Phoenix 5 Series TRAP5BKS 5-String Bass Guitar, Black Shadow

This is my second Traben bass. The first one was the Array 5 string. ( Traben Basses Array 5 Series TRAA5SBK 5-String Bass Guitar, Black Satin ) And while my heart will always have a place for the Array, the Phoenix is the superior bass, and it's not even close.So, let's get the obvious out of the way first: this bass is beautiful, from the head to the bridge. The eye catching flame design of the bridge, the painted flame inlays up the neck, the black shadow (almost two-tone) paint, even the back of the fretboard is beautiful to look at. It's truly a marvelous looking bass. But looks are, when it comes to guitars and basses, superfluous. What matters is the sound.This is the best sounding bass you will ever hear, bar none. Everything about the sounds this bass can produce are jaw-dropping when you first hear it. Because of the j-style pick up, this bass packs a lot more attack when you strike the strings. Even the same note over and over sounds individualized. Instead of becoming one long, resonant sound, every strike is heard, and that's for the better. The added treble is absolutely a plus. But the bass of this bass isn't lacking either. The low, resonant tones that you get are spectacular, and there's little to no distortion, even when you hit that open B.If I had to think of a negative to this bass, only two things come to mind. 1) Because there's no small soapbar pickup (like on the Array), I have to rest my thumb on the j-style pickup instead, which leaves a smaller landing pad when moving around the strings a lot. 2) This bass, unlike my Array, didn't arrive already tuned properly. The Array needed little to no tuning when I opened it Christmas morning in 2009, whereas the Phoenix had every string down a half-step or a whole-step, so it needed tuning before playing. And if those are my only negatives, then I'm being picky, and just complaining over personal preferences.It is extremely easy for me to recommend that, if you're looking for a quality bass, with rockstar looks and sounds, you should absolutely buy this bass. I've had it for two months now, and have yet to regret the purchase. Now that you know my thoughts, it's easy to see why I call this my "badass bass".

This bass is absolutely great!! Forget the looks (it's hard to miss though) lol. This bass guitar sounds amazing. Nothing wrong with it when I received it. After some set up work on it (which every guitar needs upon buying whether on line or from a shop) it's stellar. People give it a bad rap because its not a traditional bass like fender etc etc. if you don't play a fender or musicman your not a real bass player. That's garbage. This bass I clear, precise, it has pronounced highs and mids. Doesn't get lost in that signal range. And has a ton of low end. You can think what you want, but the traben phoenix 5 is one heck of a bass. Sure others have ordered this bass and they couldn't play it because it might of been defective,but that with anything you buy. Ive heard that happening with fender, schecter, gibson. like i stated any instrument ordered especially online has to be set up. to give a instrument a bad rating on that principle is ridiculous. My story however didn't turn out that way. Got the Phoenix, set it up for me, and this bass is a dream. Satisfied 100%.

This bass sounds better than it looks and it is beautiful! It dwarfs my traben array 4 string which is just as nice.