I bought the cherry burst JS3Q concert bass. Forget where it was manufactured. Jackson(Fender) always seem to find a great factory for their budget instruments whether it is in China, Korea, or India. Jackson has always made good quality budget instruments and I don't think there are too many basses that can match the quality/price ratio the js3 's have. I bought a blemished model for 25% off and it arrived near perfect. Only two tiny cosmetic issues that are hard to see. This bass sounds pretty good. I am not a bass expert. I mainly play guitar, but have owned at least 10 basses in my life for jamming and recording. One of my favorite sounding basses was the 2000's Ibanez SRX with the two hums and active eq. When I bought this I was hoping it would sound similar, since it has a similar setup. I am satisfied with the sound. I can get a good sound for thrash metal, bluesy rock stuff, cowboy music, slapping and popping. At this time in my life, I believe two humbuckers (passive or active), with active eq, is an incredibly versatile setup that might not be perfect for one style of music, but can cover everything well. I haven't played this through a bass cab, just through a tube preamp and headphones. The bass was setup good out of the box. It probably needs to be fine tuned a bit, but plays great. No sharp frets. Neck relief and everything seems fine. The curl on the two piece top was matched up pretty good in the middle and looks like a top from a more expensive instrument. my… read more only complaint is I don't like the saddles on the bridge. It is just a flat saddle and the string can move on it. May eventually upgrade that. So I paid $259.99 since it was a blemished model. I feel like I could not have gotten a better base for that money. At $350 for the normal quilt top price, as much as I like Jackson, It would be a tough choice between this and the Ibanez SR300E. If you can find the quilt top for under $300, you can't go wrong. The regular js3 for $300 or less is still a good deal in my opinion.

Musical Background:
Playing guitar over 20 years. Bass off and on during that time.

Musical Style:
metal, rock, blues, thrash, grind, folk, funk read less