neepheid

That's micro USB, and yes, the worst of the bunch. Mini USB is pretty robust in my experience, but way too chonky for people's tastes at the time when micro USB became prevalent. Why did it take them so long to come up with USB-C?

I didn't say that...

We usually play sorta in a semi circle, drummer in the middle and the Zoom is in the middle, facing the drummer, at the opposite side of the room. Experiment and find out what works best for you - the room you're in might be a factor also. The guiding principle for me was to try to put some physical distance between the drums and the Zoom. Just remember to check the manual gain wheel before you start that it's at minimum, if your drummer is anything like mine

I use mine in MS (mid/side) mode, max separation (+6/150 degrees), low cut off, auto gain off.

Sorry mate, not rich enough to own both so can't help you! I have a distrust of bridge pickups, so I bought a Z7 to hedge my bets. Also wanted an ebony board, so it had to be a Z7 for me at launch time. They probably sound a bit different with all controls zeroed, but I suspect they can be made to sound similar if you tweak the controls on the Z7 enough, as it has the mid sweep and a passive tone control that the Z3 does not.

I'll be the first to mention Brian Pillans (earlplianz on eBay) then

Managed to avoid upsetting some ham radio enthusiast down the pub thus far - yes, I know I have a cavalier attitude towards this...

A second hand Sire P5(R), perhaps? Doesn't come up as often, but a second hand G&L Tribute LB-100 might just come in to that budget. Heh, OP, sell you mine if you like.

I dunno where you got the idea that UHF can be problematic for interference - I got the WS-70 *because* it was UHF to minimise interference by staying the hell out of the 2.4GHz band. I've been using mine for almost a year now and had zero dropouts unless I go on a wander and go too far, like round a corner of a thick wall or something - but it'll handle your average pub no problem.

Unless you're replacing a broken pickup, then aye, I think you're out. Wow, three in a day, I don't think I've ever seen that before.

Sounds ok to me, nothing to see here, carry on...

You can have @AndyTravis's one, he won it last year

I'm not getting personal, I'm making a comment on your opinion, not you personally! I broadly agree with you - I prefer old school BBs too and it's not some knee jerk reaction - I tried to like the BB434 I had but just couldn't get into it. I've owned a BB300, 350F, 450, 614 and 434, and I currently have a BB1200, so you can see that I tack very much in the old school direction. I'm merely pointing out that the use of dot inlays versus the ovals (or their modern reworking) to differentiate product tiers has been going on pretty much since the BB was created. That a BB234 has dot inlays is not in the least bit surprising to me. But your post has given me some pause for thought and having thought about it, I *am* a little surprised that the 434 has dots whereas previous 4 tier instruments had the ovals (424/414). I'll give you that - that's a disappointing shift of the tipping point where Yamaha sees the lines between their BB basses. Fancy (well, fancier) inlays won't make me like the new BBs any more though - they feel like they've gone on a diet, been streamlined or something I can't quite put my finger on. Some people might love that and think that old school BBs are obese, blobby and clunky, each to their own and all that.

So, you're just going to sidestep the main point of what I was saying - that it's nothing new under the sun for Yamaha to put the simple dot inlays on some BBs?

They always did that though - look at a BB300, 450, 800, even mid tier products like the 1100s. Your ire is misdirected in this case.

Ahh, in my flurry of before the deadline purchases (some of which are arriving today, yay!) I forgot to order replacement knobs for the T-bird (because I don't really care for the silver and gold stock ones - they have no context to be on that bass). Oh well, I think I can manage not to scratch that itch for a year...

As long as it isn't one of these "buying stuff for people that you know they won't like and will give back to you" type scams...

If your experience is the same as mine, then don't do it - if you try one you'll be out, it's that simple.

Nah, band money is band money. You may technically own a part share of it, but I think for the purposes of this thread, it is concerned with personal abstinence. But I'm not the boss, anyone else want to weigh in?

Another vote for the Markbass Mini CMD121P (of whichever vintage, I've got an IV, I think the latest one is V?) - I use mine for band rehearsals on its own and it makes itself heard no bother. I do use it in conjunction with a New York 121 cab at the gigs, but I could probably get away without it.

Why would you need to re-order? The supplier needs to make things right and send a replacement as part of the current order, no? If you mean order it from somewhere else because these guys can't/won't deliver then I think I'd be inclined to take pity on your situation - you made every effort to get it done and dusted before the end of the year and it's not your fault it has failed to arrive.

Like for like is obviously not always possible - sometimes the broken kit is no longer available. I've always viewed it in a "as like-for-like as possible" - and if a direct replacement is not possible then factors like similar monetary value, similar features come into play and it's a judgement call. Sometimes it's easy to spot when someone is extracting the michael - if someone loses their Squier Affinity P in a freak accident and replaces it with a Fodera, for a ridiculous example. Also, if it's objectively a "downgrade" (let's say for financial reasons) then I wouldn't have a problem with it. As for your last point, I'd argue that someone who doesn't own any bass gear isn't really the target audience for this challenge. Buy your bass, get your start then join in next year, IMO.

If your tech/luthier deems a new nut to be required then in their professional opinion the current nut is faulty/defective/broken. Replacing broken things on a like for like basis is ok. RE: strings - some people change bass strings with wallet frightening frequency because they simply must have the zing of new strings for their sound. Also breakages, whilst rare, do happen. Some people only own one bass (also unusual but does happen ) so what are they supposed to do if that happens - give up bass for the rest of the year? These are a few reasons why strings are allowed.