BigRedX

Maybe. One Fender copy is much like another...

Let's hope it's better designed and built than the Superfly.

No the OP has more in common with those posts complaining that a second-hand bass on eBay is overpriced. I just don't get why people get worked up enough about them to post them on here.

How is this different from the standard Fender BBOT?

IIRC the MiJ Metrolines were made by ESP. I'd rather have a Japanese ESP bass than a German Warwick.

But the Ad isn't aimed at the typical middle-aged, sartorially challenged Basschat member, so who are we to mock? If I was in my early 20s and looking to start a band from scratch I might be wording something very similar to weed out the old-farts and time-wasters.

To the OP. What do you want to use it for?

While I also hate soldering DIN plugs and sockets with a passion, IME commercially made MIDI leads are mostly terrible. The cheaper ones with their horrible moulded plugs, undersized pins and weedy cable are just about OK for permanent studio installations where the connections are made once and then never touched for several years, but on no account would I ever consider using them at a gig. Anything I would consider road worthy is eye-wateringly expensive compared with the cost of making my own, so whenever I need a MIDI cable out come the magnifying glass and soldering clamps.

To the OP. Are you interested in joining this band? If not why does it even matter?

Weird layout of foot switches. It's as though they don't want to make it user friendly.

The EHX was posted on another forum last week and was partially responsible for my mini rant about consumer grade computer connectors and external PSUs with no-latching connectors earlier in this thread.

That sounds like all kinds of wrong, but if that information has come from the manufacturer... The original MIDI spec uses the pins 4 and 5 to transmit the data and pin 2 is a ground/shield for the data transmission, but is generally disconnected at the input end of a MIDI link to prevent ground loops between the audio and data connections. Edit: Just had a look at the Meris device in question. It looks as though it uses a quarter-inch jack for the MIDI connection which is a slight plus, but even though there is probably room for a proper DIN socket for the MIDI in they have elected to use a jack so it can be dual function: expression pedal or MIDI. What do you do if you want to use an expression pedal and have external MIDI control?

Ans this is exactly why I won't buy MIDI gear with these Mickey Mouse mini jack connectors. As well as the fact that you can't use a decent chunky gig-proof cable with these tiny plugs.

You should be fine with any reputable DIN to 3.5mm TSR jack that is sold as being specifically for MIDI. If you want to make your own use a two core twisted pair and screen cable. Connect the screen to the centre pin (2) of the 5-pin DIN plug and to the sleeve of the 6.5mm jack. Then connect pin 5 of the DIN to the ring of the jack and pin 4 to the tip (pins 4 and 5 are the two directly either side of the centre pin). Pins 1 and 3 of the DIN plug (the outermost 2) are not used. If you are getting earth hum or general MIDI weirdness you might need to experiment with disconnecting the shield at the mini jack end. MIDI devices are supposed to be opto-isolated at the MIDI in socket, but often devices that use mini jacks dispense with this as part of their cost-cutting measures which can lead to problems.

This, or the Bas Extravaganza Punk Bass would be the instrument I would want to bring to any gig where I was told to use a Precision.