Classic Cantabile AB-40 Acoustic Bass Black (Bass Guitar with Pickup 3-Band Equaliser Rosewood and Spruce)

I purchased one of these a while ago and wanted to hold off on providing a review until I had put her through her paces.I have played bass now for 10+ years and have a nice collection established at home.I spent the first 2-4 weeks just wearing in the strings.I had been weary of buying an acoustic because many reviews talk about the action being too high. I have an Ibanez Ergodyne EDA 900 with high action and I was aware of how uncomfortable that can be. The reviews of the action on this bass were not too bad. My personal opinion is that the action is very comfortable, it's a little higher than the standard height you would anticipate but I would not describe it as "high", I play slap bass and high action can cause issues sometimes, the action on this bass has given me no problems.The sound is lovely, clear and crisp, the strings hold their tuning well and she is a good sturdy build.I have not had her plugged in, for the price I paid I wasn't anticipating good electric sound from her but if I get around to using her wired at some point I will happily add a reveiw from that point also :)All in all I've grown quite fond of her, I've had no issues with her and would happily recommend this product to any bass playing looking for an affordable acoustic for the collection. I'd always recommend looking around and, where possible, trying the product first but I took a risk on this one and was more than pleased.

Had some Amazon gift vouchers so I only forked out a hundred for it. I wanted a bass to play now and then at open mikes - I usually play a standard acoustic in a small group and I often end up playing bass lines, so thought this might be fun.Arrived on schedule but I had to collect from depot as signature required (40 mile round trip).It's ok for the money but one of the tuners had a stripped thread. Someone else here mentioned a tuner failure, so it seems there's a quality control problem. Guess they are building down to a price and use cheapest they can find. Amazon sorted out the problem quickly, full marks there!It's a good-looking guitar, feels a bit lightweight, but that might be an advantage if playing for long periods standing up. I will probably add a second strap button.I'll be upgrading the tuners and probably will try flatwound strings when I replace the ones fitted - E is prone to buzzing so that's something else to have a look at. Preamp looks cheap and cheerful, but works ok. I probably won't use it through an amp anyway.So built to a price but does the job, and with a bit of tweaking will do me fine.

Be wary. This instrument has good reviews (currently 10*5 stars and 1*4 stars) and a low price... which is why I ordered it. However, the first one arrived with a 10cm split in the back of the guitar body and badly cracked lacquer finish around half the circumference of the body. The second one arrived with the equalizer box falling out because it had been fitted too high up the curve of the body and the little screws couldn't take the strain and tore out (this is bordering on a design defect). The third one had a really poor finish to the headstock and a minor chip in the back of the body. I wasn't happy but I didn't want to waste more time sending it back so I decided to live with it.I spent an hour or so picking the guitar up from the depot each time because the courier won't deliver on Saturdays without being paid another £10. And I spent another hour or so documenting the faults, communicating with the manufacturer, repackaging the guitar and queuing at the post-office. All told: over 6 hours of my time which, in monetary terms, is more than the guitar cost. An elapsed time of 7 weeks from the original order and the guitar I have still qualifies as faulty.The promise is good. The delivery on that promise falls short.Update 10/08/2013: I had it for a month and the D string tuning key malfunctioned. You could tighten the D string only so far and, before it got in tune, it would slip back with a twang. I presume the thread on the screw mechanism failed. After some research (more time wasted) I found I could have replaced the tuning key for £15 but I decided to return the bass for the last time and get a refund. I got back what I paid for the bass minus the original post and packing (£15). I went to Denmark street in London and tried 7 different models (some top of the range ones too) in 5 different shops and brought a Vintage VCB 430 which was £100 more than the Cantabile but has been great so far (touch wood - or rather; mahogany laminate).I should add that while the Cantabile was in my hands and working, I had no gripes. It had good tone and volume when unplugged and I liked the look. Oh yeah, and its a medium scale bass (32") as opposed to a long scale (34"). But by the time you've had 3 broken ones you just don't care.

This is a Fabulous guitar.I have had it since August 14.Sounds great and well manufactured.However there are 2 small issues I have encountered.The first is the high action on the strings,But this easily solved by deepening the string grooves on the plastic bridge with a miniature round file.But make sure you make same depth on each one, don't go wild,Use caution.Its worked for me.Secondly the Equalizer side works fine BUT the Volume control requires to be full out to get any response through my professional Amp.Very weak volume,by the way it was the same before I made my bridge adjustment.Hope this helps.This is still a very good buy.

I looked at some of the reviews on this which were good and so took a chance as the price is very good.unfortunately you get what you pay for.The sound is ok but the jack socket is in the strap peg at the back which is slightly too large for the strap and the metal connection inside bent when the jack went in causing bad crackling and poor connection.The action of the strings is quite high dispite tightening the truss and lowering the saddle.Therefore I have rated as poor.