Description
Review of the GLARRY GJazz Full Size 4 String Electric Bass Guitar with Amp
The Glarry GJazz is a full size four string electric bass sold as a starter package with a bag, a cable and a wrench tool, in a variation that includes an amplifier. It is aimed at a first time bass player who wants an instrument and something to hear it through in one purchase. It is worth saying at the outset that this is one of the thinnest specification sheets in the catalogue.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Full size four string layout, the standard configuration that every bass method book, chord chart and teacher assumes.
- Nickel strings from the factory. Nickel wound sets are smoother under the fingers than stainless steel and are the usual choice for a beginner.
- A bag, cable and wrench are listed, which covers carrying it, plugging it in and making basic adjustments.
- An amplifier is part of the chosen variation, so no separate amp purchase is needed to hear the instrument properly. A bass cannot be practised meaningfully unplugged the way a guitar can.
Cons
- The colour does not agree between sources. The spec table says black while the Amazon product title says blue. Which finish actually arrives cannot be established from the listing data.
- No scale length is published. On a bass this is the single most important number. A full scale instrument is 34 inches and a short scale is around 30, and the difference decides whether a smaller player can reach the first fret comfortably.
- Almost nothing else is specified either. There is no neck material, no fretboard material, no pickup configuration, no fret count, no weight and no dimensions. The body is listed as basswood front and back and that is close to the whole of it.
- The amplifier is identified only by the words “With AMP” in the size field. Its wattage, its controls and whether it has a headphone socket are never stated.
- The manufacturer description consists of a single marketing sentence about gift giving and contains no technical content at all.
Detailed Product Description
The body is basswood, front and back. Basswood is light, soft and even grained, and it is the standard budget timber for electric instruments because it is cheap and machines cleanly. On a bass its lightness is a genuine advantage, since a bass hangs on a shoulder for the whole of a rehearsal and weight is what ends practice sessions early. The trade is that basswood dents easily and the finish will collect marks.
The model name GJazz points to a jazz bass style outline, which conventionally means an offset body, a narrower nut than a precision style bass and two single coil pickups. None of that is confirmed by the listing data, so it should be treated as an inference from the name rather than a specification. The number of pickups, the control layout and the bridge type are all unstated.
Nickel plated round wound strings are the factory fitting. They are brighter than flatwounds and easier on the fretting hand than stainless steel, and they are what most beginners learn on. Because the scale length is unpublished, a replacement set should be bought only after measuring from the nut to the bridge saddle, since long scale strings will not fit a short scale instrument correctly. The practical differences between the two are set out in the guide to short scale versus full scale bass.
What can be said with confidence is limited: four strings, a basswood body, nickel strings and a bundled amplifier. Anyone who needs to know the scale length, the pickup layout or the neck profile before buying should ask the seller directly, because the listing does not answer those questions.
What Comes with the Product
- The four string electric bass guitar
- A gig bag
- A power cable
- A wrench tool
- An amplifier, in the variation that specifies one
Not included, or at least not listed: a tuner, spare strings, a strap, picks, a stand or any lesson material. A tuner is essential on a bass, where a badly tuned low string is much harder to hear as wrong than on a guitar.
Who It Suits
This suits someone taking a first look at bass and unwilling to spend much before knowing whether it holds their interest, particularly a player joining a school or church group where the instrument will be borrowed as much as owned. The bundled amplifier is the practical part of the offer, since an unamplified bass is nearly inaudible against any other instrument.
It suits less well a player with small hands or a younger teenager, because without a published scale length there is no way to know whether the reach to the first fret is manageable. It also suits less well anyone who needs to know what they are buying in advance, given how little the listing states. Comparable starter basses with fuller specifications include the Ktaxon four string bass kit with amp, the Safeplus electric bass beginner kit and the Stedman Pro beginner bass with 15 watt amp. The full selection sits in bass guitars and beginner starter kits.
How to Maintain
Wipe the strings down after every session. Bass strings are thick, expensive to replace and lose their brightness quickly once skin oil works into the windings.
Support the neck when the bass is put down. A bass headstock is heavy and a bass left leaning against a wall falls more often than a guitar does.
Store it in the supplied bag away from radiators, and slacken nothing on the truss rod without knowing what the wrench is for.
Tips and Recommendations
Measure the scale length on arrival, from the nut to the twelfth fret and double it. That number is needed before ordering any replacement string set and the listing does not provide it.
Practise with the amplifier at a low volume rather than unplugged. Bass technique depends on hearing whether a note is cleanly fretted, and that is inaudible without amplification. Options for keeping the volume down are covered in the guide to quiet practice.
Add a clip on tuner early. Tuning a bass by ear is considerably harder than tuning a guitar.
Product FAQ
What colour is it?
The data disagrees. The spec table says black and the Amazon title says blue, so the finish should be confirmed with the seller before ordering.
Is it a full scale bass?
The listing calls it full size but never publishes a scale length, so this cannot be confirmed from the data.
What amplifier is included?
Only the words “With AMP” appear. No wattage, controls or headphone socket are specified.
