Oldrich

11 hours ago, Belka said:

Last year I bought an Xotic after reading some of the good feedback on here. I originally was after a 5 string but I saw this bass being advertised in Japan second hand at a very low price (around £1300 - it had been bought a few weeks earlier on Reverb for about £1600, and then obviously returned to the same store). I just loved the finish, which seems to be a special run of a few six string only basses they did for a Japanese store.

 

Obviously I had to also factor in shipping and import duties, so in the end it probably cost me about £1900, which is still not bad considering it's practically in mint condition (it's a 2020 model).

 

The fit and finish are extremely good, and it sounds great - it's a slightly more hi-fi twist on a '70s Jazz. I can get extremely low action on it, and it's generally very comfortable to play for a six string, with a nice neck profile. The parts are all high quality, and the preamp is very nice; subtle, but very musical. Set flat, it sounds more or less the same as it does in passive mode, which is what a good preamp should do in my opinion.

 

The only negative I can mention, which has been stated here already, is the weight. This one comes in a around 5.3kg/11.8lbs, so it's a heavyweight. I think the ash they use is medium weight rather than the really heavy northern ash, but it's a very big bass with heavy parts, so of course it's going to weigh a lot. I can manage two hour gigs on it with a decent wide strap though. No neck dive at all, obviously.

 

 

I remember this finish. Stunning ! 

So I bought the very bass in May '22. It is indeed a tad heavy, but the tone and ergonomy overall are very convincing, especially for a 5er. This is my 4th 5 string P attempt and the only one that has been working. It's been working so well that I have ordered a PJ some 3 months later (it has arrived 2 weeks ago). The white P, I've used exclusively as my #1 for the entire season (in a rock setting) on some 30 live shows. Now the PJ is 4.2 kg and nicer to touch/feel (nitro relic vs. poly). Ive put labella deep talking flats on the white P - again impressive tone and the low B still working very well (dont take that for granted with low B at all; typically its quite the opposite and one can end up with a very long thumbrest). I have owned Vlcek, Sadowsky, Ken Smith BSR 5, MM, Fender. I'm right at home with my Xotic collection. I dont think I will need anything else anytime soon.