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Features:	7	Sound:	8
Action, Fit, & Finish:	7.3	Reliability/Durability:	6
Customer Support:	6	Overall Rating:	6.3

piezo pickup, one volume knob, on/off switch w/ built in speaker-amp. 25 inch scale (smaller than short scale). Gig bag. ... I particularly like the sound of under saddle bass bridges. This one sounds awesome. I saw other reviews w/ bad comments, I guess I got a good one. If you like flat wounds don't buy one of these, this bass requires high tension roundwounds to play right and sound good. Slapin' and popin' works really well. ... Well worth the $400. Everything is high quality on the bass as far as neckwood, frets, etc. I was however disapointed with the gig bag. ... I love this bass, mainly I think because I like big things in small packages. Although I would not sell it, only someone as crazy as myself would spend $400 on something like this, so I think it would be hard to sell it and not loose money. I hope to own a nomad deluxe someday. ...
Japan made,Metallic Red Finish, built-in speaker, piezo bridge pickup under non-adjustable plastic saddles, on/off switch, single volume pot, powered by a 9volt battery, 21 frets, 4 string, 25 3/4 inch scale, maple neck, rosewood fretboard. very barebones for a portable instrument- not much else needed. if it still worked after owning it for 5 months, i'd give it a higher score. ... the sound was good for what it was, before it died. i play all kinds of music. yes, the bass is noisy when THE THING WORKS. a really tinny sound, but functional through the built in speaker. i've plugged it into my practice amp at home, and it doesn't need the battery to power the piezo, which is a nice feature. sounds like a cheap bass w/ a piezo, which is just fine for what it is. BUT it is NOT WORTH $399 dollars. ... action is decent, after the 8th fret the intonation is piss-poor. i've tried different gauges of strings, and it's still not that great. fretwork is decent. paint is good, the wood is cut by machines nicely. the action is fairly decent, with a few dead spots on the fretboard... not bad for a bass with under 30" scale. but NOT GOOD. ... a total piece of ****. the fucking E string had to have at least a 125 gauge string (low b) tuned to pitch EADG for the low saddle to pick up any sound. i tried 105 and 110 (standard medium gauge strings) and it produces no sound at all. had to spend an extra 20 bucks for 2 low B strings to string this up. (B strings aren't meant to be played on this short scale of an instrument, and therefore had to be unwound from the top to get it to work, and i ended up breaking 2 just from trying to wind it on such tiny tuning pegs). for some reason the ceramic under the bridge didn't pick up the E string AT ALL after my second string change. fresh batteries of course didn't change a thing. i took gently pulled the saddle up, and the piezo element came apart in 2 pieces. i brought it 2 local repair shops, and they referred me back to Fernandes to get a replacement bridge. i called fernandes and spoke to 2 techs, who stated they don't sell replacement bridges. LAME. i emailed the tech again AND RECEIVED NO RESPONSE AT ALL. I'm STUCK WITH A WORTHLESS PIECE OF JUNK. ... friendly, but not helpful AT ALL. i even said i'd pay to have it sent back to have it looked at by FERNANDES, and they stated they "don't do that" at their factory. i've been a big fan of fernandes over the years, and have recomended their sustainer guitars to many people. my guitar player recently got one, the revelle elite sustainer, and there was something wrong with the electronics with that too. needless to say he returned it. i wish i could do the same, but i didn't purchase this from a fernandes dealer, therefore it's not covered under warranty. LAME. ... DO NOT BUY FERNANDES PRODUCTS, UNLESS YOU GET AN AMAZING DEAL. They are built like crap and don't provide support to their players. i've been playing for years, i own 2 musicman basses/sterlings, ibanez artcore, vintage sunburst mockingbird, bass company ap400 m, hondo longhorn, and i've owned TONS of other basses over the years. i play through 2 rigs, SVT/GALLIEN/EDEN/CARVIN/EV with lots of bells and whistles. with my band i sing and play mostly hardcore/indie/progmetal stuff www.lightpupildilate.com www.myspace.com/lightpupil dilate (recorded w/ sterling and ampeg). i wish there were other cheap portable basses like this so that i may have had a choice before purchasing this. i bought it mainly for vacations and trips where it would be inconvenient to bring a full sized bass and a practice amp. if it were lost or stolen, i'd take my renter's insurance reimbursement and buy another bass that doesn't SUCK. anything i wish it had? yes, solid working electronics. ...
