Pitbull IB4 fretless Build/Review

[Random Guitarist]

Final Thoughts.

As my original thread title implied this would be a review I think I should do a summing up of some sort. Obviously this is all my opinion, and based on a single sample kit.

 

I very quickly found that the supplied pickups have weak output and are microphonic. Really quite unusable. I splashed out on some Kent Armstrong claymore soap bars. They are very slightly smaller than the original pickups but fit the routed holes well. These pickups sound excellent just wired as humbuckers. I did add three-way switches for parallel/split/series, and that really adds to the range of sounds.

 

The neck scarf joint proved to be inadequately glued and opened quite suddenly, Luckily the fingerboard held everything in alignment, and I was able to re-glue it with Titebond and plenty of clamps.

I was able to use the original pots and knobs and the neck ferrules/screws. Those parts are perfectly fine. The rest of the hardware is, in my opinion sub-standard except the bridge. So much so that I couldn’t put things like the pickups on e-bay and sell them on without a very bad conscience.

 

As far as cost/value goes the result is a decent mid-priced feel bass, with very basic wood choices, for a cost of £450. (This excludes the optional bridge upgrade and a good set of strings) If I just wanted a guitar to play then I could buy a new Sire for similar money, and I’d be playing a good instrument out the box. The kit is worth it if you buy it with the right expectations.

 

If a beginner bought one of these kits expecting to get a good bass cheaply, they’d be disappointed, the used market is full of better ready to play options.

 

For my part, I am playing this bass a lot, and am building something else from scratch. There is a real possibility that the kit is a ‘gateway drug’ for bass building!