Michael Kelly Dragonfly 5

This fretless 5-string sounds almost as good as it looks.

The pearl and abalone neck inlay looks good enough to eat, and the deep black brazen impertinence of the all-maple body could move even a cynical statue to tears of aesthetic joy.

The Fishman MKAB active preamp does its job admirably, and overall, this bass can't be faulted in terms of the bang-for-buck factor.

Hipshot tuners and a nice straight neck - while not necessarily unexpected - are nonetheless welcome bonuses.

File under "not bad."