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So having owned plenty of basses I've never had a yamaha, until now 😁. Thought I'd take a chance on this bb1025x as I've always wanted to try one. A fresh set of rounds later and I love it! Always been more of a jazz bass guy but figured I needed some sort of P in my life. This has got such a huge passive tone! The neck is a lovely satin finish and it plays great! It has definitely held its own against my other more expensive basses so happy days. I play my other basses in passive usually anyway however the simpleness of the bb's controls is so refreshing. Anyway, terrible picture incoming..

This old thread needs an ancient pic of an extremely nervous me playing a Thunder IIa (I think) at the 100 Club in the late 80's.

So here's the review I wrote for De Bassist (please excuse any errors or Americanisms, I translated it pretty quickly): Sadowsky is a big and most of all expensive name in the bass world. American master luthier Roger Sadowsky has been building amazing basses (mainly Jazz-like models) in his workshop since the 1980s. To make the brand more available for people without deep pockets, a few years ago the Metro range was introduced, which was produced in Japan. In 2020 Sadowsky started to work with the German brand Warwick: since then Warwick has been building the MetroLine in Germany, and an even more affordable line of basses was introdced: the MetroExpress. These basses are being built in China under supervision of Warwick and according to instructions by the master himself. For under 1000 euros you can be the owner of a “real” Sadowsky: are they worth the money and can you be convinced in the already pretty full world of Jazz Basses? Sadowsky styling If you look at the MetroExpress you immediately see the real Sadowsky shape. The slim body, straight cut retboard and the shape of the headstock tell you immediately from which family these basses are from. The bass I have here is “sage green”, a metallica kind of froggish green which I, especially combined with the maple fretboard, find very charming. The slim body has to big advantages: the playability is absolutely excellent and the weight is very low. This low weight is also caused by the body wood: Warwick uses okume wood for the MetroExpress series, a wood that resembles mahogany but is a lot lighter. On Warwick’s web page they say their basses are always under 9.5 lbs and this bass absolutely fulfills that criterium – in fact, I think it’s well under 9 lbs and that’s very important to many bass players. It’s pretty difficult to find a good five string Jazz that sounds great ánd has a solid B string. I’ll get back to that sound in a bit, but this bass certainly is light. The technical stuff Fortunately you can find knobs on this MetroExpress that you can also find on a regular Sadowsky: volume, balance, active bass and treble (boost only) and the treble knob is a push-pull with which you can switch to passive mode, where it’s good to know that in passive mode you have no passive tone control. It’s all very intuitive, except for one thing: the balance knob is, as on many Sadowskys, reversed. If you turn it clockwise and expect to hear your neck pickup you’re gonna be surprised: it switches to its bridge pickup. Pretty unpractial, but not the end of the world and playing this bass for an hour or so is enough to get used to it. Other than that, the hardware, finish and overall construction are pretty much impeccable and there’s no way to immediately see you’re playing a sub-€1000 bass. Feel and sound It seems pretty easy to build a good Jazz-like bass, considering the enormous amount of brands that have one in their model range. However, it’s pretty difficult to design one that has a sound of its own, its own place in the big market. A bass you buy because it’s this particular bass, not because you just need “a” good Jazz-ish bass. I can’t really determine what it is about this Sadowsky, but I get that particular feeling. I’ve played and owned dozens of Jazz-like basses over the last decades and this one has, like a good Jazz Bass should, something special and unique. I’m not a huge fan of preamps in basses, especially when they lack subtility. The MetroExpress, however, is subtle. You have lots of control over the amount of bass you add, without immediately ripping your trouser legs apart. The same thing goes for the treble knob, but this bass is pretty clear of its own so I couldn’t add much more treble without the sound getting a bit too harsh for me. So, should you buy this bass? If you get a compliment about your sound from the rest of the band, you know there’s something seriously good about your bass. I took this bass to a gig and everybody was surprised about how good this bass sounds. It sounds great through an amp, but also through the PA and my in-ear monitoring, without getting too treble-ish (something that happens a lot with bass when playing on in-ear monitors). Closer investigation on the internet tells me that the first batches of the MetroExpress basses had some initial problems with setup and buzzing electronics, but none of that is an issue on this bass. The MetroExpress is an amazingly well built bass and if you’re looking for a good Jazz for under €1000 it’s definitely worth checking out these instruments. A simple preamp, good sound, comfortable weight, amazing B-string and excellent setup make the MetroExpress a serious contender in this market.

