TL;DR -- PB-50 is a great instrument that doesn't scream "budget" at all. Highly recommended to anyone who looks after a bass with the classic precision sound we all love.
For quite some time I've been looking after the Fender Precision bass, though I've been lacking the funds to buy one. Then came to my attention the PB-50, for which I've read only good things. Combined with the 30-day Money Back Guarantee of Thomann I thought I could try one and see myself.
Around a week since my order I received the bass. First things first, the bass was carefully packaged (double box). Not sure if this is a standard practice on other retailers, but at least in the case of Thomann this is something worthy of remark. Great job!
When I opened the box, I was expecting to see a good low budget instrument. Good as in "good for the money". Suffice to say that only "budget" thing on it applies only to its price.
Let's see why:
+ Construction/Materials: It sports a lightweight body and a stable maple neck with some awesome grain showing on the back and a very nice satin finish -- bonus points that it sits perfectly tight in the neck pocket. The headstock isn't based on the classic tele look, but it can be modded easily if needed, though in my opinion it looks great as is. As for the fretboard, it is flawless with no sharp frets whatsoever and no dead spots as far as I'm aware. Also, at this price point don't expect anything like mother of pearl or abalone for the inlays -- that would surely raise the price and I'm thankfull they didn't go that way since painted inlays do the job just as good. The nut is a basic plastic one, as expected, though it was engineered with precision and the strings sit nicely on it -- well done! As for the pickguard, it is of good quality and it lends to the classic '54 Precision look of it, though I removed it since pickguards aren't my cup of tea and prefer to let the awesome red finish to fill the room with color!
+ Electronics: The hot passive single-coil Roswell pickup does a great job at providing that well-known sound of the first generation of Precision basses. Some hum is to be expected due to its construction, though it is so little that i'm not even going to bother myself shielding the cavity. It provides the thump and the clarity that is associated with the early Precisions but if you boost the mids on your amp, it does the split-coil Precision sound well enough. It won't be the same, so if you're looking for that particular sound, then there's the PB-20 for you. The two big potentionmeters work as intended, turn smoothly and they don't feel flimsy at all.
+ Hardware: The bridge and the open-gear tuning keys are solid and they do their job at keeping the tuning stable. No problems whatsoever. The original strings are fairly decent for certain kinds of music and sound good whether you play with a pick or fingers, though in my opinion the bass really shines when strung with flatwounds. In any case, it all comes down to personal preference but either way it sounds great.
+ Ergonomics: The bass sports a double cutaway body reminiscent to the '54 Precisions. That means more comfort and less weight which in turn means more enjoyment during the longer sessions. The one I received measures 3.5 kg. The neck is fairly chunky but super comfortable, even with my average sized hands. Reaching the higher notes bears no problem if needed.
+ Setup: It arrived with a perfect setup for my taste: aside from the spot-on intonation, the action was about my preferable 2mm and out of the box it felt just like I just did the setup. I mean, how cool is that! Perfect service, kudos to the T.team!
Overall, I'm surprised to receive such a *great bass* for so little price. Outstanding service and quality, really recommended to anyone looking for an inexpensive P bass of great quality.
Having said that, if at some point I'm able to afford an original Fender Precision, I'm definitely not going to part with this one -- it's a keeper! 10/10
