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Pros:
- Affordable as they come
- Flexible Sound
- Split Coil Pickup
Cons:
- Simplistic Design
- Tuning Stability Issues
- Cheap Nut
There is a whole lot of affordable bass guitars available on the market nowadays. All of these curious instruments trying to attract your attention through all of the details they have, and yet not all of them are able to say they are good enough. So many cheap bass guitars simply do not live up to the level of quality required for the most instruments. Yet there are still those instruments that do their job. Let us take a look at the Rogue LX200B Series III Electric Bass and see if its quality is good enough to be bought.
Body Quality
The first thing we are going to be discussing is the design of this affordable bass guitar. It is also the first thing on the list of the things I have a problem with with this instrument. The design of this bass guitar looks like as if it tries to imitate some more popular, more beautiful instruments of its kind. It succeeds only in looking decent. The lopsided feeling of the guitar is not flattering, and yet it is comfortable and easy to play. The full body single color choice makes the guitar look simplistic.
The body of the guitar is made out basswood, which provides the guitar with a number of positive qualities that most bass players will find attractive. The basswood provides the instrument with powerful resonance for the bass tones, warming and thickening the already deep sound of the bass. The lightweight of the tonewood is a whole other level of comfort to the instrument, making it easy and fun to play for hours at a time. The only problem you might have with the body is the softness of the tonewood. It might be easy to scratch and dent, but if you take care you will not have any issues.
The neck of the guitar is built out of maple, which is a traditional choice that is highly beneficial to the instrument. It provides the guitar with a long lifespan thanks to the durability of the hardwood, making it resistant to warping and any type of impact damage. The neck is bolted onto the body, which I usually have a problem with, but it is not the worst thing in this guitar. The fretboard of the guitar is made out of rosewood.
Hardware
The guitar comes with a high mass adjustable bridge system. This allows the guitar to have highly customizable action, while also keeping the strings highly stable.
The nut of the guitar is made out of cheapish synthetic material. This is not optimal most of the time, and it is not optimal in the case of this instrument either. Thankfully you have humuking type pickups to battle the string noise.
The tuning machine of the guitar sits well with the rest of the instrument’s design, though I would be way happier about it if the tuning machine did its job. The tuning stability of the guitar leaves a lot of space for disappointment.
Electronics
The guitar comes with an interesting pickup combination, providing a whole lot of flexibility while looking not too much out of the ordinary. At the bridge of the bass guitar we have a J style humbucker, which has a strong output and a whole lot of character to it. At the neck of the guitar we have a P style split coil pickup, which gets us a whole lot of flexibility of sound. The two pickups actually do a great job at high output sound and nuanced, bright tones.
The guitar comes with a fairly standard set of controls, with the individual volume control knobs and two individual tone control knobs. You also get a lever that allows you to split the coils.
Rogue LX200B Sound
The sound of the guitar is actually one of the more flexible and best among the affordable electric bass guitars on the market: Able to produce high output, with deep, thick tones available at all times. The instrument does not limit itself to this sound though, moving onto bright, single coil tones at the swipe of a hand. Great stuff, really.
Conclusion
This one is one of the best affordable bass guitars on the market, which is not saying much, but it is saying enough. Highly recommended if you are not looking to drop a wad of cash for a nice instrument.
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Is this a good bass for a beginner? I’ve checked out the Ibanez GSR200 and wonder if it is comparable in dimensions and playability.
i purchased this to get back into playing after nearly 23 years and it looks and works great for me . keep in mind i play as a form of physical therapy