Schecter CV-4 (2004)

I bought this bass after shopping around for a good bass. I went to a Carvin store and then to a couple of Guitar Centers, but i finally found this bass at a Guitar Center by my house. In order to buy the bass, I traded in my 5 year old Danelectro Hodad Bass and got about $100, which then knocked the price of the CV-4 to around $350. With tax and everything the price came out to be $380.

With that super low price in mind, pay close attention to all of the features on this bass. It comes with a Mahogany Body, and has a bolted on 34" Maple neck with a 24 fret rosewood fingerboard for that great two octave reach. The CV-4 body is cutaway which enabled you to reach those higher notes with ease. The neck is probably as thin as a Fender Jazz one for great speed and comfort, especially for people who don't have particularly huge hands. It also has a reinforcing metal rod in it with easy access if you need to twidle with the neck shape. Regarding the pickups, the CV-4 comes with Jazz Style Single Coil pickup for the neck, and a "MM" humbucker for the bridge. It has a Volume and Pickup blender and a "Slap Switch" it you need even more mid boost. If that wasn't enough, it also comes with a 3-band Duncan BEQ system so you can cut/boost Bass, Mid, and Treble at your discretion. The final feature is the CV-4's string-through-body desgin which increases the sustain. At the bottom is a Hipshot 'A' bridge which allows you either to have the strings through the body OR top loading, OR both! That you can only find in higher end basses for more than twice the price!

When i bought this bass, like every new guitar, I had to adjust some things. The intonation was off, but after it was I was able to play chord up around the middle of the second octave and still be in tune. I also had to adjust the height of the strings on the bridge and the neck to avoid some fret buzz, but again after spending some hours on it, it was close to perfect. One thing i have noticed is that this bass does not cut through sound the way other basses do. You have to find the right EQ in order for it to sound ideal. One of the knobs was on very tight, but i fixed that as well.

Like i stated before, I had to tweak some of the things on this bass to get the best sound and comfort for my standards. Besides that, the sunburst finish is impecable and makes it look very elegant. The overall quality of the bass is very solid.

Thin, 2 octave neck, 3 Band Active EQ, humbucker and Jazz Pickup for increased tonality, string-through-body sustain are all some of the things that make this bass a bargain. It is light and it also has very good action. The string spacing was set for a very comfortable finger picking and slapping. The underlying feature of this bass is its super low price. I have never seen any other bass with this many features for a better price. Add to that a Diamond Series Lifetime Warranty!
Schecters also come with Elexir strings.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com