RD-05

I got my bass to day opened the box tuned it up an started thumping .I`ve been playing bass for 30 plus years an this is the loudest acoustic bass I`ve ever played the action is good the finish is perfect an to me it sounds as good as any acoustic bass out there ..you can spend more .. but more don`t always mean better I give this bass a A plus

I bought this bass to use with our local "old-time" open jam group. I liked the short (30") scale, which is the same as my electric bass, and thought the resonator would help it be heard in the usual group of guitars, mandolins, banjos, a hammered dulcimer and often a string bass or even a washtub bass. The bass arrived within a week of the order being placed and I was able to change the shipping to have it held at the local FedEx store instead of having to be at home to sign for it. It was well packed and came with D'Addario strings in the correct scale. I took a tip from another resonator-bass owner and immediately flipped the strings underneath, rather than on top of, the chrome tailpiece to get more downforce over the bridge. Fretwork and finish is great and the body color and binding are very well done. I may take the gloss off the back of the neck at some point but it is not especially sticky out of the box. My only reason for awarding 4 instead of 5 stars is the bridge, which is made of 2 pieces of soft wood inserted into a slot in the resonator spider. The bass (larger string) side had fallen out in shipping and I was able to shake the bass upside down and get it out of the spider and cover. Once I had the bridge piece reinserted and the strings flipped under the tailpiece and rewound on the tuners, I found that the string slots were in entirely the wrong locations - the strings were not spaced correctly at the bridge. The slots were also not very deep, so maybe the manufacturer expects the user to set up the instrument to their taste. I filed new slots with a triangular needle file and got the strings spaced accurately. They held position and tuned up just fine once that was done, but the action is very low - lower than I would set up for an electric bass, and there's definitely some fret buzz when played hard with fingers or a pick. I plan to fit flatwound strings to reduce squeaks anyway, so I will plan on installing new bridge saddles about 1/16" higher as well, before taking the bass out to play for the first time. Intonation is pretty accurate as the bridge is set up from the factory. The bass is comfortable sitting or standing although a deeper body (3.75" across upper & lower bouts) than I usually play. The shorter scale helps with balance, I think; it is not noticeably neck-heavy and the tuners are lightweight chrome-plated sealed gear units which hold tune well. Nut appears to be bone and fairly well set up. The tone is sharp and growly with plenty of bottom end although I have yet to see how it holds its own in a large group. I found a nice soft case by Superior for it which fits very well and I have an inexpensive transducer pickup by Belcat which I may try when my "old-time" friends are not looking. All in all, a good value if the buyer is willing to do a little work to achieve the desired setup.

I wanted an acoustic bass guitar that could be heard in a small group and had my eye on this for a long time. It fits the bill. Came with D'addario strings which are nice enough, but as a rank beginner I changed them out for lighter Elixirs. Shorter scale than most is just what I needed. Seems well made. It's also quite pretty just hanging there too, waiting for me to make more time to learn it better.