OPINION

Number One in the Bible for the last two months, this Korean-made bass is now available as the KB24-02, with a humbucker in the bridge position. But as a Marlin, it's got a lot to live up to when compared to the ultra-popular six-string version.

First things first; this one's been dunked in some nice red paint, and it looks like they've actually finished it properly. Second things second — I can't get the jack plug in! Did you know that jack plugs actually vary in size? I found that a less chunky one fitted OK, but it's not a good start. And the jack socket is screwed on to the body via a black metal plate that looks a bit like an afterthought. Never mind.

When you're sitting down, the headstock has a tendency to dive floorwards, but it's fine when you're standing and the guitar's strapped on. I didn't find it very comfortable to play, though. The Sidewinder has a really thin neck — too thin for me — and the lightweight bridge didn't have much room for lowering the string action. The less-than-average sustain can't have been helped by the plastic nut.

So how did those not very sustained notes sound? On the new back pickup, which is twice the width of the normal single bar, the sound is quiet and very thin and doesn't make you sound like Chic-man Bernard Edwards (which, some people might argue, is the raison d'etre behind nearly all bass guitars). Switch to the front pickup, and it's almost twice the volume, with rather a flabby bass end. In between the two is the position I found the most manageable, and bearing in mind the price of the KB24 it was certainly passable. In fact, it has quite a nice compact tone.

The tone controls? Well, if you really want to use them they work OK, but they take away badly needed definition from the sound. They're not brilliantly positioned either; the front pickup tone knob is too near the strings — and it's not the control you really need close to hand. And the pickup selector was slightly wobbly.

However the four-bolt neck-to-body joint was definitely not wobbly, and the swordfish (it's a marlin, OK?) block inlay at the 12th fret is another feature carried over from its highly rated cousin, along with felt washers under the strap buttons.

DECISION

Basses aren't usually the kind of thing you can bung a massive amount of detail on to, so this guitar is missing out on some of the goodies Marlin have been dishing out elsewhere. With the four-bolt neck and felt washers, you feel that they are making a small attempt to provide something extra for the price; but really what we have here is a lot of little faults and one pretty reasonable sound that doesn't quite make up for them. For 120 quid it's all right, but I'd check round and see what else you can find for the price.