This was a nice surprise; I needed a 5 string fretless for a project that will hit the road when the world gets better.
(I didn't want to use my very high end one-off 6 string in that environment, but this can be kicked around, and that 6th high C is optional with this band anyway)
I have had a German made Star Bass in Bubinga and a Korean made Star bass Proseries earlier, both fretted and four-string, so I kind of knew what this bass was about. But still, I was a little anxious about a China made fretless.
No worries. Shipped nicely packed as always from Thomann, and it even came with a (so-so) Rockbag gig bag (I will use a Reunion Blues bag I have anyway), some tools, strap locks and, ... a 9V battery (its passive, no battery compartment :-))
Unpacked it, gave it a couple of runs to check everything was working.
Comes with some Warwick rounds; they are not for me, so I put a set of TI JF 345 on it immediately.
Truss rod needed som tightening with those low tension TI?s.
Had to cut the nut to get to my preferred action (so that a business card just can slip under the strings at the nut).
Yes, it comes with the "just-a-nut", but I couldn't get it low enough..... .. It?s easy to take off the upper part with the string slots and sand down the back of whole piece 1,5 mm and pop it back on and adjust the screws to taste. (Remember to adjust the receiving pegs on the base accordingly too....)
Also the string spacing needed to be evened out; it was between 16 (B-E) and 20 mm (D-G)...no big issue really. Warwick's bridges are familiar and workable.
Pros:
34" and nice B string
Nice neck
Very nice ebony fingerboard
Quite punchy and versatile sound from those singel coils
Even some growl as I expected (but its not really a "Jaco" bass)
Absolutely comparable to the Korean Pro-series Star Bass I had
Finish is very nice
Looks great on stage
No neck dive
Light at just over 4 kgs
Cons:
Just-a-nut needed work
String spacing was off
Serial number shows its a 2019 made bass, but it was unmarked and brand new.
Conclusion : very happy with my third Star bass!
