My stepdaughter has an SX bass beginner's pack. It came with a gig bag, strap, tuner, and a small practice amp, along with an instructional DVD.

The fit and finish on the instrument was great, especially for the price. It's got a nice medium action and is easy to play. The one we got was a short scale (30") bass, and it's a great size for my stepdaughter's smaller hands. The pickups and amph sound decent, and we haven't had any problems with the electronics. We haven't had any problems with high frets, or sharp fret ends.

One word of caution, though: the tuners suck. They had to cut corners somewhere to get to that price. It's not THAT bad, though, you just have to twist a tuner or two after playing a song. That's a small complaint, though.

The SX is a great bass to have around. If your wife decides playing bass isn't for her, then you aren't out much money, and you have a convenient outlet for those times when you need to rumble!