My Fernandes Nomad Bass was purchased on e-bay, and much to my surprise ended up being a Japanese-made fretless. I already had a Nomad deluxe guitar which I thoroughly enjoyed, so I thought picking up one of the Nomad Basses would be worthwhile. The bass is very lightweight, the action is very low, and amazingly precise. I really miss all the effects and drum machine that came standard on the deluxe guitar version, but this is very simplistic and straightforward. One volume knob, one on-off switch, built in on board amp, and one output to plug in an amp. I was devastated at first that this is a battery only model, with no jack for a wall adapter/AC current, but I am still on the 1st duracell I put in after I got it so it doesn't eat batteries. The pick-up is a piezo under a nicely done wooden bridge model that picks up everything, string noise, fretless slides, thumb attack, you name it. The tuners are Gotoh Japan, and it stays in tune even after being frantically played. After some getting used to I actually like playing it better than my Fender fretless J bass. The finish is a midnight blue metallic that shines up nice. The neck is a beautiful piece of figured maple. The finger board is tough, yet very smooth and elegant, the fretlines are there for the rookies, along with a few dots on the top binding of the neck. The body is just too cool. The elephant-style cresent just fits perfectly over your thigh when you're sitting. The scale is unusual but I've gotten used to it, and it came with 3 extra sets of Hard-To-Find Japanese strings. The thin gig bag offers the minimum of protection, and I'd recommend a hard case to everyone. ... I'm a jazz/blues/fusion anything goes kinda musician. I really like how easy this is to play. You just flick the switch and you're playing any and everywhere. I've plugged this into my Fender BXR 300 C and it just screams like it owns the place. Depending on how you play this performs uniquely to different styles and attack. My son plays it almost flamenco style through an old Fender Champ tube amp, the plugs it into an old Crate(real crate) bass amp with gain, and it sounds like a pbass from hell! I've tried effects, and am still experimenting, but wah and surfer settings I've found make the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I've played the sci-fi space-bass synth crunch and slide and I'm still grinning. It's kinda bright, but easy to alter. I've never recorded with it yet, but I plan on it soon. I just wish I could find flatwounds that would fit on it. This bass makes me play my other basses even more, so I've increased my playing time to about 50% more than before I got it. ... I had a tech friend from the music store check it out for me right after I got it. I almost didn't get it back. Everybody there played with it, checked it out, and wouldn't release it from their iron grip. It checked out very well, requires virtually no maintenance, other than tuning, and wiping it off after playing. I stays in tune forever. The bridge is string-thru back and I really think it sustains well for such an unusual bass. ... This bass has taken everything I've dished out. My 2 sons, and many musician friends love fiddling about with it. I wouldn't hesitate to play live if the gig was impromptu, but if I was going to be jamming all night, I know I'd end up playing something else too, because this bass makes you think about what you could transfer over to your other basses. The finish and equipment are Fernandes tough, and I am now a believer. The strap buttons are fine but I usually play this sitting down, good ole' boy style. I've never adjusted anything on it yet. I'm always gonna bring my fretless Fender J bass to gig, depends on the show which one is my back-up. ... I couldn't find anything about this bass to identify it, because it didn't have a serial # like my Nomad deluxe does on the back of the headstock. I contacted Fernandes America, who told me this was a Japanese prototype, and that the fretless Nomad basses are strictly custom-shop items. I must say that put a smile on my face. They asked my to email them some pictures, because they hadn't seen any fretless nomads basses in America yet. Cool. ... I've been playing since I was 11 in 1975. My 3 kids, my wife and I all play music. We've got a sweet Fender fretless j bass, an awesome MTD Kingston with a maple fingerboard that plays like god himself made it(stays at home), an actively hot Fender p-bass special with the tele-style pickguard, a retro short-scale Aspen j bass totally modded-out, a 5-string Steinberger that just feels great, my wifes beautiful-oh-so-functional Fernandes Nomad Deluxe 6-string that has breathed new life into my playing, my daughters precious Les Paul Junior, a Squier '51 Tele-guitar, a funky bluesy national lap steel, the no-name drums I can't play but always try, and the too cool synth/keys I play whenever I get the chance. We've got an arsenal of amplification, BXR Fender 300 C bass, Fender silver face tube Champ, Ampeg SVT with 18", vintage real-crate Crate, lush and velvetty Vox Bassilator, a retro-looking Drive twin-speaker, and Marshall Valvestate 100 amps. Our studio is a happy place. If my Nomad bass were stolen, I would know that kharma would have to have something better in store for me. At least I got the chance to play one. I'd buy another, perhaps a fretted one would be equally thrilling. Again I wish it had an AC wall adapter plug. Why the hell put one on the guitar and not the bass? What were you guys smoking? It's portability is by far its greatest asset, but it stands well all by itself in almost every other category. I wish it had the effects and drum machine like it's Nomad deluxe guitar brother. Tremelo would be cool too. And put it in a hardshell case, the gig bag is a gag bag, better than a pillowcase, but nowhere as nice a rigid form fitting case. If you like to play bass, give this a try, and be fair, this bass is just begging to cut loose, give in to your impulse, Jam! ...