Raven RB100 Reviews 
5 / 5 based on 1 reviewsRaymar Enterprises (Ebay). $189 + Shipping.
Inexpensive + Quality. Great starter bass, a fine bass regardless of price. Slender body, rounded edges. Resembles Ibanez SR-series. Comfortable and light, can play for hours. The P/J pickups appear standard, so they should be upgradeable if desired; but stock pickups give good tone -- I don't see a need to upgrade. They work as expected, adjustable from mellow to bright. Tuners have a good feel (fine response, no slipping) and hold tuning. Slim neck. No obvious need to upgrade any hardware (although I added strap-locks).
Only available in blue or silver. I'd like to see it in some darker colors (dark gray, metallic blue, dark red). Only has one year warranty.
Excellent! Stats: Basswood body, Bolt on hard maple neck with (34") scale, Rosewood Fingerboard, Chrome Hardware, PB-40 Bridge, 1 JB Pick-up, 1 PB Pick-up, 24 frets. Passive pickups. Four knobs (one volume and one tone for each pickup). My impressions: Very Solid. Frets are clean, tuners work well. Adjustable bridge. Finish seems hard and durable (metal-flake medium silver/gray). I've knocked it a few times without picking up any marks.
Obviously, it's considered a starter bass, since it's priced near the low end of the bass market. Since it's my first bass, I don't yet know if a more expensive instrument would be any better, but I suspect you'd have to pay a lot more to get a better-playing instrument! I like it a lot! I don't think it will hold me back while I'm learning the bass. Even if I get a more expensive bass some day, it should be a great backup instrument. For now, there's no embarassment in taking this instrument anywhere. It's all I hoped it would be.
Tim rated this unit
on
2002-02-06.
