Ivy 4 String Solid-Body Electric Bass Guitar for Beginners & Professionals - Right-Handed, Cherry Sunburst Finish (IVB-500 CS) | Perfect for Rock, Jazz & Studio Recording

This is my 4th IYV guitar and it exceeds my already high expectations. Good build quality. Very playable neck with level frets and no protruding fret ends. I was able to get the action quite low without any significant fret rattle. The Pickups are actually pretty good too and, on this body, deliver a convincingly vintage sound with the sort of pleasing woody thumpiness you would expect from a semi hollow bass. Somewhat heavier than I expected with what appears to be a large center block in the top third of the body, but it still resonates pretty well when played acoustically. Tuners are the weak link here but hold pitch firmly - low gear ratio and a bit of play in the mechanism when tightening. Serviceable but I’m considering replacements. The controls are a bit confusing at first and the “rhythm” switch, which has it’s own volume control (and only engages when the “bass” pickup switch is off) is thin-sounding and fairly useless to me (I may eventually look into some rewiring in order to squeeze a little more tone out of the rhythm circuit). The “solo” switch, on the other hand, provides good beefy tonal variation depending on how the bass and treble switches are set. After doing a little research, it seems that this confusing wiring configuration is standard on Hofner originals as well. The rhythm setting cuts volume by 30-40% and most people don’t use it much. Evidently, most experienced players stick to the “solo” setting and kick in the bass and treble switches to taste. The fit and finish are pretty good on this instrument and the flame maple top looks really cool. One small issue is that the flexible plastic pickup surrounds don’t stay fully flush against the arched body and tend to curve upward slightly under the strings, but this is not very noticeable. Overall, this is a fun and highly playable short scale bass at a mind- blowing price.I just put a set of D’Addario nylon tape flat wound strings on this bass and it sounds really good for the kind of material I do - 60s Motown, Stax, Beatles.. et al. (31” scale but takes long scale strings due to the extra-short tail piece). Cost about 20% of the price of the instrument! Go figure.UPDATE: I recently replaced the tuners with a set of GOTOH GB707s. Much improved. I also replaced the tailpiece with one that better matches the length and configuration of a Hofner original. It will now take short scale strings and sounds a bit cleaner and tighter to my ears.