Description
Review of the Best Choice Products SKY426 Acoustic Electric Bass Guitar, Full Size 4 String
The Best Choice Products SKY426 is a full size hollow body acoustic bass with a cutaway, an onboard four band preamp and a padded gig bag. It is aimed at bassists who want an instrument that can be practised unplugged in a quiet room and still run into a PA or an amplifier when the band arrives. It sits in the bass guitars section, and while the concept is sound the published specification data contains several fields that cannot be correct.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- A four band preamp is more control than most budget basses offer. Bass, middle, treble and presence let a player cut the boom in a small room or add cut in a mix, which matters far more on bass than on guitar because low frequencies interact with the room.
- Cutaway body. Access to the upper frets on a bass is normally poor because the body is so large, and the scoop below the neck joint makes the top of the neck reachable.
- Hollow body means real unplugged practice. A solid body bass is nearly silent without an amp. An acoustic bass produces enough acoustic volume to practise alongside an acoustic guitar in the same room.
- Rosewood fretboard. Rosewood is dense enough to take the heavy string pressure a bass generates without denting around the frets.
Cons
- The string material is listed as “Wood”. Bass strings are steel cored with nickel, steel or bronze windings. There is no such thing as a wooden bass string, so this field is simply wrong and gives no clue whether the fitted set is bronze wound for acoustic use or nickel wound.
- Two sets of dimensions disagree badly. The specification table lists 45.5 by 18.3 by 49 inches, while the description gives 15.5 by 4.5 by 43.7 inches. A 49 inch figure is longer than the instrument the description describes.
- No scale length is published. On a bass this is the single most important measurement, because a 34 inch long scale and a 30 inch short scale feel completely different under the left hand and take different string sets. Its absence is a real gap.
- The stated weight is implausibly low. Five and a half pounds is light for a full size hollow bass, and the listing does not say whether this is the instrument or a shipping figure.
- Body wood is unnamed. The table gives basswood for the top and back and mahogany for the neck, but lists the body itself only as “Wood”, and a separate materials field repeats “Wood”.
Detailed Product Description
The instrument is a four string acoustic bass with a single cutaway and a gloss black finish. The specification table lists basswood for the top and back with a mahogany neck and a rosewood fretboard. Basswood is a light, soft, even grained timber. On a hollow bass top it will produce a warm but comparatively quiet acoustic voice, since basswood does not have the stiffness to weight ratio that spruce brings. Mahogany in the neck is a good sign, as it is dense enough to resist the pull of four bass strings, and rosewood on the board handles the heavy string contact a bass generates.
The electronics are built around an EQ-7545R preamp, a widely used module on budget acoustic basses and acoustic guitars. It provides volume plus four tone bands: bass, middle, treble and presence. The advantage of four bands over a simple tone knob is that low frequency boom, which is where acoustic basses cause the most trouble in a live setting, can be cut without losing string definition in the treble. These preamps are active and take a nine volt battery, so a spare should be kept in the case even though the listing does not state whether one is supplied.
What Comes with the Product
The listing states the package contains the bass and a padded carrying case with backpack straps, a padded lining, three storage pockets and a non slip rubber pad.
Not included: an amplifier, a cable, a strap, a tuner, spare strings, a stand, and a battery for the preamp unless one happens to be fitted at the factory. The missing cable is worth planning for, because the onboard preamp is the main reason to choose this over a plain acoustic bass and it cannot be used without a lead.
Who It Suits
This suits a guitarist adding bass to a home setup, a singer songwriter who needs a bass part on a quiet recording, or a player in an acoustic group who wants low end without hauling an amplifier to every rehearsal. The four band preamp makes it usable straight into a PA channel, which is exactly what a small acoustic act needs.
Look elsewhere if the target is rock, metal or funk, where a solid body electric bass will track better and sustain longer. Anyone who needs to know the scale length before buying should also treat this listing with caution. Alternatives worth comparing are the Ibanez GSR200JB solid body bass, the Squier Debut Series Precision Bass, and the Ktaxon P style beginner bass kit.
How to Maintain
Bass strings last far longer than guitar strings but they die slowly rather than suddenly, so wipe them down after playing and expect a gradual loss of definition rather than a break. Remove the preamp battery if the instrument will sit for months, since a leaking cell inside a hollow body is difficult to clean out. Keep the bass in its bag, away from radiators and out of direct sun, because a large thin top on a hollow instrument is the part most likely to crack in dry air. Unplug the cable when the instrument is stored, as the jack usually doubles as the rear strap pin. Clean the gloss finish with a barely damp cloth. General storage advice is in how to store a guitar.
Tips and Recommendations
Buy a cable and a nine volt battery with the instrument, and test the preamp early rather than months after delivery, since intermittent output is the most common fault on budget acoustic electric instruments. Set all four EQ bands flat before the first plugged in session and adjust one at a time, because it is easy to lose the sound entirely with four interacting controls. If the strings arrive dull, a fresh set of phosphor bronze acoustic bass strings will lift the unplugged voice noticeably. Keep the preamp volume low when connecting into a PA, since acoustic basses feed back at lower volumes than solid bodies. Whether an amp is needed at all is discussed in do you need an amp with an acoustic electric guitar.
Product FAQ
What is the scale length? The listing does not publish one. This is a significant omission on a bass, and the fields that do carry numbers describe overall dimensions rather than scale.
What strings does it take? Unclear. The specification table lists the string material as “Wood”, which is not a real bass string material. Acoustic basses normally use bronze wound sets.
Is an amplifier included? No. The package covers the bass and a padded gig bag only, with no amp and no cable.
