Description
Review of the Ktaxon Electric Bass Guitar Full Size Flame Design Bass Set
The Ktaxon KT-ELECTRICBASSGUITAR-0359 is a full size four string electric bass with a basswood body cut into a flame shape, a maple neck and a rosewood fretboard with shell inlays, finished in matte black. It ships as a set with a 20 watt amplifier, a bass bag, an amp lead, an adjustable strap, a plectrum and a wrench tool. It is aimed at a beginner who wants a bass, an amplifier and the accessories in one purchase.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Amplifier included. A bass is far more dependent on amplification than a guitar, because the low frequencies simply are not audible acoustically, so a set that includes a 20 watt amplifier removes the main obstacle to starting.
- Headphone output and aux input. Silent practice and playing along with a phone are the two things a beginner bassist most needs, and both are listed here.
- Maple neck with a rosewood fretboard. This is the conventional pairing: maple is stiff and stable for the neck, rosewood is open pored and smooth under the fingers.
- Adjustable bridge, which allows string height and intonation to be corrected. On a bass, intonation errors are more audible than on a guitar because the strings are thicker and stretch further when fretted.
- Wrench tool included, so the truss rod and bridge can be adjusted without a separate purchase.
Cons
- No scale length is given anywhere. The listing calls the bass full size but never states whether that means a 34 inch long scale or something shorter. On a bass this is the most important measurement there is, because it determines both string tension and the stretch the fretting hand has to make.
- The description calls the pickup a “closed-back H-H pickup”. H-H is electric guitar terminology for two humbuckers, and it does not identify a bass pickup layout, so the actual pickup configuration is unclear.
- The headphone and aux sockets are attributed to the bass in one part of the description and to the amplifier in another. Those are very different things, and it is worth confirming which unit carries the jacks.
- The listed weight of 16.42 pounds covers the packed set with the amplifier, not the instrument, so the bass’s own weight is unpublished.
- The specification table records the musical style as “world-music”, while the description markets a rock bass. The field appears to be filler.
- No tuner and no spare strings are included, and bass strings are expensive enough that a spare set matters.
Detailed Product Description
The body is basswood, cut into a flame shaped outline rather than a conventional bass body. Basswood is light, soft and even grained, and on a solid body instrument the wood contributes far less to the sound than the pickups and the amplifier do. The listing states the body is contoured in three dimensions to reduce weight and improve comfort, which is a genuine consideration on a bass, since a four string bass is heavier and longer than a guitar and hangs differently on a strap.
The neck is maple with a rosewood fretboard carrying shell inlays. The headstock is described as streamlined so the strings run straight from the nut to the tuners. That geometry matters more than it sounds: strings that break sideways across the nut bind in the slots, which causes tuning to jump rather than move smoothly.
The instrument has four strings in alloy steel and is built right handed. The bridge is adjustable, which is what allows intonation to be set so the guitar plays in tune up the neck rather than only in open position.
The amplifier is rated at 20 watts with a built in speaker. For a bass that is a practice amplifier and nothing more. Low frequencies need considerably more power and speaker area than a guitar does to reach the same perceived volume, so 20 watts is a bedroom figure and will not keep up with a drummer. The reasoning behind wattage figures is covered in the guide to guitar amp wattage for home practice.
What Comes with the Product
- The four string electric bass guitar in matte black
- A 20 watt amplifier with a built in speaker
- A portable bass bag
- An amplifier lead
- An adjustable guitar strap
- A plectrum
- A wrench tool
No tuner, spare strings, stand or instructional material is listed, and the amplifier’s power supply arrangement is not described.
Who It Suits
This suits a beginner bassist who wants everything in one box and intends to practise at home. The included amplifier with a headphone output is the part that makes it workable, since a bass without amplification is close to inaudible.
It suits less well a player who already owns a bass amplifier and would rather put the whole budget into the instrument, and it suits less well anyone joining a band, where 20 watts will not be enough. It also suits less well a smaller player or a guitarist moving across, both of whom should establish the scale length first, because that decision is explained in the guide to short scale versus full scale bass. Worth comparing are the Ktaxon PB style bass kit, the Ktaxon four string bass with rosewood fingerboard and the Glarry GJazz bass starter kit. The wider selection sits in the bass guitars section.
How to Maintain
Wipe the strings down after every session. Bass strings are thicker and considerably more expensive than guitar strings, so extending their life has a real effect on running costs, and skin oils are what kills them.
Keep the bass in its bag when it is not being played. A bass headstock is heavy and a bass leaned against a wall falls over more readily than a guitar does.
Use the supplied wrench sparingly. The truss rod adjusts the amount of relief in the neck, and small turns make large differences, so a quarter turn followed by a day of settling is the sensible approach rather than one large adjustment.
Tips and Recommendations
Buy a tuner before the first practice session. Bass strings are thick and slow to settle, so a new instrument will drift noticeably for the first two weeks, and tuning by ear is harder on a bass than on a guitar because the fundamental pitches are so low. The process is covered in the guide to how to tune a guitar.
Use the headphone output rather than the speaker for most practice. It removes the volume argument entirely and it lets the player hear their own attack and note length clearly, which is where beginner bass playing improves fastest.
Confirm the scale length with the seller before ordering if hand size is a concern. A full scale bass has a long reach at the first few frets, and that is the single most common reason a beginner struggles with the instrument.
Product FAQ
How many strings does it have?
Four, which is the standard bass configuration.
What is the scale length?
Not stated. The listing calls the bass full size but gives no measurement, which is worth clarifying before ordering.
Is an amplifier included?
Yes, a 20 watt amplifier with a built in speaker, along with the lead to connect it.
Where are the headphone and aux sockets?
The description attributes them to the bass in one place and to the amplifier in another. In practice they are normally found on the amplifier, but the listing is not consistent.
