Marcus Miller V7 Alder-4 LPB 2nd Gen

This Marcus Miller V7 Alder-4 LPB 2nd Gen bass guitar recently purchased as a backup bass. After the fast delivery by Thomann the well-packed bass I had first admired its appearance. Unbelievable what a very well finished bass! just perfect in every way. Beautiful body color and matching headstock. The strings were a little on the high side for me, but that is personal. After a small adjustment, the bass is connected to my bass amplifier. What a great sound comes from this bass! Thanks to the extensive pre-amp very many setting possibilities and thus producing any desired sound. On the internet you can find many difference tests between this bass and the much more expensive Fender Jazz basses with no or hardly any difference. I myself have had many Fender Jazz and Precision basses in the past but this Marcus Miller V7 is the winner in my opinion. The only thing I didn't really like are those plactic black buttons, which I immediately replaced with a few nice chrome buttons. All in all a big 10 for this bass and I am very happy with it myself. I can hardly wait until the next performance with my band and I will use it immediately.

This bass looks amazing. I get asked about it all the time. I'm a guitarist so my reference for what makes a bass good is limited to just one other Squire P-bass. But it sounds great to me and the EQ can make it sound how you want it to in the mix. Once you've got used to having sweepable mids on a bass you will wonder how you ever did without it. It did come poorly setup though, saddles ridiculously high, being a guitarist I know what to do, but a complete beginner may not. Also there was some very minor discolouration near the nut where it looked like someone had overglued the binding after the white stain was applied to the maple on the neck. It's only small and very minor. I've had worse defects on two thousand quid guitars. The matching headstock, ebony fretboard and blue sparkle finish all look great in real life. I'm also impressed by the quality of the lettering and chrome parts. They look expensive and the photos don't do it justice. The control plate is a bit chaotic looking but it all makes sense and I don't see how else they could have designed it and kept those features.

I was looking to buy an active bass, with a preference for a J style bass. I need it for live gigs. The rolled fretboard edges on the Gen 2 models really piqued my interest. I looked far and wide and can't find anything that sounds, looks or feels this good at this price point. It is unreal value for what you get. Its quality cannot be argued with at this price it feels and plays like a €1K plus bass. Pick ups sound great. Fair enough, it might not be as well finished as a custom shop Fender but for this money it is an unbeatable value package. The only thing I'd see as a negative is the paint had a tiny blemish on the side where no one can even see.

After one week of using this bass, I'm so happy I bought it. It's so versatile, it's crazy - the pre-amp does wonders, and the passive mode is really good too. For the price I think it's the best bass you can buy, I used Fender basses before but this bass feels better in hands, and the sound it produces is almost/if not the same as in the Fender bass. The only downside is the weight of this beauty, it's pretty heavy, but I guess you get used to it after some time. I'll definitely be using this bass for a long time, for gigging, recording and practicing. I really recommend it to anyone, beginners and professionals.