Gold Tone M-BassFL 23-Inch Scale Fretless Acoustic-Electric MicroBass with Gig Bag

I bought this on faith and good reviews, and I'm happy to say this bass is exactly what I was hoping for: compact, light, easy to play, and just loud enough in acoustic mode that I can pick it up a play right away without the need to plug it in. Love the polymer strings and the fretless board (for me, the strings and shorter scale did take some getting used to at first, but it didn't take too long to adjust and I continue to be amazed at how fun and easy it is to play...and a bonus: NO STRING BUZZ!). Sounds great plugged or unplugged -- it really is surprising just how full and rich it sounds considering its size. Gold Tone hit a home run with this one.

I really love this thing. The only reason not 5 stars is when I first got it, it had a defective pre-amp. I contacted Gold Tone thru the dealer I got the bass from, told them the problem, and they sent me a complete set of new electronics. Now I'll describe the bass. 23" scale, lined(maple strips)? rosewood fingerboard, bookmatched mahogany top and I believe solid mahogany back, neck, and sides. The rubber strings give the bass real low end thump and are super easy to play when shot with a little Fingerease string lube to slick them up. I lowered the action with the truss rod, but that was a mistake. Keep it high/stock and the strings will vibrate much cleaner on the fretless neck. After having it a couple of days I realized I could treat the fingerboard with lemon or almond oil to preserve it. I wound up wiping the whole bass down and the wood grain really popped out and the bass looked much nicer. I followed with Johnson's Paste Wax and it gave the bass a slight luster.....very pretty. I wish they maybe had a more deluxe model with maybe maple or koa wood bodies and a ebony fingerboard, but I got what they made. I was all set to buy the Kala mini bass, but I really like this better. Kala is a shorter(18")scale and fretless isn't an option until you're spending more money. Google Gold Tone Micro Bass/Kala bass. A guy on Bassspace describes his choosing the Gold Tone over the Kala in excellent detail. The bass weighs a little over two pounds and comes with an excellent gig bag. Tuners are very good, just get used to turning them a LOT when tuning the rubber strings. Also, lift the string out of the nut slot several time when tuning to equalize the tension between the strings on both sides of the nut. The tuner engages when you plug it in and the bass is in silent mode. Push the tuner button off and the bass comes on for your amp. The pre-amp has bass/treble sliders and a volume control. It is powered with two small batteries that are about the size of a nickel each. To me, the treble control isn't used too much as it adds just clicky treble and finger noise. I keep it low and kick up the bass for a huge fundamental tone that stays downstairs, leaving other instruments and vocals to be heard clearly. I took it to a jam last weekend and might have sold two of them right then as players were amazed at the tone and punch this little "toy" was putting out. I have a little Hartke Kickback 112 and I had a very portable, kickass sounding setup. My usual main bass is a '82 Wal fretless. It is a fantastic sounding bass but doesn't have a genuine upright bass tone. This guy does. I've played some of the regular long scale acoustic basses with the bronze strings and was never impressed with any of them. Glad I stumbled on this. Gives me another completely usable tone in a tiny package. This isn't a flash in the pan instrument that will gather dust in a few months. It's so portable you can just run out the door and hit a neighborhood jam and not even have to open the trunk of your car. Want the doghouse bass sound in a mousehouse sized package. Here it is.

This is a marvelous instrument. Fun, fun, fun. It is very light. I tinkered with my Ampeg & the bass's treble until I got a very nice thump & sustain. I play in a bluegrass band & everyone played it including the dobro player. It does everything it should. I need a a little baby powder, but not the other guys. I noticed when I spilled some powder on my khakis that I could get enough off my pants leg. It is loud enough to practice w/o plugging in. Tuning is no problem; just pinch a sting & take the weight off. One major problem (listen up Gold Tone). The fret lines wrap around the finger board & have little dots at the ends. The dots on the finger board are in the right place, between the fret lines.. This is really confusing when I look at my fingers - which I do a lot. I would like to try one with frets. The tuner is not top end, but works well enough. The strings are magical. One can see wave forms in them. This thing is fun, fun fun.Update - the bass pictured on Amazon has the dots placed correctly. The dots' placement on the bass sent to me are different & confusing. It's still fun, but I will contact the vendor or Gold Tone. Must drop it a star. Here's a pic.

This Gold Tone Micro Bass is amazing. It's so easy to play, you will hardly even noticed that it's fretless. You don't have to stretch your fingers out so unnaturally like a full sized fretless. It even has a great tone unplugged and a bigger sound than Kala Ubasses. The two strap pegs are a very nice addition. The slightly longer scale helps improve tone while still making it very easy to play. The tuning pegs are nice, the strings get tucked in like a regular bass guitar. The only drawback I can think of is the bone nut, which on the Kala instruments are self lubricating. So on this bass, when you tune the strings you have to lift the string off the nut, which really isn't that much of a problem, and because of the Thundergut strings, you don't need to tune it as often. I love it, and I highly recommend it.

After reading the reviews and stepping out in faith, I purchased one of these little play toys of a bass. I have been playing upright bass forever and getting older with more arthritis, I thought this would keep me playing for a few more years. Think I'll be playing forever. This is anything but a play toy. This little bass sounds as good as any upright or P-bass I have ever played. As a previous reviewer stated, he had trouble with the electronics and had replacement parts sent to him. The same for me....bad pickup. Service was prompt and parts were plug and play, no soldering....back in business in no time.The band has never sounded better...they have a new lease on music and it is a million times easier on my hands and back for that matter...lugging an upright around. I'm playing through a Carvin MB 15 with an extra 15" cabinet...killer sound. The rubber strings are very comfortable and are no trouble lift them from the nut to take the tension off. A singer/songwriter friend heard it yesterday and wanted to know what effects I was using to get that sound....No effects...plugged straight into amp. He was totally amazed...so am I. Hurry and buy one before the price starts going up!!!!