I just received this message from Debbie (Martin's sister) on fb.. Hi, Just letting you know the funeral arrangements for mb1 (Martin berry) his funeral will take place at the crematorium at Southern cemetery address is Barlow Moor Rd, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester M21 7GZ It will be on Friday the 10th September at 2.30 and then on to Urmston Conservative club 29 Crofts Bank Rd, Urmston, Manchester M41 0TZ We are have a celebration of life rather then a religious gathering, there will be a book passed round for people to jot down a any memorable moments or ways in which he impacted your life so as a family we can see Martin through the eyes of others and learn a whole new part of his life. Those attending the wake are more then welcome to bring their bass/any music and share some music would love that. Xx

So. My original Bb350f arrived and is now wearing all gold hardware and a fretted neck (frets are gold too 😜)

This just arrived in the post! It was a bit of an impulse buy, so I haven't decided exactly what I'm going to do with it yet! I need to decide on a finish first (I'll almost definitely just go for a clear coat, although I might stain the mahogany back and the really unrealistic part of me wants to try something like this but I know I'll mess it up and regret it!) I also need to decide on hardware (I'm thinking something black would go nice with the spalted maple), pickups, and electronics (I'd like an active/passive switch for sure). First thing I guess is a bridge so I can drill the holes! Any suggestions?

Nice of Firebird to use us on the cover...

For sometime I've found the Entwistle pup on my Revelation P doesn't quite fit with the early sixties rock band I'm in. Bit modern and lacking in warm cuddles, which is fine but not for this job. Put a Tonerider in for £40 and there's lovely, all velvety and 80% dark chocolate.

Rivers of Babylon, top tune ☝️

Deja Vu album, with Young. Awesome.

You’ll be a majority shareholder soon

Picked up a GR AT410+ last weekend, absolutely fantastic. The sound is pretty transparent - I'm using it with a Kemper Profiler head and it really articulates the difference in rig profiles very well indeed. Being able to switch between profiles from a Mesa 400+, Aguilar DB751, Markbass TA501 and Darkglass 900 with a single stomp and for the cab to really showcase the differences is superb. In fact I liked it so much I bought a GR AT208 yesterday to keep upstairs in my little studio. I think GR have re-set the benchmark with these cabs.

My guess is that a BT2 isn't the cab to use in a punk band. My first Barefaced cab was a BB2. The difference between it and my previous cabs was a shock (mostly the amount of bass response) and I spent all my time trying to tame the bass. I emailed Alex and his reply was, "Why did you buy one of those? I'd have recommended a Super Compact!" I bought the SC and that was it. "My" sound. So buying the right cab is the first lesson. The second lesson is that a new cab won't sound like your old cab. Never does. I have recalibrated my ears and now I have a BB2 that I am happy with. There isn't any boom, but there is way more bass than with many cabs. I don't see that as a down side. If it's too much then Alex has more appropriate cabs available.

I have tons of pedals. A lot of them boutique... But what I really need for the band is just this: Dirty compressor Dirty fuzz (and I mean RAUNCHY AF!) Dirty pre-amp Always real valves. Nothing else comes close. Modelling is still not an option in 2021. Call me a snob. The Black Finger is set to add a little tube breakup - just a hint of it. This makes the fuzz and OD on the Le Bass come out way stronger. Giygas is used for Beastie Boys, Blur, Muse sorta tones. The OD on the Le Bass is for Foo Fighters, Fountains of Wayne, Presidents of the USA etc tube grit. While I do have more exotic effects like envelope phasers, tremolo, octavers etc. I never actually use any of those on stage. Just stuff to make my sound more powerful and add organic tasting dirt. These pedals right here are perfect for that particular job.

Couldn’t resist those MP prices… and not sure how they’ve done it at that price. But, I’ve got a RM 112 combo on the way. Have wanted a small(ish) combo for ages, at £332 delivered, there’s not really any competition; even at 2nd hand prices.

Some people have a lot of time to spend coming into a thread of someone else having a problem they don't care about just to say they don't care about the problem 10x2

I feel for you mate, these things happen to us all. Finding the right people to play in a band is always the No 1 issue. In my experience, potential musos for semi pro bands are likely to fall into 4 categories: A. Bl**dy good – and they know it. Likely to disappear at a moments notice if they get a sniff of something better. B. Good, but 'mature' -and they stopped listening to music around 1980 and haven’t progressed since. C. Good, but completely flaky and unreliable – chances of them turning up at a gig (a) on the correct day (b) with all their gear in working order and (c) having learnt all the material = zero D. Absolutely tone deaf apart from one or two show-off party pieces they always trot out. I hope you manage to find better. 🙂

All together... Just needs setting up and the control cavity plate drilling 'n fitting... Thanks to all those offering help advice or simply there comments along the way... It's been Fun!

I would expect that she has looked at what other options there are. Rather like the thread about 'workshy' youngsters we don't know the circumstances and should maybe just answer the question asked without coming over as a bit preachy.

