good solid workhorse, time will tell. There's only so much I can do with it this evening by itself. Tomorrow's rehearsal will tell a more complete story. The cons about this so far are probably so insignificant as to not even be an issue. I just need to get time under my belt with it both playing and doing adjustments over time. Tonally, it's so far much less finicky than my Rickenbacker 5 stringer (one of my favorites), which puts it ahead of the pack in getting used.
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