So here's the finished bass! Need to order some card to use as a background and do a proper photoshoot with it at some point, but you get the idea! Took it to my wedding gigs at the weekend and it sounded lovely, cut through the mix properly, settings were all useful too- the bridge pickup is as Jaydee-like as the one in my Vox Standard bass, the neck pickup has the growl of a Fender P, but put it in parallel for the sound of a Mustang, and put the bridge in parallel for a Jazz bass approximation, together in series they're a growly as heck, etc etc... but then I would say it sounded good wouldn't I..? 🤣 (the XLR is actually wired in now, though I don't think I'll ever need it) Overall though I'm pleased that it looks like it's from the era I based it on; even with my ukulele shape I think it carries the vibe of those mad old Matsumoku gems. The oil finish helps- as it's not even and has a bit of an open-pore thing going on it feels like an old bass already, which isn't bad considering I finished it last Thursday! Neck is very skinny and combined with the short scale it's very easy to shred all over it. Looking forward to getting some proper photos and demos sorted! Meantime here's a couple of clips I threw together for instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CTFmS9jjmCo/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/CTDREcND4gb/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Thanks for reading! -Steve

I played bass in a band where the lead singer was the ex girlfriend of hot chocolate’s bass player! What a twisted claim to fame

New album after 40 years? Well, that at least puts the long gap between the release of two Tool albums in perspective 😉

C'mon Paul, show us more than the headstock!

Yeah. When i was in my teens/at school it just wasnt cool to like ABBA, but we all liked to look at the photos of certain members 😎.

Not to mention lower your bass to below belt level

You are not being pedantic, you are quite correct. The only reason I put it in there was my head was on fkn fire.

I've said it a couple of times in this thread, but it's probably worth repeating now that my contributions are pages and pages back in history. I too was inspired by the earlier posts to investigate the FRFR route, especially since almost every single gig I have done in the last 20 years have had the PA as the main FOH source for the bass, and also since I played a number of gigs where I was asked to turn down on stage in order to prevent my rig from interfering with the FOH sound, to the point where I could hear myself louder in the wedge supplied for the guitarist on the other side of the stage then I could from my cabs immediately behind me. I went all out and bought a Helix Floor and RCF745 speaker and I haven't looked back. It may seen expensive to some, but the bass rig it replaced had cost me more than I paid for these new, and that had all been bought second hand! Also after selling all the gear the Helix and RCF had replaced I actually came away with a small profit! As well as bass guitar I also play Bass VI and synth in another band so being able to use a single two-component rig for processing and monitoring cuts down massively on the amount of gear I need to take to gigs and consequently set up and sound-checking time. It also makes life much easier for the PA engineer. I can't ever seen myself going back to a traditional rig.

Users asking how to hook up their monitor to ethernet. I give up.

ill play. SY1 > OC5 > Proton > ZOOM > VT at the end *Drops mic - walks off stage*

Wasn’t totally happy with it so tidied it up a bit. (See how long this lasts 😜)

Another area that annoys me is the fact that some people tell others that they are in an original band and use that as some kind of badge of superiority over cover band members. Sometimes it is a total accident of location that can decide whether you meet a singer or guitarist who is just that something extra and can write decent tunes that get noticed. Other times decent musicians are lost in the mire of mediocrity. It can be a chance meeting with a guitarist or bass player who writes great songs that can carry drummers and other bass players on the road to fame. Look at some famous bands and look at the rhythm section and see if they are all incredible musicians or just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

Both of the above ^^^ As soon as you mentioned it not occurring when slapping on the fretboard my immediate thought was pole piece contact.

This was my first thought too. It happened on one of my basses too if I started digging in too hard. Put a strip of black insulating tape along the top of the neck pickup, to cover up the polepieces. Won't affect the sound but it will help, if that's where the popping is coming from.

Believe they were marketed as a TR Revelation, late 90's, early 2000's. Guitarist mag ( possibly bassist, I forget) did a review on one.

Welcome to the club Lee! Don't panic - it's not exclusive.. if only we'd known that the solution to our pedals and effects quandary (does less = more?) is no; but more = "more good". More boards... more bigger boards... more smaller boards... more cables for boards... and more stuff... that we absolutely do need - some of the time... if not all of the time... But no "down sizing". Ever. OK??? 😁 ✌️💛

Is the roller tray good for metal?

What will turn a nice present into a great present, and also have a much better chance of partner sticking with it and actually enjoy playing the bass would be to take it to a local music shop to get it setup properly once it has arrived. They will lower the bridge saddles and adjust truss rod in neck, so the strings sit as low as possible to the fretboard, intonate it, and maybe put a decent set of strings on it. All this will make a massive difference to a cheap instrument and should not cost too much to have done. 😎